A Sunday Afternoon in Bellingham

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, it’s always a pleasure to visit Bellingham, WA. That opportunity in fact did present itself on Sunday as Muffinheadedboy and his roommate Brian needed a ride back to Bellingham where they go to college.

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.