A FOODIE TOUR

A Foodie Tour of the San Juan Islands

Washington State’s San Juan Islands are clustered north of Puget Sound, near the Canadian border. This archipelago has a little of everything: charming small towns that welcome ferry traffic from the mainland, farmland, and uninhabited islands accessible only by boat. An island-hopping food tour is one of the best ways to experience all that the area has to offer. By dining in restaurants that source from the islands’ Salish Sea home and its many farms, you’ll get a true taste of what makes this place so special.

Every September through early November, the islands celebrate local food with Savor the San Juans, a series of events that range from farm tours to film festivals to beer tastings and wine dinners. Schedule your visit around these events, or design your own with this guide to some of the islands’ best restaurants.

Hogstone’s Wood Oven

Situated on Orcas Island, Hogstone’s dishes out wood-fired pizzas topped with farm-fresh ingredients from chef/owner Jay Blackinton’s own farm. The James Beard Award-nominated chef pairs his pizzas with standout dishes, from bright salads to wood-fired vegetables to meatcentric entrees—that also celebrate the land and sea—making this much more than your average pizza joint.

Doe Bay Resort

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Orcas Island, Doe Bay Resort is a peaceful waterside retreat. Whether you’re a guest in one of the cabins or yurts, or just visiting for the day, the restaurant is not to be missed. The cliffside dining room draws from the resort’s garden and from local farmers. Many dishes feature organic food, dolled up in beautifully crafted dishes that rotate with the seasons.

Rosario Resort

Situated in a lovely forest near the center of Orcas Island, Rosario Resort overlooks Cascade Bay. Diners have several options here, including the Cascade Bay Grill, which specializes in pub fare and serves food at a waterside patio, and the cozy Moran Lounge, with its fireside cocktails. The centerpiece of the resort is the upscale Mansion Restaurant, where artfully plated food shows off the best of the island’s fish, produce, and meat.

Duck Soup

The quiet forest location of Duck Soup is a welcome change from the busier nearby town of Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. Duck Soup’s menu leans heavily on foraged ingredients, so expect to eat things you may not be able to find on your typical restaurant menu, like fiddlehead ferns, ramps, and sea beans. The rest of the menu is built of local ingredients, with seafood caught from local waters and meat raised on the islands.

Ursa Minor

It’s impossible to drive around Lopez Island without other drivers waving to you—you’ll feel like a local here in no time. And that culture extends to the dining room at Ursa Minor, where chef Nick Coffey has built a love song to his island home. The menu currently centers around thoughtful, creative approaches to pub fare like burgers and fried chicken, with plenty of homemade ingredients.

Friday Harbor House

Diners at Friday Harbor House can enjoy a fantastic meal with a view of the harbor and ferry terminal. Here, Chef Jason Aldous gets creative with local food, crafting meals that might include mushroom pasta, wine-braised lamb shoulder, and from-scratch bread with thyme butter. There’s also an excellent wine list, and a raw bar that celebrates local seafood.

on the menu City of Allen, TX

About 30 minutes North of Dallas is the bustling city of Allen, TX. Allen is known for many things to those who live here and around DFW. Friday night lights, at the award-winning Eagles Stadium. Shopping day trips, with four open-air shopping districts. Allen Premium Outlets and Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm alone boast more than 200 shops and restaurants. But it’s not just what Allen is known for that keeps people coming back for more. It’s this authentic taste of Allen’s local cuisine that visitors just can’t get enough of.

Allen has more than 230+ restaurants with more than 60 of those being authentic to Allen. These authentic to Allen gems have been locally owned for years, recipes perfected over time by both the families who built their dream restaurant in Allen and the patrons who helped make those restaurants a steady home. Whether you love a classic diner-style breakfast or a trendy fusion dish, this city meets every self-proclaimed foodie’s desire.

Every type of cuisine for every type of foodie is right here, starting with the most important meal of the day. Allen has a wide variety of southern homestyle breakfast and brunch spots. Ask any Allen local and they’ll tell you that Allen Cafe is a taste of HO-M-E. Those warm dishes and authentic breakfast items will take you back leaving no wonder why this cafe was voted “Best Breakfast in Allen.”

Two Rows Classic Grill, another local favorite, serves classic dishes like grandma’s shrimp and grits, and their own breakfast mac and cheese that comes with andouille sausage, bacon, and topped with a fried egg making it a tasty twist on southern cheesy mac. Let’s not forget their Honey Pepper bacon is the best-kept secret in Allen. Some might even say in Collin County.

Locally owned and operated, Eggsquisite Café offers some “eggsquisite” home-style cookin’ like their locally famous chicken and waffles which come with just the right amount of bacon. That’s right, bacon! You can also choose from many other options to create your own custom chicken and waffles dish if you’re feeling adventurous at breakfast time.

If cozy and quaint is more your style, stop by Frogg Coffee Bar and Creperie, a specialty coffee and crepe shop nestled in the Village Green in Watters Creek. You’ll find over 20 types of crepe made right there in their kitchen. With crepes like banana foster, vanilla cream and berries, and their popular “nutella n’ stuff,” you can see why we say it’s guaranteed that you will enjoy some of the best crepes you’ve ever had.

But it isn’t just the places that stand out in the “best of” lists that are worth a visit. Allen has a few hidden gems, still sitting comfortably under the radar of DFW foodies and most who know about them prefer they stay that way. Inside a Chevron on the southeast corner of Custer and McDermott, The Taco Factory can be easy to miss. Family-owned, scratch taco kitchens like this don’t usually make waves, but ask anyone who’s tried one of their infamous Pastor De Pollo or Carnitas tacos, and they’ll tell you this place is one they’re planning to come back to.

If authentic Mexican is your flavor of choice, you can’t come to Allen and not try Anasofia’s. Often highly rated by foodies from all over, you know no matter what you order off the menu at Anasofia’s, it will be fresh. From their house-made margaritas swirled with sangria to their enchiladas de mole, their tastes are both flavorful and full of spice. You’ll want to leave some room for dessert here and order their traditional Mexican flan or churros filled with Mexican cajeta.

If you’re not from Texas and need your fill of authentic Texas BBQ with a dose of Southern hospitality, Allen has your fix. You won’t find many places in DFW quite like Big Ray’s BBQ. In Allen for 13 years now, this family-owned favorite prides themselves on their slow-cooked meats and savory sides. Their specialty pulled pork is out of this world. Those who frequent Big Ray’s will tell you there isn’t anything on the menu you won’t enjoy including the service and people that make Big Ray’s so special.

You can’t wrap up a foodie adventure in Allen without trying some Thai food fusion at Silver Thai Cuisine. This Allen staple has been in business for almost 20 years and coins itself the “Original Thai Restaurant of Collin County.” If spicy Thai is your thing, order the Pad See Ew with a spice level of 4. The spice levels at Silver Thai Cuisine are not for the faint of heart and pack a real punch.

Saltlight Station Coffee and Pho is a great last stop on your journey through Allen’s many flavors. The restaurant was converted from an old gas station and totally renovated with beautiful colors, good music, and incredible service. Started by an Aunt and her niece a few years ago, Saltlight Station serves up an impressive menu of Vietnamese coffees, ginger teas, boba milk, and their pho menu is almost too good to be true. Their Texan pho noodle soup with rib eye and brisket is their signature “No MSG Pho Broth” crafted by slowly simmering choice meat and bones with charred ginger, onions, and aromatic spices.

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT – HISTORIC DEADWOOD STYLE

When throngs of fortune seekers searching for a gold payday flocked to Deadwood in South Dakota’s Black Hills in 1876, palates weren’t picky. The ramshackle saloons and restaurants featured drinks by the likes of Deadwood Lightning, Red Eye and a Coffin Varnish for those with steadfast thirst. For the main course, squirrel, rabbit, goat and mutton were among the staples, and patrons didn’t likely have a choice of cook level or sides. Between the boom or bust of placer gold mining in Deadwood, and the madams, gamblers, swindlers and outlaws the gold rush also attracted, the Deadwood lifestyle in the late 1800s wasn’t for the faint of heart. Once the gold boom steadied and infrastructure followed, Deadwood’s choices in food and drink became the stuff of legends, much like the lives of Deadwood’s infamous citizens Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen.

Since those early days, fortune seekers continue to flock to Deadwood looking for good luck, great drinks and incredible food. Gold may not be the targeted acquisition any longer, but Deadwood’s casinos offer opportunities to strike a modern-day fortune. Table games, sports betting and of course slot machines of all kinds await players in a variety of establishments. More than 1,700 hotel rooms, from stately, historic hotels to full-service, top-ofline casinos and resorts, from brand name chains to locally owned and operated boutique hotels, offer something for all. And the countless food and drink options give you the green light to eat and drink your way through town.

Dining in Deadwood does not disappoint. Exquisite feasts prepared by world-class chefs or local flavors like bison burgers, chislic and green chili hangover omelets mix throughout town. While the food is certainly fit for the finest palate, the atmosphere is as casual and comfortable as your favorite boots, Crocs or slippers. Just like everything in Deadwood, restaurants are a whole lot of fun. Deadwood delis and fast food restaurants offer visitors a quick meal, a light bite or a snack to keep you going. Enjoy names you know and locally owned and operated businesses. Lattes or sweet treats abound as well, with coffee shops set to hook you up with that caffeine and sugar kick you need to play well into the night. From straight up black coffee to creamy, sweet blends, Deadwood baristas brew it up right.

Wetting your whistle is easy, too. Enjoy all your favorite brews and cocktails, as well as local wines, microbrews and exclusive Deadwood concoctions in the same saloons and bars where the legends and outlaws of Deadwood drank their last drink. Walk into one of these historic establishments today and you can still see the history—from sawdust on the floor to the original oak bar top and poker tables, allowing you to enjoy today’s favorite drink with yesterday’s lore.

If one does gets caught up in lore and roar of the night before, plenty of places are ready to serve you a fancied-up bloody Mary, mimosa, or maybe a big ‘ol hand-pressed cheeseburger will get your day back on track.

Much of Deadwood’s storied past lives on throughout town in historic museums and attractions. The dime store novel characters come to life when walking the historic cobblestone streets and bellying up to a well-worn bar that yesteryear’s miners had as perhaps their only solace. Learning Deadwood’s colorful history is far from begrudgingly turning pages in a musty history book; it’s right here, and it’s alive. And if a book is what you prefer, Deadwood’s history on a printed page is never dull. From bigname free concerts on the town’s Main Street to food, wine and brew festivals, Deadwood’s event calendar is always history making. The town has events 12 months of the year encouraging all to venture to the Wild, entertaining, West. Deadwood’s location in the heart of the Black Hills National Forest means outdoor recreation, from biking, skiing and fly fishing to hitting the trails in an off-road vehicle and snowmobile, is all at the ready.

Deadwood’s been entertaining guests since 1876, and It’s time to see for yourself the town that’s made itself infamous.