Fish and Chips at VIA Birch Bay Cafe and Bistro

VIA Birch Bay Cafe and Bistro, the only property on the water side of central Birch Bay Drive, recently opened for business under the experienced eye of Mr. Yoon Oh. This genial and optimistic restauranteur welcomes patrons with a warm handshake and cheerful smile. He offers us boat-side service if we ever paddle up in our kayak.

VIA Birch Bay Cafe and Bistro

  Mr. Oh tells us that, because of his shoreline location, multiple county and state restrictions limit what he could and could not do when renovating the space for his new restaurant.

View of Birch Bay from VIA

       The main improvement was replacing the musty old carpeting with an appealing hardwood floor. And, of course, the exterior Ivory Palace paint that erased the former dull brown. The dining area, bar and espresso counter offer amazing views of the bay, ever changing with the weather and the tide level. 

This is the second in our “Who has the best fish and chips in Birch Bay?” series. We order their cod and Al has chips and coleslaw, which come standard, with his; Ruth requests a substitute garden salad ($10.00 each - Mr. Oh does not fool around with .99 prices). We also spring for a shared appetizer of pick ‘n peel shrimp ($8.00). 

Farren, our wait person, is a model customer-service person--as is Steve, the manager on duty. 

       Water and wine (a couple of crisp Barefoot Pinot Grigios–$5.00 each) keep us occupied while we wait for the appetizer. In less than ten minutes, the succulent shrimp hit our table. They with the cocktail sauce are sensational.

Succulent shrimp

         Many of the staff are familiar to Birch Bay patrons from their previous service at the former CJ’s Beachhouse.   

Scrumptious fish with fries

Scrumptious fish with salad

When the entrees arrive, the fish batter is crisp and brown, cooked  throughout,  The cod is moist and scrumptious. The platter comes with a lemon wedge and we request malt vinegar.

The food is fine and upcoming events at VIA include Hallowe’en, New Years Eve and New Years Day Parties.  (Oh yes, see PrudentVentures.blogspot.com for an October 28 Conversation with Congressional Candidate Suzan 

                                                                           DelBene.)

Our conclusion is that VIA is a positive addition to the food establishments of Birch Bay.

Sampling Fish and Chips at Shores

Shores, located in Birch Bay's Sandcastle Resort, is a family restaurant/sports bar. That makes for a mixed dynamic: sporadically raucous team fans competeing with youngsters who have neglected to leave their “outside voices” at the door.

Here to test their claim as, “The Best Fish and Chips in Birch Bay,” we order their cod offering, leaving the halibut choice for another time. Al has chips and coleslaw that comes standard; Ruth requests a substitute garden salad ($11.99). Christine, our perky and cheerful waitperson, is attentive and knowledgeable.

Water and wine (a refreshing 14 Hands Pinot Grigio in a generous six ounce pour–$6.00 each) keep us occupied while we wait for the kitchen to catch up with the less-than-over-whelming demands. We scan the spacious room where bright green and blue wooden chairs contrast with the mahogany booths and chairs. At least eight television sets keep the home-town crowd entranced as the Seattle Seahawks best the Carolina Panthers.

Out bountiful platters arrive with two large portions of fish and healthy serving of chips and coleslaw and salad. The fish batter is crisp and browned on the outside, while slightly gummy on the inside. The cod is ideal, cooked not too much nor too little. The platter comes with a lemon wedge to complement the malt vinegar and ketchup available on the table.

Shores does not have a declared splitting policy, but Christine assured us we could order one serving and she would provide an extra plate and tartar sauce.

Because it is hard to check out the cleanliness of the kitchen, Ruth has always depended on the restroom as a measure of the overall sanitary practices. This one is clean and bright. As in many other places these days, the former hand-soap dispenser holes gape out of the counter; the soap is now dispensed by a motion-sensor wall device. Motion activated units also dispense paper towels. Al described the men's room as adequately suppled and clean, although it would not make Achitectural Digest.

Patrons enjoy the panoramic bay view from the deck on this sunny October Sunday as well as from indoors.

We relished our take-home portions the next day. Now the dilemma will be whether we split an order in the future or anticipate a second serving.

Burglaries in Birch Bay -- Community Meeting

Whatcom County Deputy Sheriff Zac Reimer held a community meeting Wednesday, August 28, to discuss the recent spate of burglaries in Birch Bay, particularly in Bay Crest, and to explain how to prevent crime by keeping doors and windows locked tight. John Gargett, president of the Chamber of Commerce has extensive information on Deputy Reimer's advice at the Chamber's blog, BirchBayBuzz.com.

What is of interest to this blog was the turnout. This was the first opportunity for us to see the inside of the spacious new building of the Birch Bay Bible Community Church, located at the intersection of Bay Road and Blaine Road. The sanctuary held 275 chairs. An assistant pastor, who operated the sound system, counted 215 occupied.

This is the largest attendance of any meeting we've attended in almost 10 years. More than the meetings for the Growth Management Plan, Design Criteria, BBWARM Planning, Incorporation Feasibility or Candidate Nights.

 

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Action in the South End

 Week after week this summer the Birch Bay Market at the corner of Alderson and the Drive has been gaining vendors and customers Friday through Sunday. The Pats (Alesse) and Nancy Firsdell have made this happen.

The August 4th weekend was the ultimate: Saturday was SnipFest – nine hours of music – to benefit WeSnip.org, the emergency clinic that neuters dogs and cats. The magic behind this comes from Tammy Pearce and Dave Bucknell of the Bay Cafe, located across the road from the Alesse's C Shop.

That's Tammy holding the microphone. Last year SnipFest raised $4,000; Tammy expected the total to be well over $5,000 this year. The woman to her left is Nancy Firsdell, who did much of the work to attract 50 vendors. The band on stage is Black Out Alliance that drew in many of the other performers and closed out the show.

Both of the sponsoring businesses flourished and brought the action to the South End of the Bay once again.

Vote for Darcy Burnder

How you get ahead in this society: You're born in Alaska and adopted by a family in Nebraska. The father had enlisted in the Army after high school. The mother, who already had two sons, wanted a girl. But Darcy was a tom-boy geek. (A second daughter was a girl-girl, now a nurse.)

Darcy applied to Harvard and worked her way to a degree in computer science. Then to Seattle and Microsoft where she wrote code and rose to become manager of a significant project and a successful product.

When Darcy decided to run for office she went to see one of the oracles of the Congress who told her to concentrate on fundraising. Instead, Darcy Burner joined a number of significant organizations including the Afghanstan Study Group whose report on ending the war was endorsed by Republicans as well as Democrats.

A few weeks ago, Burner was impressive as keynote speaker at the Netroots Nation conference. More impressive than Elizabeth Warren, running for the Senate in Massachusetts. Darcy has been going around the new 1st Congressional District with Retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton, who was a leader in Iraq. Recently they talked at the Blaine Senior Center about the cost of the Afgahanstan war in money and lives. Here's a summary in a devastating New Yorker article – July 9-16 issue – by Dexter Filkins who was co-winner in 2010 George Polk award for coverage of this war:


After 11 years, nearly two thousand Americans killed, sixteen thousand Amerricans wounded, nearly four hundred billion dollars spent, and more than twelve thousand Afghan civilians dead since 2007, the war has come to this: mission not accomplished.


Burner and Eaton note that 80 percent of Americans are against this war, as measured by opinion polls. They argue the end should be now rather than 2014, as the President has projected.

The trend in TV ads and direct mail is for candidates to keep the message simple, easy to understand by children of all ages. Examples are the mailing pieces we are getting daily from Suzan DelBene and Laura Ruderman. Darcy Burner's brochure is a small book that covers the major issues.

The 1st Congressional is a district that was structured – not gerrymandered – for an equal contest. There are six Democratic candidates.

With phone calls and knocking on doors we have been surveying voter attitudes. Many are disgusted with the lack of substance. Darcy Burner is a candidate who is showing the way to better politics.




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