Summer Grifter IPA

From the bottle: "A Deliciously wayward ale lurking wherever thirsts gather."

(Disclaimer: I wrote this review after imbibing perhaps a few of these. Thus the, um, poetic description. It sounded really accurate at the time.)

This beer lives up to it's name. It starts out strong, coming up to you with a smile and finishes with a sly wink that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Seriously though, it's hoppy even for an IPA. Good with the Pacific Coast Corn though, with the lime and all.

(Robert)

Tacos La Provindia

$4.50 for a burrito, 1-2 miles south of Tillamook Cheese Factory on Highway 101.

The group rated this roach coach higher than the last, citing the $.50 cheaper burritos and the the side salad as pluses. The rice and beans were better, but my asada was a little overcooked. The side salad is chopped lettuce and tomato without dressing, leading me to believe that it is actually intended to be added to your burritos as you see fit. Either way, it was a reasonable burrito at a good price.

The tacos however were the hit of the day with multiple people returning to order more. Almost every meat available was ordered, and satisfaction was expressed by all. The onions were sauteed in some delicious mixture of oil and pure flavor, and are almost worth ordering on their own. The locals also recommended this stand highly, "... The best restaurant in town!"

(Robert)

Astoria

Breakfast of Champions

Ate a huge breakfast at "Dock by the Bay" in Bay Center, Washington. It was an excellent, and oyster heavy meal, with portions large enough to keep us going for the rest of the day. I got the "Docks Hangtown" which was a 3-oyster omelet, hash browns, toast, with two strips of bacon on top for good measure. The oysters came out of the adjacent bay, and were very fresh, and the toast was warm and buttery. Really one of the best breakfasts I've had so far.

You may be put off by the $2 cost of the pancakes, but the cost is entirely proportional to the size- these pancakes are a full inch thick in the middle, and roughly 12" in diameter. You could easily make a meal out of one of them, two if you are particularly voracious.

We didn't have to eat for another six hours, which is astonishing. Normally we snack frequently and have a meal every for 3-4 hours of riding.

For dinner we found a taco truck in the parking lot of the Texaco across from the Astoria Maritime Museum. (An excellent museum, we didn't stop in this time but I've been there before.) It was recommended to us by a local as being good and cheap. When we arrived it had all the earmarks of a good taco truck: authentic spelling and a family manning it.

The carne asada burrito was ok, having good meat but being heavy on onions and light on everything else. However, for being within spitting distance of Washington and for $5, it was a really good burrito. So if you are ever 13 days out of CA on a bike tour, and need a burrito, look for the taco truck on 17th and Marine.

(Robert)