A Bellingham Foodie Blog Restaurant Reviews Bellingham Washington 98225

The Copper Hog is a gastropub. A gastropub is a British public house specializing in high quality food. The definition fits Copper Hog to a T. Tom and I have been a couple of times now and the food is SUPER. Stop laughing. There will be something for me to eat no matter what time of day or what kind of mood I’m in.

I’ve eaten the colcannon (Irish style mashed potatoes), diced Ahi sashimi in shoyu and sesame oil w/seaweed salad served on crispy wontons (awesome), sliders (kobe, battered cod, spiced hummus).

Pub Snacks to have while playing darts (curry chips or beans on toast or colcannon or french fries, gravy and cheese curd)

Pub Fare to have while at the looong bar watching futball on the tele (Omar’s fish & chips w/sweet pea puree, bangers & mash + gravy)

Small Plates to share at a dimly lit table away from the hub bub (Irish onion soup, rustic crouton & melted Irish cheddar or char broiled teriyaki bison flank steak salad or cold soba noodle salad or oysters on the half shell served with a pint of Murphy’s)

Big Plates to have and share seated in tall private cushy booths (cast iron seared lamb, summer green beans & colcannon or carmelized duck breast, potato cakes, wild summer mushrooms, cherry chutney and port/current reduction or apple cranberry dressing stuffed pork loin, homemade applesauce w/baby carrots). Now, by no means are these the only options on the menu. And, this is The Copper Hog’s summer menu.

But, wait. I haven’t mentioned the list. Of what? Of beer. Of scotch. So many delicious pairings for your gastro experience.  Samichlaus, Orval Trappist, Delirium Tremens  (Belgium), Dalwhinnie (scotch). And try a black and tan. Tom enjoyed his VERY much.

Copper Hog Bellingham

The Copper Hog 1327 N. State St Bellingham WA   360-927-7888

PS  Delicious fish & chips.

This Sunday, August 9th, from 11-1, you can participate in a self-guided Co-op to Co-op Bike Ride. Check in at the downtown store during that time to receive your packet and route map. Plan for an 11:30am departure if you want to ride with a group. Courtesy of the Co-op staff and the HUB, there will be a fix-it station available for you to pump up your tires and do minor repairs before you pedal. When you get to the Cordata store check in to claim your REWARD and partake of the last Cordata BBQ of the summer. Bike home or WTA #232. I will be chauffer (for MY team) because the youngest isn’t ready for this ride.

AND BBQ at the Cordata store from noon-3pm. $5 BBQ, $3 for 10 years and under with $1 donated to Animals as Natural Therapy. Bison or portebello mushroom burgers with deli sides. Live music, bike info courtesy REI and Everybody Bike, llamas bunnies horses and assistance dogs. My advice:  get there early for good seats and eats.

Futo Maki Sushi translates to fat rolled sushi. Robert Fong and his daughter prepared this for us at the Community Food Co-op’s BBQ today. It was a delicious and informative demo. He showed how to assemble and roll futo maki sushi. It was filled with chopstick size cucumber, carrot, omelet, spinach, tuna, wasabi paste and rice. Now you know why it is FAT sushi. Once this baby is rolled its diameter is 2 inches: OPEN WIDE! And no dipping necessary because your ingredients are seasoned before assembly. This sushi comes from an Okinawan village in Japan. It is also a Hawaiian classic.

Robert Fong and daughter demonstrate Futomaki sushi rolling

TIP: For a more pungent wasabi paste, prepare the paste, place in a bowl and then cover tightly or invert the bowl on a flat surface.

And if his sushi wasn’t filling enough, there was the BBQ to indulge in. We ate BBQ bison and portabello mushroom burgers and fixings with generous sides of fresh potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans. Now at this point, we were FULL, but right next to our table volunteers were serving raspberry shortcake! Regular or gluten free cake with fresh raspberry sauce and freshly whipped heavy cream! I went gluten free with raspberries. I can’t wait til the next BBQ!!

There was 100% all natural cotton candy by Sweet Nothings made with organic sugar cane and organic maple sugar. They have a Saturday booth at the Bellingham Farmer’s Market. It was sweet enough even to slow down my 6 year old daughter’s consumption. When she wasn’t eating the cotton candy, she was milking Twister the cow from Whatcom Farm Friends (it’s a model – same as the one at the Fair). She only got a little sprayed until she got the hang of it. She has sticktoitiveness.

All in all, a gastroBBQ afternoon. I love Bellingham!

PS There were several food demos going on IN the Co-op store. Local, the theme of the BBQ, chocolate milk, fish oil, honey, designer oils. And they were good, too…