I’m deeply embarrassed that we’ve lived in Skagit County for thirteen years now and have never been to the Brown Lantern Ale House in downtown Anacortes. In my defense, I have to say I’d been mixing it up with the Watertown Pub, which was not thrilling the one time we went, and we’ve usually just ended up going to the Rockfish. But better late than never: we have now rectified the situation. The only question now is how soon we can get back there.

We had gone for a hike in the Anacortes Community Forestlands (a wonderful park full of trails and lakes), and had worked up a good appetite. We thought about driving around the island to try out the Shrimp Shack, but I had just read yet another rave about the Brown Lantern on Chowhound and wanted to try it while I was thinking about it. It was open, there was a free table in the window – perfect.

The Brown Lantern is an old pub – I think the sign said it was started up in the ’30s – and has a comfortably dark and rustic feel, with lots of sports stuff stapled to the ceiling. It also has one of the best stocked bars I’ve seen in this county.

This was Sunday lunch, however, so we put cocktailish thoughts aside for the moment and got beer. They had Manny’s on tap, which has recently become one of my favorite summer beers.

They were serving brunch, including some really awesome sounding things like burritos stuffed with tater tots, and breakfast mac-and-cheese. I wasn’t in a breakfast mood, sadly, but swore to come back on another Sunday. In the meantime I ordered a Reuben, and Jon got the Mediterranean lamb burger. The menu didn’t indicate what made it “Mediterranean” but we were hoping for the best. We also both asked for sweet potato fries instead of regular, because – duh – sweet potato fries!

Everything surpassed our expectations (except the service, but one waitress for a full pub is asking quite a lot – she did her best). The reuben, while not toasted, was warm and gooey and had plenty of tender meat, and came with a fabulous container of horseradish dressing – I alternated dipping in the sandwich and the fries.

Jon’s burger was amazingly good – lamb mixed with fresh herbs, dressed with feta and a heavy schmear of mango chutney, in a soft bun. We were dubious at first but not for long.

And the sweet potato fries…crinkle cut, soft inside and just crisp enough on the outside, with a sprinkling of feta and parsley. We ate all we could, then took the rest home and ate them for lunch today, rewarmed in the oven. Not the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had, but right up there.

Many more trips to the Brown Lantern are in our future, I can tell. Hopefully it won’t take us another thirteen years to get around to going back.

I wrote an account of our visit to Star Bar, a new restaurant in Anacortes, a few weeks ago. I will certainly admit that events were not optimal for enjoyment at the time, what with us and our friends being a bit stressed out and our waitress being a bit novice. I thought the food was good and had promise, but I was not blown away. Now I have been.

Last Friday after work we felt like going out. Mount Vernon doesn’t have a lot of good options for after-work drinks (besides the Porterhouse and the Brewery, of course, but they don’t do hard likker), and we remembered admiring the lounge area at Star Bar, so out to Anacortes we went.

The cute little curtained alcoves were all full, so we settled at the bar and ordered our booze: Woodford Reserve bourbon on the rocks for J, and a “James Bond” cocktail for me – as far as I could tell it’s the same thing as a Vesper, with gin, vodka and Lillet, very refreshing. We also got a crabcake off the happy hour menu, and it was pretty mindblowing for a crabcake – almost all meat, very sweet, with a lovely red pepper sauce and a bed of fresh watercress. Yum. Thus encouraged, we ordered dinner: for J, a beef tenderloin steak with sweet potato puree and broccolini, and I asked for a bowl of the roasted cauliflower soup and the fig and goat cheese salad. We got glasses of the house zinfandel, Writer’s Block (I think). Oh, my. The soup was creamy and perfectly flavored, the salad was large and fresh and well mixed, with bits of goat cheese evenly strewn throughout instead of in one big chunk on top. The figs were small and firm (I hate mushy figs). The beef was like steak-flavored butter – I think my eyes may have rolled up in my head when I tasted it. After we recovered from our main courses we got espressos and a crème brûlée, which had a satisfyingly thick crust (think Amélie – clink!). We finally forced ourselves to leave.

One of the best things about the whole experience was that we had no particular expectations – we were sitting at the bar, we were in no hurry and we weren’t trying to impress ourselves or anyone else. The bartender served us in a straightforward manner, occasionally making editorial comments about the food or the weather. We didn’t have the stress that I find often comes (to me, anyway) with a table in a formal restaurant – as if, because we’re sitting down with a candle on the table, we all have to behave a certain way and the food is no longer the focus. I think many of my favorite meals have been eaten at a bar  - because I can actually concentrate on the food. And hoo boy, this was good food.

So we finally made it to Star Bar. Not that long ago this was a rather granola-looking smoothie place, but the last time we walked down Commercial Avenue in Anacortes we saw this slick looking restaurant and thought, “Why haven’t we eaten here?” We decided to visit as soon as we had an excuse, and decided that surviving the first week of school (for J) and surviving a week of getting their house painted (for our friends) would do.

Three of us arrived on time for our reservation and waited for the fourth. The waitress appeared promptly and took our drink order, although she was thrown by an inquiry as to which single malts the bar carried (“Gosh, I bet we have lots”). The drinks took at least twenty minutes to arrive, which was slightly aggravating. However, we passed the time complaining about our week to each other and admiring the very cool decor. We studied the menu and decided to order an appetizer, but apparently the waitress didn’t want us to, since when she finally brought our drinks she promptly vanished again. Hmph.

Eventually our fourth showed up after cruising much of downtown looking for a parking space. We ordered, all was well. We got the bread basket and it was very nice, thin slices of sourdough. Not warm, but tasty, with a dish of balsamic vinegar. J and I finished our cocktails and ordered glasses of wine (from the woefully short list), and the waitress helpfully asked if we’d like the wine to be brought immediately or with our food – we said thanks, with our food. After a while, we got our soup – really lovely gazpacho for J and mushroom for me. No wine. OK, we’ll drink water with it. We finished our soup and our friends ate their salad (realizing more than halfway through that their orders had been switched). Then we waited. Some time later, our glasses of wine arrived with a promise that our dinners would be up shortly. Perhaps twenty minutes later the entrees came. Sigh.

Fortunately, any antsiness generated by the slow service was obliterated by the food. Conversation ceased and we tucked in. I had ordered the daily risotto special, which was prepared with fresh sweet corn and topped with beautifully cooked broccolini and a tender, moist duck breast. J got the short ribs with gnocchi, very warming and the gnocchi were toothsome without being rubbery. The other side of the table got halibut and roast chicken, but I admit I wasn’t paying attention, being distracted by my duck. The corn was slightly odd in the context of the risotto but the taste was pleasant, and the broccolini was excellent.

We finished up as the restaurant was emptying out, and decided we were too full for dessert. The chef leaned out of the kitchen as we prepared to leave and apologized for the slow service -apparently the kitchen was just swamped. Hopefully they’ll iron out the kinks in time. We left by way of the bar and looked wistfully at the cozy sitting areas and curtained off alcoves – we will definitely be back.

Star Bar
416 1/2 Commercial Ave
Anacortes, WA 98221
(360) 299-2120