Traveling Feast

While on the hunt for a great local gut-bomb burger in Ellensburg WA today we discovered Rossow’s U-Tote-Em - a unique drive-up burger joint that has been in the Rossow family for three generations and 40 plus years.

On the food front they serve up some fun shakes, a long list of burger and sandwich variations, as well a few funky items like deep fried cauliflower.  The menu is mostly grease and gut bombs, but this is LOCAL grease and gut bombs like the Ellensburger and the Awesome Rossow that you’ll only find at U-Tote-Em rather than in franchises at nearly every interstate exit in the country.  It also matters to me that the Rossows have been serving customers since the 1960s.

But there is another reason you need to stop at Rossow’s: indiscriminate use of apostrophes.  Here is one of the outside menu boards:

And a close-up:

Ah, the dread apostrophe strikes again…

And again…

And again.

Stop in, say ‘hi’ to Barbara, and order a burger and a shake.  While you wait for them to come up, count how much gratuitous grammar you can find.

My new favorite taco truck in Spokane is adding a measure of authenticity in its daily special sheet.

I didn’t order the “Shrip Speasal” but took the spelling as a potentially positive indicator that English was a second language for whoever made the sign (and hopefully would soon be cooking my food). It turns out that Patty’s Tacos is turning out wonderful and quite authentic Mexican street  food despite the decidedly Anglo name and the dictionary difficulties noted above.

For the record, there are actually two different Pattys in the family that owns the truck: cousin Patty Pineda and sister-in-law Patty Ramirez.  Pineda was at the grill the day I stopped by and her Alambre taco ($1.25) approached the category of life-changing.  Think mini fajita with steak, grilled peppers and onions, and melted mozzarella on top.  Normally I would scorn a taco that didn’t come topped in more traditional Mexican cheese, but before you do the same, try Patty’s Alambre.  It was stunningly good.  The pork Adobada taco was also wonderful.

For those of you within driving distance of Spokane, put Patty’s Taco Truck on the top of your list.  The truck is open 10 am to 8 pm every day on North Division between Garland and Walton.

Food Service Typos #3 and #4

I almost hate to post these for fear that the next printing of Ginger’s menu will remove them, and a great typo can be such a source of delight.  I should also add that there is no correlation at Ginger between the food and the occasional menu hiccups.  All the food to date has been excellent, but even the best food rarely makes me chuckle.  Certain typos do.

“Ceviche” isn’t the easiest word to spell, and an internet search suggests that “cevice” has almost become an alternate spelling.   But those dang collective singulars like “shrimp” will kill you.  Then there is the “slice baby vegetable” and the random exclamation points included throughout! the menu with no! discernible pattern.

“Chom Mein” sounds like it could be a soft noodle dish designed for anyone who forgot to bring their dentures.

Yet rather than face the accusation that all I documented photographically at Ginger were typos, let me also include a shot of a stellar roll: the Black Jack ($12).  Inside is spicy tuna and crab.  On top is  it albacore and (as you might observe) quite a bit of creativity that included shaved radish, slivered scallions, and sesame seeds.  The light vinaigrette on the plate added another unexpected and welcome note to the dish.

In a commercial break from the feeding frenzy in New England, I believe a new reoccurring topic on Traveling Feast is in order: food service typos.  I’ll post two recent entries below from Spokane, but I suspect you may be able to share a few of your own.  Please send in your favorites, and if you happened to snap a picture of the creative spelling attempt, I’d be delighted to get a copy.

Typo #1 – Chan’s Dragon Inn

I walked by this sign almost daily for 10 years before noticing something was amiss, and even now I’m curious if it was an actual blooper or a deliberate attempt to get the word to fit on the sign.

Typo #2 – Ginger Asian Bistro

Could A12 be the item on the menu used to clean out the walk-in after a slow weekend?  As a bonus, the dish also seems to include a cooking technique not common in the West.

I take great delight in typos in any restaurant setting since I’ve made my share of my own.  Many of my favorites, though, come from Asian restaurants. Not that this is unexpected; I’m sure I would completely butcher any menu I tried to translate into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai.

Be sure to pass along any favorites you’ve discovered.