South Beach Fish Market, South Beach OR: Yes, I said FRIED halibut.

We were planning on going somewhere else for lunch.  But then we drove past the South Beach Fish Market in South Beach (just south of Newport, OR) and saw this large sign facing US 101:

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And plans immediately shifted to include this roadside fish market and restaurant.

Logan's mother, father, brother, and the nephlet joined us for a lunch seafood spread.

The menu is not particularly large and is quite straightforward.  Fried seafood, steamed seafood, seafood ground into patties and fried, chowder.  You can also get little plastic cups full of freshly steamed lump dungeness crab.  Pretty much what you'd expect from an unassuming place like this, though there were a couple of fun outliers - the salmon candy, small chunks of smoked preserved salmon covered with a sweet glaze, was a particular standout.

GOTTA get steamers for the table, amirite?

So fresh and plump and cooked well.  The salty liquor begged for bread.  We drank some of it.

While we were still breaking into our clams, the rest of the food arrived.

Nephlet had a crab burger, which you see in the back.  He dissected the whole thing, eating only the crab from the middle of the patty.  I can't say I blame him.  On the bottom right, you see our halibut and chips, the halibut perfectly fried and succulently juicy; the fries were run of the mill Ore-Ida (hey, they originated on the Oregon/Idaho border - local?).  The clam chowder on the left was the thick variety I like, full of hearty potatoes and chopped clams.  

Mama Bear, Beth, skipped all the noise and went right to the clam chowder in a bread bowl.  I love bread bowls.

And GQ, feeling Southern, had an order of fried shrimp which he pronounced OK.  Looks like you might be better off sticking with the halibut.

If you do find yourself at the South Beach Fish Market, DO NOT PASS UP BUYING SOME CANNED FISH.  I am emphatically not a big canned fish fan, but this completely changed my mind.  We picked up some of their smoked canned tuna, and it was amazing.  The smoke level was very delicate and the fish was perfectly cooked and not at all "fishy".  I might need to buy a pallet.

The market would also be a great place to buy some freshly steamed crabs to eat at home.  When we were there, the crab cooker was turning out bright red crabs at a very fast rate. 

I was most impressed with the asbestos-fingered guy in charge of the process.

Wouldn't have it been nice for him to flip one o' them pretty Dungeness crabs right onto my plate?  But... he didn't.  

After a morning of farmers' marketing and seafood shopping, this lunch was just right.  Off to order some more of their stupid good canned fish!

Light House Deli at the South Beach Fish Market is located just south of Newport on US 101.  Can't miss it.  They also have a wide variety of seafood that can be shipped - check the website.  (I'd be tempted by the 4 dungeness crabs if they weren't $150!)

Oh, and just 'cause it's funny (and maybe a bit disturbing):

Comments

[Su-Lin]

Next to the steamers... is that cup of melted butter?!
And the chowder looks amazingly thick!

[Boots in the Oven]

Hi, Su-Lin! Sorry for taking so long to get back to you - on the road and all that. Yes ma'am, that IS a giant cup of melted butter! Pretty unnecessary, but I guess some people love it. And the chowder was definitely thick!