Nestled on the banks of the massive Columbia River in the Tri-Cities is Cedar’s Pier 1 Restaurant where Mesquite-smoked Rainbow Trout, warmed and served with toast and cheese, is the specialty. Northwest King Salmon drizzled with a lime shallot sauce or cod served with a sweet and spicy fresh fruit salsa are just two of the fresh seafood plates patrons clamor for (355 Clover Island Drive, Kennewick, 509-582-2143).
No culinary tour of the state is complete without salmon. From burgers to pat, the salmon is ubiquitous to cooking and eating in Washington. Visitors search out native-style salmon bakes, including everything from simple traditional preparations to those planked and adorned in fruit sauces. Made-in-Washington stores carry cooked, cured, canned, and pickled versions, and the Pike Place Market in Seattle,www.pikeplacemarket.org, as well as a seafood stand at Sea-Tac International Airport, will prepare a fresh ice-packed salmon for you to jet to your final global destination.
Puget Sound waters supply exquisite seafood. Dungeness Crab is native to the Dungeness Spit in Sequim and is known by its distinctively sweet flavor. At The Three Crabs restaurant, the crab is so fresh it practically jumps straight from the ocean onto your plate. Patrons dine on a medley of crab salads, cakes, boiled crab or crab served in the shell with melted lemon butter. (101 Three Crabs Road, Sequim, 360-683-4264) Bring a kite to fly on the spacious Dungeness Spit sandbar in Sequim. Then tour the Olympic Peninsula, 360-452-8552 or www.olympicpeninsula.org.
Fried, stewed or nude, oysters from Willapa Bay are one out of every six oysters consumed in the U.S. Nearby, The Boondocks Restaurant (1015 W. Robert Bush Drive, South Bend, (360-875-5155) features fresh oyster dishes like pork wrapped oysters served with hot mustard, oysters marinated in white wine, or even broiled, bacon-wrapped oysters seasoned with garlic and black pepper.