More, Please: The Road Trip: 24 Hours In Yakima

Red Flat Pimento Organic Peppers

That's me in the photo. Trashed white canvas Vans, still pristine white tunic, and the 30 pounds of organic peppers I had just picked at Krueger Pepper Gardens in Wapato, WA. When I dressed Sunday morning, this was not what I had in mind. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let us begin, as all journeys should, with breakfast.

Saturday 8:00am, Skillet Diner, Capital Hill

By 10:00am the line will be out the door. But at this hour, it's us, a few other folks from the neighborhood, and Cyndi Lauper on Pandora. Heading to our table I cannot stop myself from executing a bop and shoulder shimmy because, you know, girls just wanna have fun.

Eggs Scrambled with Fried Chicken and Beet Greens (Me)

Grits and Poached Eggs (Phil)

Phil and I are headed east of the mountains. Our annual late-summer pilgrimage to Yakima to fill the car with boxes of local fruits and vegetables, to stock up on tamales and hot sauces, and eat as many tacos as we can hold.

It's a lovely drive this time of year as the leaves turn. Early enough to still get peaches, tomatoes, peppers, and corn, but late enough for apples, pears, and pie pumpkins. This year, because the weather has been so hot and dry, it's already crush at the local vineyards. Win-win-win for us.

You should go. Here's your road map.

Saturday 9:30am, Cle Elum
Hoards throng to the Cle Elum Bakery. Like the bakeries of your parents' youth there are tiny frosted cake donuts, jelly donuts dusted with sugar, bear claws, chocolate chip cookies, and inexplicably, a mountain of garlic bread. Despite having finished breakfast an hour ago, Phil spots a maple bar he must have. A couple of lattes to go and we're back on the road.

Saturday 10:30am, Roadside Fruit Stand
Whooaaa! What's that? Honeycrisp apples just in from the orchard. Yes, please. Honeycrisps are a sweet, juicy, snappy eating apple that doubles as a pie apple, holding their shape and flavor.

Saturday 12:30pm, Oxford Inn & Suites, Yakima
Check into hotel. Nap.

View of Yakima River from our Balcony

Phil and I have diverging opinions on what constitutes an acceptable hotel. To illustrate this I share the time we stopped for gas and directions on a road trip to Los Angeles. The station attendant complimented Phil on his choice of hotels, as we would find "fewer hookers." I prefer no hookers, high thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, and a pillow menu.
I have not noticed any hookers at the Oxford Inn & Suites in Yakima. It is well kept, the rooms are spacious, the staff helpful and courteous, and the prices affordable. It is an acceptable marital compromise.

1:30pm Saturday, Churchill's Books, Downtown Yakima

An old book lover's haunt. The books are in excellent condition and priced well. Like every good bookstore, there is a cat in residence. Gabriel, a rescue, with a tragic past and a gentle sweet purr. Phil left with a beautifully illustrated two-volume set of The Fair God by Lew Wallace (1873). I left covered in cat hair.

2:30pm Saturday, Tammy's Mexican Kitchen

Mexican restaurants line every street in Yakima. Our criteria is simple: tortillas handmade to order, fresh crema (not sour cream), house-made salsas and sauces, fresh juices, NO orange cheese, and perfectly executed tacos for $1.75 each or less.

Fresh Beet and Carrot Juice

Carne Asada and Queso Fresco Tacos

Pollo Sope

Four enchiladas, two tacos, a sope, rice, beans, and a fresh beet and carrot juice: $18.12

3:45pm Saturday, Gilbert Cellars Orchard, Vineyard, Winery, and Glacier Basin Distillery
Gilbert Cellars has a nice tasting room in downtown Yakima where you can taste, order by the glass or bottle, and have civilized small bites. This afternoon, we're going straight to the orchards, vineyards, and their adjacent tasting rooms. Distillery hours are by appointment only, so call ahead. Because it is harvest and crush apples and grapes are being brought in when we arrive.

Granny Smith Apples in a Gilbert Cellars Orchard

Just-Picked Beauties

Glacier Bay Grappa, Apple Brandy, Vodka from Grapes, and Kirsch

Yes, Please.

Offloading Bins of Grapes from the Vineyard

Malbec to Be

This Makes Me Thirsty

We swirl, sniff, and taste and settle on a bottle of Syrah for later in the evening.

Driving back to town we tune the radio to Mexican music, as it's time for a little shopping.

5:30pm Saturday, Yakima Fiesta Foods

This is a stadium-sized store, loud and crowded with families. There are two-story displays of peppers, onions, and limes. Pinatas overhead. Mariachi music piped in, interrupted frequently for raucous descriptions (in Spanish) of the especials of the moment. Entertainment factor aside, there is seriously good stuff here.

Four Types of Fresh Crema, Salsa Borracha, and Salsa Verde Made In-House

and Screaming Deals on Cheeses and Hot Sauces

With Prices Like This, Your Next Power Outage Becomes an Epiphany

6:30pm Saturday, Cowiche Canyon Kitchen & Ice House, Downtown Yakima

Upscale dining by Yakima standards. The menu is solidly American and the portions large, which means we'll never eat here. That's not to say you shouldn't. The ingredients appeared fresh and well prepared. We did have two lovely cocktails, as their bar was stocked with small-batch spirits and the drinks properly chilled.

Old Tom Gin (right) and

Martini with Whyte Ladie Gin from Missoula, Montana

7:30pm Saturday, Back to Oxford Hotel & Suites

I am sure there are exciting things to do in Yakima on a Saturday night, but we've never done them. We opt for Chinese takeout and the nice bottle Gordon Cellars wine we bought earlier. We fluff pillows and prop up in bed to watch The Hunt for Red October. Phil does a fine Sean Connery impersonation.

Once more we play our dangerous game . . .

8:00am Sunday, Downtown Yakima

Farmers' Market Day! Head to Essencia Baker y for a fresh pear and cardamom croissant and excellent drip coffee then walk across the street to the market.

I load up on organic tomatoes. The farmer, a lovely, energetic Hispanic woman, remembers us from previous years. I buy three 25-pound boxes of red Roma, at $18 a box. Throw in 10 pounds of yellow Roma, and 5 pounds of purple tomatillos. As we finish our transaction she thanks us, then says a blessing for our health and well being until she sees us again next year. And THAT pretty much sums up why you should know your farmer.

We make our way through the market, buying boxes of Honeycrisp apples for $12, and bags of heirloom peaches and plums.

Then I stop dead in my tracks. There's a big empty space where Krueger Pepper Gardens, THE place to buy organic peppers, always has a stand. I have the farmer's cell phone number and he answers my frantic call. Where ARE YOU? Long story short, the heat that brought real summer to the Pacific Northwest baked Eastern Washington. It was a terrible year. He invites us to drive over to the farm and U-pick from his 100 varieties of organic peppers, all about $1.00 a pound.

10:30am Sunday, Krueger Pepper Gardens, Wapato
Of course we go. I am absurdly inappropriately dressed for stomping around in fields. But there are peppers to be had and that is all that matters.
The farmland is beautiful.

The peppers are extraordinary.

Phil is actually both Sweet and Hot

There is no charge to roast your peppers at the farm and your car will smell like heaven (my idea of it) all the way home.

1:00pm Sunday, Los Hernandez Tamales, Union Gap

Legendary tamales. Call the day before and order a few dozen to go, frozen or fresh. The family makes a couple thousand tamales a day by hand and they don't last long. Asparagus tamales (sold only when local asparagus is in season) are a treat, but the pork or chicken tamales are also excellent.

1:30pm Sunday, Ruben's Tortilleria

No trip to Yakima is complete without a stop in a tortilleria and Mexican bakery. Chicharrón, vats of beans, and tortillas made fresh all day. Three dozen hot tortillas will set you back $2.00. We stand outside by our car, smear tortillas with guacamole and care not what people driving by might think of this spectacle.

2:00pm Sunday, El Cantarito, Toppenish

One last meal before heading home, back to the land of orange cheese on bland Mexican food. Throw a dart in this town and it will land on a Mexican restaurant. We settle on El Cantarito. Menu on a chalkboard. Families dressed in their best, having lunch after church. We order tacos, of course, and the day's special of roasted pork ribs in chile verde.

Tacos, $1.25 each, Served with Fried Jalepeno

3:00pm Sunday, Cle Elum
One more stop for provisions at Glondo's. A family-owned sausage company.

So you can say you did, visit the Telephone Museum. Established in 1966, this is the oldest telephone museum west of the Mississippi.

6:00pm Sunday, Bainbridge Island

Back on the rock. Road weary and predictably, hungry and thirsty again. Need a quick dinner with our Yakima treasure. Saute chopped onion and roasted peppers in a little oil in an iron skillet. Layer on panela, queso fresco, and cotija and pop under the broiler. Warm tortillas. Lay out assortment of salsas, sauces, crema, and guac. Pour the wine. Eat.