There is irrefutable proof that the Moon has discovered Food Network, for culinary tides are rising everywhere. This is visible in Oregon, whose seafood industry suffers a strange inversion, exporting almost all of its cornucopian seafood harvest, and importing almost all the seafood it consumes. Local Ocean Seafoods in Newport is the sneaker wave of change – we think, we hope – on the Oregon coast, where it is particularly needed. If Oregon exports its seafood, Local Ocean insists on keeping some of it home.
Halibut with Pilaf and Without
We had a scrappy dinner there recently, pulling tasties like beachcombers from the menu. To be blunt, most halibut served in Oregon is pilaf. That is to say, it’s served with pilaf – and if not pilaf, a farinaceous cousin, scooped from a steam tray – as they do in middle schools, nursing homes, and morgues – with something green thrown in, probably broccoli.
Chef Jacob Harth, whose career was forged in Michelin-starred kitchens, has no truck with that. He draws from the menu pre-dating his arrival, searing a halibut filet – clearly broken down from the entire fish, no standardized Sysco here – on a gas grill. The grill is so carboniferous that the cross-hatched halibut conveys the tang of charcoal. It is layered with likewise cross-hatched slices of fresh peach and shishito peppers in a balsamic vinaigrette that is tinctured by peach juice. There are two artfully placed hemispheres of burrata to dulcify the peppers. Jumping Jehoshaphat, it’s delicious!
Darth Vader’s Poodle on Ice
Harth serves an iced seafood platter with locally (or almost locally) sourced abalone, uni, geoduck, clams, oysters, scallops, and barnacles.
It unfolded thusly: Small half-shell oysters were anointed with salmonberry ice – Chef Harth picks the berries himself – like bitters to a champagne cocktail. Steamed gooseneck barnacles (which Harth harvests himself, prying them from the Barview Jetty at night when tides are lowest) rebuffed our forks before eventually succumbing. We dipped it first in cocktail sauce and then in hit-you-upside-the-head shreds of horseradish.
Looking like Darth Vader’s poodle, a stygian sea-urchin sat upon the ice, cleaved open, scoopable uni within. Raw citrused geoduck, a gigantic burrowing clam, had the uncanny texture of a human earlobe. Makrut lime leaf oil and husk cherries lifted it to spectacular heights. Clam juice became a savory silken custard layered with slices of sweet raw scallop and slightly charred peas, stunning textural contrast. A sidecar of grilled brioche (made by Chef Harth’s wife) with seaweed butter accompanied all.
The fresh tuna tostada was like a tuna fish sandwich with doctoral credentials.
The Enemy of the Good
The perfect is the enemy of the good. Luckily, Local Ocean Seafoods is beautifully imperfect. Their grilled artichoke wasn’t sufficiently softened, though its Béarnaise sauce was terrific. In our view, their crab cakes had too much breadcrumb and, probably, egg, obscuring the sweet crab itself. We wondered whether a shrimp mousseline instead of crumbs might let more of the crab shine through.
A Precious Serum
We assumed the desserts would falter. Pastry demands a completely different intelligence than savory line-cooking. We were wrong. We openly scrapped over a coconut milk flan scented with cinnamon and nutmeg in rum caramel sauce, while a strawberry rhubarb parfait doped with makrut lime leaf (an ingredient they treat with high reverence) and a twirl of olive oil would threaten weaker marriages than ours. The flan sauce was a precious serum that we drank from our spoons.
We drank, respectively, a hazy IPA and an aromatic white blend, Silas Wines 2024 SBS Blanc from Chehalem Mountains, Oregon.
A Temple to the Unsung
Chef Harth is exalting the overlooked bounty of the Northwest. Next year he is opening his own restaurant, Bayocean Oyster House, just outside Tillamook, Oregon, in a former oyster processing plant cantilevered over the water. It will be a temple to the unsung. Among the underutilized species he’ll showcase will be invasive ones, e.g., green crab bisque.
Race cars tuck in behind faster race cars to ride their slipstream. We hope other Oregon seafood restaurants will draft behind Local Ocean Seafoods and Chef Harth’s forthcoming Bayocean Oyster House. A rising tide lifts all restaurants.
Before You Go
Local Ocean Seafoods is located on Newport’s Historic Bayfront. You can usually buy fish directly from the fishing boats there. Local Ocean Seafoods also includes a seafood market where you can buy not only raw fish but smoked fish, great for picnics, and dog treats made from fish skin.
You May Also Enjoy Reading
Vya in Portland, Oregon: Sangria by the Glass, Paella by the Pan
Domaine Serene Winery Chef’s Dinner: Summiting in Lake Oswego
A Culinary Journey Through Slovenia: Truffles, Wine, and Michelin-Star Magic
-
We began our current career by writing restaurant reviews for FoodieHK, Hong Kong’s premier online culinary magazine. We reviewed dives with overturned buckets for seats where the food was revelatory and magnificent Michelin restaurants where the food soared operatically. Coming back to the states, we began writing for Northwest Travel & Life, Southwest Travel & Life, and Food, Wine & Travel magazines. Our articles cover everything from stargazing to a wasabi farm to truffle hunting. We tilt strongly to matters culinary and vinous. David is the author of numerous poetry picture books and a YA novel published by major American publishers and reprinted in many languages. He toured internationally giving readings from his work. Susan was a teacher in schools worldwide, an elementary principal, and the owner of a marketing firm.
