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I believe adventure is found when we open ourselves up to what scares us and venture smiling into the unknown. Adventure is where open-mindedness meets novelty - with a dash of danger. When I travel, my goal is to break my routine and experience something new, something exciting, maybe something a little scary. It’s not always easy to accomplish; some trips end before I can break free of my shell.
I don’t particularly enjoy traditional tourist destinations. I prefer a lovingly overgrown little park to a world-famous museum, a cozy hole-in-the-wall bar over a Michelin-starred restaurant. By trying new things and learning what I tend to vibe with, I’ve started to understand how I open myself up, how I ready myself for my desired adventures. My absolute favorite way to engage with a place is by exploring through food.
My first visit to the Pacific Northwest was in 2013 with my best friend, Anthony. We decided to take a trip to Seattle to check out the area as college was ending. He and I hadn’t yet traveled together, but we spent a lot of time together at home. Up to this point, we mainly spent our time playing video games or talking about philosophy. Even then, though, food was a big connector for us; we enjoyed pushing each other’s boundaries - both by visiting new restaurants and cooking new dishes together. It’s easy to look back and see the strong through-line of food adventurous-ness, but we hadn’t consciously recognized that shared love at the time.
After landing in Seattle, we dropped everything in our room, grabbed a bratwurst and some beers, then went right back to the hotel to nap and watch TV until dinner. We quickly fell into a cycle of food, rest, food, food, nap, food, food, drinks & food, sleep, repeat. You read that right, we would often find ourselves having a light lunch, then a snack, maybe a sweet treat and an appetizer, then we’d take a break to rest & digest (and research more unique places to try) before doing it all again next meal!
We had bratwursts with house-made sauerkraut and beer at The Wurst Place (the first time we’d seen a growler at all, naturally we bought one and filled it up), went to the hotel and drank from the growler while watching Chopped, went to a grocery store to get some basic sandwich gear to feed ourselves between excursions, shared a spread of delightful plant-based tacos at El Borracho, and had gelato while meandering around town trying to catch glimpses of the space needle.
Anthony and I relished trying so many restaurants and dishes in such a short time, and we connected deeply with the area as a result. Since that trip, I strive to find local spots off the beaten path. I find a place by finding the local mom-and-pop restaurants and ordering something I’ve never heard of. I become “Adventurous Jase” by turning off the laziness of home and embracing the weird and wild of wherever I am.
Even years later, we still use “Seattle-style” to denote that feeling pulling us towards culinary exploration. We like to do an occasional “Anthony & Jase mess-around” locally, where we release from the ordinary and eat at 3+ restaurants in one evening. Food remains a primary motivator for our adventures, and allows us to connect with places through something we both deeply love.
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- Jase
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Cover Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
