Category Archives: Towns

Individual towns and places in Washington State

Polar Plaza Coming to Tacoma for the Holidays

Skate to your heart’s content. Wear an Ugly Sweater to get $1 off admission. Watch the Thunderbirds Hockey Team take the ice. Enjoy live music. Choose your Christmas tree. Shop for gifts. Do it all in one central location.

This holiday season Tacoma residents won’t have to trek to Bellevue or Seattle to experience an open-air outdoor ice skating rink with all the trimmings. Tacoma will have their own. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, which will be located directly across from the Tacoma Art Museum at Tollefson Plaza on Pacific Avenue, will be open from November 25 through January 2, 2012.

The skating rink will measure 40 feet by 100 feet and can accommodate 150 people. Admission will be $8 and skate rental will be $2. After paying these fees you can stay all day if you like and enjoy the music, special events, and purchase coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

I am really looking forward to this although I don’t ice skate, but I do love to watch skaters. To get there and avoid the parking crunch, I think I’ll park at the Tacoma Dome Station and take the Tacoma Link light rail to the Polar Plaza. That’s all free so I can spend more when I get to my destination.

Classic Restaurant Opens in Kent Station

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Last month Cal’s Classic American Tavern introduced diners to their own brand of comfort food with incredible taste when they opened in Kent Station in Kent, Washington.

Popcorn with brown butter and sea salt

Although, the new dining option is called a “tavern,” it’s definitely family-friendly. Located at 504 Ramsay Way in Kent, the restaurant seats 110 in the dining area and up to 65 at the bar.

A few of the bar tables come with their own spigots for beer, so you charge what you think you’re going to drink and then keep pouring until the tap runs dry. Sounds like fun to me.

A couple of their appetizers called my name before I even ordered a drink – popcorn with brown butter and sea salt and fried peanuts. The popcorn definitely rated as a lively, fun and tasty appetizer. I’ll have to return to try the fried peanuts.

A very tasty hamburger according to my grandson.

Chef Shannon Galusha, who has worked at both the French Laundry and the Bastille Café & Bar, puts his own spin on classic comfort dishes like Chop Chop Salad with green beans, potatoes, olives, Feta cheese and tuna; Open Face Meatball Hoagie comes with fennel in addition to the whole milk mozzarella and tomato sauce and Wood-Fired “Old Forge” Pizzas including one with Shepard’s Pie toppings. Of course there’s tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, pot roast and chicken pot pie, but probably not the tried and tired recipes you’re expecting. You can stay home and open a can of Campbell’s. To really savor comfort food, you need to visit Cal’s.

As many ingredients as possible come from the area including farms in the Kent Valley and Skagit County. Taylor Shellfish and Carpinito’s Farm are also represented. All the purveyors used at Cal’s are listed on a gigantic whiteboard posted in the dining area.

The covered, heated outdoor patio and fireplace, can accommodate 40 people for most of the year – just not in the intense winter months.

Cal's decadent brownies are served with a glass of milk and a very rich chocolate sauce.

Open 11 a.m. – midnight, Sunday – Thursday and 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Cue Sun and Tucson Botanical Gardens

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Washington’s summer was one to remember, but not because of warm temperatures and clear skies. It made the record books when in July we’d only had 4 ½ hours of temperatures above 80 degrees. So we had to go some place where we could not only enjoy the sun, but also refamiliarize ourselves with it. We chose Tucson, Arizona.

Last week everyday the temperature in Tucson rose to the mid-90’s. It was heavenly.

Owl Butterfly

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Williams Centre and the hotel offered a shuttle to any place within a five-mile radius. We took them up on their offer and traveled to the Tucson Botanical Gardens one day. What an interesting attraction.

To make it even more fun, “Butterfly Magic at the Gardens,” a temporary exhibit, is on tap until April 30, 2012. A vast variety of butterflies can be seen and may even land on you tickling your fancy. The “Owl” was one of my favorites as it has an “eye” on its wing that makes it look just like an owl. You can also watch the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis and hang until they are dry before being taken into the main butterfly house.

Butterfly exhibits seem to be fairly rare as they have to have specific controls on temperatures and enough personnel to answer questions and monitor the influx and outflow of visitors. If you get a chance to visit this one, you really should do so.

At the Botanical Gardens, five acres of regional plant life with 16 specialty gardens introduces you to the flora common to the Tucson area in a delightful and interesting way. I especially liked the Zen Garden and the Cactus and Succulent Garden.

Treat Yourself at Ciao

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With a little help from my friend Sherrye, I discovered a new restaurant in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. Mark Laska, the owner and chef at Ciao, likes to use local ingredients and the freshness they impart makes food taste so much better than if it’s shipped to the eatery in a bag or a box.

Laska learned how to cook from his grandmothers and previously used his talents at four star hotels in Los Angeles. Thankfully, he and his wife decided that was not where they wanted to raise children so they moved to Whidbey Island.

Now he blesses islanders and visitors with authentic Neapolitan pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. Staff at the restaurant makes their own mozzarella everyday. Many of the meats used in the dishes come from the nearby Three Sisters Farm.

I’m having trouble describing how tasty this pizza is. It’s not the thick, doughy crust slathered with tomato sauce and covered with tons of cheese to mask the flavor that you might be accustomed to. Instead, the crust is very flakey, with plenty of fresh ingredients and dotted with slivers of the homemade mozzarella. It was two weeks ago when I had that pizza and I still remember how much I enjoyed it and savored it.

For dessert, the gelato is phenomenal. Although it comes from Seattle, that’s still very close to local. Try the coconut or the hazel nut. A dollop of hazel nut in a cup of espresso is phenomenal.

Did you know pizza taste better if it is served unsliced? But if you prefer the convenience of sliced pizza, the staff will gladly accommodate you.

Spectacular food, unparalleled service and a lovely view — you can’t go wrong at Ciao.

Burgerville Does It Right

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The Burgerville chain encompasses 39 quick-serve restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Six cities in South Central and Southwest Washington have at least one. The closest location to the Seattle area is the restaurant in Centralia. We try to always stop and eat a hamburger there when we pass through.

Because the hamburgers are made from vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free beef, they seem to taste much better than most. Add a slice of Tillamook Cheddar and you have a delicious sandwich.

Burgerville relies on local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. Blackberries for their milkshakes, sweet onions from Walla Walla for onion rings and hazelnuts from Oregon for their Wild Smoked Salmon and Hazelnut Salad.

Not only does this chain serve high-quality, tasty food, but they also use many sustainable business practices. They purchase 100 percent renewable wind power credits equal to the energy use in all 39 locations plus their corporate headquarters. By using wind power of this magnitude, Burgerville eliminates a huge amount of greenhouse gases. This is the equivalent of taking 1,700 cars off the road.

Constantly improving and expanding their composting and recycling programs also makes Burgerville a “green” company.

And this company loves their employees. They provide healthcare insurance, which is very rare at quick-serve restaurants. Burgerville contributes more than 90 percent of the insurance costs for employees and their dependents.

If you’re in the neighborhood, I urge you to sample some of their menu items. They have hamburgers and lots more to choose from.

Don’t Miss The Oyster Bar

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Open for lunch and dinner everyday of the year except Christmas, The Oyster Bar restaurant on Chuckanut Drive in Bellingham has been around in one form or another since the Great Depression. At that time it was just a stand on the side of the road where you could buy oysters to take home and prepare yourself.

Now it’s a gourmet restaurant serving Contemporary Regional Cuisine. Of course, oysters reign on the menu, but you can also have salmon, halibut, sturgeon, mussels, wild boar, venison and more. All are served with sauces, purees or chutneys designed to extract the flavor of the main course and delight your taste buds.

My personal favorite had to be the Dungeness Crab Cakes presented on a rhubarb and plum chutney and topped with a dab of curried aioli. My compliments to the chef, Justin Gordon, and also the restaurant owners, Guy and Linda Colbert. The Colberts have been in the restaurant business since six months after they first married, in southern California. We’re so glad they decided to move to Washington State and continue providing excellent food, high quality customer service and a fine dining experience you’ll remember for quite awhile.

With more than 600 selections, it won’t be hard to find the wine appropriate for the dishes you try. And the view – you’ve got to see that for yourself. Let’s just say it involves the San Juan Islands, Samish Island, Chuckanut Bay and it’s stunning.

Do the Puyallup

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You’ve still got plenty of time to get to the Puyallup Fair since it runs through Sunday, September 25^th. If you go, there is lots to see and do including several new attractions. I like to take two days to go through everything as it’s hard for me to enjoy everything I want to in just one day.

Listed as one of the biggest and best fairs in this Mainstreet.com article by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, the Puyallup pretty much has it all. Livestock, a petting zoo, lots of entertainment, a beer garden and wine bistro, lots of food, famous entertainers, rides, a carnival, 4-H and Grange displays and vendors galore round out the fun at the complex known as the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

Some of my favorite treats from my time at the Fair this past Sunday included Danny Vernon, the best Elvis impersonator in the Pacific Northwest. And he’s phenomenal – both his singing and Elvis movements plus he has a five-piece band backing him up. But even better – watching the audience and all the people who actually remember the real Elvis and the words to every one of his songs. I don’t know if Danny is returning to the Fair, but if you have a chance to seem him perform, definitely do it.

One of the new attractions, A World of Music, is located just outside the Northwest Outdoor Barn. On display are instruments from many other countries and you can touch and play them to your heart’s content.

We also got to see a Seattle Police Officer demonstrate how his K-9 Ziva works. And, yes, she is named for the character on the TV show, NCIS. This German Shepherd is the first female K-9 to work with Seattle Police and she’s very good. She hasn’t been on the job long and has already caught quite a few bad guys.

Yummy, yummy barbecued ribs.

Foodwise, I highly recommend the new strawberry flavored ice cream in the Milk Barn, Fisher scones, of course; barbecued ribs or chicken, hamburgers, elephant ears and corn on the cob. I’ve heard that deep-fried Rocky Mountain Oysters (none for me, thank you), deep-fried bubble gum and deep-fried Kool-Aid are also available. I also have it on good authority that there’s a wine bar on the second floor of the fine arts building, but I’ll visit that on my next trip.

The News Tribune wrote a great article on how to visit the fair, if you need some help in that direction.

Maybe I’ll see you there on my return trip.

Dining in Yakima

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Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit Yakima, on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range. Besides a ton of wineries that produce award-winning wines, some of the best dining experiences can also be found there.

Lunchtime at Gasperetti's

For lunch we tried Gasperetti’s. The restaurant’s history dates back to 1943 when John Gasperetti opened a dining establishment of the same name in Union Gap (close to Yakima). Menus now reflect that first restaurant and the Italian recipes have been passed down. The current chef, Brad Patterson, relishes in using the bounty of fruits and vegetables available in the Yakima Valley.

I had the Fresh Dungeness Crabmeat Salad, which makes my mouth water just typing the words. Besides the Northwest’s signature crab, the salad combines romaine, pecans, and julienned Yakima apples. I also heard from one Yakima resident that it was her favorite entrée at Gasperetti’s also.

Dining with a white tablecloth and cloth napkins at lunchtime made me feel pampered and rich. I highly recommend it. We ate in the Bistro and the Bar was also open, but the restaurant must only be open for dinner.

A new restaurant, 5 North Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge, beckoned us for dinner. It was difficult to find because the sign was small, but the hostess promised they were getting a large banner soon so everyone could find them.

I’d read a review in the local newspaper so I ventured out on a limb and tried the Root Vegetable Chips the reviewer raved about. Great way to down vegetables, if you’re not a big fan. I loved the sweet and saltiness of the potatoes, turnips and rutabagas.

Root Vegetable Chip appetizer at 5 North

This would be a great place for a romantic dinner – it’s small and intimate, but the food was over-the-top delicious.

Best of Discover Washington State in the Past Year

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I was tagged by my friend, Kerri, at Living Large in Our Little House for The Seven Links circle bloggers have been participating in. It seems like a good time to review what I’ve done, so here are my answers.

Here are my choices for the best posts during the past year, my first year blogging:

Most popular post: Wine and Dog Lovers Unite

Even I was surprised at the number of views this post drew. I kept trying to figure out if it was the dogs or the wineries that people were interested in and finally decided that it was the combination.

Most controversial post: Cranberries: Treasured Berries

Although my blog talks more about what to do in the Evergreen State and I don’t deem it controversial, this one caused a stir. Readers demanded to know if the cranberries were grown organically.

Most helpful post: Top Travel Trends

One of my most comprehensive posts, this suggests places in Washington that match up with the national travel trends predicted by Thomas Stanley in Luxury Travel Magazine.

Surprising success: Val Mallinson, Author of Dog Lover Books

I love that so many people want to travel with their dogs and Val makes it so easy to do with her books on where our canine friends are welcome.

Not enough attention: Washington State Tourism Shutting Down

Everyone in the state you talk to has an opinion on this, yet I received no comments.

Post I’m most proud of: Port Townsend: A Victorian Seaport Now and Then

This was a tough one because I’m usually proud of one that has been written recently, but looking back this one has lots of good information for a visitor wanting to explore Port Townsend.

If you have any comments on the posts mentioned, pro or con, I would love to hear them.

Five Blogs I’ve Chosen to Tag:

NW Dog Blog: You can get frequent, updated advice about traveling with your dog here from Val Mallinson.

Girl About the World: Haley travels both inside and outside Washington and is based in Seattle. She’s got fantastic tips to offer travelers.

Stuck at the Airport: Anyone who can post a blog everyday has my vote for most knowledge on the topic chosen. Harriet knows airports inside out.

Lighthearted Travel: Although Marilyn lives in Oregon, she often writes about Washington and lots of other really cool destinations.

Going on Adventures: Beverly has lots to talk about in the way of traveling adventures and it’s all good sound advice.

The Cinnamon Roll Lady

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The North Cascades Highway or State Route 20 is the northernmost route across the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington. It affords travelers a wide array of beautiful vistas and is part of the Cascade Loop, a 400-mile driving tour through the Cascades. This highway is only open from April through November, because of the intense avalanche danger the rest of the year.

Tootsie Clark, who is well into her 90’s now, has for many years performed the same ritual every year on opening day of the North Cascades Highway. She gets up at 2 a.m. and sets to making her famous cinnamon rolls. When she has enough ready she packs them into her car and travels to the beginning of the highway where she passes them out to all the drivers waiting for the road to open.

Tootsie's cinnamon rolls with whiskey sauce and frosting

These cinnamon rolls can be ordered by the rest of us at The Eatery restaurant in Rockport, where Tootsie still helps out in the kitchen. But don’t go for breakfast thinking you can order a roll off the menu and have it delivered to your table. No, you must reserve these sweet treats the night before for breakfast the next day, due to their extreme popularity.

Besides serving good, tasty food, The Eatery houses many items indicative of the history of the area. That was Tootsie’s idea – to make it a museum and a restaurant.