Travel (Food) Traditions! {SeaTac Alaska Brewery}

B and I arrived in Phoenix a couple of hours ago for his friend's wedding this weekend. We don't really travel often, but all the same, there are a few travel traditions we've established along the way. One tradition we have when we travel early in the morning is breakfast from the Great American Bagel Company at the airport. The bagels aren't that great (though B would disagree). It's more a matter of the fact that we've done it on so many trips before.

Our flight today wasn't until later in the afternoon, so it didn't make a whole lot of sense to have a breakfast bagel at the airport. Instead, B stopped on his way home from the gym this morning to get his other favorite breakfast bagel (his weekend routine) from Cherry Street Coffee.

There was a time when I loved the Cherry Street bagels as much as B. I still love their coffee (and thank him for bringing me one this morning), but the combo of the gluten and the repetition of B wanting one every weekend has steered me away from them. It makes me a little sad that I don't take part in this little ritual anymore, but it's better that I don't.

In place of our airport bagel tradition, we stopped at the Alaska Brewery restaurant at the airport. Now, I really do not consider myself a food snob and I really don't expect much from airport food, but there is a certain minimum bar that one hopes is met at any meal. Not so much today. I happen to think beer in a tall glass is pretty, so that wasn't a disappointing image. B's sandwich and my soup and salad, on the other hand, were a little pathetic even by airport standards. From the dirty table (they never did clear the used napkin that was there when we arrived) to the wilted lettuce, the meal wasn't really worth the calorie consumption, but that's bound to happen every now and then.

Now that we've arrived in Phoenix, I'm hoping we have the chance to enjoy some Southwestern food since that's not something we often have access to. We're only here until Sunday, but that's more than enough time to take advantage of at least a bit of what the city has to offer. We're staying in Tempe right next to ASU and just walking around tonight, I must admit I felt quite old. With the loud music blaring out of bars on every corner, I was just hoping to find a quiet place to have a nice cocktail and some appetizers.

We ended up at Gordon Biersch. Nothing much to say about the food, but we had good company, and that certainly makes all the difference. B is definitely very excited to see some old friends and I'm looking forward to seeing those I know and maybe meeting a few new friends as well. We're grateful for the sunshine and for the weekend long escape from dreary Seattle. Never underestimate the gratitude of a Seattlite for a few days reprieve from the rain. I think that may have been the first time I've willingly referred to myself as a Seattlite... certainly the first time while sitting in the Southwest. There's a first time for everything...