road detours on drive to seattle?

[1newyorkguy]

looking for any chowworthy detours on the way south to seattle...vegetarian friendly, please.

[kinnickinnik]

I'm a big beerhound so Boundary Bay brewing in Bellingham is a regular stop for a half pint and a bite. Pub food but is well executed.

[LotusRapper]

On brewing companies, there's also Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen on W. Holly, just northwest of downtown, right off the train tracks. They have an interesting, diverse menu, albeit gastropub-like. Of note is their locavore menu, a really cheal $5-ish "hoppy hour" menu, and a regular menu of pizzas, burgers/'wiches, soups/salads ...... made with care and good ingredients. The mac & cheese, & meatloaf, are really really good ..... I've been known to eat both in the same meal :-D

For a casual (but refined) tapas/small bites repertoire, try The Temple Bar on Champion St, also downtown.

And for similar, but even more refined (and +$), there's the Prospect Street Cafe (on Prospect Street, in case you were wondering), around the corner from The Temple Bar. Larger portions,

[1newyorkguy]

Went yesterday. Rhody cafe was very cute and pretty good. I had a finnish pancake that was almost like a savory cheesecake, with berries on top; enjoyable. I really liked the Chuckanut drive from Bellingham to Bow..gorgeous, may have to look into living there--surely much much cheaper than living here.

[LotusRapper]

Glad you had a good time and meal.

Yes that drive is great, but can be a bit white knuckles when the weather is crappy, esp. driving SB. But the view out to Samish Bay is priceless.

For future trips, here's a few more recs:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842784

[LotusRapper]

In Bellingham there's:

- Cafe Rumba! (newly opened on State St.)
- Pepper Sisters (about 2 blocks south of Cafe Rumba!, opposite side of road)
- Curry Cafe (off of Kellogg & Meridian)

Further south, there's the Calico Cupboard in La Conner and Mt. Vernon who does brekkies and lunches well, with vegetarian options.

[1newyorkguy]

FYI: in Bellingham, there's Soy House--a Vietnamese place with awesome vegetarian options.

Thanks for the La Connor heads up, looks like a fun place to stop...I'm open to spending the day elsewhere.

[LotusRapper]

Yes, I'm been advised by a fellow B'ham CH about Soy House that they have this unique Vietnamese wood-fired pizza with the cilantro pesto sauce. That got my attention.

[Georgia Strait]

the sumas crossing hilite is http://www.edaleendairy.com/

and then take chuckanut drive from bellingham to mt vernon

at this time of year, there should be some tulips in the skagit valley

check out La Connor - it's kitsch but still a bit cute.

i remember going to a good bakery in arlington once.

the rhododendron cafe in skagit valley used to be one of the Nw best places - don't know if it still exists or how it fares these days -- it is in Bow, WA

[LotusRapper]

Yup the Rhody Cafe is still there. Haven't eaten there for a long time since the last time we did the Tulip Festival in La Conner about 3-4 years ago, but memory serves they were v. good (not vegetarian tho', FWIW).

[1newyorkguy]

Is the dairy really worth a stop? I wonder if it is hormone free.

[kav23]

Edaleen Dairy has two stores, the main one in Lynden (just over the border from Aldergrove) and a 2nd one in Sumas (just over the border from Abbotsford). Their ice cream is really good, and the servings are generous for what they charge.