Along with BowlingWidow, we all jumped in the Matrix and headed north at around eleven a.m. Bellingham has it all in my opinion. It’s got the warm cultural vibe that’s present in so many medium sized towns with a university located within the city limits. A cool downtown with a lot of unique independent stores and restaurants. Mount Baker looms just to the east with Bellingham Bay to the west. And it’s a nice gateway to visit Canada, eh? Yep, Bellingham has a lot going for it.
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Bandito's Burritos: The View from State Street
When I have time, there are always two places I make a point to visit. The first is a little hole-in-the wall burrito place downtown on Holly Street called Bandito’s Burritos. I don’t go there for the burritos however, although I did have one once and it was pretty good. I’m there for the salsa bar. For just $3.25 I can get 16 ounces of the finest homemade salsa in existence. And there aren’t just a few to choose from. There are TWELVE! All are worthy of consideration and they range from mild to “habanero wild”.
There are salsas that have apple and other odd fruit in them. Green salsas. Red salsas. Salsa in which the predominant ingredient is ginger. One thing for sure is that you never get exactly the same thing twice. Me? I’m kind of a traditionalist and tend to go with the tomato-based ones. But it had darned well better be hot. This time I went with the four-star (out of five) known appropriately as “Fire in the Hole”. This version also featured an abundance of garlic. Can one ever have too much garlic? I think not.
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Bandito's Salsa Bar: Pure Heaven for the Fiery Food Aficionado
The other place is Boundary Bay Brewing Company on nearby Railroad Avenue. This small brewery has deservedly done quite well since opening a few years ago and has won some prestigious awards for their product. Being a big fan of the hoppy IPAs, their version represents the gold standard of the style as far as I’m concerned.
BowlingWidow and I downed one each with our lunch. Yes, they have a pretty decent restaurant as well. She enjoyed a chicken curry meal while I warmed up with a nice bowl of homemade chili.
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Boundary Bay Brewery: a "Must Visit" in Bellingham
Sadly, our three hour whirlwind trip to Bellingham had to come to an end as all good things must, and we hit the on-ramp for the return trip on I-5 southbound, back home to Marysville: The Anti-Bellingham.
9 comments:
Sounds charming. Love the pics as well as the delectable descriptions!
Thanks, Crazy Mermaid. We actually thought about moving to Bellingham several years back, but the commute to and from work in Everett would have been a bit much. Although I have known people who do that sort of thing.
So Marysville is the Anti-Bellingham? It almost sounds like you're trying to bait crackpots into posting hate-filled anti-Joe diatribes. I see you're still accepting anonymous posts, so hopefully one will fall into your clever trap.
I'm feeling nostalgic for the Anonymous person from August of 2009 who suspected that my "two 'Joy's (sic) of Manhood' have mysteriously fallen off." Comments like that don't happen nearly often enough anymore.
You forgot to mention BowlingJoe, that the politics of Bellingham fit your style as well!
You also forgot to mention the real pride of Bellingham -- Grizzly Tools! Now while I personally wouldn't want to own any Grizzly tools, they sell LOTS of other companies tools as well, as very decent prices. A great big honking Porter Cable air compressor somehow found it's way intot he Expedition the last time I drifted by there...
My wife and I took a quick trip to B-burg last Friday; walked around Lake Samish (in the sun!), late lunch at the India Grill, walked around Fairhaven (and picked up some African Peanut Soup at the Colophon for next day's lunch). Excellent!
I've never been to Grizzly Tools, cvow. Somehow I've managed to get along with a few key Craftsman products. Besides, tools take up valuable space that's required by an arsenal of bowling balls.
David, walking around Bellingham and Lake Samish is always a good way to spend the day. I'll have to try India House sometime (I have had the great peanut soup at Colophon).
My friend Tim tells me there's a great new Salvadorian restaurant in Bellingham called Super Mario http://supermariosfood.com/. I'm looking forward to trying that sometime.
Just a little correction. Banditos is on holly st. Not state. Easy mistake though. :)
Thanks, anonymous. I'll update the post.
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