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Seafood an all-day staple at Fishermans By Sarah Lemon Aug 26, 2022 12:30 AM A A 5 View all photos Fish ’n’ chips baskets are made with locally caught lingcod at Fishermans Resturant in Crescent City. [Sarah Lemon/Mail Tribune] The shrimp melt features Pacific pink shrimp at Fishermans Restaurant in Crescent City. [Sarah Lemon/Mail Tribune] Clam chowder is a staple at Fishermans Restaurant in Crescent City. [Sarah Lemon/Mail Tribune] The club is one of 11 hot and cold sandwich options at Fishermans Restaurant in Crescent City. [Sarah Lemon/Mail Tribune] The French dip is one of 11 hot and cold sandwich options at Fishermans Restaurant in Crescent City. [Sarah Lemon/Mail Tribune] Crescent City restaurant serves the masses Coastal drizzle during a Rogue Valley heat wave is as predictable as most fish ’n’ chips shacks and chowder houses. Awaking at a chilly beachfront campground — gear saturated in marine moisture — my family needed only the slightest encouragement to pull up stakes and make tracks for nearby Crescent City, California, with its prospect of a hot restaurant meal. Clam chowder topped our list, along with indoor seating. I’ll confess only a slight acquaintance with Crescent City. Born and raised more than a 100 miles north, I seldom ventured down the California coast during my childhood and still stick closer to North Bend and Coos Bay for most coastal excursions. But introducing my kids to the region’s redwoods warranted camping out where we’re relative strangers. Lacking reliable cellphone service to research restaurant options, we went the route of many other travelers, pulling over at the most visible, accessible yet authentically coastal eatery. Despite its name, Fishermans Restaurant serves the masses starting with breakfast at 6 a.m. and closing out the day with chicken and steak suppers. Seafood indeed is a staple of every meal service, from salmon, lingcod and oyster accompaniments to morning eggs, hashbrowns and toast to dinnertime’s calamari steak, shrimp scampi and surf ’n’ turf. In between are omelets, sandwiches, burgers and salads. It only stands to reason that such a seafood-centric place would serve a lot of chowder, evidenced by the menu listing to add a cup to any seafood basket for $6.59. A bowl costs $8.95. Make it a bread bowl for $13.95. I wanted my own bowl, but with each of the kids craving a cup to themselves, I reluctantly agreed to share with my partner. Assuming we’d also split an order of fish and chips, I fielded a curve ball in his desire for the shrimp melt ($17.59), a dish I hadn’t ordered in years but acknowledged its appeal during the season for Pacific pink shrimp. My kids, although plenty accustomed to seafood, clamored for favorite sandwiches: French dip ($15.39) for my older son and club ($15.99) for his younger brother. In typical fashion, they decried the kids’ menu’s corn dog, grilled cheese, chicken strips and even shrimp ’n’ chips. Expecting my younger son’s eyes were bigger than his stomach, I ordered the kids’ fish ’n’ chips ($7.99) and claimed the club sandwich for myself, intending to swap him some or all of the lingcod and fries. A mom’s gotta bend the rules sometimes when kids insist on adult portions. If the server hadn’t confirmed the fish as locally caught lingcod, I would have reveled in a treat practically unknown among Rogue Valley restaurants: strips sliced from giant squid, battered and fried. While I love appetizers of calamari rings and tentacles perhaps more than the average diner, calamari steak satisfies as a meaty main course. Served with fries for $17.59, the protein as a dinner entree comes with a choice of potato, sautéed vegetables and soup or salad for $23.09. Doing a brisk business for lunch, servers juggled to-go orders at the counter and baskets of fried food for nearby tables. The wait for our chowder, which should arrive ahead of main courses, was longer than expected. When it finally arrived, chowder in both cups and bowl was lukewarm and unusually viscous. The chowder’s flavor also was so concentrated it almost tasted like a base that still needed some dairy to thin it. At the height of lunch service, I found it odd our chowder looked and tasted like it had been quickly reheated rather than ladled from a vat standing ready. But after the lengthy wait, we thought better of sending it back and quickly devoured it. Burning considerable calories on the previous day’s seven-mile redwoods hike, my older son gorged on his French dip, hardly pausing to dunk it in au jus. His brother was less zealous, leaving about half of his sandwich behind. The layers of turkey, bacon and ham, however, couldn’t distract me from my own half of the shrimp melt — stuffed with plump crustaceans and adorned with a crispy cheese skirt. Fishermans cemented its reputation, though, with the fish ’n’ chips, superb even in a child’s portion of two small fillets. The impeccably fresh, mild-flavored lingcod was delicately flaky under a batter much lighter than typical of the dish. I often can’t finish a regular restaurant portion of fried fish, especially beer-battered. But I easily could have eaten four fillets of Fishermans’ recipe. Although crunchy, the battered fries weren’t the fish’s ideal complement, and the tartar sauce tasted more like ranch dressing on my palate. I wished instead for some coleslaw, available on request with the full-size fryer baskets, but not with the kids’ portions. While far from perfection, the meal pleased us enough to consider Fishermans the next time we’re in Crescent City. Given the care with which the restaurant handles its fresh catch, I might even be lured by one of my favorite fish — lingcod — on eggs Benedict. That’s a spin I’ve yet to enjoy on my beloved breakfast dish. Located at 700 Highway 101 South, Fishermans Restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Call 707-465-3474 or see the website fishermansrestaurant.info. Add a 50-cent surcharge per takeout order. Reach features editor Sarah Lemon at 541-776-4494 or [email protected]