Why I love the northwest US....

The northwest US of A....so what comes to mind? What's the first image that pops into your head? Lush green vistas of pine? Fishing boats? Morning fog? Rain? Rocky Coasts? Well, these things are all definite stereotypes, but there is something beyond all of these pictures that garners a fond spot south of my aorta....and that would be TASTE. I find that the more I travel around the this vast and diverse country (so far 48 states and counting) that my experiences become less about seeing "things" but more about the memories I have with the people I've met and things I've tasted. When I was in Ottumwa, IA I quickly forgot what the downtown really looked like, but my times spent eating at a hole-in-the-wall Ecuadorian eatery will forever be with me. The tastes of that food prepared in a way that had been passed down through family lines of another continent and the circus folk seated around the table enjoying that armchair taste tour.

So, I'm sure that you've gathered by now that I'm somewhat gastronomically driven, and why shouldn't I be? I mean, we are after all blessed with the ability to taste what we eat. Can you imagine how boring it would be if everything we ate had no taste at all? There would be no cause for desserts, there would be no delight in food or drink pairings....one might as well just hook up an IV and go about your business.

Ok, I'm drifting on topics here. Back to the subject at hand, WHY do I love the northwest so much? Well, my past experiences have all been positive but more importantly I think it's that fact that there are artisan foods everywhere. Someone recently told me that in the northwest there are people who find their passion for a particular thing and set about learning and apprenticing in order to bring that unique attribute to their community. In the end, what happens is that you have a person on one corner who's sole goal in life is to make the best croissant they can, and then another person down the block who's sole goal in to cure meats in the traditional Italian way as authentically as possible. What you then find is these little towns of 10 to 80 thousand people where the ingredients available rival what you could find anywhere in the world! Recently, as I was traversing the vast prairie lands of Wyoming I was thinking about this: If one looks out over the past 100 years of food, it seems as if the food culture in this country is coming full circle, or maybe even evolving into its most exciting version yet...perhaps we're in Beta version of "New" Old World Cuisine right now in the US. The way I see it, it seems that from the late 1800's up through the 1950's everything was fresh because it had to be that way. Yes, there were ice boxes, but those were a luxury and of course there were no microwaves to be found. But, as our country developed, experienced growing pains, and went through wars forcing us to develop food resources that would last longer than the weekend. Then the space race and communism came along and science reined supreme. Thus, we experimented with new materials (teflon, plastic, etc.) why not experiment with our food? If we can make a tomato that grows larger, why not? If we can develop preservatives that let bread last 3 weeks on the shelf instead a few days, why not? So, as it seems to me, this convenience of profitability was traded in for quality. And then a better infrastructure came along that made the transportation of preservative loaded foods viable for companies that would now distribute on a national scale. This, we became (to use the title of a popular book) a fast food nation.

So, somewhere along this spiraling foodline (perhaps with the new focus on health with all the studies in the late 80's and early 90's) a small part of the population started to realize that less is more and that the FDA doesn't necessarily know everything about food, and unfortunately in some cases can be persuaded to let a corporation use that controversial new ingredient if it lobbies the right way. So, there seems to be this growing segment of the population, one could say a "wave" of people who are willing to pay a little bit more money if it means that a food was raised organically. People willing to take the extra time to appreciate a drink or dish that was created in a way that hails from simpler times...quality and freshness on a plate or in a cup.

Back, once again, to the subject. As I crossed into Montana and traveled through these little towns I started to see these artisan kinds of places on the nearly every corner. For example: on my way from Loveland, CO to Spokane, WA I spent a night in the Missoula, MO WalMart parking lot (as an RV owner there aren't many places you can "legally" park overnight, and Walmart is one of the few that happen to be RV friendly). The next morning I awoke excited to try a local bakery on a tip from a friendly coffee website. I proceeded to navigate the Flying Dutchman (my RV) through the quaint downtown of Missoula and found Le Petite Outre (loosely translated "the Little Outrageous") and let me say, it was a life moment of sweet and yeasty nirvana for the croissants were the best I've ever had in my life! (and yes, I have had croissants in France) They were simply perfect, flaky and crunchy on the outside with an inner dough that was a soft pillow of buttery goodness that melted in your mouth whilst chewing....(pardon while I wipe the drool off my mouth :-) ) And it was in that moment with a perfect croissant and decent mocha latte when it hit me, I love the northwest. The people, the weather (no, it's not really as rainy as rumor has it), the coffee, the lushness, and the food. So, as the week progressed I made it to Spokane and visited my favorite local food store, Huckleberries. When I arrived I made a beeline for the meats department to buy some of their bratwurst (made in-house of course) that I had been craving since my last visit to Spokane 2 years ago. Ah, Spokane....I wrote about my wonderful experience there 2 years ago and upon my recent return visit I was delighted to find it the way I had left it before and in some ways even better. And this time around was twice as good because I had the wonderful fortune to be shown around by a local foodie. Now, during the course of this week I had the chance to test of conclusion about the northwest. You see, during that week in Spokane I flew back to the east coast for my little sister's wedding. So, as you may imagine I got a first hand demonstration of the differences in food, people, attitudes, driving styles etc. between the 2 opposing coasts. Then, to top it all of, upon returning to Washington I spent 3 days in Seattle checking out the scene (and coffee of course) andwas again reminded why I'm so fond of this region of the US....lushness in a city surrounded by water. Beautiful hills, cozy neighborhoods, espresso everywhere, misty mornings, and just plain cool people. So, these are just a few reasons of the many to draw me to a certain direction of the compass....attached a few pics to make you swoon, enjoy