Go! Road Trips 2010
Seattle’s nice, but rolling out of town in the springtime is even sweeter. Here, five excuses to load the trunk, get behind the wheel, and put rubber to asphalt.
By James Ross Gardner, Jessica Voelker, Christopher Werner, David Laskin, and Lia Steakley Dicker
La Fama is a hot spot for tacos, burritos, and tortas.
View Slideshow »Cape Sebastian, Oregon.
View Slideshow »Badger Mountain
View Slideshow »Dungeness Spit
View Slideshow »View Slideshow »
Langley Beach
View Slideshow »Clover Island Inn
Travel time: 3.5 hours
Tacos in Pasco
by Lia Steakley Dicker
Somewhere around mile marker 74 on Interstate 82, our wine-tasting trip to the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) turned into a pursuit for the best Mexican food in Washington. The change in course came when my car mates complained that, despite its award-winning wines, the region is a cultural wasteland.
Appalled by their urbanite snobbery, I pointed out that, in Eastern Washington’s agrarian community Mexican migrant workers keep an abundance of authentic cantinas and taquerias in business. To which one travel companion replied, “Forget the cabernet, I want carne asada!”
The quest was on. And by the time we’d had our fill of tasting rooms along Tulip Lane—Richland’s winery row—quizzing vineyard hands on their top taco-shack picks or where to score the tastiest huevos rancheros, our road trip had a focal point: Pasco.
We checked into the Clover Island Inn, a 150-room waterfront hotel in Kennewick with sweeping views of the Columbia River, and spent the next two days eating our way through Pasco.
The gastronomic tour led us first to El Charrito, a whitewashed mission-style eatery. We gorged on generous plates of chiles rellenos and chicken mole, but the showstopper came in the form of the thick-as-pancakes handmade tortillas we used to sop up every last morsel. A few blocks away sat La Fama. The tiny neon yellow and green taqueria serves piping-hot tacos, burritos, and Mexican sandwiches known as tortas. Before chowing down, we dressed the dishes to perfection with homemade red and green chili sauces, pico de -gallo, and other fresh fixings from the salsa bar.
Between meals we burned off calories exploring area parks. In McNary National Wildlife Refuge off Highway 12, we spied yellow-head blackbirds and Canada geese. A short but steep hike to the summit of the Badger Mountain Centennial Preserve, south of Richland and west of Kennewick, paid off in panoramic views of the glistening Columbia River and windswept steppes. Then we doubled back to Pasco, to what ended up being my favorite taqueria of all.
Large photos of Salvadoran and Mexican dishes hung on the walls at El Amanecer, bridging the English-Spanish language gap. My friends tucked into tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Me? I opted for a pupusa, a biscuitlike flat bread made from corn and filled, in my case, with cheese and pumpkin. One bite into the warm doughy delight sent me hustling back to the counter to order more.
Published: April 2010
You totally skipped over The Big Burrito on Road 68; you really missed out!
You totally skipped over The Big Burrito on Road 68; you really missed out!
Unless you live in Woodinville or thereabouts, you have to be flying to get to Chelan in 3 hours!
Yes, Ben is a nice guy. The whole family is. You can’t do the lake area justice in a short visit. Even a long weekend isn’t long enough to find all the smaller but excellent wineries on the out-of-the-way roads. And you have to go to the end—to Manson—to get to CR Sandidge. Ray Sandidge is a noted winemaker who was one who helped make wine what it is there today. Capers restaurant is a favorite of locals and tourists, too, and the Red Apple stores have great wine buys plus food to go. The Golden Florin-known to some as “Charlie Bears” is well known as a natural foods source. And on and on……And I’m not plugging my town, because I don’t live there! It’s 70 miles from Leavenworth to Chelan, but we go when we can.
I work in Redmond and commute to and from Chelan weekly. It’s 3 hours on the nose door-to-door going the speed limit or reasonably close to it, although as my wife will attest i’m not much for stopovers (although I do like the ham and butter on baguette from Anjou bakery in Cashmere!) so I don’t generally dilly-dally. It does take time to find all the great wineries and we are starting to have more food options – more of the wineries are offering happy hour food, regular dinners and lunches and special winemaker dinners, etc. Just be prepared to slow it down a bit when you come and enjoy “Chelan Time”.
You should try out Grandview on the Lake on your next trip… the views are extraordinary and the rooms are outstanding.
Thanks for the write-up of the area. We really do have a rich choice of taco options. If you make it out on a Sunday, be sure to make the Pasco Flea Market (http://www.yelp.com/biz/pasco-flea-market-pasco-2) for the best food, people-watching, & overall cultural experience.