PORT ANGELES — Now here’s something about which we all feel strongly.
Port Angeles is one of Washington state’s smaller cities with “amazing restaurants,” proclaims the travel and culture website www.OnlyinYourState.com.
“Although the population is under 20,000, you can gobble on some amazing meals here from places like Cafe Garden, Fresh Wok, Tendy’s Garden and Fiesta Jalisco” went the post, which appeared Thursday morning.
Not surprisingly, this unleashed heaps of Facebook comments.
Locals comment
Local residents listed their favorites from downtown to outside town: New Day Eatery to Traylor’s, Little Devil’s Lunchbox to Okasan, to Bella Italia.
The long-established — First Street Haven, Sergio’s, Dupuis — and the newcomers such as Fanaticus and Turnip the Beet all got shout-outs.
Next Door Gastropub popped up, too, with its 50-seat spot at 113 W. First St.
Co-owner Angela Oppelt, delighted to hear this, gave her top five places elsewhere in town: Toga’s, LD’s Woodfire Grill (aka Wildfire), Sabai Thai, Michael’s Seafood & Steakhouse, “and I love Granny’s Cafe on the way to [Crescent] lake,” she said.
This summer has been hotter than ever for Next Door, Oppelt added: It’s been 30 percent busier as the gastropub heads toward its fourth anniversary in September.
“We do have fantastic restaurants. It’s changed so much,” added lifelong Port Angeles restaurant-goer Janet Lucas.
Now a professor of English at Peninsula College, she spent many years waitressing; Cafe Garden and the former Swan Cafe are a couple of her alma maters.
Through the 1970s and ’80s in Port Angeles, you had your Cornerhouse-type diners, your lunch counters and your Black Angus-style dinner houses, Lucas recalled.
Captain’s platters of deep-fried seafood were everywhere. Salads were all about iceberg lettuce.
But circa 2000, a transition to fresh ingredients, creative cuisine and the light-and-bright atmosphere took place here, Lucas said. Romaine lettuce and pesto appeared.
Her top five have the fresh vegetables, the sunlight and the seasoning Lucas loves.
Four-way tie for 2nd
Kokopelli is her No. 1, while LD’s Woodfire Grill, Next Door, Sabai Thai and Bella Italia are in a four-way tie for second place.
Like Oppelt, Lucas feels an uptick in busyness around Port Angeles.
More people are out and about for a combination of reasons, she believes, including the spirit generated by Outside magazine’s “Best Town Ever” contest, in which Port Angeles placed second nationwide.
The sunny weather helps, too, Lucas said, noting how downtown restaurants — Next Door, Jasmine Bistro and H20 among them — are doing something she didn’t see back in the old days: putting tables and chairs out on the sidewalk.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
