“FieldTrips” is either a day trip or a few days where I visit food areas of interest which may include farm visits, producers, wineries, restaurants and/or other places that people can visit. This is about offering Vancouver Foodster readers a chance to get out of town and take a “Field Trip” for the day or a few days to explore, learn, taste and experience.

Field Trip to Bellingham and Seattle

Left Vancouver, I drove about an hour South on Highway 99 to the border and then South on interstate 5, I then took the downtown Bellingham exit where we stopped for dinner.

This is an upscale burger joint that was filled with families enjoying the large burgers, we opted for salmon burgers all around and shared the yam fries and onion rings.

Fiamma Burger

1309 Railroad Avenue, Bellingham, WA (downtown)

(360) 733-7374 ‎

Onwards to Seattle which was about a 1-1/2 hour drive South on Highway 5, stopped in the Capitol Hill neighborhood as I was yearning for a visit to one of my favourite cafes in Seattle. Visit to Caffe Vita for an Espresso Macchiatto.

Caffe Vita

1005 East Pike Street, Seattle

(206) 709-4440

Arriving in Seattle  I checked in to my hotel at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. My room had 2 double beds, and coffee table, in the closet there was a Hyatt bathrobe for use during the stay. Located in the heart of Seattle’s thriving retail and theater district, adjacent to the Washington State Convention Center, the Grand Hyatt Seattle is steps from Pike’s Place Market, Seattle Waterfront and the Space Needle.

My room had a great view of the city’s towers from the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. My guestroom was high up on the 24^th floor, the Wi-Fi Internet access is helpful for use while you use your iphone or laptop. A sleek modern design adorns these spacious rooms. The bathroom is large and features a separate glass-enclosed shower along with a deluxe soaker tub, deluxe amenities and plush robes for your comfort.

Enjoy the use of three dual line cordless speakerphones with voicemail, an in-room safe for your laptop, iHome stereo with iPod® docking station, electronic blackout drapes and a doorbell. Relax upon two Double Hyatt Grand Beds™, fitted with luxurious linens, thick down blankets and plush pillows. Additional amenities in our welcoming Seattle Washington accommodations include 24 hour Concierge, 24/7 StayFit™ fitness center access, and 32” flat screen TV.

Up early we had room service and shared an order of the French Toast which is large enough to share for two.

The next day I left the hotel and walked 7 blocks to Pike Place Market where I visited Beechers Cheese for a Grilled Cheese Sandwich this is a destination for handmade cheese, you can watch them making and handcrafting their own cheese and then you can enjoy some samples in the shop, purchase some cheese to take home and have a sandwich which I did.

I then walked a few doors down to visit the popular Piroshky Piroshky bakery, the long line-up moved briskly and I then had my pick of savoury and sweet piroshky, choosing one of each I had the Mushroom Piroshky and a Coffee Cinnamon sweet Piroshky roll.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

1600 Pike Place, Seattle

206-956-1964

Piroshky Piroshky

1908 Pike Place, Seattle

206-441-6068

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before checking out.

Grand Hyatt Seattle

721 Pine Street  Seattle, WA 98101, United States

For reservations call (206) 774-1234

On the way home to Vancouver we stopped in Bellingham again for dinner and this time we visited the sister restaurant to the burger joint for wood fired pizza. In a fairly large dining room our wait was about 10 minutes until we were seated, our server was wonderful and she gave us the option to do halfers on the pizza which worked out perfectly.

La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza

200 E. Chestnut, Bellingham

(360) 647-0060

From I-5, take Lakeway Drive, exit # 253. Turn onto Lakeway Drive, heading west toward the bay. Lakeway Drive veers right, turning into East Holly. Continue down the hill on East Holly to Railroad Avenue. Turn left onto Railroad Avenue and continue one block to Chestnut. Voila! La Fiamma is located at the corner of Chestnut and Railroad. There is lots of parking (free evenings, weekends and holidays).

Back on the road, headed North on Hwy 5 crossing the border back in Canada and home within an hour.

Stay tuned for my next Field Trip outside of Vancouver.

By: Richard Wolak