Issaquah, WA - more than meets the eye
OK, that might be a bit overboard, but a recent trip to downtown Issaquah revealed a lot more than I expected. The Issaquah that I was familiar with is housing developments that have sprung up in the last 1.5 years and big box / chain stores (Home Depot, Lowe's, Krispy Kreme, etc.). The Issaquah I didn't expect was a cute little downtown strip - home to the Issaquah Brewery (a Rogue micro-brewery) which was the destination for PubNight #3*.
What was the other biggest revelation of this trip? No, not that Issaquah apparently has a zoo (yes, really). It was that the 'buffalo chips' at the brewery could be imported straight from Blueberry Hill in St. Louis! If you're ever in the area I'd highly recommend getting off at the Front St exit, making the turn onto Sunset and ordering up a basket of buffalo fries. Oh, and try the Uberfest Pilsner too.
*PubNight is a collection of folks that try a new pub every couple/few weeks. In theory it's a place none of us have been to - like the Issaquah Brewery in this case. In practice, usually someone has been to the location before and recommended it. And there really have been four PubNights so far. The count started at zero, both because the first of them was accidental and because it's a computer science / programming thing. :) But more on PubNight and our encounters in a future post.