Holiday Recipe Idea from Beaches

Chef Matt from Beaches Vancouver shares with us a recipe for a special holiday meal:

Sugar & Spice Salmon Filets

Dry rub for Salmon:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 T dry mustard
1/4 cup chili powder
1/8 cup cocoa
1 T lemon pepper
1 T garlic powder
1 T paprika

Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients. Coat salmon filets liberally. Will coat 4-6 filets. Bake salmon at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Here's a delicious topping for the Sugar & Spice Salmon.

Grapefruit Marmalade:
4 grapefruits--peeled & segmented
1 small can of mandarin oranges
2 T sugar
1/4 cup white wine
Zest of 1 orange

Combine all ingredients & simmer until sauce thickens. Serve over each salmon filet. Enjoy!

New Wines at the Beach!

A note from Mychal:

I am excited about our new wine menu. We're always looking for ways to be better and serve our guests the best! We are refining our by-the-glass options, and our by-the-bottle selections are expanding! We are including a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Two Mountain Winery. Two Mountain Winery is a small winery in the Rattlesnake Hills of the Yakima Valley where the Rawn Brothers make some fantastic wines. One of our colleagues here at the Beach, has offered to deliver the wine on his way to & from the area. Their production is small which usually denotes a higher quality, and we are lucky to be able to pour these wines. The wines are made in a classic style, so while the flavors are bold, the body is light. It appeals to the wine beginner and the aficiando alike. Do take a trip to the winery if you are ever in the area, it is gorgeous. We are so lucky to be so close to some of America's most beloved and up and coming wineries from the Willamette Valley--to the Yakima Valley--up to Walla Walla and Eastern Washington. I anticipate major growth in reputation in the future for the wines from our neck of the woods. Oh and check out www.twomountainwinery.com   CHEERS!

Tis The Season!!

Giving Beaches Vancouver a rest between Fall Decor and the Holiday Look! Here's a couple of before shots!

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving!

And all thru the restaurant. . .

We busily hurried & scurried

And hung & strung!

Some really got into it!

Others knew exactly what to do. . .

Some just looked cute. . .

We worked as a team,

Lots of help from friends. . .

 With Plenty of Smiles!

& family. . .

(what's wrong Jamie?)

We're ready for festivities & fun--come join us!!

Let the Holidays begin!

The Beaches Bake Off Winner!

Amazing!

Wow!!

Thanks to all for your help! The restaurant looks great--and we're looking forward 

to a wonderful holiday season! 

Did Ya Know?

Have Ya Ever Heard of the Beaches' Charity Table?

Back in 1995, the opening Beaches Vancouver Team decided to create a table where people could feel good about giving back to those in need. The original idea was to use the table closest to the kitchen since it would be hard to seat. It didn’t take long to decide that if they were going to donate… Give them the best table in the house! Guests are allowed to reserve the Charity Table with a minimum $5 donation at lunch and $10 at dinner. 

One day a Guest really appreciated what we were doing in the community & generously donated $1,000! To this day, the Charity Table is named after that guest….The Todd Madsen Charity Table. The first charitable recipient of the table was the YWCA here in Vancouver. The table seats 6 people and can be reserved in advance. It's the best way to guarantee that window table!

The Charity Table became so popular that Leslie Durst told us we needed another one.  Leslie likes to bring friends in, and has always done great things for our community.  So in 2011, the Leslie Durst ‘Back up’ Charity Table began. 

It is also a very nice table that seats 5 comfortably right on the window. This table can also be reserved in advance.

Thanks Beach Team for coming up with a great way to give back to our community!

The Beach is getting a facelift!

Beaches Vancouver Entry "Before"

Every so often you take a look at your Vision & decide it’s time to give it a boost. So, we got every Team member together from both restaurants and put a plan in motion to make it even better for You!

Beach Shack "Before" picture

l 

Over the next 5-6 weeks we will be making some physical upgrades to the restaurant in Vancouver, and changing some of the seating layout at PDX.  

In addition, you will see a change in the Menus. Chef Matt & his Team have been playing with some new, creative approaches with food. That includes new items & some of your favorites.  

Mychal & his Team will take a page from the Beverage service we do at PDX and bring it to Vancouver. You’re gonna love the Beer & Wine Flights!

And the plan is never complete without chatting about Service.  If you think we were pretty good before, I think you will ‘feel’ the changes in a group of people who already truly care about you…. I have a great Team who is motivated to be even better!

So, hope ya like where we’re going & look forward to getting your feedback. 

See ya at the Beach,  Mark

Mychal's Latest Adventure!

We're always learning new things and trying to get better here at the Beach! Over the weekend,  I worked at Chateau Bianca Winery. Chateau Bianca is a family owned winery and the winemaker, Andreas Wetzel, makes some of the best & award-winning wine in the Willamette Valley. He makes wine for a few different labels, but my personal favorite is Silver Falls. Their Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris will both be on the new wine menu at Beaches Vancouver--coming out soon! 

While working there, I was very involved in the winemaking process. I helped with pouring the wine back over the skins, we added yeast to the grape juice, we unloaded grapes into the de-stemmer, we did just about everything besides bottling. I have a great respect for all the hard workers out there. I want to sincerely thank Andreas for the opportunity. Thanks to Renee, Alex and Matt for all their help as well.

 

On a more personal note--Had a great Halloween with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee from the Transformers. My sons MJ and Matthias really cleaned up trick or treating at their grandma's house and around our neighborhood. I must say Optimus Prime's costume was improved by a pretty creative & personal touch from yours truly! Can we say re-purposed BBQ wheels!

There's a New Lifeguard on the River!

And once upon a time, 'GQ the Lifeguard' appeared at the Beach...

He, and his trusted companion 'Doh Doh the Pelican',

came to watch over all of our Guests & Team in his quest

to find his long lost Uncle..... Mondo.

Ahhh Mondo... where art thou?

Yes, they stay perched atop the river keeping a watchful eye

& waving to each who pass by the mighty Columbia.

It has become customary for a two finger salute each day

towards our brave duo that simply means...

“thanks Doh Doh & GQ for making us safe today”

And.... If you stop by at 3AM each early morning, you will catch

GQ & Doh Doh playing an aggressive game of Hoops.

Doh Doh can soar... but GQ has duh moves!

Reserved seating available...Happy Hour.... 3AM-4AM

Minors must be accompanied by someone stupid.

Yea, you'll do!

Beaches Summer Cruisin's!

It's Almost Summer!

Get Wednesday Nights at PIR on your Calender now--it’s gonna be a “Cruisin” fun Summer! 

The planning is well under way to make the 2011 season a landmark year for the Show.  It is our goal to provide $1,000,000 in funds back to the community by this year—and we’re gonna hit it!  And it will be nice to have all our friends involved in the celebration.

We are already off to a great start thanks to our Sponsors, like Les Schwab, Maletis (Widmer/Bud), The Columbian, and The Garage.  These folks have been committed to the Show for several years, which allows us to hit our charitable goals.  We ask that you continue to support their businesses whenever possible.  We are also excited to add two new Sponsors this year--Dick Hannah Dealerships and Riverview Bank.  Please add them to your list of people to thank for their community involvement.

We will also have the schedule for the Summer on our website by the end of March.  It will include the Entertainment, Featured Cars, Kids Games, Weather Forecast for each night (yeah right!), Swap Meet; and a list of which nights we will feature those Newer Cool Rides.

So, save the date June 1^st for Opening Day.  It’s gonna be a wild Summer! If you've never been to a Cruisin' check it out here!

Chat with ya soon,

Mark

A Night Out At the Airport!

Beaches Hopper to PDX… Shuttle to Fun!

Now here’s a cool night out!  On Friday, March 4^th, drop into Beaches Vancouver between 4:30-7:30 pm and catch our Shuttle Bus for a quick trip over to Beaches at the Portland Airport.  Enjoy Happy Hour between 4-6 pm, or Dinner, or Dessert, or just visit for a look around.  It’s also a great way to have a party with friends--Yep, we can do large parties!!

A Cozy Fireplace to Hang Around

We are so excited about what we have to offer, we want everyone to have the chance to experience it! The Bus will leave every ½ hour from Vancouver through 7:30.  That last shuttle leaving the Airport back to Vancouver will be around 8:30.  If you haven’t been to our PDX Beaches, you’re in for a treat.  We have created a tropical Beaches paradise with some incredible Murals, Palm Trees, Bamboo, Cabanas, and our Hot Rod Display. Don’t have the time, energy or money for a get-away? We will help you experience a mini-vacation right here!  We also have a perfect space that can handle private parties up to 60 people.  It is quite the experience with the same great service you’ve come to expect from us!

Celebrate a Birthday!

And if you, our friends, like it, we’ll do it every Friday!

See ya at the Beach!

Mark

Hurray, Hurray for Green Eggs & Ham!

Are you excited for some Green Eggs & Ham?

I am the Egg Man, Goo Goo G’joob. Okay, so maybe not!

It’s almost time for our annual Green Eggs & Ham Community Event. From March 7-11th, Our Team, as well as many Community volunteers, will serve Breakfast to around 48 Schools, which works out to about 7000 kids & parents!!

We started this program with the Vancouver School District Foundation back in 1996. The goal was simple--Get the parents into the schools to read with the kids. We just happened to be chatting about the needs of the schools around the time of the national program, Dr. Seuss' Read Across America.

The ‘Green Eggs’ breakfast became a natural for our goal, which also made it a little fun for the kids. Throw in a Dr. Seuss hat and a book for each child, a breakfast for everybody, the Cat in a Hat, some door prizes & lots of smiles, and you’ve got all the makings of a cool family get together.

And now, what started out as just a few schools, has spread throughout the Clark County community. All the food is prepared and sent out from Beaches Restaurant in Vancouver and the Firstenburg Center. We have 8 teams on the road at all times to make sure we get to the 7-10 Elementary schools each day, for 5 days in a row! We can’t thank the Schools enough for their participation in making it a success each & every year. And a special Thanks to the Beach Team, all our Community Volunteers, and Jan over at the VSD Foundation, for all their dedication.

So, it’s Sam I Am, Goo Goo G’joob, I am the Eggman….. checking out!