By: Julie Blakley | August 13 2010
Posted in Seattle - Find It - Seattle

Winding roads through forests and over a one-lane bridge lead to the rural hamlet on the southern end of Orcas Island known as Doe Bay. Towering trees, blankets of wildflowers and calm Puget Sound waters give this spot wonderful natural ambience.

Photo: Julie Blakley

Beautiful, quiet shorelines and forest can be enjoyed at a small resort, where guests can either camp, stay in a hostel, rent a yurt or book a larger cabin. And, perhaps unexpectedly, enjoy a really great, very local meal at the Doe Bay Café.

Sitting on a beautiful bluff overlooking its namesake bay, it is easy to relax in a rustic and down-to-earth environment at Doe Bay Resort & Retreat.  Once a major hippie hangout (place names around the resort like Prana and Ganesh are leftovers from its granola-hippie past, which isn’t completely gone but has certainly evolved), the resort is often described as “neo-hippie” for its clothing-optional soaking tubs, morning yoga classes and laissez-faire style.

 

The Café

Luckily, visitors to this serene spot can also enjoy a beautifully prepared and delicious meal—with a great list of wines to choose from. Nestled amongst the quiet trees and waters of Doe Bay, the Doe Bay Café caters to those who love local organic food at its finest.

The restaurant itself is unassuming from the outside, hidden away at the back of the Doe Bay Resort’s front office.  When you arrive, you hardly expect a restaurant of its caliber to be here, and a camping resort to boot.

Camping and waking up to a high quality breakfast and GREAT cup of coffee, followed by a soak in a hot tub? I was on board.

Chef Abigail Birrell draws inspiration from the islands and the surrounding waters, with a vegetarian and seafood menu focused on seasonality and fresh produce.

In addition to a constantly changing menu and a board listing what’s fresh out of the garden, the food is made almost entirely of organic ingredients, which come from the café’s own seed-to-table garden and neighboring farms and orchards.

The Doe Bay Café draws its ingredients from the abundant Orcas Island farms, foragers and fishermen.

Breakfast:

For breakfast, I enjoyed a seasonal scramble made with Swiss cheese, fresh mushrooms, Doe Bay spinach, herbs and caramelized onions, which was served with an earthy-nutty piece of toast and a roasted potatoes coated in fresh, full-of-flavor rosemary and garlic ($10).

The coffee was also one of the best cups I’ve ever had and was no doubt made from fair trade beans that were locally roasted.

Dinner:

The meal started with an appetizer of a Mediterranean pepper spread and rosemary crackers.

I then enjoyed an arugula salad with goat cheese, Rainier cherries and light vinaigrette—the freshness of the ingredients popping off the plate.

The main course was a perfectly cooked piece of halibut over a bed of red potatoes, fresh, sweet corn and crisp, fresh out of the garden snap peas.

 

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