3 Great Places To Eat During Your Weekend In Walla Walla

My wife and I have our "go to" spots for food in Walla Walla. We found them through word of mouth, online recommendations, and good ol' fashioned trial-and-error. I'd like to share three of our favorites with you.

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen

Every visit to Walla Walla should include at least one "fine dining" experience, and for us, it's at Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen. We love the inventive menu here. It changes frequently, or at least with the seasons. Everything at Saffron is pretty much farm-to-table. Hell, they even make their own ice-cream.

I get adventurous with what I order at Saffron, because I know that they'll nail it. For instance, Wood Grilled Octopus is not in my regular diet, but they make it sound so good:

WOOD GRILLED OCTOPUS

Brich Creek Farm grilled sweet corn, black-eyed peas, green garbanzo, peppers, cilantro & zhoug.

Bacon & Eggs

Bacon & Eggs is our breakfast spot, which I'm sure you figured out from the name. But the name doesn't clue you in to all the spicy, tasty splendor that awaits you here. We come for the Tex-Mex creations, but maybe you're more of a Crab Cakes Benedict person. Or Brioche French Toast. Dig this description:

BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST

WALLA WALLA BREAD CO. BRIOCHE DIPPED IN ORANGE- CINNAMON BATTER, SERVED WITH VERMONT MAPLE SYRUP & BUTTER

Red Monkey

Red Monkey is a casual, please everyone in your group, family restaurant and sports bar. Their selection of beers on tap is impressive, and full of Washington and Oregon brews. For non-drinkers like me, they have Lagunitas IPNA - which is a welcome change from the usual O'Doul's most bars serve.

A quick look at Red Monkey's menu shows the usual sports-bar suspects: burgers, nachos, tacos... But the portions are bigger and tastier than your hometown bar, thanks to some thoughtful, creative ingredients. Like the smoked pork taco, which includes mango pico, and bang bang sauce. 

Red Monkey doesn't just have one of anything. They have:

• 7 kinds of tacos (including shrimp, chicken, or steak)
• 4 types of fries (including gorgonzola, and garlic truffle)
• 8 styles of salads (like barbeque chicken, steak, or taco)
• 9 different burgers (including barbeque, blue-cheese, and mushroom)
• 6 variety of grilled cheese (such as smoked turkey & bacon, NW crab cream-cheese, and Tuscany grilled chicken)

And more.

I'm also in love with their branding, which is as good as any national brand. But you can't eat Red Monkey's image. Though you can wear their t-shirts and hats. And I do.