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Unpretentious Elegance: New Leaf Café

The New Leaf Café on Orcas Island offers guests an exceptional menu and unpretentious elegance.

Everyone told us the New Leaf Café was the place for fine dining on Orcas Island, but I have to tell the truth here: we almost didn’t go. Located in the historic Outlook Inn on the Eastsound waterfront, it just sounded a little too-too, as my mom used to say – too fancy, too spendy, too indulgent – for our laid-back, vacation-minded inclinations. However, after talking it through, Mr B and I decided that, as usual, we’d like to make our own assessment. Plus, we heard the crab cakes were to die for.

We could not have been happier that we followed our instincts. The atmosphere at the New Leaf Café is one of relaxed refinement, very much in keeping with Pacific Northwest sensibilities. Service was prompt and welcoming, and our waitress very capably toed the line between staying available to attend to any need that arose, while keeping enough distance so that we could enjoy our meal with a certain level of peace and privacy. (Anyone who has ever waited tables, myself included, will tell you that this is a true art.) As for those reportedly too-spendy prices; we found the menu prices very reasonable.

The New Leaf Café menu – built on a strong foundation of locally sourced ingredients – is a testament to Chef Steve Debaste’s culinary ingenuity and his dedication to unpretentious elegance.

Our dinner started out with a basket of warm, freshly-made breads. From the small plates menu, we shared a bowl of Chef Debaste’s rich, robust French onion soup. Thick with soft, caramelly onions, our soup arrived blanketed with a large, toasty French bread crouton and a generous covering of Gruyère cheese. It was as delicious as it looks.

For our main course, there was no mystery about what I was going to order – crab cakes are one of my favorite things in life, and the New Leaf’s dungeness crab cakes did not disappoint. (Technically a small plate, two crab cakes proved more than enough for a meal for me.) Plated over a creamy Local Goods pear-ginger buerre blanc with habaneros cream, these crab cakes were made with just enough breading to hold them together and no more, and were perfectly seasoned. The habaneros cream not only elevated the aesthetic of the plate, but gave the crab cakes a lovely little kick as well.

Mr B ordered the pan-seared Alaskan weathervane scallops, which arrived beautifully plated over a warm mash of Yukon Gold potatoes and accented with locally sourced Hemplars bacon.

Before I go any farther, it is important you know that I have never been a fan of scallops – they are too “bouncy” for me. However, Mr B encouraged me to have “just a taste.” He said, “Renée, if you are ever going to like scallops, this is the time. These are perfect.” I took a bite, and yes – they were delicious. (To fully appreciate that statement, you can liken it to a three-year old mushroom-hater suddenly declaring that Hungarian Mushroom Soup is his favorite food.) Mr B ate every scallop carefully, closing his eyes often and savoring every bite. He was, by all appearances, in seafood heaven.

Likewise, the Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, served with a fresh tarragon buerre blanc and asparagus, were amazing.

Overall, I just cannot say enough about the exceptional quality of the food at the New Leaf Café. It more than lived up to its reputation, and we will definitely be visiting again.

Oh, I almost forgot – the view:

SURPRISE! If you’ve taken the time to read this far, I have a surprise for you! Mr B and I were so taken with the New Leaf Café that I asked Chef Debaste if he would be willing to share one of his recipes with us, which he generously agreed to do. I had planned to include it here with this review, but upon further consideration, decided that a separate post would be better for two reasons: first and foremost because with two New Leaf Café posts, there is twice as much of a chance that folks will get the word about Chef Debaste and his fabulous restaurant; and second, because that way, the recipe won’t get lost on Google in the annals of restaurant reviews. So, please check back on Friday for Chef Debaste’s recipe for…

Did you really think I was going to tell? It’s a Surprise, remember?!? (And it’s fabulous, so be sure to check it out!)

Know before you go:

Make a reservation, especially if you are visitor to the island. (According to various anecdotal accounts, locals may have the inside track here.)
The New Leaf Café serves a very popular happy hour menu that includes – in addition to drink specials – small plates like duck mac & cheese, warm goat cheese salad, and that amazing French onion soup.
The schedule and service [breakfast, brunch, dinner] varies seasonally. Check their website for current hours of operation.

New Leaf Café
171 Main St.
Eastsound, Orcas Island, Washington
360-376-2200

New Leaf Café on Facebook

Planning a trip to Orcas Island? Be sure to check out my Orcas Island Vacation Guide!

Slow-food at its Best on Orcas Island

April 8 By Renée 7 Comments

The Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant offers Orcas Island diners a locally-sourced menu of slow-food at its best.

While we were on Orcas Island, we stayed at the Deer Harbor Inn, a small, casual, family-friendly resort (and I use the term very loosely here) that sits on a knoll overlooking the tranquil Harbor and majestic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula.

The original Inn, built in 1915, now includes a handful of cottages and houses available for rent, as well as an eight-room log cabin lodge. Rooms in the Log Cabin Lodge, which is where we stayed, are comfortable and cozy, with private bathrooms, handmade log furniture, small fridge, coffee maker, cable tv, electric fireplaces. They share an outdoor Jacuzzi Hot Tub under the gazebo. (We stayed for four nights, and I’m pretty sure we were the only ones who used the hot tub the entire time.)

The Inn has quite an interesting history, including a dance hall that served as the home court for the first basketball team on Orcas. (There is also an intriguing story that involves an unlikely connection between rhubarb and prohibition, which you can read about here. Since 1982, it has been owned and operated by the Carpenter family.

The Inn is built around a central greenspace where families can play games or kick back and relax. The only drawbacks we found to staying in this remote local was that the wifi was sketchy and temperamental, and the phone coverage was almost non-existent, but we quickly learned to adjust.

The single most memorable thing about our stay at the Deer Harbor Inn was our meal at the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant. It was practically perfect in every way.

Before I go any farther though, let me set the scene, because I think it had profound influence on our overall experience. As I mentioned in a previous post, because we were on Orcas Island in early spring before the tourist season really gets underway, we practically had the whole island to ourselves, and the restaurant at the Deer Harbor Inn was no exception. During the entire time we were there, there were only two other occupied tables in the whole place. We were also without children, so our time was ours and ours alone.

That being said, we spent two and a half hours at the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant, dining on one of the two best meals we’ve experienced in months. (You can read about the second one next Friday!) It was slow-food at its best.

Parenthetically, as the mother of many, there were times in my life when I never even dared to dreamed of a two hour dinner uninterrupted. There is hope, little mamas.

The Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant serves simple, hearty American cuisine, sourcing local produce and proteins from the island whenever possible. Like the Inn, the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant is a family affair. In 1998, brothers Matt “Chef” and Ryan Carpenter took over the restaurant and catering operations, bringing a renewed energy and enthusiasm to the Inn’s history. They went on to purchase the restaurant from their parents in 2006.

The ambiance at the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant is comfortably formal (which to Pacific Northwesterners means that you should probably at least wear your good jeans). There is a big, wrap-around porch and patio that is used for outside seating in warmer weather, with a lovely view of Deer Harbor and the Olympic Mountains.

When we arrived, we were greeted immediately and guided to a lovely table. Our server was friendly and very attentive. Obviously, we can’t comment on how the service stacks up when the place gets busier, but at least on our visit, we felt like royalty.

All entrees include homemade soup, garden salad and bread, which are served family style. The navy bean soup that we were serve the night we were there was outstanding; perfectly seasoned, with excellent consistency. The salad, served with a simple balsamic vinaigrette, was a bit pedestrian, but nevertheless fresh and satisfying.

For a main course, Mr B chose the sautéed tiger prawns with house-made mango chutney over basmati rice. The prawns were spot on – neither underdone nor overcooked, and the sweet, mildly spiced chutney was precisely the right complement to the prawns. They were so good that I had to try one just to be sure. And then I had to try one more just to be sure again. (Don’t worry: Mr B got plenty of my meal too!)

I opted for the fresh catch of the day, which proved to be a fabulous choice. My generous steelhead fillet was served with smooth, delicately savory dill sauce, fresh grilled seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes.

I included not one but two images of my steelhead here because the deep orange color was absolutely beautiful, and the tender, flaky-textured meat was so rich and full-flavored that I would have had a difficult time distinguishing it from Pacific salmon.

After such an abundant meal, we had not anticipated ordering dessert, but we couldn’t pass up the warm Marion berry cobbler. Served with a sidecar of vanilla ice cream, it was the perfect finale for our delicious meal.

In the final analysis, our dinner at the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant was (by very slim margin) our favorite meal of the entire week; however, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that was highly influenced by a number of factors, the most notable ones being that since we basically had the entire place all to ourselves we could linger over dinner to our hearts content, and best of all – after dinner it was just a two-minute stroll back to our room!

(Read our review of what we believe is the best fine dining establishment on the island, crowded or not, here.)

Details:
For the meal we were served, the price was on the reasonable side of pricey. We had dinner with soup, salad, and bread, plus dessert and two glasses of wine for about $100, not counting tip. If you plan to go during the busy “tourist” season, be sure to make reservations ahead of time. And be advised, during the slow season, the restaurant is open Friday through Sunday only.

Reservations: 360-376-1040

Planning a trip to Orcas Island? Be sure to check out my Orcas Island Vacation Guide!

In Which Mr B & I Visit Historic Downtown Anacortes En Route to Orcas Island

March 31 By Renée 14 Comments

A visit to Historic Downtown Anacortes is a great start to an Orcas Island vacation.

There are several ways to get to Orcas Island and the rest of the beautiful San Juan Islands. Visitors can go by private boat, airplane, or seaplane, depending on the season; however, most people take a Washington State Ferry departing out of Anacortes, Washington. No matter how you get here, the scenery is spectacular and getting here is half the fun!

Anacortes is located on Fidalgo Island, the most accessible island in the San Juan archipelago, with easy access via bridge from the mainland. Remember, if you are driving from points south that you will have to brave the unpredictable Seattle traffic to get there. It’s roughly a four and a half hour drive from Portland with clear roads, so be sure to give yourself extra time if you are making both car and ferry trip in one day.

Mr B and I had no desire to stress ourselves out at the beginning of our getaway, so we drove north and stayed the night in Mt. Vernon, a small farming community about thirty minutes outside of Anacortes. That way, we didn’t have to worry about rushing to the ferry, plus it gave us the chance to stroll through Historic Downtown Anacortes before lining up at the ferry dock.

Historic Downtown Anacortes

Take a stroll down Commercial Avenue or the nearby waterfront and one of the first things you will notice is an abundance of colorful life-size murals on the sides of buildings all over town. These murals aren’t painted directly onto the buildings, but rather are wood cutouts attached to the walls. Based on photographs depicting life in early Anacortes history, they include a wildly diverse group of local characters, including musicians, shopkeepers, sports heroes, brewmasters, mail carriers, gas jockeys, and train conductors.

These murals make up what is known as the Anacortes Mural Project and are created by artist and historian Bill Mitchell, a lifelong Anacortes resident. Confined to a wheelchair, Mitchell began painting murals in 1984, and the count now numbers more than 150.

Along Commercial Avenue and down on the waterfront, you will also see a number of colorful cans featuring historic salmon label art from the Puget Sound fishing and canning industry. The salmon can project is the result of a city and community effort inspired by… Guess who? That’s right – the aforementioned artist, Bill Mitchell! It seems that Historic Anacortes owes a great deal to this talented and dedicated artist.

The sidewalk salmon cans recall Anacortes incredible fish-packing past. The first cannery in Anacortes opened in 1893 and by 1915, eleven canneries were operating in town. Most canneries packed salmon, but cod, tuna, clams, oysters, crab and even fruit and vegetables were also canned there.

There are a number of wonderful shops in Anacortes, including a a well-stocked quilt shop, an amazing historical marine supply store, and one of my personal favorites, Elisabeth’s Cottage by the Sea.

It was this window display – and Audrey Hepburn – that drew me in, but we soon found out that there was much more to Elisabeth’s besides beading supplies.

A visit to Elisabeth’s Cottage by the Sea is a little like a treasure hunt. You will find a myriad of remarkable items, including jewelry (both vintage and new), antiques, nautical items, and cabin décor. They also offer jewelry making classes, including silversmithing, stone-cutting, inlay, and soldering.

Did I mention that they also house the largest turquoise carving in the world?

World's Largest Turquoise Carving, Elisabeth's by the Sea, Anacortes, WA | The Good Hearted Woman

Valued at $1,800,000, this 121 pound turquoise carving is the largest of its kind in the world.

Before catching the ferry, we stopped at Adrift for a bite to eat. Adrift’s menu features locally sourced meats, seafood and produce, and the place was packed midday Sunday, with every plate that passed by smelling marvelous. I believe they may also have the best tag-line for a restaurant that I’ve seen so far: ADRIFT – Swell Food for Salty Dogs. Love it!

We cut ourselves a little short on time, so we had to forego ordering off their brunch menu (which looked Amazing, by the way! ) and went with simple a cup of soup and homemade dark rye bread. Both my Moroccan chickpea soup and Mr B’s tomato bisque were deliciously hearty, well-seasoned, and very satisfying, and the soft, pillowy bread arrived warm from the oven.

How to get to Orcas Island via Washington State Ferry

The Washington State Ferry bound for Orcas Island departs a number of times each day from Anacortes. Washington State Ferries offer more than a dozen sailings to the San Juan Islands each day, but not every ferry stops at every island, so pay careful attention to the ferry schedule, which changes seasonally.

If you plan to bring your car on the ferry, it is strongly recommended that you make a reservation for both your trip to Orcas and your return to Anacortes. (Walk-on passengers don’t require reservations.) There is no charge to make a reservation, although if you don’t show up, you will incur a small penalty charge.

The ferry trip takes about an hour and twenty minutes, and there is plenty to see along the way. (I like to pretend that we’re on a mini-cruise!) You can often find puzzles out on one of the decks, and travelers can pass time piecing them together. Mr B and I have done this many times, but we have yet to be the ones to “finish” the puzzle.

Once you arrive on Orcas Island, the ferry unloads very quickly, and you are ready for the next leg in your island adventure!

Planning a trip to Orcas Island? Be sure to check out my Orcas Island Vacation Guide!