Washington wine country eats

[mamster]

A reporter from Florida called to ask if I could recommend any restaurants people could visit in conjuction with winery tours. He wasn't totally clear on what he meant by "wine country," but I'm thinking maybe Yakima valley. Any ideas?

[Schielke]

There are of course the easy answers for the Winery Branches here: The Barking Frog and The Herb Farm.

I dont know the hard answers, Yakima is not much of a culinary boom town. They do have Miner's burgers though.

Ben

[LEdlund]

I've been reading a lot lately about the wines of Walla Walla, would that be considered a wine country?

[mamster]

Sure, why not?

[bankchef]

Okay, time for a shameless plug. . .my restaurant (I'm the chef not the owner) opens this Monday. We're not toooooo close to wine country but not too far. Its called The Bank @ Saginaw's. Saginaw's is a deli & diner in Elma, WA that has decided to go upscale. They've brought me in (I was in Portland for a few months as a Sous and was in Memphis working under chef Karen Carrier before that) and a front of the house manager from The Green Turtle in Tacoma. After a few months of renuvating (did I spell that right?) we're ready to open The Bank which is in the actual original town bank. Come by and see us. We're working on wine lists trying to get great local wines as well as the imports and my menu is everchanging. . .four items on our eight entree menu change weekly. Anyway, if you get a chance stop by and eat with us.

[mamster]

Sounds interesting, bankchef--thanks for the plug.

[malarkey]

Okay, time for a shameless plug. . .my restaurant (I'm the chef not the owner) opens this Monday. We're not toooooo close to wine country but not too far. Its called The Bank @ Saginaw's. Saginaw's is a deli & diner in Elma, WA that has decided to go upscale.

ROAD TRIP!

[malarkey]

ironically, I was just at the store and the current Northwest Palate (the magazine) has a article on Walla Walla eats. Looks like there might be some decent choices...

[mb7o]

there's also supposed to be an excellent french restaurant in Dayton, even further out.

there are two mexican restaurants in Zillah. the one 'southeast' of town is very much family style, can't remember much else about it. the other i haven't been to; one is supposed to be pretty good, but I don't know which. the weird thing is most of the town is shut on saturday, but then again there was a big seventh day adventist church.

edit: of course at this time of year you could just stop at an orchard and get a case of peaches for a few dollars. pence is easy to find, head down lateral A from union gap and they'll be on the right in a very short distance.

Edited August 4, 2003 by mb7o (log)

[tighe]

Not been there myself, but I've heard good accounts of Whitehous-Crawford in Walla Walla.

[bankchef]

Don't forget about the herb farm.

[Kimo]

A friend goes down to Walla Walla 5-6 times a year and raves about the taco trucks (not really restaurants, but where everyone who works in the vineyards/farms/wineries/restaurants/bars go for a quick meal). Also, the chef from Salish Lodge & Spa is moving down to Walla Walla and opening his restaurant in first quarter 2004.

At last count in Walla Walla, there are now over 50 wineries as well as the hometown of Whitman College...definitely a need for great hotels/B&Bs/restaurants/bars. And, it's still an affordable weekend away from Seattle...

Kimo

[Fish]

A reporter from Florida called to ask if I could recommend any restaurants people could visit in conjuction with winery tours.  He wasn't totally clear on what he meant by "wine country," but I'm thinking maybe Yakima valley.  Any ideas?

This has bothered me for a while. In S Africa ("the old country"), and particularly in the winelands near Cape Town, there are many (more than 10) world-class restaurants, serving incredibly good food. Almost every wine farm has a good place to eat. Here in Seattle, if you go any further out of town than Woodinville, you're not likely to find anything special. A really fun thing to do on a weekend was to go for a nice drive to a wine farm, eat a nice lunch, and then go home. Why aren't there more good country restaurants here ?

- S

[MsRamsey]

Fish -- Is there anything about the taxes, rules, and regulations that makes it a more attractive business venture there?

[Pouncy]

When I drag people around for foodie and wine trips, we hit up Chateau Ste. Michelle, then head out to Fall City and get lunch or dinner at Small Fry's in Fall City, then head up to Snoqualmie Falls, and then Snoqualmie Brewing Company. Not the most wine-oriented of itienararies, but it's entertaining.

When you go to Snoqualmie Brewing Company, be sure you don't accidentally walk into the Christian cafe next door! Me being used to Stone Brewing Co. down here in San Diego, it was a bit of a surprise.

[Fish]

Fish -- Is there anything about the taxes, rules, and regulations that makes it a more attractive business venture there?

Not that I know of - it's not like there are more restaurants in town than you'd find here. Of course, the fact that the winelands are so spectacular there (300 year old estates etc) makes the whole area a major tourist destination, kind of like Napa, whereas the Washington wine country seems a whole lot more industrial.

- S

[thursdaynext]

ironically, I was just at the store and the current Northwest Palate (the magazine) has a article on Walla Walla eats. Looks like there might be some decent choices...

Tried to check this out at Northwest Palate website, but they don't archive their articles. We're headed out to Walla Walla for a week this coming August, so any other hints on dining out would be appreciated!

[girl chow]

Try this link.

This site lists a lot of wineries in the designated wine regions. If you click on the region you're interested in visiting, a map with winery locations will pop up. On the right side of the screen is an option to add a list of restaurants to the search. Click on the "update map" option and it will list restaurants in conjunction with the wineries. You can also search for vineyard locations. It's a pretty cool site.

[thursdaynext]

Thanks, girl chow!

Glad to find a site whose map functions actually work! Really looking forward to visiting some of the vineyards listed as well-

[Really Nice!]

A good time to go to Eastern Washington is the weekend of May 7. The Taste Washington tour stops there at the Red Lion in Pasco between 7 and 10 P.M. Although there aren't as many wineries presenting, the price is only $40, and you'll find some of the smaller 'boutique' wineries that aren't coming to Seattle.

Here's a list of participating wineries and restaurants.

Here's another Web site offering stuff on Washington wines including a clickable map.

[Coop]

Wine Spectator had an excellent article on either Yakima or Walla Walla last year, maybe in September, October. I'll try to find it. What about that Banner Bank on the radio about Dunham cellars and all their friends. Does it mention a restaurant?

[jmcnally]

The article was about Walla Walla and was in the October 15 issue (with Robert Mondavi on the cover). My wife and I will be doing a week-long trip to the Okanagan (British Columbia) wine country and will be spending a few days in the Yakima/Walla Walla area as well. Any recommendations for restaurants and/or winery visits would be welcomed.

[rockdoggydog]

The article was about Walla Walla and was in the October 15 issue (with Robert Mondavi on the cover). My wife and I will be doing a week-long trip to the Okanagan (British Columbia) wine country and will be spending a few days in the Yakima/Walla Walla area as well. Any recommendations for restaurants and/or winery visits would be welcomed.

Head up to Red Mountain outside Yakima, there's a nice cluster of wineries up there that are top notch. In fact I would recommend Yakima over Walla Walla in general. Walla Walla gets most ofthe press nationally but I think that they're starting to believe the hype and just don't turn out as many spectacular wines as they used to. Try out the Tri-Cities area also, there are quite a few wineries clustered there that are worth trying. Stop by the Washington Wine Commission site at www.washingtonwine.org they have some trip planning tips on the site as well as maps that show the clusters of wineries. Have fun!