Since its opening in 1997, the Wet Dog Café has proven itself a local fixture with its unparalleled view of the Columbia River, its hand-crafted beer and its lengthy menu of coastal favorites.

I visited the Wet Dog on a rare Astoria day when one can eat outside comfortably with short sleeves. Seated at a nice table on the patio overlooking the Columbia, I started by ordering a blackened salmon salad with mixed greens, red onions, croutons and shaved Parmesan. I found the salad unfortunately a bit lackluster; the salmon did not have much flavor and had an overwhelmingly fishy smell when it was placed in front of me. Fish contains amines that start to break down as soon as the fish is no longer living, and although salmon is particularly high in amines, a very fishy smelling fish is indicative of a fish that may not necessarily be fresh. The salmon was too fishy for me to eat, and the rest of the densely-packed lettuce was okay, but nothing special.

I next sampled a cup of clam chowder, cooked in a traditional fashion with a cream base, potatoes and bacon. The flavors in the chowder were simple, mellow and classic certainly acceptable, but again, rather average.

The brew house hummus, though, proved to be an exceptional dish, with house-made fresh hummus, pita wedges, carrots, celery, feta and kalamata olives. The hummus was creamy and tangy with a perfect blend of flavors, and I enjoyed dipping each of the accompaniments in it, particularly the pita wedges, which had been lightly fried, giving them some crisp character.

A second appetizer of crab and artichoke dip was next, with a blend of four cheeses, artichokes, and crab, served with crostini and chips. It took a long time for us to receive this dish, and I could tell when it arrived that it had perhaps been sitting a while; the cheeses had started to separate, making for a very greasy dip, and the melted cheddar on top had melted and hardened back up and was impossible to penetrate. I scraped the cheddar off in order to get to the dip, but I found it too oily to eat.

The entrée I chose, though, the halibut fish and chips, was remarkably tasty with the halibuts crunchy, beer breading and the crisp-tender French fries. The combination of flavors and textures of the fish, fries and cole slaw is nothing short of simple perfection, and I wholeheartedly recommend this dish to other diners.

Although I was already full, I couldnt resist a dessert item called the best damn dessert ever, as this seems like a pretty weighty claim. I dont know that it was necessarily the best Ive ever had, but it was sinfully yummy on a very warm day, with an Oreo crumb crust, chocolate peanut butter ice cream, Reeses peanut butter cups and Hersheys syrup. We nearly licked the bowl clean. (I must make note of the Wet Dogs address so I know where my dentist should send his bill.)

On the afternoon I visited the Wet Dog, the restaurant was busy. Having worked in food service for many years I understand how hectic and frenzied a busy restaurant can be, and I am always willing to cut a busy restaurant some slack, as it were, in terms of their speed in seating and serving. Still, though, my entire dining experience, from being seated to served to paying the bill, took about two and a half hours, much longer than I had intended to stay.

Dining out during our busy summer tourist season as The Mouth has proven to be a challenging experience at times, and it gives me pause to address all restaurant owners, and not just the Wet Dog, about catering to a large volume of customers. I typically eat out once a week as The Mouth, and on nearly every occasion this summer, I experienced a lengthy wait both to be seated and to be served, and often witnessed what seemed to be a very harried staff trying to keep up. There will always be a lot of people here in the summer; expect this, and staff your business accordingly. Plan to hire more line cooks and servers so that customers can receive the timely service and delicious food that they deserve.

Overall, my visit to the Wet Dog was a bit of a mixed bag, but the positive notes, including the great patio view, the hummus, and the fish and chips, outweighed the negatives, and I plan to return.

Although I was already full, I couldnt resist a dessert item called the best damn dessert ever … we nearly licked the bowl clean.