Cle Elum

Get cinnamon rolls and espresso for the road, or a crusty loaf of Dutch crunch bread fresh from the brick oven (in use since 1906) at Cle Elum Bakery (501 E. 1st St., 509/674-2233, Mon.–Sat. 7 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.–2 p.m.).

MaMa Vallone’s Steak House and Inn (302 W. 1st St., 509/674-5174, daily 4:30–8 p.m.) serves a large selection of steaks, as well as Italian dishes with homemade pasta. A country buffet is offered on Sunday. El Caporal (107 W. 1st St., 509/674-4284, daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.) has quite good Mexican meals and margaritas.

Roslyn

For such a small town, Roslyn has surprisingly good food. Very good breakfasts at Roslyn Café (201 W Pennsylvania Ave., 509/649-2763, www.roslyncafe.com, Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Thurs.–Sat. 5–8 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.–3 p.m.) best known for its colorful mural (altered to say “Roslyn’s” for the television show).

For more than 80 years, people have been coming to Carek’s Meat Market (502 E. 1st St., 509/649-2930, daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.) to purchase fresh and smoked meats. Today, folks make the pilgrimage all the way from Seattle for the Polish sausages, beef jerky, and pepperoni.

The Brick Tavern (100 W. Pennsylvania Ave., 509/649-2643, Sun.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–9 p.m.) features live music and dancing on weekends—generally the bar stays open until at least 11 p.m., sometimes until 2 a.m. on busy weekends. Roslyn Brewing Company (509/649-2232, www.roslynbrewery.com, Fri.–Sat. 1–7 p.m., Sun. noon–6 p.m.) brews two fine beers and is open for tours and tastings on the weekend.

© Ericka Chickowski from Moon Washington, 8th edition