Eating Our Way Through Ellensburg

Eating Our Way Through Ellensburg, WA
by Heather Lindsay Sell, ShoutOUT®
October 23, 2018

huckleberry strawberry wafflesOur family gatherings, no matter how big or small, always center around food. Always! When we’re on a trip, our first order of business for the day, “Where are we going for breakfast…and how about lunch?” And then during lunch, “Where are we going for dinner?”

So it’s no wonder that my daughter already had an itinerary built around food for our recent trip to visit her in Ellensburg, WA. And true to form, we ate our way through the town.

To me, trying something new or different when you visit somewhere is part of the whole appeal.  Whether it be a new experience or different food, you have to throw yourself in and experience the food and culture of where you’re visiting. This trip’s new experiences for me? I sipped creamy, sweet horchata, dabbled my tastebuds in huckleberries, and downed frothy homemade root beer.

Here are several places we visited. There’s a slide-show at the bottom too if you’d like to see some of the food and drinks we tasted.

The Yellow Church Café  is a converted 1923 building that used to house a church for German Lutherans. You can still see elements of the church still in use as soon as you enter the foyer. Lunch for me consisted of Chicken Cavatappi, with house smoked chicken breast, sun-dried tomatoes, pecorino, and cavatappi pasta in a white wine cream sauce. Scrumptious and filling!

The Wild Huckleberry Restaurant has that inviting old-time diner feel. One of 4 locations and locally owned, their Ellensburg location (and my daughter) lured me in with promises of Belgian waffles. Strawberry Belgian waffles to be precise. And they did not disappoint.  My mom ordered the Huckleberry Belgian waffles and was nice enough to share a bite. Delish! Never had huckleberries before. The taste reminded me of a cross between blueberries and raspberries.

Whipsaw Brewing is a local brewery, also locally owned. With almost 15 craft beers on tap, their taproom was definitely a cool place to visit with a nice patio outdoors to sip your libations. We tried the Huckleberry cider and Summer Ale.

Get this! They also have home-brewed root beer. Unfortunately, they were out the day my daughter an I visited, but I was able to try some at one of the local restaurants that carries it. MmmmMMM WOW! None of the aftertaste that I had experienced with other root beers. I’m a convert. Well, to Whipsaw’s root beer anyways.

At The Early Bird for breakfast, I splurged even more. Two words. Hollandaise sauce. I ADORE hollandaise sauce, so when I noticed that one of their scramble bowls incorporated this buttery concoction into their recipe, I knew that was the choice for me. Scrambled eggs, hollandaise (of course), potatoes, cheese, tomatoes, and ham, topped with green onions. AMAZING! And very filling, though every time I’d say, “Ok, I’m done. I’m taking the rest home.” I somehow found myself sneaking one more bite. “Just one more.” I did bring some leftovers home, though honestly don’t know how.

Another of my daughter’s recommendations, El Caporal Mexican Restaurant. She said they had incredible Tex-Mex food and boy was she telling the truth. My fave Tex-Mex indulgence are chimichangas! LOVE! I’ve not had the best of luck in finding a well-made and flavorful chimichanga. El Caporal did a bang-up job on the chicken chimichangas. Well-seasoned. They even had a dollop of guacamole on top! Excelente! And the portions. Holy-moly! Experienced my first sip of horchata, a sweet, creamy drink with cinnamon and vanilla. A sweet treat!

There are a few more places we visited, but better stop while I’m ahead. Looking at all the pics again is making me hungry. Thank goodness we walked a lot, otherwise I would have come back 20 pounds heavier.

Here’s a slide-show of some of the amazing food and drinks we discovered along our Ellensburg foodie adventure through the town. See something you’d like to try? Let me know.

Until our next adventure….#BeTheAdventure

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About ShoutOUT

In 2009, I started sharing my experiences, food, travels, and events, along with all of the incredible people and businesses I was meeting and discovering. What began as a fun hobby had such an overwhelming response, in 2010 ShoutOUT was born! I continue to stretch the boundaries locally, regionally, and nationally, discovering, sharing and connecting as I go.
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