Fiesta Frolic decor at La Cocina del Puerco
There is a new foodie trolling local restaurants, sampling their delicacies, and she can be found at Dishcrawl. Tuesday night, our epicurean group progressed en masse, stopping at four Old Bellevue establishments to sample their definitive dishes. The Eastside debut of this continentally-popular event resembled a roving gastronomic parade, whose participants were united by their love of food and fresh experiences. The foodies in attendance last night had refined ambitions, breaking from lofty alimental goals of the past. Passé is the pursuit to sample the most expensive and rare edibles. De rigueur is impressing the palette without pressuring the pocketbook. Dishcrawl Bellevue delivered with good taste.
The first stop on our food parade brought us to a pequeño Mexican restaurant with grande taste. La Cocina del Puerco, located on Old Main Street is entering its 28th year serving savory carnitas and intricate tamales that make you say “adios” to hunger. Don’t let the “Fiesta Frolic” décor fool you. This cocina means business when it comes to its grilled potato flautas coupled with fresh pico de gallo salsa. Upon departure from our south-of-the-border starter I scheduled my return in two weeks for their class on making traditional holiday tamales. Even their red and green salsa samples were getting into the Christmas spirit.
Lengthy gourmet olive oil selection
Our merry group proceeded on our tour across the street to Two Sisters Olive Oil. There we met Dee, one of the namesake sisters who hosted our introduction to some of the finest olive oils and balsamic vinegars ever made. We dipped into a dazzling variety of olive oils that were joined with delicate herbs during processing. The star attraction at the sampling table was the Caramelized Balsamic Onion Relish, showcasing two specialized vinegars and knocking me off my feet with flavor. I just declared the actor for the role of Thanksgiving appetizer next week.
Though reluctant to peel myself away from my olive oil reverie I followed our Dishcrawl group as they crossed Old Main Street and headed to The Spot Off Main. With a beer in one hand we dug into sliders and an antipasti platter. The surrounding pool tables were cracking with activity and the atmosphere was genial. Just when we thought we’d exceeded our consumption limits dessert arrived courtesy of Cupcake Royale, the icing on the cake of the evening’s food procession.
Ready to dig in to dessert
Across the continent from Philadelphia and Montreal to San Francisco, Dishcrawl links fellow foodies with camaraderie and cuisine, on a sampling sojourn of affordable local fare. Check the Dishcrawl calendar for the next Eastside food treasure hunt.
