Small and cozy, Anna’s is one of those drive-by seaside places that locals adore. Anna’s is located on 29672 Stewart St, Gold Beach, OR 97444, and is known for having a temperamental, sarcastic, but amazing chef. So most locals and visitors come for the food- not Chef Peter’s remarks. I had high expectations for this restaurant, so I came in hungry and craving food.
Anna’s is well known for both their duck and their lamb. And let me tell you, it was a difficult choice picking between the two. But wait! Before I continue, PLEASE take a look at the menu. Maybe you’ll see what I mean about sarcastic, humorous, responses (He is pretty funny).
The menu changes every day, as per ingredient availability and chef experimentation, so that was just the menu for our day! However, if you would like a rundown of this day’s menu, the updated menu for each day is on their website. Here’s the link, below.
http://www.annasbythesea.com/menu
The chef, Peter, is known for informing his guests (on his menu as well) that the food will take a while to cook, so one should expect a long, leisurely meal. He is only one cook, after all. With only one helper who doubles as a waitress and a kitchen assistant, the chef doubtless has a lot on his hands. Here’s a bit of advice tho- if you’re hungry and don’t want to wait, please eat somewhere else (I was hungry but willing to wait– permitting there was good food).
Because of Chef Peter’s traditional long wait time, he often suggests a charcuterie plate for the table, which includs a variety of meats including beef pastrami, chicken summer sausage, lamb prosciutto, beef summer sausage, and duck prosciutto, as well as duck butter, duck cracklings, olives, and nuts. He cures his own meat, so he’s very proud of this platter. Of the above, the summer sausages were the most disappointing, and the prosciuttos were the best (I am partial to prosciutto). The duck butter! Oh, the duck butter. First of all, butter. SECOND OF ALL, DUCK. what could be better? Oh, on toast? I suppose it can be better.
Like I wrote earlier in this post, Anna’s is also well-known for their lamb. So we ordered the lamb– but shared it for three (they always have large portions).
I was really disappointed with the lamb. I expected it to be beautifully concocted medium rare delightness, but worst of all, it was undercooked. Clearly undercooked. While some parts were cooked well, other parts of the same piece were not, which concerned me. In addition, the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes that came on the side were way too greasy. It was as if the chef had made them with the intention of being greasy, but while preparing the pan, used too much grease in the process, resulting in oily mac and cheese and oily mashed potatoes with smoky aftertastes.
The meat on the charcuterie could’ve been better. The lamb could use some work. I was disappointed. Keep in mind that I did have higher expectations for this meal, and I didn’t sample every item on the menu, but that it wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be.
To Anna’s, 🙂 🙂 🙂 .
It was a solid, filling meal, and we didn’t order dessert because note! He hates making desserts. Karsen was disappointed. Maybe next time though, I’ll order the duck.