Roads from Port Townsend don’t go much farther north in the United States, so we made a U-turn to head back south on the same highways that brought us to Washington. In Oregon we turned inland and traveled high-desert country down to Reno, Nevada.
Reno served as the host city this year for the big annual trade show of the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association. As a tie-in to our books and other writings on outdoor cooking, Cheryl has started doing consulting work on outdoor kitchens and entertaining areas. She needed to attend the expo to stay current on new trends and products.
Our large, busy Reno hotel has the advantage of being next door to the convention center, but otherwise it’s seriously overpriced for the level of quality and service except in its smallest restaurant, the sixteen-seat Sushi Bar. The spot offers an all-you-can-eat special for $23 per person.
We expected some sort of Nevada-style stale buffet, but actually the sushi was pretty good—freshly prepared to order from an extensive menu. We went both of our nights in town and left feeling modestly pampered.
The next and last stop on our western road trip was Boulder, Utah. Mountainous terrain on the route makes it a two-day drive, but we planned an interesting stop for lunch on the first day in Winnemucca, Nevada, a town with a solid Basque heritage.
We ate at a “Basque Market and Eatery” oddly named Partners in Wine. We didn’t see anyone drinking wine, but we did enjoy a big platter of Spanish chorizo, olives, and Manchego cheese plus a daily special of fisherman’s stew.
Even during the lunch, and especially on the long hours on the road, we looked forward eagerly to our return to Boulder, a way-out-of-the-way gem totally different than Reno.
Cheryl and Bill Jamison write about food and travel, always with mouthwatering results. Among their best-selling books are Smoke & Spice, American Home Cooking and The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining. They are also frequent contributors to Cooking Light and Bon Appétit. Married 22 years, they live just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Jamisons’ newest book, Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure, regales readers with a tasty account of their global travels in search of great local fare—from Bali to Brazil.
Learn more about Cheryl and Bill at cookingwiththejamisons.com. You can sign up to join them on a future trip by clicking on “culinary adventures.”
