Andrew (24) and I started out today from Bainbridge Island this morning in our rental Mitsubishi Outlander on our burger-hunting drive to New York. We dipped our hands in the Pacific Ocean (OK, Puget Sound, but it’s part of the Pacific Ocean) before we headed out. If we remember, we’ll do the same in the Atlantic when we finish our transcontinental drive. We then picked up our traditional McDonald's “adventure meal” breakfast. (When the kids were little, whenever we’d go on an “adventure” – a day trip to hike or go to a beach or ride the ferries or something) we’d get McDonald’s hashbrowns on the way. It became a bit of a family tradition. After taking the ferry to Seattle, we started driving east.

Our first stop was Cave B Winery in Quincy, Washington, about 2.5 hours east of Seattle. This was Andrew’s first wine tasting and my first trip to Cave B. It was a really nice place, with an outdoor patio overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. They have accommodations there, and it’s right next door to The Gorge Amphitheatre – an awesome outdoor concert venue. Andrew especially liked their Viogner. I liked their Cabernet Sauvignon. After the tasting, we drove a few miles into George, WA (really, that’s the name of the town) and had super tacos at Mi Lindo Guanojuato. This is a super friendly, pretty big but spartan Mexican restaurant and bar with amazing tortillas. Andrew and the owner had a pretty long conversation in Spanish, which seemed to impress and surprise the owner. (Andrew studied Spanish in high school but really became pretty fluent working in kitchens.)

The rest of our drive to Spokane was pretty straight-forward although the air was a little smoky from wildfires. Andrew and I haven’t traveled much in eastern Washington and were impressed with the landscape. We were equally impressed by Spokane, which I haven’t been to as an adult. I think Andrew as there as a kid with Michelle, but he doesn’t remember. It’s a cute, clean city with a nice park/riverside area by the Spokane River. Riverside Park was originally the site of Expo ‘74, a world’s fair that somehow Spokane managed to land. The centerpiece the river and park are the falls and the former Expo pavilion.

We didn’t have a historical or region burger to sample in Spokane (especially since the milk bottle shaped Mary Lou’s Milk Bottle restaurant was closed on Sundays). We decided on Incrediburger and Eggs (how could we pass up a place with a name like that?!) We ordered their PB&J burger, a classic burger (both with bacon, cheese, and grilled onions), beef fat fries, and onion rings. Both burgers were smallish, bigger than a slider but smaller than you might expect (which was fine since we were still pretty full from lunch).

The PB&J burger has peanut butter sauce, jalapeno jelly, cilantro, Thai aioli, and pickled peppers. I’ve always been a fan of peanut butter on burgers – it adds a nice richness. The jalapeno jelly cut the richness but wasn’t too sweet. The patty was nothing special – no real browning or seasoning. It was fine. The classic burger was straightforward and fine. I liked the brioche buns, but Andrew pointed out that these airy buns collapsed pretty fast, resulting in the wrong meat/bun ratio.

They make all their own condiments there, which was really a highlight. We thought these burgers showed how far you get making a tasty burger with just great toppings and condiments since the meat was only ok – basically just providing texture and warmth. The beef fat fries were the highlight. Fries cooked in animal fat are just way better than those cooked in vegetable oil. The onion rings were the big disappointment of the night. They were overcooked and bland with a heavy batter. They just tasted like burned batter. (Sorry for the bad photo – need to up my game on the food photography.)

They did have wall art that seemed appropriate to start our trip. It was a good first day.