Food Tourism

Last week, my hubby and I took the entire week off of work to spend some time together.  It's something we try to do every year...some years we're able to get away, other years we stay put.  This year was a "stay-cation" year and it was just what we needed.  Every day we got up and went on a day trip around the Seattle area.  We visited the International District, Pt. Townsend, and Langley among other places.

Here in WA state, we have an extensive ferry system, and I love riding the ferries!  We made sure to get two roundtrip rides in over the week, with one of our day trips taking us to Pt. Townsend...one of my favorite little towns in the Puget Sound area.  Pt. Townsend is a funky place.  It has a bunch of Victorian-style buildings, a busy port area, and a downtown area filled with fun shops (including an occult bookstore!) and nice restaurants.

Pt. Townsend is also home to the two culinary treasures I'm going to tell you about today: Pane d'Amore and Mt. Townsend Creamery.

Pane d'Amore is located in the "uptown" section of Pt. Townsend (they also have locations in Sequim and Bainbridge Island).  They make the most amazing French bread that is crunchy on the outside and fluffy perfection on the inside.  Many restaurants in Pt. Townsend serve up the local baguettes, making for happy diners, I'm sure!  I've visited the bakery twice now.  Each time I snag a loaf of bread and at least one cheese straw.  This time we also picked up a chocolate croissant and a cinnamon twist.  Check out how yummy their food looks:

Cheese sticks from Pane d'Amore...a perfect snack for a ferry ride!

Pane d'Amore baguette (and butter, of course)

Breakfast: cinnamon twist and black coffee

Over at Mt. Townsend, they are passionate about cheese...and it shows!  Their products are available at many local grocery stores, but if you stop by their shop, you can try everything they make.  My hubby loves stinky cheese, so he was the official taster at the Mt. Townsend shop (I'm more of a cheese wimp...I like a nice sharp Cheddar, maybe some brie, etc.). 

Mt. Townsend Creamery: Even their labels are neat!

 The Mister loved everything he tried, but settled on two to take home: Trailhead, their award-winning tomme (a robust, nutty cheese) and Seastack, a soft-ripened cheese with a dusting of vegetable ash.  We shared our cheese loot with my parents and Greta.  I'm not sure if Greta's tried the cheese yet, but my dad had some and declared them delicious.  Take a look for yourself:

Top: Seastack; Bottom: Trailhead  Both: Yum!

It's fun to try out local food places like Pane d'Amore and Mt. Townsend.  They seem to have more heart--and better tasting products!--than their mass-manufactured competition.  Plus it feels good to support local businesses.  I'm looking forward to finding more local food treasurers like these places in my future travels.