Hidden Bay Cafe: And the Tide Was Way Out

HIDDEN BAY CAFE

In the summer months, I understand Hayden Island bars are occasionally hoppin' with jet skiers and yachtsmen. This time of year, it's Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Island Cafe is closed until April, but Hidden Bay Cafe (515 NE Tomahawk Island Drive, 240-1871) floats on. Ideally situated for a break from I-5 traffic, it's a place where you can sit and sip as docked sailboats bob in the gray Columbia with East Vancouver's riverside townhouses as a backdrop. Even if you don't see any yachtsmen, you'll feel like a pampered Panaque as you munch away amid the diving helmets and model ships lining the walls. Hidden Bay features a solid array of beers from Full Sail and Red Hook ($5), and cans of Bud ($2.50). You cannot, however, spend long nights drinking here because the place closes at 8 pm, even on weekends. Dinner is not recommended. A bacon cheeseburger, grilled outdoors, seems to have come from a 10-minute shopping spree at an industrial-scale grocer. Don't make a special trip to Hidden Bay. But if you're ever in the area as the antique I-5 drawbridge is slowly raised and lowered, you'll know where to go, summer or not.

WWeek 2015

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