Best food ever, Bellingham edition

There are always a few things Brad and I HAVE to do while we're in Bellingham, and when we make a list of those things, food we must eat usually makes up about two thirds of it. So, I ate all sorts of good things - pizza at Rudy's, a burrito at Taco Lobo on my first-ever visit there, and a shockingly good cupcake (because really, you usually know what you're going to get with a chocolate cupcake, but this one was outstanding) from a new-to-me, oh so hip and trendy cupcake place in Fairhaven. Have I mentioned that I want to open my own cupcake place? Well, I do. Anyway, I ate a lot of good things, but there were three highlights.

1. Yam Alechiladas from Boundary Bay
When we were living in Bellingham I don't think that Boundary Bay served a huge menu of delicious food like they do now, because I think the first time I ate there was two years ago. This time I got their yam alechiladas (which I'm sure means that the enchilada sauce is enhanced by a little Boundary Bay ale), and they are really, really, really, really good. I wasn't expecting something amazing, but they are amazing. I wish I had taken a picture or something so that I could remember what exactly made me so enamored of them. But I'll just say that if I recall correctly (I am a great food writer!), they are spicy, a little bit sweet (but not too sweet, oh no), full of yams and beans and cheese and sauce, and garnished with some salsa and sour cream.

2. The Cookies 'n' Cream ice cream at Mallard's.
Now, much like the really good cupcake I ate, I was not expecting to fall in love with something so run-of-the-mill (and something I so frequently consume) as cookies and cream ice cream. But it was so good, with huge cookie chunks and (shock!) sweet, creamy vanilla ice cream. I can't put my finger on why, but it is just better than other cookies and cream. I ate said ice cream right after I ate way too much of my enchiladas. Totally worth it. You have to sacrifice for the things you love.

3. Cinnamon Chip bread from Great Harvest.
I don't know if this is offered at other Great Harvests in the world (it's not in Spokane), but at Bellingham's Great Harvest they have this cinnamon chip bread that comes as a round loaf with this, shall we say, crust of cinnamon sugar on top. My longtime college roommate and sometime soul mate Kathryn introduced me to this delight, which is, more specifically, fantastic bread with little pockets of cinnamon and sugar sprinkled throughout and that addictive crust on top. I hadn't had any of this delicacy in years, but while Brad was spending way too long at Everyday Music (formerly Cellophane Square), I thought I should take a walk up to Great Harvest to see if Saturday was one of their Cinnamon Chip days (because a bread this good can't be put out each and every day, or people in the know would go crazy - it must be released in small, regulated doses). And it was just such a day. The bread was better than I remembered it, and Brad and I snacked on it for three days, even sneaking it into international waters on our ferry ride to Canada.