Avast! In Depoe Bay
Belly up to the Bite
By Niki Price
OREGON COAST TODAY
Jaime Petruzzi calls a meal at her cafe “interactive.” With only 12 seats, all arranged around a bar and grill, Avast! A Pirate’s Bite definitely qualifies as cozy. If you stay for a while, you may find yourself swapping stories and sampling recipes with the chefs, Jaime and her husband, Perry, as you gaze at the ocean across the street in Depoe Bay.
“We’re always ready for a conversation, if the customer feels like it. It’s easy and comfortable, since we’re cooking right there at the grill. People love to have a wonderful bowl of clam chowder in a warm, welcoming place,” Jaime said. “We’re so proud of what we do, we let our customers try all kinds of things. Don’t be surprised if we say, ‘We’ve been playing with this recipe. Will you try it?’”
Open since last September at the Depoe Bay stoplight, Avast! Offers a grill-centric menu of sandwiches, burgers and tacos, along with clam chowder, chili, seafood cocktails, 35 microbrew labels and regional wines. Located next to two charter boat offices, the Petruzzis sell breakfast burritos, cold sandwiches, cheese plates and Dramamine to go. For the strollers-by, they offer novelty ice creams, cookies, corn dogs and other walking food.
“Our concept is fresh-grilled sandwiches with everything as wholesome as possible, but we also make things are easy to take, like cold sandwiches and Rice Krispy Treats,” Perry said.
“We’re like a pirate-y beach shack, with great food and drink, and anything that someone might want while hanging out at the beach — a little beer, lots of fun and surfer food.”
Pirates and surfers alike are slathering over the Filet Mignon Sandwich, a 4-ounce portion that is seasoned, grilled, sliced and served on a garlic-buttered bun with homemade rosemary mayonnaise, fresh lettuce, tomato and onions. Served with tangy coleslaw or potato chips, it sells for $12.95.
If you come in undecided, Jaime will steer you toward the fish tacos, which are filled with grilled mahi mahi or ahi tuna, shredded vegetables and fresh salsa, in your choice of corn or flour tortillas (two per order, starting at $8.95).
“It’s the homemade cilantro sauce that really makes it. They’re so delicious, people come from all over to have them. They get hooked on them,” she said. “And it’s still my family’s favorite. It’s what I bring home for dinner.”
Jaime also recommends the Bay Shrimp Cocktail ($6.95), which they serve Baja style, with cilantro, green onions, seasonings and a wedge of lime, or a Crab Claw Cocktail ($8.95), the sweetest, heftiest portions on a bed of coleslaw, with lemon. All the grilled selections — including filet mignon, ahi tuna, coho salmon, chicken and prawns — can be served on a salad of organic spring greens.
From the ½ pound burger topped with Tillamook cheddar to Perry’s secret recipe chili topped with sour cream, cheese and onions, the Petruzzis have created a menu to please.
“Perry and I both love food, and we would never serve anything that we didn’t think was fantastic,” Jaime said. “We talk through food and combinations all the time, and we really want to know what you think. We may even bug you a little bit, saying ‘Well? Do you like it? What don’t you like?’”
Not bad for a couple who used to view cooking as just a hobby. Back in Phoenix, Ariz., Jaime spent her days as a real estate transaction coordinator at one of the highest-volume RE/MAX teams in Arizona, while Perry was a bartender at high-end hotels like the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and the Boulders Resort in Carefree. After 26 years in the Valley of the Sun, however, they were tired of smoggy skies and were hoping to make a change.
When Perry was diagnosed with, and treated for, bladder cancer in 2005, followed by colon cancer in early 2006, the Petruzzis vowed to seize the day.
“We had lived in Phoenix for 26 years, and I just wanted to get out. I’d always liked the Oregon coast, ever since I’d visited here in the 1980s. And when we were searching for a place to live, I read that Depoe Bay is a popular whale spot. I said, ‘That’s the place for us.’ To me, to be able to see whales in your everyday life is pretty cool,” he said. “And we happened to find this little restaurant, on the highway overlooking the ocean, where we can work and watch whales every day.”
Their location had been occupied by Mick’s Grill, where Tad Mick sold grilled lunches and a signature line of pepper jellies. When Petruzzis reopened the restaurant in September, they didn’t have a menu, a liquor license or much inventory, so they chose to listen for a while.
Jamie and Perry saw many people looking for an inexpensive way to feed their children, so they incorporated corn dogs, ice cream cookies and taquitos. When people said they loved Rice Krispy treats, Perry made his own with Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Crisp cereals. When passers-by asked for Mick’s jellies, they kept the five most popular flavors. They have their own recipe of clam chowder and offer cheese trays and wine for perfect picnics to go.
“We feel fortunate to have come up with these flavors so quickly. They seem to be taking off and everybody loves them,” Jaime said, “That’s the fun of it. If you serve something and they don’t like it, that’s a failure. We have an interactive kitchen — a work in progress.”
Avast! A Pirate’s Bite is located on the east side of Hwy. 101, just south of the stoplight in Depoe Bay. They’re open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with early breakfast hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when fishing tours are running. For details, call 541-765-7658.
TideTables is an advertiser-sponsored feature of the Oregon Coast Today. To include your restaurant in an upcoming edition, call Charles Helbig, 503-842-0404 or Dave Price, 541-921-2306. |
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