Fish-And-Chips Joint: Good Eats And A View

Bee-Bee's Fish & Chips, Everett Marina Village, 1728 W. Marine View Dr., Everett. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (until 9 p.m. in summer months) Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. No alcohol. Smoking is permitted (no cigars). Visa, MasterCard and checks accepted. Catering available. 339-2307.

-- EVERETT

Any restaurant that bucks the trends and sets itself apart from the competition deserves encouragement.

Bee-Bee's Fish & Chips hangs right out there among all the higher-priced establishments at Everett's Marina Village. Bee-Bee's is where the unpretentious water rats go, be they romantics on a budget or hardhats working on waterfront development.

When you ponder the choices, most all the eateries overlooking Puget Sound have long wine lists, starched napkins and rich desserts. And then there's Bee-Bee's, an unexpected mom-and-pop fish and burger joint that has raised its prices only once since it opened during Salty Sea Days of 1987.

Bee-Bee's seats about 60, offers counter service only, and has just a few tables in the back room by a window that faces Port Gardner Bay. You feel as though you're getting away with something to be able to chomp on a hot dog and soak up that view.

The draw of Bee-Bee's, though, is the fresh fish served with fries and cole slaw for $3.35. The fish is hand-cut red snapper, although over the years Bee-Bee's has been known to serve fresh battered salmon or halibut in season. The batter is light and not greasy; the fish practically wriggles with freshness. The cole slaw, tossed with a sweet dressing riddled with bits of pineapple and celery seed, is a surprisingly good rhapsody on the basic theme. So good, in fact, that owners Jim and Arnette Brixey sell their slaw dressing by the bottle.

Improvisation, on the whole, is what endears Bee-Bee's. One morning I ordered Bee-Bee's daybreaker, a choice of bacon, ham or sausage with hashbrowns, two eggs and a slice of toast for $4.75. Well, mine came with three eggs because the cook broke the yolk on one and unabashedly passed along the mistake. I felt as though I'd just won the door prize.

I sat there with a mountain of food on a sunny morning and reveled in the setting. How many restaurants (except maybe Anthony's HomePort next door) can boast a view of a salmon-rearing pen? This one is operated by the Northwest Steelhead and Salmon Council's Mukilteo Chapter.

The dock is also home base for the Spirit of Saratoga Passage, a passenger boat that tours between Everett Marina Village and Whidbey Island when the weather is warmer.

For those who do venture out on the water or hop a summertime boat over to Jetty Island for beaching and birding, Bee-Bee's opens at 7 a.m. for breakfast. Call with a bit of advance notice, and they'll fix up a box lunch with the day's sandwich special, chips, hard-cooked egg, fresh fruit and a sweet treat for $5.25.

One warning, though. The Brixeys want to sell the place this summer and retire. They say most of the big-time fast-food fish chains have decided there's not enough room to rake in big bucks. That could mean Bee-Bee's is destined to stay much like it is.

We can hope so, anyway.

Restaurant reviews are a regular Thursday feature of the Seattle Times Snohomish County section. Reviewers visit restaurants unannounced and pay in full for all their meals. When they interview members of the restaurant management and staff, they do so only after the meals and services have been appraised.