While inventive, high-end cuisine is typically associated with big cities, there’s an ongoing trend of foodies finding highly skilled chefs in places where it’s least expected.
We are familiar with the area and knew of a hidden restaurant gem that fell victim to the pandemic and shut down, so we were looking for a worthy alternative. Curiously, when we were searching for a new place to try, Beck didn’t even come up on the list.
Over the years, we learned that sometimes the best sources of information are locals and fellow travellers you meet along the way. That’s precisely how we discovered the Beck restaurant—someone’s recommendation.
We checked the restaurant online and found the menu tempting and, most importantly, an impressive wine list. Bonus: when we got there, we realized the restaurant was located on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the cove and the Pacific Ocean—a perfect sunset view.
Menu
One of the first appetizers that caught our attention was the Rabbit Cassoulet. What’s interesting about this dish is that cassoulet, the rich stew of beans and meat originating in southern France, is quite filling and typically served as a main course. We love both rabbit and cassoulet, so it was hard to pass them up.
The dish was well balanced, where each, haricot beans and rabbit, equally dance on the palate, connected by a light sauce. Having rabbit there instead of pork, sausage, mutton, or goose made it much lighter and definitely qualified it as an appetizer rather than a main course. It was an excellent start to a dinner on a stormy October day.
We love tarts, wild mushrooms, and caramelized onions. Yes, we are weird like that. So the mushroom tartelet with local ingredients hit the spot as well. Wild mushrooms are in season now, and it’s a perfect time for anything mushroom in the Pacific Northwest.
The main course was equally impressive. While we weren’t surprised by Black Cod (also in season), what enticed us to try it was the mushroom powder on the skin, adding that fifth umami flavor. And we will try that at home now. The only thing left is to figure out how the chef did it.
Beck’s restaurant pretty much had all our favorites because the other main course was Duck Breast. Most often, duck breast is accompanied by cherry, blackberry, or other berry sauces, and sometimes they mask the duck’s gamey flavors. This one came with peach reduction sauce. At first, we were concerned about how it would pair with the red wine we ordered.
As we found out, delicate peach flavors underscored the duck’s character rather than competing with it, allowing it to shine with all its gamey glory that we love. Wine said thank you, and we did too.
Wine List
While many Oregon and Washington restaurants, with a support local mantra (we are 100% too), heavily and sometimes exclusively serve only Oregon and Washington wines with a little Californian mix, Beck’s wine selection, on the contrary, is more diverse and strikes the right balance between legendary wine regions from around the world and the local producers.
Our pick for 2018: Macán Clásico Rioja (100% Tempranillo), made by Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild and infamous Vega Sicilia, paired beautifully with all our dishes. Thanks to its elegance and freshness, it didn’t overshadow the tart and fish but rather complemented them. The high acidity and fruitiness balanced the richness of the cassoulet. Fruity plum and cherry notes played off a gamey duck profile.
Still, the perfumed character and complex notes of licorice, dark chocolate, and leather helped Macán to stand out on its own rather than play a second fiddle to food. A rare example capable of both: complementing food and being its own dinner course. Or maybe we’re just that good at pairing wine and food.
The finish was impressively long, and while showing off now beautifully, this wine still has potential to age and improve further.
Dessert
We picked two homey options: apple tart and carrot cake. While other options were equally enticing, those two offered a good reference point to evaluate the chef’s sweet side.
While they weren’t the most exquisite or innovative desserts, the chef once again demonstrated the unique sense of flavor balance and skillful execution.
The tart was perfectly cooked, with apples retaining a little crunch and adding a textural component. Carrot cake was just sweet enough, underscoring flavor rather than overpowering, as it often happens with carrot cakes.
Our dinner at Beck restaurant, which was in the middle of nowhere on the coast, once again proved that great chefs and high-quality food can be found everywhere. And the internet doesn’t always have all the answers; it’s always good practice to ask locals and fellow travellers.
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