Where to Eat in Eastern Washington

 

Gyro at St. John's Gifts and Bakery

My spring break officially ends tomorrow. After lounging around my house in the morning and trying to make the most of the last few hours, I will pack up my embarrassingly large amount of pink bags and head back to school. Well, it was fun while it lasted!

This spring break has been one of the best yet, and good thing it was, because I only have one left! I still can't believe that I will be a senior in college next fall...wasn't it just last year that I was an awkward middle school-er? I guess not... 

If you read my last post you will know that I spent four days in Yakima Washington with my roommate Lydia. Her family has a gorgeous house there complete with four dogs, 2 chickens and 1 cat. I was in animal heaven!

Lydia spent the four days showing me around Yakima. She made a point to tell me that some parts of Yakima are a "little sketchy," but I didn't have to worry because Lydia surely knew where the good parts were! And the good restaurants! 

The first place we stopped was about an hour away from Yakima, in Goldendale WA.  While driving to Yakima Lydia told me that there is a convent on the side of the road that sells amazing baklava. Of course we stopped. St John's Gifts and Bakery is a little store on the side of the road run by Greek Orthodox Nuns. They sell a small supply of catholic icons and crosses, but the reason I was there was their baked goods. In addition they have a full espresso bar selling Greek coffee, and a great lunch menu containing Greek favorites like gyros, Greek salads, hummus, moussaka, dolmas, and spanakopita.  I got some baklava (delicious!), and actually ended up stopping there four days later, on my way home, to get a gyro. My mouth is watering just remembering it. It was the most authentic gyro I have ever had. The pita tasted like it was right out of the oven, and the tzatziki sauce was very flavorful! St John's Bakery is located at 2378 Highway 97, Goldendale, WA.

Once in Yakima Lydia took me to Cruisin Coffee, a drive through coffee, sandwich, milkshake stand. I had never heard of Cruisin Coffee before, but that is because it's a Washington thing; there are a total of 13 of these identical-looking stands in Washington. I was told by Lydia, her sister and her friend that I had to get the Mocha Milkshake, a drink the stand is famous for. As one would imagine, it was very good!

Me second day in Yakima Lydia's family took us all out to a very nice dinner at the Yellow Church Cafe in Ellensburg. Days before I had been told about this great restaurant in a darling yellow house. I had also been told of their "heavenly loaf" a delicious piece of bread topped with garlic and herbs, filled with cheese, and served warm, of course. Indeed it was heavenly, but I was advised to not use it as bread for a sandwich or burger, because the loaf itself is rich enough with adding meat, mayo or any more cheese! I had the cedar planked wild salmon, served with a berry beurre rouge and caramelized onions. The restaurant had a wonderful atmosphere and the salmon dish I had was incredibly flavorful and fresh.

Another really great restaurant we dined at in Yakima was Gasperetti's Restaurant. It is a very upscale restaurant in what seems like a bad part of town. The building itself is very nice and the restaurant has multiple dining rooms and bars. I had a "light" cream of asparagus soup (we all wondered how it could be light, but it was!),  fresh dungeness crabmeat salad, and for dessert we all split creme brule and raspberry crumble. The food was exceptional and I would recommend anyone looking for a nice restaurant in Yakima to start here!

For a special treat Lydia took me to North Town Coffee to get her favorite chai latte of all time! This coffee shop is in Yakima's historic district in a quaint little building. In addition to espresso they also serve pastries, gelato, sandwiches, smoothies, and have a large selection of unique sodas. The downstairs room is a great area for playing a game, going on a date, or listening to live concerts or open mic nights that North Town puts on regularly.

Last, but not least, Lydia took me to have her all time favorite Yakima meal. We started by going into a "hole in the wall" Mexican Restaurant called Mercedes 2 and purchased something called Strawberry water. Lydia mentioned to me that this is like nothing I have tasted before. It is along the lines of real strawberry lemonade, but without the lemons. Instead, it just tastes like strawberries--seeds included. It is my new favorite drink...I can't even describe it, you just have to try it!

 

Next we went next door to Victoria Continental, a "hole in the wall" Greek restaurant. Here we had Lydia's favorite gyro (two gyros in one week is always a good thing!). It was piled high with meat, vegetables, and sauce. It contained the traditional tzatziki sauce but also had a spicy sauce too that VERY tasty! The address of Victoria Continental is 5605 Tieton Drive, Yakima, WA.