16 Favorite Foods of 2016 from Small Town Washington & Beyond

This year my travels took me to wonderful small town restaurants. I tasted new foods like fried cheese curds, escargot and locally made gin. I also feel in love with Wild Georiga Shrimp, English toffee, and a signature scone. To recap my foodie stops, here are 16 of my favorite foods of 2016.

16 Favorite Foods of 2016

Fried Cheese Curds from the Depot Bar and Grill in Faribault, MN.

Boulevard Waffle at the Boulevard Cafe on St. Simons Island, GA.

Cinnamon Swirl French Toast at Knead & Feed in Coupeville, WA.

Classic Char-Broiled Beach Burger at Guemes Island General Store on Guemes Island, WA.

16 Favorite Foods of 2016

Asparagus Special at The Manor House on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Grilled Shrimp Salad at Sully’s Bistro & Bar in Suquamish, WA.

Mushroom Tacos at the Valley Cafe in Ellensburg, WA.

French Toast Stack at Masselow’s Steakhouse in Airway Heights, WA.

16 Favorite Foods of 2016

Pan-Seared Black Drum at ECHO on St. Simons Island, GA.

Mixed Green Salad at Pitchwood Alehouse & Inn in Raymond, WA.

The Cordon Wow at Vagabond in Anacortes, WA.

Cinnamon Pull Apart at Rocking Horse Bakery in Winthrop, WA.

16 Favorite Foods of 2016

English Toffee at Costas Candies & Restaurant in Owatonna, MN.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Scones with Almonds at Twisp River Suites in Twisp, WA.

Front Street Taco at Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse in Mukilteo, WA.

A Rosemary Fitzgerald from Loon Liquors in Northfield, MN.

What were some of your favorite foods of 2016?

32 Comments

Kelly @ TastingPage says:

December 31, 2016 at 9:43 am

Oh yum, what a great food year you’ve had. So many great dishes. Love those mushroom tacos and that’s a nice looking cocktail!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  December 31, 2016 at 6:57 pm
  
  Kelly, I wasn’t sure about the mushroom tacos but they were super good. The boys at Loon Liqours make a really smooth gin. Very drinkable, maybe too drinkable. 😉
  
mark wyld says:

December 31, 2016 at 10:53 pm

All of these look amazing. Being a french toast lover i can only say wow yes please with the two different types of French toast that you pictured here. Then again i would not hesitate to try them all

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 1, 2017 at 6:19 am
  
  Mark, Both were good. The Masselow’s French Toast was surely decadent with its layers. 🙂
  
Nadine Rohner says:

December 31, 2016 at 11:19 pm

Sounds like an amazing food tour yummy! I honestly could never try escargot but the Cinnamon Swirl French Toast looks sooo good.

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 1, 2017 at 6:18 am
  
  Nadine, I thought I’d never try it either as I love snails, but it was surprisingly yummy, and the texture was not what I expected. Very smooth.
  
Amy says:

January 1, 2017 at 7:51 am

I would devour every one of these! Would especially love to try the mushroom tacos and the beach burger. Then wash it down with that pretty Rosemary Fitzgerald!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:31 pm
  
  Amy, That sounds like heaven. Great selection!
  
Carol Colborn says:

January 1, 2017 at 8:12 am

What a great selection! I love food and mu best was last night…lobster tails in lemon butter sauce!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:30 pm
  
  Carol, I do like a good lobster. Sounds yummy!
  
danik says:

January 1, 2017 at 8:56 am

Very good blog. Want to try some of these foods now. Your tummy must have a very good time last year 😉 Happy new year by the way 😀

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:29 pm
  
  Danik, I did eat some great food in 2016. And, so far 2017 has shown me some great foods already! Happy New Year to you too!
  
Megan Jerrard says:

January 1, 2017 at 10:37 pm

My favorite kind of round up!! I need to start taking photos of the food we come across while we’re traveling overseas, I don’t do it nearly as much as I would like to – always so much fun looking back, and you can almost taste it all over again from the memory jog! Grilled Shrimp Salad at Sully’s Bistro & Bar looks to die for!!

Here’s to even more amazing culinary adventures in 2017 🙂

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:28 pm
  
  Megan, That salad re-kick-started my love of shrimp. I just had some great almond shrimp the other day in La Conner, Wa. It might make my 2017 round-up.
  
Erin Klema | The Epicurean Traveler says:

January 1, 2017 at 11:17 pm

The photo of that delicious-looking cinnamon pull apart has my mouth watering. All the breakfast foods seem pretty dreamy actually. Let’s grab breakfast the next time we are at a conference or press trip together!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:26 pm
  
  Erin, Yes, for sure. 😉 Are you heading to TBEX Ireland by chance?
  
Brianna says:

January 2, 2017 at 6:36 am

Yum!! I really dig all those cinnamon bread dishes you had! I sense a favorite?

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:25 pm
  
  Brianna, You’ve caught me. I’m a cinnamon junkie. I love it on toast, on apples, and I even sprinkle it on my apple pie. Such a great spice!
  
JEM says:

January 2, 2017 at 11:50 am

I love scones and the I think I’d like to try that White Chocolate and Cranberry Scones with Almonds, but since I can’t get it from the source, I’ll try to make my own. 😀

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:24 pm
  
  Jem, Let me know how they turn out!
  
Milijana says:

January 2, 2017 at 12:32 pm

Your photos made me hungry! 🙂 My vote goes to Cinnamon Swirl French Toast and English Toffee . And of course, being a gin lover, for me Rosemary Fitzgerald is out of every competition!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:24 pm
  
  Milijana, If you love gin you’ll really be impressed by Loon Liquors Metropologin. Very smooth and flavorful.
  
Helena says:

January 2, 2017 at 2:47 pm

So many delicious foods! I hope your 2017 is full of good foods!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 2, 2017 at 7:23 pm
  
  Helena, Me too! So far fried deviled eggs at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA has won high marks. 🙂
  
Carol Colborn says:

January 3, 2017 at 6:28 am

Love those cinnamony things!!! Great selection.

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 6:19 pm
  
  Carol, Isn’t cinnamon such a great spice! How could we live without it?
  
Carmen's Luxury Travel says:

January 3, 2017 at 6:44 am

Love your foodie posts and recommendations. Thanks for sharing and happy new year!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 6:18 pm
  
  Carmen, Thank you so much. I hope 2017 rocks!
  
Gokul Raj says:

January 3, 2017 at 11:00 am

All these dishes look so yum…..esp the Classic Char-Broiled Beach Burger. I never usually take pics of what I eat, that thought never passes my mind. Will start doing that and share in my blog as well.

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 6:18 pm
  
  Gokul, That burger was the best I’ve had all year. Yes, start taking pics! I look forward to seeing them.
  
melody pittman says:

January 3, 2017 at 1:06 pm

Oh your 2016 foods look awesome but the English toffee and the cheese curds got my vote! Yum! That French toast stack…holy smokes!

- Lara Dunning says:
  
  January 3, 2017 at 6:17 pm
  
  Melody, Nobody makes fried cheese curds and English toffee like Minnesotans. 🙂