More Great Food and Sites from around the Country...

by Xani

After a few days of hard work and good eats in Olympia, WA, it was time to head back to the Seattle-Tacoma airport and begin the long journey home. But first, lunch. As my co-worker AJ and I made the hour long drive up to Seattle, we decided that what this trip was missing was a really good burger. I harnessed the power of my Treo device and googled "Best Burgers Seattle WA." To my surprise one of the first results to pop up was GQ Magazine's list of The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die (17. Double Bacon Deluxe with Cheese, Red Mill Burgers, Seattle). Now, are any of our regular readers out there having flashbacks?? You might remember way back in June I did this post about eating a burger off Esquire Magazine's 60 Things Worth Shortening Your Life For. What is it with men's magazines and their obsession with death?

AJ and I decided that if one of the 20 burgers you must eat before you die was just a few exits away, then eat it, we must, indeed! We headed to the Interbay location and it turned out to be a cute little "burger shack" type place with some picnic tables outside and semi-kitch decor inside. With little patience for admiring the scenery (we were HUNGRY), we got down to ordering. Aj went all out and got the double Bacon Deluxe with Cheese, I "only" got the Single Bacon Deluxe with Cheese. We also got some fries, AJ got a chocolate shake, and I got a chocolate malt. As we ordered this obscene amount of food, I noticed something which I knew was a harbinger of good things to come:

If you look closely, you will see that that is a picture of a GIANT stack of bacon on next to the griddle. They are not kidding with the bacon at this place! I was sure the bacon-stack was a good sign, and when the food arrived a few minutes later, it was confirmed.

I was in too much of a rush to start eating to get a better shot of these delicious burgers. But man, were they good! First off, they were huge. That is not a standard sesame seed bun, I'd guess it has about a 20% larger circumference than a normal bun. The patty (or patties, on the double) were totally delicious and juicy (as in take a bite and hot burger juice drips down your hand). The bacon was probably the best bacon i have ever had on a burger. Instead of a couple slices of greasy, limp, forgettable bacon, Red Mill's burgers had multiple strips of thick-cut, perfectly crispy, crunchy, peppery bacon. It. was. AWESOME. The cheese, veggies, and "mill sauce" (which I think is mayo with some kind of flavoring, and potentially crack, in it) all came together to make this a damn good burger. If you are in Seattle, or really anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, I highly recommend you get one of these burgers immediately, if not sooner.

The fries were good but not outstanding. The malt was top-notch, so much so that as I write this at 9:15 am, a full week after drinking it, I am craving one right now. AJ reported that his shake was also excellent. Overall this was a super-good meal that I probably never would have had without google and GQ!

With more time to kill before we needed to get to Sea-Tac, we decided to head over to the Pike Place Market, one of Seattle's biggest tourist attractions. We were too full from the burgers to eat any of the great looking food there, but we had a great time strolling around, people watching, and soaking up the great sites and smells (especially the gorgeous flowers)! I wanted to share a few of the pictures I snapped:

We thouroughly enjoyed visiting the Market and I was just happy to visit the Pacific Northwest again. Stay tuned for more posts from around the country!

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Good Eats in Olympia, WA

by Xani

I'm going to be on the road a lot this month (again) so look forward to posts exploring the cuisine in various corners of the country!

Fountain outside my hotel in Olympia, WA

We begin in the Pacific Northwest, where I spent a few days in Olympia, WA. Olympia is the capitol of Washington, about an hour south of the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The night I arrived my coworker AJ and I were invited to dinner by a co-worker. I wasn't really feeling up to it after an early wake-up in Philadelphia (we had a great meal there as well-- post coming soon) and spending all day in planes, but, duty calls. We had dinner at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill, where we were seated at a lovely table right by the water. While the East coast sweltered in 100+ temperatures, I was eating a delicious steak with an enviable view of Puget Sound. Not too bad. No pictures of Anthony's, unfortunately, but we did have a good, solid meal there on my first night in Olympia. Our dining companion has lived in the area for many years, and gave us great recommendations for the rest of the week!

The next night, after a long day of work, AJ and I strolled across the street from our very cute hotel to Gardner's Restaurant. Gardner's is a cute little place, that has sort of an old farmhouse feel. The servers were all very friendly and attentive. Once we sat down and got settled, we ordered a bottle of local Pinot Noir, nibbled some bread with garlic butter, and admired the lovely surroundings.

Gardner's is mostly a seafood place, and the menu had lots of tempting dishes. I finally decided on the Cioppino, and AJ ordered the crab casserole. Both dishes were served with a salad and side, so we decided any additional starters would be overkill. Salads were basic, but fine. Then out came the main courses. AJs crab casserole turned out to be a large plate filled with lumps of (I think) Dungeoness crab, mushrooms, cheese, and lots of yummy flavorings. I tried a bite and it was wonderfully rich and flavorful. He got a side dish of fettuccine alfredo, too. My bowl of Cioppio was absolutely HUGE. I mean, it was kind of obscene. Piled high with mussels, rock shrimp, fish fillets, and scallops, all swimming in a rich tomato broth. If that wasn't enough, it came with a side of delicious mashed garlic potatoes. It was a delicious dish and after eating as much as I possibly could, the bowl was still half full! I felt bad throwing it away, but somehow I didn't think the fish soup would taste so great after a night in the mini-fridge...

Of course we did have a LITTLE room left for dessert and coffee. How could we resist when the waitress brought over this gorgeous dessert tray?

AJ got a slice of decadent chocolate cake, I was happy to order a dish of pear sorbet, which turned out to be really flavorful and refreshing-- just the thing I needed after that rich soup.

With full bellies we said goodbye to the friendly staff and strolled back across the street to our hotel. I got right into the soft, cozy bed and fell asleep listening to the sound of sea-birds singing outside my window.

The very next night we made reservations at Ristorante Trinacria, another recommendation from our Olympia resident and apparently a "cult favorite" among locals. Trinacria is a funky little place on the main drag in Olympia, right next to a tattoo parlor, and a short walk from our hotel. The whole place only had about 10 tables. The decor was a collection of mismatched furniture, unusual art, and bizarre aqua fiberglass pillars.

After admiring our surroundings we got down to business and decided what to eat! The menu was limited: about four or five starters, and maybe a dozen mains, mostly pasta with homemade sauces and pizzas with unusual toppings. We were tempted by the starters and decided to get an order of antipasti as well as a caprese salad, to share, along with a bottle of Italian red wine. Once the starters arrived, I could tell we were in for a treat. This was definitely a real-deal, authentico type of place....

Our friend in Olympia had told us that the owner/chef of Trinacria came to the US from Sicily not long ago, and that he was a stickler for doing things the old-fashioned way (not to mention an insistence on reservations, that's a helpful hint from me in case you end up in Olympia and want to just drop in for dinner-- don't do it!). The starters were simple, delicious, and perfect. Cappo ham, asiago cheese, olives and imported Italian bread sticks made up the antipasti, and everything was just bursting with flavor. The caprese was made of sweet, ripe tomatoes, topped with pieces of fresh buffalo mozzarella and shredded fresh basil. It was just as it should be-- basic but absolutely delicious.

Pleased with our starters we were excited to get to the main dishes. AJ ordered Spaghetti with the homemade Ragu (meat and vegetable sauce) and I decided to be brave and try the gnocchi with pomodoro (tangy tomato) sauce. I say I was brave because, as you might know, good gnocchi can be hard to find! The little potato/pasta dumplings can become gummy and nasty if they are improperly cooked. But I had a good feeling about Trinacria, so I went with it... and I was greatly rewarded for my bravery! The gnocchi were really, really great. They weren't gummy at all, they were light little pillows with just enough tangy tomato sauce on top. They really seemed homemade, right down to the little ridges on each one...

Ooohh... just look at that! It was a really good plate of pasta. Makes me want to try to master this dish at home!

After the mains came a plate of salad, further proving this place was following a traditional Italian model of dining.

At this point I guess I have to talk about the one "complaint" I had about the place-- the dessert. They only serve two desserts, cannoli and tiramisu. Well, as I've said before I'm not a big fan of tiramisu, and the same goes for cannoli. So, instead of dessert we lingered over some espressos and enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant. Here's a picture of me as we left and headed back to the hotel for yet another good night of sleep.

Overall we had delicious food and great times in Olympia! Thanks so much to Scott for all the great tips!

Stay tuned for another Washington post featuring one of the best burgers in the USA!

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