Discover Walla Walla

We're not sure exactly how to defend this confession, but we have spent a dozen or so years in the Walla Walla Valley, luxuriating in everything it has to offer the hedonist and gourmand, and never tasted a Jason Burger.  We know, we know.

At least a few of you are shaking your heads, we can tell, and are wondering if we will be willing to surrender the esteemed Bürgermeister title immediately.

And to further humiliate ourselves, we will disclose right off that the napkin rating for the Jason Burger we ate recently was an unprecented 9.  That's right, nine napkins were required to consume this burger.

We're writing, of course, about the famous burger available at the Tuxedo Bar & Grill in Prescott, a short jaunt from Walla Walla.

Where to begin?  This is a bar with a family dining area, so bringing the kids is not an issue, even if the overall impression is not necessarily kid-friendly.  The block it's on is... unimpressive, shall we say, but for the avid burger hunter, this of course only raises the stakes and makes the appetite swell in anticipation.  Serious burger-safari aficionados always hope to find the elusive burger-in-the-wild, don't we?

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What do fly fishing and chamber music have in common? If you are in Walla Walla in June, the answer is Tim Christie, Founder and Director of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival. I was fortunate enough to meet Tim in 2009 and discovered that we both share a passion for chasing trout with a fly rod. I also thoroughly enjoy the beautiful Chamber Music that Tim has brought to Walla Walla. We agreed that when Tim was back in Walla Walla this year we'd make time to visit the water and commune with the fish.

Unfortunately Mother Nature wasn't cooperating with our plans to visit the Walla Walla River in mid-June; heavy rains had theriver hig h, muddy and un-fishable. Luckily Walla Walla is a supportive community and a friend, Max, offered to share his private pond just south of town with us. Max has a beautiful home on five acres including this great little pond that he stocks with trout. (Being a superb host Max even suggested the right flies.) You know it's going to be a good day on the water when your first casts resulted in a both Tim and I hooking-up with nice trout. The fishing was so good that before long Max decided to get his rod and join us; we all caught fish into the early afternoon. Max even demonstrated a new technique for us - catch & release dry fly fishing for Bull Frogs - impressive!

So, if you live here, or are just visiting Walla Walla in June, remember that you can choose both, fly fishing and world class chamber music. That is if incredible wine, delicious food, sweet onions, exciting baseball, and scenic biking isn't enough for you....

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I love eating outside.  I really don't know why except that it's different from the "norm" and makes me feel kind of trendy and cool (a feeling I'm not typically given the chance to enjoy).  The great thing is that it seems most eateries in the Walla Walla area offer outdoor seating, whether it's a quick meal at Pita Pit or five-star dining at Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen.  And of course you're not a "real" coffee shop if you don't offer patrons a place to don their sunglasses and people-watch from behind the New York Times.

This time of year is perfect for patio seating, too.  And this year, it's been extra amazing.  True, the sweater weather clung on a little longer than even I, a fully-in-favor-of-clothing and anti-summer-style kind of person would have liked, but the end of June was fantastic.  I can handle 75-80 degrees with a light breeze from the south.  Bring it on!

Though I can't claim to have tried every available outdoor seating venue in the Walla Walla Valley, I have utilized quite a few, and I want to share some of my favorites with you (in no particular order).

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I would like to say I made up that title, but I didn't.  It is a quote from Ernest Hemingway.

My blog for this month was going to be about hospitality, friendship and wine.  I was going to relate it all to the recent North America Wine Bloggers' Conference that was held at the Marcus Whitman Hotel last month. The WBC10 was a three day event with over 300 wine bloggers and others from the wine industry, all over the world, participating in various events from vineyard and winery tours, food and wine pairings, and even online wine tasting via Twitter.

I was going to tell you all about the wonderful hospitality that Walla Walla extended to the wine bloggers, but I cannot tell you as near as well as a visitor who actually experienced it first hand.  Instead, I am going to share with you highlights from a blog by Joel Vincent, Executive Director/Founder of OpenWine Consortium and one of the organizers for the North America Wine Bloggers' Conference.

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Just as recently as 3 years ago, the chance to experience entertainment in Walla Walla after 7 pm was slim and none with none more often than the slim. Now, one can walk the streets of downtown on Thursday through Saturday nights and have several places to patronize.

This is a prime reflection of the stark change in Walla Walla. Let me give you an example. On a Saturday night, just a couple of weeks after I had moved to Walla Walla in March of 2003, I went to a local pub and restaurant for some food, drink and a little action at 8:30 pm. When I asked for a menu, the bartender told me they had closed the kitchen at 8. I thought that was a bit early but cheerfully asked him where I could get some food at this hour?

He chuckled and said, "The only place serving food after 8 in Walla Walla is Shari's." You know Shari's, a distant cousin to Denny's that specializes in "down home" pies. Any entertainment? Yeah, a broken down barn called "Barnaby's" that was the home of 21-year-olds experimenting with hard liquor for the first time, and a DJ who was obsessed with rap. I became depressed.

In just 7 short years, that scenario is a distant memory. Not only do most restaurants stay open much later but there is a bevy of music and eats coming from a wide-range of establishments. Vintage Cellars used to be solely a wine and beer bar; now it serves food and live music with its beverages. With its patio and inviting upstairs, it makes for a nice evening destination.

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I've been out hawking my new book. It's tough work.
I spent the entire month of June in shameless self-promotion. I wore out my welcome in 12 cities across the South. Everywhere I went I met people who asked penetrating questions.
"Did you write this?" the gray-haired lady asked, holding up a copy of my book. She'd caught me just inside the front door of the bookshop where I was giving a talk. She peered at me from the other side of thick lenses while repositioning her dentures with her tongue.
"Yes'm, I did," I said.
"Is it any good?"
"Yes'm, it is. It's really good. It's my favorite book."
"What's it about?"
"It's about my childhood-growing up Southern, my family, the old neighborhood, kids' adventures, quirky characters, strange doings, conflict, reconciliation, love, hate, envy, greed, war, peace, poverty, wealth, deviled eggs, and the meaning of life..."
"Lotsa people written books like that," she interrupted.
"Yes'm, they have. This is just my take on things."

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