ASTORIA! Delicious Food and Friendly People

The view from the end of the street where we stayed

On the River Walk at dusk

I see now why so many people that I talked with prior to our mini vaca suggested that we check out Astoria. It is a beautiful city full of historic architecture and friendly people. I found it very easy to navigate and for me that's saying something because I and others refer to me as "Directionally Impaired". I also found it charming. Even after the fire took out many of the old homes and downtown there are still plenty of these left to give it that old world appeal that so many visitors come here to envelop themselves in.

Portlandians come here to escape the rat race that is Portland and visitors from Seattle make their way south to get away from the hustle and bustle that surrounds them on a daily basis. Here you can kick back and relax, enjoy a brew at any one of the many Breweries, check out the wine bars, take a stroll on the River Walk or catch the still working Trolley Car to take in the river scene. There is also a wonderful Train Ride on an authentic old Locomotive that runs up and down the river.

Our first morning in Astoria we decided to try the Coffee Girls Cafe at Pier 39 in the old Cannery. As we approached the location we weren't sure what to do as the cafe was at the end of a pier. We started to park then noticed that there were cars on the other side. We decided to chance and so we drove out onto this old wooden pier slowly and cautiously creeping along until we safely reached the end and parked. I think Jeff held his breath the whole way. I have to admit that the piers I grew up hanging out on were not built for cars so I was a bit nervous too. But no worries everything was fine this one obviously was! The Coffee Girls Cafe was very quaint there were lots of photos of the original girls that worked there serving coffee to the fishermen and cannery workers. I had Bagels with cream cheese and Lox and it was delicious. Jeff had a Breakfast Panini and he enjoyed it very much. Then we went out on the pier and took in the beautiful view. Next we toured the small cannery museum which turned out to be interesting. It was the original Bumbel Bee Cannery for salmon and eventually tuna.

Salmon Fishing Boat

Bumble Bee display

We tooled around the rest of the day visiting shops and checking out the area. We found a lot of shops so if you are into that you will find many interesting places to peruse. Some really cool places with interesting wares. It's easy to walk around Astoria so take your time and check them all out. 

We were on a mission to taste as much Clam Chowder as we could while we were there; we were able to taste it from 3 places. We never made it to Charlies Chowder House where they claim to have the Best! We will have to go there next time. We ate at "Silver Salmon" the first night and the food was very good although my salad was overdressed. However the Clam Chowder was really good, full of clams with a rich broth and a perfect amount of clammy taste. The whole meal was expensive but we found out that food is expensive everywhere here. The next night we had it at "Buoy Beer Co." it wasn't so good. It lacked flavor and was missing potatoes and clams. But the oysters were very good! And Jeff had a Creme Ale that he loved, I had a cider that was delish too. We wish we could find it here in Eugene but haven't yet. 

Jeffs Fried Oyster Basket, Very Good!

Clam Chowder'

Chars Oyster Appetizer with Jalepeno Jelly and Goat Cheese, Delish!

We had lunch on the 2nd day at a couple of the Food Trucks that are grouped together near the center of town. A good selection of both vegan and traditional dishes. This scene is just getting started in Astoria but I think its gonna take off like it has every where else.


The last night we went to the "Fort George Public House" We loved it, it was very busy but they have lots of space so it doesn't take long to get a seat. We went upstairs so we could have pizza from the wood fired oven. We sat at the bar and enjoyed watching people. We met a couple from RI that had flown into Idaho and were working their way down to California. Super nice couple. We had a delicious pizza, Jeff had a pint and I had a cider both were good but not as good as the Buoy Beer Co's. Of course we had clam chowder as well. This was very good, plenty of clams, a rich broth and just enough potatoes. There were so many things on the menu that we wanted to try but we just couldn't.
Something that they did there that I thought was really cool; They offered a sampler of 10 different draft beers. It came in this wooden crate and I thought how ingenious! There was a man down from us that ordered it. He sampled all of the beers then rated them and then ordered a 1 gal. Growler to take home. Super Cool!

We stayed in a beautiful Old Victorian called "The Fisher House" you can find it on Airbnb.com. The host was charming and fun. The home was gorgeous!! and very clean. The area was quiet and safe and within walking distance to downtown.

Fisher House

View of one side of the kitchen in Fisher House

On the last day we went to the Sunday Market. It was full of vendors, nice to see some different wares for a change. All in all it was a very nice time. The weather got really good on the day we left but when you live in the Pacific NW you gotta expect that right!