Tempting: Eating Your Way Around The City Of Cle Elum [PHOTO GALLERY]

This is the first in my new travel mini-blog series: "Eating My Way Around Washington State".

If you're traveling over the holidays, or just traveling in general, make a plan for a stopover in the city of Cle Elum, Washington.

This picturesque town boasts a population of around 1900 people, and is nestled almost half-way between Yakima and Seattle. It takes exactly 50 minutes to drive from Yakima to Cle Elum, and it's about ten minutes away from Easton, which is almost exactly the mid point on a Yakima-to-Seattle-based drive. (Can you tell that I hate long drives and do a countdown until arrival, by the minute?!)

A lot of travelers pass through Cle Elum on their way to stay in their fancy cabins at Suncadia Resort. I'm so jellie (jealous)! Cle Elum used to be a pit stop on the airport shuttle route, at the Shell gas station/Subway restaurant. I have passed through this town countless times, but never really explored it.

If you ever get stuck there, or just want to eat your way around the hometown spots of the city, make sure to grab some perk-o-lating coffee from the super-friendly baristas at Pioneer Coffee Roasting Co. I bought a berry muffin that was out of this world (they'll even heat it up for you if you ask)! I ordered a "Caffe Vitale" drip coffee and had it smothered with whipped cream. Yummy!

Check out my other recommendations I got from the locals: Gunnars Cafe & Bistro (has a drive-thru), Beau's Pizza & Pasta, El Caporal Restaurant & Cantina, and MaMa Vallone's Steak House & Inn.