Santa's cookies might not make the 2005 Munchie Awards, but that doesn't stop Julia Strecker from sampling a festive gingerbread man. Photo by Lori Assa.

My tummy tells me (constantly) it has been the year for dining out in the Columbia-Pacific region, what with the advent of numerous new restaurants and – feeling the peer pressure, perhaps – ever-improving standby eateries. During the past 12 months, I’ve sampled the fare at every one of the restaurants below, and then some, easily more than 100 total.

And my favorites are … I came up with 28 choices and, frankly, that’s just the way the selection panned out. Criteria for being included were quality of food, presentation, service and atmosphere, plus comments from readers. Arranged alphabetically, here are my picks.

How much to munch?

$ = Inexpensive

$$ = Moderate

$$$ = Expensive

42nd Street Cafe

4201 Pacific Highway, Seaview, Wash.

(360) 642-2323

$$ Skillet-fried chicken, pork chops dripping cranberry barbecue sauce, halibut stew, even a crunchy peanut butter and Marionberry jam sandwich can be had at this obliging eatery that once housed a Coast Guard barracks. But chef Cheri Walker (an accomplished harpist who often plays for patrons) purveys more than comfort food. Witness her charbroiled ahi freshened with watercress mayonnaise or a portabello-chicken liver pate. Bacon waffles, jambalaya omelets and beignets served with French press cafe au lait are a.m. pleasures.

The Ark

273rd Street and Sandridge Road, Nahcotta, Wash.

(360) 665-4133

$$$ True, it’s the end of an era, and The Ark no longer is the purvey of Nanci Main and Jimella Lucas, longtime owners and the foremost divas of Northwest Coast dining. New proprietors Michael and Cameo Gilson have pledged to uphold the restaurant’s wide-ranging reputation. Presumably that means signature preparations such as Lucas’ Scotch salmon and Thai oysters and Main’s scrumptious breads and desserts will survive the regime change. We’re confident meals will remain stellar.

Baked Alaska

1 12th St., Astoria

(503) 325-7414

$$ Bucking the prevailing buzz, entrepreneurs Chris and Jennifer Holen set out to recast a spectacularly situated, but mediocre, eatery (The River restaurant) into a well-regarded lunch and dinner stop. Three years later, mission accomplished. Residents and tourists alike have embraced Baked Alaska’s waterfront setting, the fun Northwest-oriented menu (campfire barbecued salmon, cornmeal-crusted oysters, a humongous Half-Baked Alaska dessert) and the nonsmoking Northern Lights lounge.

Located by a brick courtyard in Cannon Beach, The Bistro is quaint and cozy.The Bistro

263 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-2661

$$1/2 A generation ago, almost nobody actually grew up in touristy Cannon Beach. Matt Dueber did, and after graduating from the California Culinary Academy, he returned to open his Bistro restaurant, one of the longest-running culinary acts in town. Inside, the mood is reminiscent of a French country inn. Unfussy seafood entrees (grilled halibut garnished with avocado salsa) and understated beef dishes (port-flavored tenderloin piled with portabellos) are equally comforting. The Bistro’s hip pocket-sized bar is this beach town’s coziest after-hours venue.

Blue Sky Cafe

154 Laneda Ave., Manzanita

(503) 368-5712

$$$ At Blue Sky, the stylishly lit, low-slung interior hung with avant-garde art more closely resembles a gallery than a restaurant, but closely spaced tables and beautifully finished woodwork lend a warm and welcoming feel. Forget your cell phone (they’re taboo), but bring a sense of culinary adventure; the seasonal menu runs the gamut from truffle-scented rainbow trout to oven-roasted pork chops paired with pumpkin-sage bread pudding. Daily sorbets make scrumptious desserts.

Cafe Mango

123 S. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-2393

$$1/2 Fresh mangos often occupy space amid menus near the entrance of this upstairs eatery, and the fruit is put to good use – mangoes highlight an invigorating salsa that accompanies a pork tamale, for example, and lend zest to plump panfried salmon cakes. Look for fresh fruit in the mornings and noontime, too, when the fare ranges from apple, hazelnut and cinnamon crepes to top-flight salads.

This pecan-encrusted wild-caught salmon in a raspberry and black raspberry Chambord butter sauce is a Northwest-inspired creation of Cafe Uniontown’s executive chef Edward Cosgrove.Cafe Uniontown

218 W. Marine Drive, Astoria

(503) 325-8708

$$$ Like a sentinel illuminating a dim landscape, this long-lived cafe ‘neath the interstate bridge brightens west Astoria’s dining-out scene. Inside is swarthy wood paneling that reminds of a first-class cabin aboard a luxury yacht. More attractive yet are traditional Northwest-inspired meals, such as pecan-encrusted salmon, filet mignon wrapped in pepper bacon and garnished with blue-cheese fondue and Pasta Uniontown, a melange of shellfish and mushrooms tossed in a lemon-tarragon cream sauce. Live music happens most weekends.

Cannery Cafe

1 Sixth St., Astoria

(503) 325-8642

$$1/2 We’ve heard the conversation countless times: A tourist asks an Astorian for restaurant recommendations and, invariably, the Cannery is at or near the top of the list. And why not? The cafe’s location is unrivaled – the Cannery (and adjacent wine and beer bar) is perched atop pilings over the Columbia River – plus the chowder, the bacon-wrapped ribeye, signature crab-and-shrimp cakes and the pan-Asian salmon finished with an orange-sake sauce are all top-drawer.

Canoe Room

161 Howerton Ave., Ilwaco, Wash.

(360) 642-4899

$$ Have you visited lately? So asks ads for the Port of Ilwaco, now a lively (but still salty) commercial district resurrected from a grim workingman’s harbor. Leading the charge to respectability has been Rebecca Fontana, owner of this cute mooring basin cafe known for chicken-basil sausage hoagies, simply prepared seafood and, lately, Sunday brunch. Fontana’s hubby, David Hansen, often entertains, strumming his ukulele and belting out spirited renditions of old favorites.

Columbian Cafe

1114 Marine Drive, Astoria

(503) 325-2233

$1/2 If anyone and any place typify Astoria’s can-do attitude, it’s gotta be Uriah Hulsey and his diminutive downtown cafe. When Hulsey opened shop seemingly eons ago, many coasties couldn’t distinguish between canned coffee and cappuccino and figured fish tasted best deep-fried. Hulsey, bless his heart, installed one of this area’s first espresso machines, then proceeded to rock the local food scene with his handmade savory crepes, sumptuous soups and seafood-pasta dinners. His culinary act is ongoing.

Corpeny’s

2281 Beach Drive, Seaside

(503) 738-7353

$ It’d be hard to get more homey than this this delightful breakfast-lunch nook sporting a rock fireplace and porcelain tile floors. Regulars swear by the Torres omelet bursting with jalapenos, roasted garlic, mushrooms, zucchini and pork sausage. Noonish fare revolves around extraordinary sandwiches – for instance, chicken salad spiked with toasted almonds, dried cranberries, and pineapple on Tuscan Peasant bread. French apple tarts, lemon-poppyseed scones, raspberry-streusel muffins and Seaside’s yummiest coffee cake are irresistible anytime snacks.

The Depot

1208 38th Place, Seaview, Wash.

(360) 642-7880

$$ At this refreshingly modest eatery occupying the former train station for the Long Beach Peninsula’s “clamshell railroad,” so called because it ran by the tides, entrees are internationally inspired: Tandoori chicken paired with curried couscous; sea scallops seared with sweet chili-lime sauce; honey-dipped fried chicken partnered with jalapeno-creamed corn or one-offs such as local mushrooms stuffed with salmon mousse. Salads tossed with candied walnuts, chopped pears and blue cheese are sublime, and burger night (currently Wednesdays) is a carnivore’s dream dinner.

Fulio’s

1149 Commercial St., Astoria

(503) 325-9001

$$ Rigatoni bathed in mustard-cream sauce. Penne coated with puttanesca. A steaming bowl of linguine tossed with fresh tomato, chopped garlic and massive links of spicy sausage. Simply but skillfully prepared platters of pasta are this restaurant’s raison d’etre. Yet chef-owner Peter Roscoe also surprises with a flamboyant Columbia River grilled sturgeon, a trademark seared Caesar salad, balls of fresh housemade mozzarella and lusty eggplant panini. The Italian wine list is exemplary.

JP’s

240 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-0908

$$$ Chef-owner Bill Pappas regularly manhandles flaming fry pans awash in wine or cooking sherry and attracts lots of stares with his pyrotechnics. Customer satisfaction, however, comes with the finished product: prawns bathed in a champagne-cream sauce; chicken cordon bleu, bowtie-shaped pasta primavera tossed in olive oil and herbs; a top sirloin cooked in a lusty red wine reduction and smothered with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and hunks of garlic. Wife Diana Pappas’ cappuccino torte, lavished with more titillating ingredients than anyone should consider consuming in a single sitting, puts a cap on any meal.

In Kalypso’s back corner is the inviting lounge, an eclectic mix of antique furniture and decorations.Kalypso

619 Broadway, Seaside

(503) 738-6302

$$ Scale down the prices but not the portions or the culinary creativity, then concentrate on serving imaginative renditions of old standbys using the freshest local fixings. John and Jennifer Nelson have followed that strategy to a T at their colorful, spacious and high-energy Kalypso with dishes such as crispy-skinned rotisserie chicken infused with apple and citrus juices and salmon-halibut skewers dripping a tomato-fennel sauce. For dessert, ultra-moist and crunchy coconut cake graced with caramel sauce and paired with vanilla ice cream enters the realm of scrumptious.

Lil’ Bayou

20 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside

(503) 717-0624

$$ “Where else in Clatsop County can you order alligator?” is how one of my dining companions explained Lil’ Bayou’s one-off menu. Sure enough, there’s nothing typical about this bastion of Cajun-Creole cuisine – and not all of it hot ‘n spicy, emphasizes chef John Sowa. Muffuletta sandwiches, crawfish etouffee, chicken jambalaya and boudin blanc are all available, plus beads are served with dinner. The restaurant’s Magnolia Lounge affords a sultry but not seedy setting that oozes deep-south noir and hosts live music.

Moby Dick Hotel & Oyster Farm

25814 Sandridge Road, Nahcotta, Wash.

(360) 665-4543

$$1/2 Who knows how chef Jeff McMahon, a virtual one-man show, can procure and purvey such a plethora of gastronomic delights? Ensconced in his tiny kitchen inside this pleasantly funky hotel-restaurant, the former Portland food luminary prepares spaghetti tossed with oysters, Morrocan-style seafood stew, potato, sage and black olive ravioli, strawberry-rhubarb tarts, pistachio cake bedecked with honey tangerines and an always-changing array of ice creams and sorbets.

Nehalem River Inn

34910 Oregon Highway 53, Mohler

(503) 368-7708

$$$ Stay on a paved road and you won’t find a more sequestered Columbia-Pacific community than Mohler. Nestled here against the South Fork of the Nehalem River is the Nehalem River Inn, a culinary oasis in the heart of cow country. Changing menus might feature a roast quail salad, cauliflower soup, asparagus risotto, lamb chops partnered with orzo and Swiss chard and multitudinous other dishes, all fashioned by new owner-chef and San Diego transplant Ryan Hamic. A Manzanita confidant with a sophisticated palate claimed dinner at the inn was her finest meal all year.

Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe

601 Pacific Way, Gearhart

(503) 738-0245

$$ Unceremonious enough to welcome someone right off the beach outfitted in shorts and flip-flops, yet sufficiently stylish to accommodate a couple dressed to the nines. Yep, Pacific Way is a neighborhood kind of cafe for a multitude of long-time fans. They come for hot roast beef sandwiches layered with provolone and gorgonzola, buttermilk-coated razors, sundry salads, and master baker Lisa Allen’s oven goodies and desserts. Pretty much everybody concedes the tomato-basil pizza is perfect.

Pauly’s Bistro

235 Howerton St., Ilwaco, Wash.

(360) 642-8447

$1/2 This cute yet kitschy establishment at Ilwaco’s rejuvenated harbor is equal parts eclectic and enthusiastic. In fact, it’s all over the culinary map, a post-fusion celebration of busting down gastronomic boundaries. The changeable a la carte menu might list Tuscan bread salad, pork pozole, meat loaf drizzled with cranberry ketchup and a Ten Dollar Assortment of All Things Yummy (don’t ask, just order it). Portions are prodigious, prices are moderate and, in true bistro tradition, wine by the glass arrives in tumblers.

Rio Cafe

125 Ninth St., Astoria

(503) 325-2409

$ It’s small, agreeable and unpretentious, tucked into a side street a block from Astoria’s waterfront. Still, the gaily decorated Rio packs a culinary wallop. Venture beyond the south of the border-inspired standbys – all far better renditions, by the way, than what’s available at your typical Tex-Mex outpost – and opt for puerco Colorado (stewed pork flavored with chilis, onions and Mexican spices), camarones ala diabla (high-heat shrimp) or the pescado rojo, a grilled slab of sole topped with a fiery red chili-garlic salsa.

Sanctuary Restaurant

U.S. Highway 101 and Hazel Street, Chinook, Wash.

(360) 777-8380

$$1/2 It’s tempting to talk about heavenly repasts at this converted Methodist church adorned with religious statues and saintly images. Rarified setting and decor aside, what makes the Sanctuary a long-time player on the local restaurant scene is Joanne Leech’s consistently splendid cooking, particularly her lean toward Scandinavian specialties. Anybody for Swedish meatballs, pickled beets and krumkaka?

Shoalwater Restaurant

4415 Pacific Highway, Seaview, Wash.

(360) 642-4142

$$$ There’s gotta be a best, and the Shoalwater is unsurpassed among this region’s restaurants. Chef Lynne “Red” Pelletier’s kitchen crew works wonders with all manner of surf or turf fixings, while Ann Kischner’s desserts – order the impossibly rich French silk pie only if you dare – are extraordinary. The wine selection is the coast’s finest, and the Shoalwater’s Winemakers’ Dinner Series (from late fall through spring) features stunning seven-course meals designed around vino from a visiting Northwest producer; reservations are a must.

Jay Funk, executive chef at Silver Salmon Grille, flambés dishes like Bananas Foster and Champagne Berries Laurie Ann.Silver Salmon Grille

1105 Commercial St., Astoria

(503) 338-6640

$$ Almost four years ago, Jeff and Laurie Martin converted a lackluster chow house into an upscale dining establishment. Their restaurant’s facelift showcases painted and sculpted salmon seemingly swimming across and up the walls and around the light fixtures. The Northwest signature fish is likewise front and center on the menu and offered in sundry preparations (our fave: the sesame-orange grilled salmon). The Silver’s well-chosen wine list is among Astoria’s finest.

Stephanie Inn

2740 S. Pacific St., Tolovana Park

(503) 436-2221 or (800) 633-3466

$$$ A gorgeous oceanfront getaway that radiates the elegance of a large New England country inn, the Stephanie Inn’s dining room, fortunately, is open to others besides guests. Dinners are the finest in town, elegant, four-course prix-fixe affairs prepared by coastal food luminary John Newman (reservations required). Look for curried vegetable soup, porcini risotto, seared and peppered swordfish, rosemary-rubbed beef tenderloin and coconut cheesecake or a caramel-apple tart for dessert.

Diners get a street-level view at the hip Schooner Twelfth Street Bistro.The Schooner Twelfth Street Bistro

360 12th St., Astoria

(503) 325-7882

$$ Formerly a raucous, smoke-filled tavern and now the restaurant of record for its across-the-street partner, the Hotel Elliott, the renovated Schooner exudes hipness. Still the mood is casual and the menu down to earth, price-wise. Meals run the gauntlet from juicy buffalo burgers and lamb gyros to a center cut of salmon sitting atop a mound of creamy penne pasta and a grilled New York steak matched with buttermilk mashers. The lounge crowd is usually lively.

T. Paul’s Urban Cafe

1119 Commercial St., Astoria

(503) 338-5133

$1/2 Patrons who come to this chic cafe to linger over coffee drinks and fruity Blue-Eyes iced tea invariably are enticed by food exiting the open kitchen – spinach-tomato tortillas wrapped around roasted chicken, rock shrimp and melted cheeses; pesto-prawn pasta; multi-bean soups and a solid salad lineup. Desserts tend toward caloric extravaganzas, say a dense chocolate cake iced with dark chocolate frosting and accompanied by a humongous scoop of vanilla ice cream, a double shot of chocolate syrup and a whopping helping of whipped cream.

Warren House Pub

3301 S Hemlock S., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-1130

$$ A British-style pub in Cannon Beach? Believe it, thanks to owners Jim Oyala and Ken Campbell, who transformed a former historic home (from the floor plan on up) into a haven for adventuresome diners. Smoked lamb pita pockets, ahi coated in yogurt and wasabi, pork ribs glazed with a citrusy barbecue sauce and a dream burger blended with top sirloin and bacon are some of the options. On tap are craft beers from Bill’s Tavern & Brewhouse.