We’re heading to the salty shores of the Pacific Northwest, where a town famous for its boat building is also gaining a reputation as a dining destination. Monocle’s Seattle correspondent, Gregory Scruggs, took the ferry over to Port Townsend to find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello and welcome to Food Neighbourhoods on Monocle Radio, where once again we visit the places locals love for their food and drink.
This week we're heading to the salty shores of the Pacific Northwest, where a town famous for its boat building is also gaining a reputation as a dining destination.
Monaco's Seattle correspondent Gregory Scruggs took the ferry over to Port Townsend to find out more.
If you love traditional wooden boats, there is no better place than port Townsend.
This 10,000 person hamlet is perched at the end of a peninsula in Washington state and it's a sailors and boaters paradise.
Filled with skilled shipwrights and sailmakers, the annual Wooden Boat Festival draws a crowd from all along the west coast to admire lovingly restored vessels.
Just steps from the marina, Hudson Point Cafe even prepares a special menu during the festival.
The rest of the year, come early for a breakfast hash stack of pancakes and other hearty diner fare before embarking on a whale watching tour.
But for Port Townsend's most signature breakfast, I usually join the inevitable queue at the Blue Moose Cafe.
Located inside the Port Townsend Boatyard, the Blue Moose is a funky spot with eclectic decorations and mismatched place settings where you'll rub shoulders with the women and men who work in the thriving maritime industry.
Don't be alarmed if they track in a bit of sawdust while you're polishing off an omelette stuffed with locally smoked salmon and washed down with a cup of Sunrise Coffee roasted next door.
Now, historically, Port Townsend has been more of a pub scene, a place to curl up with a stout and a bowl of clam chowder while the wind howls and the rain lashes the windows outside on a cold, damp winter evening.
Comfort food suits the town well and I've had satisfying crab cakes at Sirens, a waterfront gastropub and steaming bowls of ramen at Hanazono.
No disrespect to comfort food, but there are some relative newcomers to Port Townsend's culinary scene that are complementing the burgers and beer with other offerings.
For my first stop on a recent visit, I wandered into a brick building built in 1890 where an eager crowd was kicking back with glasses of Italian Chardonnay.
My name is Eric Wenberg.
I'm one of the co owners of the Bishop Hotel and the Bishop Block Bottle Shop in Port Townsend, Washington.
We bought this old building because we just loved the structure so much and we wanted to get into hospitality.
We both loved boutique hotels.
We found this property and we were able to renovate the lobby, which was a Victorian themed tea room at the time we turned it into a organic wine bar and event space for the community.