Sunset Eating Up the West Coast: The Best Road Trips, Restaurants, and Recipes From California to Washington

by Brigit Binns

Sunset Magazine and cookbook author and Road Foodie blogger Brigit Binns team up to take readers on a mouthwatering tour along scenic highways and picturesque back roads of the Pacific coast. Brigit and her trusty canine companion, Stella, make their way up the region in four bites--Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington--discovering local eateries, dives, and cafes that showcase the true flavors of each region. More than 125 delicious and authentic recipes fill the pages of this part cookbook, part delicious journey, along with tales from owners, patrons, and employees that bring each restaurant's and region's personality to light. Impeccable full color photography also graces the pages, taking readers both inside these landmark gems and outside to the surrounding scenery. Sunset's Eating Up the West Coast is a discovery guide for anyone who loves to eat great local food and venture off the beaten path.

Genres: Cookbooks, Travel, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2015

About the author

Brigit Legere Binns

Reviews

[Danielle T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.

Definitely some interesting sounding places to eat and explore, and as someone who goes to the OR coast every couple of months I can say the Local Ocean (Newport, OR) and Luna Sea Fish House (Yachats, OR) are solid picks. I have a minor issue with the semifrequency of calling various owners or fellow travelers "refugees from [insert big metro area]" as that's kind of a weird word choice for "non-locals who moved here to 'uplift' the scene" as it seems like that's what the author's implying... or sniffing at tourist-trap type areas when this is literally a book about tourism, but I get the appeal of trying to find those out of the way but still awesome places.

Also, once again, reading a cookbook and not making anything from it... though the recipes here definitely would require a bit of forethought (and planning, if ingredients are even available... probably are as I do live in Oregon, but still, I don't venture out to the co-op or Market of Choice that often)

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very colorful, intermediate level cooking. Great pictures with every recipe. Also, pretty authentic to the area.
Recipes to try:
Apple boysenberry crumble pie
Coffee and rum crème brûlée
Ahi fish tacos
Cioppino w/ Toasted Garlic Bread
Steamed clams w/ white wine and green onions
Tri-tip Wedge w/blue cheese dressing salad
Herbed home fries
Grilled asparagus w/ Meyer lemon aïoli
Lemon tart with crème fraîche and honey
Chile chocolate torte w/ cinnamon cream
Truffle cheese tortellini
Shrimp and spicy noodle salad
Roasted garlic and crab soup
Oregon sweet corn bisque
Wild salmon w/ Beurre Blanc

[Luciana · Rating 5 out of 5]

WoW!

What an amazing book! Not only did it touch on favourite recipes & restaurants up the west coast, but it also gave favourite travel spots & other tidbits of information for the traveler. I have found a few recipes that seem so easy to make that I am going to try. If I travel along the coast, I will bring this book with me as a guide of where to stop.

[Clarice DeOH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for those who are into food and are planning a California Coast road trip. The author share great places to eat and also some recipes.

[Emilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really nice book. The premise is to start in Southern California and basically eat your way up the best coast at the many locally famous gems along the way. Recipes are given from several restaurants in each region along with the addition of several other restaurant recommendations. Overall this book was a bit too meat-heavy for this vegetarian, but I found several breakfast recipes (hash, blueberry skillet pancakes...) and lots of salad recipes (farm salad with apple, beets, candied walnuts and vinaigrette, and greens with citrus-honey vinaigrette) that I want to try. There are more seafood recipes the further north the book travels, but there are a few inland stops for burgers, lamb and pork as well. Unfortunately, I found recipes like the Ancho Chile Chocolate Torte with Cinnamon cream enticing but too involved for a busy mom with young ones. Overall the book is compressive, well devised and very pretty.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book as the basis for a recent trip from Northern California to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The author recommends some great out of the way places that were top notch. Would use this again as a guide if I were to explore further routes included in the book from Southern California on up. Will be trying some of the recipes now that I'm back from traveling.

[Shar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visually appealing book, interesting concept. Only interested in a handful of recipes though. Not something I want to purchase or add to my collection.

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of yummy looking places and recipes in this book. I'm always a bit skeptical though, especially since about half the places she suggests that I've been to are places I would not go again.