Pacific Way Cafe & Bakery
601 Pacific Way
Gearhart, OR 97138
503-738-0245
We went to the coast on Sunday, which was nice, if not a little chillier than we had expected (and a little less sunny). The drive itself was actually sun-filled and warm until about 10 miles from the coast — then everything got overcast. Oh well, it was still relaxing and worth the trip.
And here is where I will give the following disclaimer: I have a cold. I am taking sinus-stuffy-head-runny-nose-may-cause-drowsiness medicine and am currently in a fuzzy/spacey haze and buffered from the bright and harsh world. That being the case, it’s quite possible that this post will make even less sense than the coffee monkey one. So, you know, you’ve been warned. Continuing bravely on…
I really like going to Gearhart. I enjoy the rocky beaches of Northern California, but can also appreciate the nice, sandy, flat beach at Gearhart. Great for walking, collecting sand dollars and hanging out with a good book and good company. On Sunday, we brought a big beach blanket and read — myself, The Geographer’s Library, while jwa plugged away on Book Three of The Baroque Cycle.
After a suitable amount of time was spent lazing and reading on the gray, cloudy beach — it was time for lunch (and the real topic of this post).
The Pacific Way Cafe is probably in my top five favorite restaurants in all of Oregon. I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad meal here. Not even a meh meal. Always with the good meals. In fact, whenever we stay on the coast for a couple of days — we’re conveniently across the street here, at the Gearhart Ocean Inn.
Lunch: Bring on the Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing!
Since we mosied into the place around 3:00 pm, there was no waiting. Nice. It seems this place has gotten more and more popular every year. We got a big table in the back, a room decorated (like the whole restaurant) with comfortable pine tables and old, black and white photographs on the walls — and a quirky fetish for Scottish Terriers.
The lunch menu has tasty sandwiches, salads, and a few heavier entrees. Previously, I’ve had the Turkey Sandwich (with provolone and a horseradish / cranberry relish) and the Grilled Ham Sandwich, with cream cheese and a pineapple salsa and probably a few other things I can’t remember right now. But this day, I tried the Barbequed Chicken Sandwich, with provolone, tomatoes and red onions on homemade focaccia and a side salad with the creamy gorgonzola dressing. They have really amazing homemade bread, so sandwiches are a great choice for lunch. There really aren’t enough words to describe the creamy gorgonzola dressing, so I won’t even try, because I’d have to invent new words and with the fuzzy/spacey thing I’ve got going on here, I’m not sure that’d be a good idea. Suffice to say that it is delectably delicious.
jwa got a hamburger with cheese and bacon — the waitress asked if he wanted cheese or bacon and his eyes lit up as he, without much hesitation and rather enthusiastically, replied, “both!” Upon getting his burger, he actually lost the power of speech briefly after taking the first bite. I would have photographed his burger, but it was gone moments after the plate was set down on the table.
We both finished practically everything edible on our respective plates and rolled away from the table quite happy — a table where, two years before, we ate an entire Cilantro-Chicken Pizza, drank amber ale and listened to NPR. It’s a good table.
My only related complaint is that when we went to the bakery next door to buy some bread and other assorted tasty things to bring home — they were out of everything. How does that happen? Especially when you are open until 9:00 pm and it’s only 4:14 pm. Hey, Pacific Way Cafe & Bakery — make more bread and almond croissants, damn it!! The next time (for my part), I will come earlier but you bake enough to supply your demand, okay? Great. See you then.
To Recap:
Atmosphere: A very pleasant and homey interior. Sturdy pine tables throughout with three different “dining rooms”. A plethora of old photographs line the walls. Apropos of nothing, the women’s restroom has a bathtub filled with plastic alligators and beach rocks.
Service: Always friendly and nice, even when they are busy. There’s one waitress that has been there every time we have gone. She’s good humored and just a bit sassy — we like her!
Food: Mmmmm! Excellent. Dinners feature seafood, chicken, beef, pork & vegetarian choices. Nice wine list. Great specials and appetizers. jwa still raves about some beef tenderloin dish with a cherry sauce he got a few years ago and I have greatly enjoyed every meal I’ve ever tried.
Overall: We are quite fond of this place and I imagine we will continue to eat here for practically every meal when we stay in Gearhart — because we are kind of predictable like that but also, because the restaurant is very good.
Four Pepper Grinders (Out of a possible four). Woo!
Hello,
I like the way you talk about food and cooking. Your photographs are splendid. I also enjoy your reference to the French language through your blog’s name.
Your page on the silicon valley “way of life” is also funny.
I flew above Oregon three years ago when I went to San Mateo but I never had the opportunity of having a stay at Portland !
Regards,
Franz
you are so lucky to have had a coastal cloudy afternoon. sounds so refreshing and inspiring. can you whale watch from there or is that a different part of the coast? i want to see orcas in the wild at some point. any suggestions out your way? love the blog!
Franz — glad you are enjoying the blog! Thanks for letting me know! Yeah, I figured I should use the French I had to learn in high school and the U of Minnesota… 🙂
“Gibson” — I think you can watch whales from all sorts of points on the OR coast…We haven’t done that yet, though I would like to! We did go on a Orca Whale watching excursion around the San Juan Islands a couple of year’s ago — that was fun! Here’s a good Oregon Whale Watching site: http://www.whalespoken.org/
I love this place and many times will drive from my home in Southwest Washington to Gearhart, about an hour drive, in order to experience some great atmosphere and delicious food. It is a must stop whenever I am in the area.
Enjoyed reading your blog on Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe and I agree — it’s an awesome restaurant. My mother-in-law introduced us to it in 2003 and we’ve been going there each time we visit Oregon. Since we bought our retirement home in Gearhart in 2004, we now visit twice a year. We’ve never been disappointed with anything we’ve had there. The crab sandwich is one of my favorites. It’s a great restaurant to spend time in rain or shine!!
Not sure if you’ve been to the P-Way lately, but my Uncle is now the head chef. Their dinners are so good. Chicken Marsala is wonderful and their Caesar is SO good (and super garlicky). And you have to get to the bakery early if you want a loaf of their homemade bread. They are usually gone by 9:30am or so… and the pastries don’t last much longer than that.
treesyjo: hey, that’s neat! I did not know that.
We usually go a few times a year when we are at the coast. The last time we went was in February (for my birthday) and we had a great meal as always. And, we had our rehearsal dinner there last May! 🙂
Oh and I know. I usually crawl out of bed at Gearhart in and walk across the street as early as I can to get stuff at the bakery in the AM 😉
THIS WAS OUR GROCERY STORE IN THE 40S AND 50S OWNED BY THE CUTLERS
THERE WERE APARTMENTS UPSTAIRS IN WHICH WE LIVED FOR ABOUT A YEAR IN ABOUT 1940. THE SCHOOL WAS JUST NEXT DOOR SO MUCH TIME WAS SPENT LOOKING FOR COMIC BOOKS AND BUYING SNACKS , CANDY BARS 5 CENTS.
IT WAS ALSO A REAL ESTATE OFFICE LATER MY FATHER HAS HIS OWN OFFICE JUST ACROSS THE STREET AND A BLOCK WEST.
I HOPE THIS POSTS IT’S MY 3RD TRY