Cioppino at Sharks Seafood Bar & Steamer Co. (Newport, OR)

Sharks Seafood Bar alone would be worth a trip to Newport, Oregon, even if the town has many other virtues. The interior doesn’t have a very big space, with only a few tables and a sitting bar toward the back. Their cioppino is justifiably famous, named by Sunset Magazine in 2003 as having the best version in the West. It is the best version I have ever had, bar none. It’s chockfull of fresh rockfish, Dungeness crab, and two kinds of shrimp. In season, they’ll use locally caught shrimp. The broth is thick, tomato-ey and sweet. Sharks uses an interesting contraption for making it, which uses a steaming process; you’ll have to see it for yourself, preferably by sitting at the bar and yukking it up with the chef. Don’t even think about taking a picture of it; you’ll be asked politely to point the camera away. Try to get the chef to tell you what’s in the sauce. You’ll just get a polite smile. The recipe is top secret. Luckily, anyone can order the cioppino sauce online.

A bottle of Amity Pinot Blanc (Oregon), which is on the wine menu and very reasonably priced, goes great with the stew.

Very good friends of ours also swear by the marinara linguini, which they proclaim is perhaps as good as the cioppino. Oh, and that huckleberry ice cream!

The restaurant is hard to find off the main highway (US 101). It’s located in the Bayfront area.

Menu