Jennifer Burns Bright

We start early. Dawn is rarely warm on the Oregon Coast, and the fall air has a special chill, damp with distinct notes of marine funk. Moss and fallen conifer needles cushion our steps along a path that winds through the forest.

On a recent Saturday morning, the fog was lifting on the Columbia River, and dramatic clouds billowed overhead. As we cut through the waves northward to the Pacific, the soft green expanse of the four-mile Astoria-Megler Bridge disappeared, and the forested hills of the Coast Range shrunk in the distance. Soon, it was just us, seabirds, and a few scattered fishing vessels. [Sponsored content for Portland Monthly's digital on behalf of Travel Astoria-Warrenton.]

We were fishing, too, but instead of anchovies or salmon, we were on the hunt for native Dungeness crabs. The mere mentio...

Several species of salmon are available in cans, packed with protein and Omega-3s, as well as calcium, vitamins, and selenium. Of the two most popular varieties, sockeye and pink, sockeye has a better nutritional profile and more appealing orange-red color, so it’s our first choice, even though pink is ...

Feeling wanderlust, but a little nervous about changing rules for travel? Oregon coast towns have worked hard to make guests safe and welcome—none more so than Astoria and Warrenton. Your favorite seafaring views and ice-cold brews are still here, but you’ll be delighted by what you missed the last time ’round. [Sponsored content for Portland Monthly's digital on behalf of Travel Astoria-Warrenton.]

Alaska's fish aren't the only wild foods gathered for centuries. This article investigates berries, seaweed, and other summer delights, and how the visitor might access them on hills, shores, and at restaurants.

25 Culinary Adventures on Oregon’s North Coast, forthcoming 2021 from TCVA. A travel guide for hands-on activities and discoveries of coastal cuisine, travel, outdoor fun, and wildlife.

Near Haines, a northern outpost in Southeast Alaska, one of the largest gatherings in the world of bald eagles takes place each winter on the Chilkat River. Unusual upwellings in the river creates an ice-free stretch for late salmon to migrate...and eagles to eat them.

After scouring the coastline’s shacks, bistros, carts, and fisher-owned markets from Astoria to Brookings, we’ve rounded up the indispensable spots frying up supreme baskets of fried piscine nuggets. Presented here from north to south, fish and chip stops in notable settings made the list, especially those featuring wild fish sourced off the Oregon shores — ling cod, rockfish, albacore.

Scout for whales, hunt for agates, or quaff local microbrews in a cozy coastal haven.

The fierce waters around the mouth of the Columbia River thwarted explorers for hundreds of years. Winter storms halted the famous Corps of Discovery in 1805, and hundreds of ships since then have met their end navigating through the treacherously shallow, shifting river channels. Jutting out as a long, narrow arm into the unpredictable “Graveyard of the Pacific” to the west and north and the Columbia to the south, Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula shouldn’t be as welcoming as it is.

interview by Jennifer Burns Bright
Nestled in the Tiger Mountain foothills 40 miles from Seattle, Sunny Diaz and her dog, Stella, hunt truffles professionally from November to March. Formerly in health care, Diaz made the shift, she said, “out of sheer hedonism.” It turns out she’s a visionary businesswoman, and the truffle career took off. In the past few years, she’s increasingly focused on working with chefs, both with special truffle dinners and leading forays specifically geared to culin...

Sidebar on great places to watch winter storms batter the Oregon north and central coast.

A weekend trip to explore the bays, forests and food paradise of Oregon's Tillamook County.

Nothing beats freshly caught seafood on the Oregon coast, but without knowing which restaurants support local fishermen and farmers, diners may be surprised that dinner has traveled farther than they have. This guide highlights 15 quirky restaurants along coastal Highway 101 from Astoria to Brookings — from fine dining to little hut — that stand out for culinary chops, Oregon Coast seafood, great views, and inventive, award-winning chefs.

Join host and producer Jennifer Burns Bright for a new Coast Community Radio food show: A Fine Kettle of Fish, all about seafood in the Lower Columbia region. On April 29, 2019, she interviewed fisherman Rob Seitz, owner of South Bay Wild Fish House in Astoria, about petrale sole. Seitz is also a fisher poet and performs at the annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria each February.