If they can have a group meal in NYC, why can’t we? I’d be curious to know which Washingtonians might like to see if we can figure out a dining related get-together, somewhere, sometime?
I know we span the coast. I’m all north in Bellingham. But I do have a kid who colleges in Tacoma, so we are down there a few times a year. I believe that brings me pretty close to @Lambchop and @MunchkinRedux. If I’m not mistaken, @Babette runs a candy store in Seattle. Are there others among us on this board? Anyway, I was thinking a get-together of like minded folks would be enjoyable, and put faces to names. If I could’ve figured out how to private message more than one person, I would’ve done it that way instead of creating a post
Theoretically open and very close, in Skagit county. What and where would you propose? If you were to pick your top 3 restaurants in Whatcom, what would they be?
Hey Kaleo. Sorry I didn’t remember you were local. Wish we could drum up a little more interest! 2 isn’t much of a meetup. There are a lot of places we eat here that are fine. Not stellar. I don’t know that we have stellar restaurants. I’ve enjoyed Dragon River for Chinese, Fairhaven Poke. I like Pyong Chang Korean bbq in Mt Vernon. Bagelry imo makes a great bagel and Mt Bakery a great croissant. Is this a test ?
Not really a test, just breathing life into the board and finding out what you like.
Have you tried Home Skillet for a hippy breakfast? A friend of mine’s GF has family that started Maison Thai next door to Trader Joe’s–haven’t tried it yet, but I’m eager. We’ve also enjoyed Bellingham Cider Co.'s food.
We were underwhelmed by Maison Thai - a couple good dishes, a couple mediocre ones. When we want Thai, we do Wanida and very occasionally Maikham. Home Skillet recently shut down. We went to Cider Co. once. The chicken and waffles were good and everything else was vastly oversalted. We tried to give them another shot for a recent special occasion, and they were unfortunately closed…
Yeah, I looked them up again, and supposedly May 1st was their last day. Truly a bummer.
Sorry to hear Maison Thai wasn’t impressive. I think I’ll have to go for the sake of my friend. What was the dish you had there that you considered the best?
Is Herb Niemann’s Steakhouse in Everson still open? Is Willows Inn within your radius? How about Chuckanut Manor? Fork at Agate Bay? Acme Diner?
I don’t recall honestly what we had at Thai Maison. Of the other places you mention, we’ve been to the Fork and liked it pretty well. I thought about doing Willows for an occasion, but then before I got to that, they had SO MUCH bad press with the chef and the horrible work environment. So I passed…
We have 2 kids and generally eat out together, so we’ll go for the family casual as opposed to the fancy most times. Our typical places are Wanida, Muto Ramen, Fiamma burger or pizza, Blue Fin, D’Annas or Mambo, Ambo Ethiopian. I’d say that’s most of the regular rotation.
I am completely new here and live in Vancouver although I will be up that way quite a few times in September and passing through to the proper Vancouver in October.
I know you all don’t know me but I’d love to join in if you don’t mind meeting a complete stranger although where you eat might define whether or not I decide on making the drive. I much prefer reading recipes and watching cooking shows even if it’s sometimes through my fingers to eating a lot of it. Things sound good but my tastes are a lot simpler; I’m not terribly adventurous.
I’m happiest with really good authentic Mexican food but that is so hard to find up here. I prefer to make my own but it doesn’t seem worth the effort most of the time for just one person. Eventually, I will find a Costco/share the cooking buddy where we can go halves on food and cooking!
Welcome to HO and to the PNW board! If you’re in Van, I may be the one closest to you being in Bellingham. Just had my nexus interview, so I’m hopeful that crossing will be much more straightforward and quicker, which means more visits.
So it sounds like your eating tastes run simple but that food is a source of entertainment and exploration to you? You’re right about not having too much good Mex here. Not enough folks. Plenty of good Asian though!
Why do you travel up and down this part of the coast? Curious… is it for work? Or something else? I have a kid in college in Tacoma, so we are up and down much more often than we used to be.
As for a meetup, I’m hoping to get a few more interested people. And then we can figure out a plan as a group. I’d be just as happy getting together at someone’s house as going to a restaurant. In fact, I’ve been covid careful and always prefer an outdoor option, so houses can be easier in that respect. While we still have our decent weather!
Just popping in in order to welcome Ruins. I am unlikely to join the get-together. I am not very sociable and it is too far for me. Unless I am getting the Vancouvers messed up it sounds like you live near me. I don’t think there are many of us here from the SW Washington/PDX area. I don’t post often but lurk frequently. There was one person who made a few posts who lived in Vancouver but left after a not well received post to the Trader Joes thread. Too bad. That poster seemed to enjoy food shopping and I was looking forward to see more posts from him/her. I hope you are not so easily scared off. I looked at your bio. Cynical Pollyana, I like that! I think I might have even described myself that way before.
So now that you mention it, I’m not sure which Van either. I thought Ruins was chatting about Van BC. You’re right @Rainycatcooks that there aren’t too many of us, at least that have said where we’re from. I think that Kaleo and I are in the nw corner of WA, and then the rest are Seattle and south of there.
The tip off for me was that Ruins wrote drive up but you never know. As we like to say around here: I live in Vancouver (not BC), Washington (not DC). Or something like that. I don’t actually live in Vancouver (I live in the sticks) but it is where I do most of my shopping.
This is what I saw, and it confused me… “up that way” could mean where I am, where the more southern people are, or they just moved here from another part of the country and so are doing several trips. Anyhoo, so you live in Van, WA? You can’t call that the sticks if you’re a stone’s throw from Portland!
I live in a rural area East of Vancouver WA. Some would consider it the sticks. I don’t really. I was just joking. It is becoming more and more suburban by the day. I have literally watched hills in the town west of me get quarried until almost flat and then filled with houses. I agree that being so close to Portland hardly makes it feel rural.
Buildings are going up, and forested hillsides are getting cleared, all the time here too. People need places to live, but there seems to be no appetite for high density up rather than out housing where amenities are walkable. Everyone wants their own 1/4 acre or more and that’s why the undeveloped land is disappearing…
Yep, and I have to admit I am part of the problem. I did decide to buy an already built house rather than building one which was something I almost did. I fool myself into feeling superior about that. I did not cut down any trees for my house after all. Shady logic, I know.
To keep this food related. The good thing for me is I keep getting better places to shop for food. I used to have to drive to Portland for Trader Joes or any “gourmet” food store like Zupans. We also have bigger “international” food isles than we used to have. Less food related. I now have an ER within about a 1/2 hour drive which could save my life someday.
