Breakfast at The Columbia Cafe

A trip to Home Depot for supplies is always a good excuse to head to Astoria, especially on a cold, clear morning, rare in Winter on the Oregon Coast.  We hadn't been to the Columbia Cafe http://www.yelp.com/biz/columbian-cafe-astoria-3 in a while, so decided to try it again for breakfast.

It's funky and fun, and the food is amazing!  Specials are on a white board, along with a pretty extensive printed menu.  I linked the Yelp reviews, so you could see the great reviews this place gets...it's really a destination

breakfast on the North Coast, and people are known to drive 3 hours from Seattle to partake!

While I was waiting for my fresh crab omelet, we were served these amazing pepper jellies, ranging from mild to super hot.

Plus, they make great Bloody Mary's, which you can also order in various degrees of hot also!

Everything is made fresh here, even the orange juice

The magic happens in the this little one person kitchen, but I couldn't help noticing the dog sitting in the back of the truck. He seemed happy to people watch, even though it was very cold outside.

There is a Daily Special, called The Chef's Mercy, and no two are alike.  It's basically whatever yummy thing the chef wants to put together.  In this case, Rick had a Petrale, egg and vegetable dish on an elegant sheet of lace potato.

One thing I saw many people ordering was a Beet Pesto originated by Chef Marco, that included beets, pecans, Parmesan Cheese, ginger and olive oil.  Sounds like it would be fun to try and make that.

My crab omelet was yummy, and full of crab and cheese. 

A great breakfast from a very unassuming place!

Revisiting the Urban Cafe

 My Soul Sister, Barb, and I hadn't seen much of each other this year due to my traveling, her buying and selling a house, and deaths in both of our families, so we decided we needed a "Girl's Getaway"...funny, we used to call them "Mom's Getaway Weekends" but now our children are grown, and out of the house. 

 Astoria is always a favorite destination, and although we keep promising to try new places, we almost always end up at the Urban Cafe.  I love that the decor is always different and fun, and the food is consistently good.

 It's always interesting to see what they will do next.

 There were four of these tall vases with metal flowers, but I could only get one of them without disrupting dinners.  The last time we were here, this section was full of pink flamingos.

Five little pigs guard the kitchen...

We brought the four legged 'kids' to the beach, so we had to hurry home. The two dogs in the front, Molly and Lulu are mine, and the 'Bad Boy' Murphy, in the back is Barb's dog.  He's their brother from the same litter.  Murphy had to mark his territory to show the girls who was boss, otherwise he's as sweet as his sisters!

Check out Sweet 1 for Wedding Cakes and Cupcakes in Astoria

After a hectic day of shopping, we found ourselves at this quaint little shop in Astoria. We thought it was a bakery, but actually, they specialize in Wedding cakes.  However,they make a yummy cupcake too! http://www.simplycakesbyjae.com/

 It was a charming  place for a 'Girly Date' with your friend, mother, sister, or daughter, and I found myself wishing my daughter was nine again and we were having our tea parties.

So many quaint touches, and cozy places to hang out!

 There were lots of teacups and teapots for purchase.

 

 We were there late in the day and there were only 5 cupcakes left. As Barb and I were deciding which flavor to choose, between the Coconut Cream, and Vanilla Lemon Curd, three teenage girls walked in and ordered the other three.  It was perfect!

This is definitely a place worth checking out!

Fernhill Glass-Glass Blowing

While I was off at Ambiance, http://tinyurl.com/5v7wyxl shopping in Astoria, dear husband was growing more bored by the moment.  He took off walking around the city, and found this cool Glass Studio (Fernhill Glass), which he brought me back to see.  It's definitely worth the visit.

 The owner Claude Kurtz, was making a vase.  I can't even begin to explain the process but it involved rolling, blowing into a tube, shaping and firing. Repeat!  Fortunately, there is a gallery that's open to the public, and you are able to watch the process.  Suffice to say, there's a lot of work goes into their beautiful pieces!

 firing and shaping...

 more firing...

Claude formerly worked in WA. and at a studio at McMenniman's Troutdale for 10 years before coming to the Oregon Coast....

 Their studio, opened in 2004, is one of several involved with making the the glass floats for the Finder's Keepers "Float Faeries" Event in Lincoln City. http://www.oregoncoast.org/pages/glass-floats.php

 Their work is beautiful, and they make and sell everything from 'Japanese' Floats, vases, paperweights, plates to glass fish etc.  They have a great showroom with a large variety of items to purchase.  Plus, there's a very cool store parrot, who guards the checkout desk.  I was so involved in checking out all the cool glass that I forgot to take his picture, but he's a real personality!

There was also some beautiful polished glass to purchase by the scoop.  If you find yourself in Astoria, this is well worth the stop. 

Flamingoes at the Urban Cafe

One of my favorite destinations in Astoria is the Urban Cafe.  It's a great place for lunch, although we've been known to indulge in one their wonderful desserts as a late night treat.  Today though, I was drawn in by the flamingos.  There must have been 50 of them in the window.

 I had to check out the plants showcasing a small outside eating area too.  OK, it's been a long, wet spring, and we're starved for color.

They have a great selection of Quesadillas-Caribbean 'Jerk' Chicken, Curried Chicken, Apple and Walnut,

and Roasted garlic, to name just a few. 

 

Another popular menu item with my family is their Garlic Pesto Chicken Mac-a creamy, cheese, basil sauce with chicken and penne pasta.

I usually opt for one of their yummy Salads like their Urban Greek Spinach Salad, or T. Paul's Thai Salad, or their Cajun Fish Tacos. Whatever you go for, you must try the Blue Iced Tea shown below!

Cannery Row in Astoria

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time in Astoria.  The city has been undergoing a resurgence of sorts, with lots of new shops and restaurants opening up.  Even though the economy has taken it's toll, there's still a lot to see.  The boardwalk is a great place to walk, or you can ride the free Trolly if you're so inclined.  I love to stroll along the boardwalk, checking out the shops, restaurants and  passing ships.

We tried this restaurant called The Cannery Cafe, and I had the best Tuna Sandwich on whole wheat ever!  Don't get it toasted.  Their Fish n' Chips look amazing, so I'll definitely come back. 

I'm always on the look out for cool things to watercolor paint, so these lovely flowers will someday be a subject.

I love the monochromatic look of this boat, trolling across the bay.

A Perfect Spring Day on the Oregon Coast

We've been spending a fair amount of time on the Oregon Coast lately, trying to get the beach house in shape.  There's been wood blinds to install, furniture to re-upolster, and some painting to do.  These things take some planning to do from two hours away.  However, on a beautiful spring day, it's hard to stay put and not take a drive north to Astoria to visit the thrift shops, and fun restaurants.  On a recent trip, we found the coolest shop, Ambiance, chocked full of great decorating ideas and reasonably priced treasures!  DH, a non-shopper enjoyed browsing and even found a cool clock for his downtown office.  The owner said that they mail order tons of clocks for wedding gifts.  Great idea, since everyone can use a clock!

Displays are changed often and are a real inspiration for me, who is tyring to decorate on a budget in a 'shabby chic' style at the beach.

Below, I couldn't resist a shot of this cool bridge to Long Beach WA.  I love bridges and look forward to painting this one. Recently, I drove across it, and couldn't resist taking some shots.  I don't recommend this, but nobody was on the bridge when I did it, and so I was able to slow down and shoot this:

  Here's a different angle of the bridge. I thought this would be a good watercolor subject. 

 Below,  had to photograph these charming flower stands. They were doing a land office business on this warm spring day.  Many people stopped to support these little roadside vendors.

Did you know that there's several places on the Oregon Coast, where you can actually drive your car on the beach at certain times of the year? 

As Molly and Lulu can attest, it was a dog-gone good day!