Indian Melt

6/19/06

So, I traveled to Seattle on Friday for my brother's wedding reception bbq. As is my custom when I travel, I jammed my day full of business, errands and whatnot before I went to the airport for my evening flight. I made my train and shuttle connections barely and got to the airport and through security in time to just make my flight. I flew up to SEA where I was supposed to meet my dad who was flying in from the OC half an hour later. From there we needed to rent a car and drive out to the hotel near my brother's place in Poulsbo. Of course, my dad's flight was delayed and the drive out to Poulsbo takes about 90 minutes when the ferry isn't running (it's on the other side of Puget Sound). While waiting for my dad, the one thing I hadn't done all day started becoming painfully obvious to me (accent mark over the painfully). I hadn't eaten anything other than airplane peanuts since a very light breakfast at about 9am. It was approaching 10:30 pm by the time my dad landed, we corralled his luggage (a real antique piece... not too much unlike the one Sterling Hayden stuffs the $$ into before his trip to the airport in THE KILLING), got the rental car and headed out of SEA-TAC. It was after midnight by the time we got to Poulsbo, and other than McD's drive thrus (which to me are totally unacceptable) there weren't really any open food options along the way.

I asked the woman at the hotel desk if there as anything open in town (POPULATION 7450) and she pointed me 5 miles down the road to the local Indian Casino. I think the tribal name was Squeamish, but it was late, I was tired and hungry and most certainly wrong about that. So, I made the trek over there solo after dropping my dad off at the room to get something to eat. The only food place open in the casino was their burger/sandwich/fried things counter. I studied the menu, which looked less than appetizing to begin with and settled on something called the Indian Melt. Why I settled on this I do not know. I've always had a thing about trying new things when I travel. Nearly everything else on the menu seemed safe, if not familiar. There were burgers, fries, sandwiches, chicken strips... all that stuff. I figured the Indian Melt was similar to, if not the same as a Patty Melt. I really should have asked. I really, really should have asked. I ordered it just the same and when my food arrived, I was pretty stunned. The Indian Melt was ham, salami, pepperoni, marinara sauce and melted cheese served on top of a donut. Yes, that's right. I said donut. No wonder this tribe is Squeamish. I did eat it. Well, I ate most of it. Ok, so I ate some of it and was really glad I substituted a green(ish) salad for the fries.