Check out these unexpected food finds – these off-the-beaten-path local favorites will surprise and delight you!
Blue Valley Meats & Corner Market: Here you’ll find a butcher shop, taqueria, delightfully quirky boutique, and convenience store all in one. Though the entire operation is owned by the Forkcum family, they credit Maria Meza as the genius in the kitchen. Her recipes are the foundation for the expansive menu with dishes you won’t find at your average taqueria: a Mexican baked potato, quesabirria panini, and ramen with birria, consomé, cilantro, and onion are a few examples, with inspired daily specials offered Wednesday through Sunday. The empanada options are plentiful with a choice of marinated chicken, adobada, birria, or asada. All the meats used in the kitchen come from Blue Valley Meats with 100% hormone free humanely raised products with 100% grass fed beef and certified organic chicken and turkey. The butcher shop provides online orders where you can set a pickup date, or have your order delivered locally.
1162 W. Pine St., Walla Walla | 509-876-4700 | Open daily, 5:00am – 8:00pm
Dora’s Deli Mexican Food (aka The Worm Ranch): Still affectionately referred to by locals as The Worm Ranch (their other location was inside a bait and tackle shop by that name), this hidden gem serves up authentic Mexican food from Dora Jimenez. Some favorites include the Costillas pork ribs with green chile, the quesabirria tacos with slow-cooked birria meat, onions, cilantro, and melted cheese served with birria consomé, and menudo served on the weekends. Their quesadillas are also a specialty – the masa is made in house and used to make a half-moon shaped pocket filled with chicken and cheese and then fried. All the food is made by hand, including the corn tortillas which are made while you wait, and the wait is worth it – Dora’s made the list of the top tastiest tacos across the country in USA Today. For larger groups, check out their special bundles.
1303 S. 3rd Ave., Walla Walla | 509-529-1975 | Dora’s Deli Mexican Food on Facebook | Open daily, 10am – 6pm
FU Burger: FU stands for Freaking Unreal and that’s what you can expect from this award-winning smash burger joint. Chef Nathan Carlson, winner of the 2024 Union-Bulletin Readers’ Choice Award for Best Chef (FU won for best burger) is the mastermind behind the creative menu – there is a burger with brisket mac and cheese and one with peanut butter – which evolved from his food truck WTF (Where There’s Food) Eat It. Though the menu is burger dominant, there are plenty of other options including a pickle juice fried chicken sandwich and The Elvira – a beer battered cod filet sandwich, all served with hand cut garlic fries. FU is housed in the former Log Inn, a watering hole that supposedly dates to the 1920’s, and the décor is as playful as the restaurant name. Come hungry because the portions are substantial.
526 Wellington Ave., Walla Walla | 509-876-2810 | Tuesday – Sunday, 11:30am – 9:00pm
The Wine Country Store: Not to be confused with gas station grub, the Wine Country Store at the Chevron Station carries specialty items you’d expect to find at Dean & Deluca: gourmet cheeses, farm-raised tinned fish, Italian bruschetta, olive tapenade, spreads (including lobster!), finishing salts, and a highly curated wine selection to name a handful. The store fulfills a long-time dream of Jesse Kleban, who opened the store with her husband Ben as a go-to for picnic essentials in the heart of wine country. Her sandwiches are made to order on house-made focaccia bread with the perfect amount of loft: the muffuletta (but betta) includes Italian meats, brie, and olive salad; the turkey and pimento with Sweet Grass Dairy pimento cheese, roast turkey, mayo, shredded lettuce and Walla Walla sweet onions; and the Terra with brie, fig jam, and arugula are just a few of the menu options.
7 E. Rose St., Walla Walla | 509-956-4010 | Monday – Saturday, 8:00am – 6:00pm, Sunday, 8:00am – 4:00pm (sandwiches available 10:00am – 3:00pm daily)