Eating My Way through the Pacific Northwest: A Review

Some people say food is just a small part of travel; these people are dead wrong. 

Here’s my philosophy: what is the point of travelling if you’re not eating new, unique, and delicious things? I’m by no means an expert in the food scene in the Pacific Northwest, though I got a good taste of it this summer through impromptu Yelp research. Although I would love to do a review of everything I ate in the Pacific Northwest this summer, this article would be far too long. So, I decided to scale down. That being said, here are the top ten things, in no particular order, that I ate/drank in the Pacific Northwest. 

#1: Gumbo from Chez Lafayette in Tacoma, Washington

Chez Lafayette in Tacoma, Washington, is a beacon of life among bleak streets in downtown Tacoma. Overlooking Tacoma Bay, and with a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier, this restaurant offers a modern take on Cajun cuisine. If you’ve ever had gumbo, you probably imagine it being overstuffed from its heavy greasiness. However, this gumbo was “built different”. Sausage, carrots, potatoes, onions, and countless unknown things accompanied by classic Cajun seasoning made the perfect hearty, yet not overly so, soup.

#2: Brown Sugar Boba Milk from Xin Fu Tang, Seattle

Seriously, what other place makes boba in an oversized wok? Once I saw this spectacle, I knew, as all boba lovers should, that this boba was about to be legit. Xin Fu Tang, a chain straight from Taiwan, has created a formidable drink; formidable in the way that it has made its own league of brown sugar boba tea. This is not your ordinary, overly sweet milky crap. Xin Fu Tang first puts boba cooked in brown sugar at the bottom of the cup. This boba is the perfect texture, but this is to be expected. What really sets this drink apart is the presence of a thick layer of nearly salty milk foam, topped with a layer of creme brulee-like substance. The resulting drink is chewy and sweet, yet it is balanced by the saltiness of the milk foam and the light bitterness from the creme brulee top. I’m still thinking of this drink to this day. 

#3: Sweet Peppers with Crème fraîche, Mint, and Balsamic from Ava Gene’s, Portland

A lot of Portland’s food scene can be described by this restaurant’s motto: “Locally Sourced, Aggressively Seasonal”. These peppers, of course, coming from a local farm, tasted very similar to shishito peppers, but they were sweeter and none of them carried that same spicy punch shishito peppers are known for. Paired with the crème fraîche and mint, these peppers were a balanced, light, and delicious appetizer. 

#4: Tamales from a Mexican food truck, Portland

The origin of this food may be a mystery, but its quality certainly was not. Amongst hundreds of other food trucks in Portland during the Saturday farmers’ market, this truck’s food was exceptional. One chicken and one pork tamale, paired with sour cream and fresh (but not mushy) pico de gallo, helped me escape the clamor of the market and transported me straight to Mexico. There’s something beautiful about the simplicity of a tamale, and this tamale was beautiful inside and out. 

#5: Smoked salmon plate from the Salmon House Restaurant, Quinault

What would the Pacific Northwest do without salmon? While many restaurants have salmon, few smoke their own. The Salmon House Restaurant, situated right on Lake Quinault, is an exception. This restaurant has its own smokehouse, and with a required 3 days of smoking in order to cure the locally harvested salmon, this house’s smoke never dies down. This thick cut of smoked salmon was smoky inside and out, with a caramelized outside and moist inside. This was paired with club crackers, capers, onions, cream cheese, and lemon slices, and was the perfect salmon lover’s experience. 

#6: Peach with Chili Oil, Burrata, Mint, and Focaccia from Ava Gene’s, Portland

Coming from a restaurant so delicious it shows up in this article twice, it’s no surprise that this side dish was exceptionally delicious. The beauty of this dish came from the quality of its ingredients. Fresh local peaches, locally made burrata, and freshly made focaccia embodied summer in Portland perfectly. 

#7: Stracciatella, Nocciola, and Chocolate Gelato from Pinolo Gelato, Portland

A showstopper trio from a legit gelato store. In order to stand out from the countless other ice cream shops on SE Division Street, you need to have exceptionally good ice cream.. Though there were so many shops to choose from, I chose this one, to the protest of my frozen-yogurt-loving sister, because of its classic take on Italian gelato. The stracciatella was perfectly creamy and smooth, and was complemented by thinly sliced dark chocolate. The chocolate was exceptionally dark and silky. And the hazelnut was incredibly nutty and refined. Together, they made both my palette and my soul satisfied. 

#8: Green Beans from Din Tai Fung, Seattle

Green beans. Boring? Far from it. These green beans are wildly addictive. Sure, it may contain an exorbitant amount of MSG in it. Nevertheless, the garlic-umami-crispy-juicy combination kept me coming back for more. Though it was a side dish for Din Tai Fung’s famous Xiaolongbao (shout out to Selah Vigil), everyone knows that this item is the real star. 

#9: Hojicha Latte from Taz Matcha Café, Seattle

If you know me, you know that I am a fiend for hojicha, which is a Japanese roasted green tea. Through the roasting process, the green tea loses the bulk of its caffeine, leaving a nutty and lightly smoky taste and aroma. This hojicha latte included hojicha of exceptional quality, milk, and sweetening agave syrup. The resulting concoction was nutty, not overly sweet, and perfectly milky. Most of all, it left me feeling like a true Seattleite, walking around with a drink that looked like coffee, but that was in reality far superior to it. 

#1: Miso Salmon Bone Broth Udon Soup (featuring my legs) from Yodelin, Port Angeles

It is said that pictures speak a thousand words. However, pictures cannot always speak the language of flavor. Situated in a port town, Yodelin restaurant’s specialty is broth. And though they have a strange take on asian cuisine, it’s made up for in their flavorful and life-giving broth. Paired with housemade udon noodles, kale, and radish, the term “soup” does not seem to do it justice. The term “Bowl-Licking Broth” seems far more appropriate.