Delicious Dining Near U.S. National Parks

Top chefs clamor for the hams cured at Bentons, an unassuming smokehouse in Madisonville. Online orders can take more than a month; instead, drop in for a tour and take home some bacon. This appeared in the May 2014 issue.

The Hood Canal slices through the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula and produces some of the region’s most celebrated oysters. Taste them at Hama Hama oyster farm and outdoor saloon, which pours Finnriver Cider (made just north of the oyster beds), crisp Whidbey Island wines, and beers from nearby Leavenworth. But the bivalves are the real stars, with each variety showing off a different “meroir.” Hama Hama oysters have a subtle cucumber flavor, while the farm’s Blue Pool oysters are rounder and plumper, with sweet carrot notes. Slurp them raw or have them grilled—or buy house-smoked oysters to eat later. Before you pile back into the car, stroll along the tideflats where seals are spotted year-round and sea lions loll in winter. Check out the rock embedded with 40-million-year-old clamshells (the farm had the specimens dated by the University of Washington) and snap a selfie on the giant pile of oyster shells—a testament to the fertility of these clean, cold waters.

One bite of the cream puffs at Triple Oak Bakery, and you’ll never again scoff at gluten-free pastries. Ditto for the pizza, the carrot cake, Greek baklava, and even Jewish-style bagels. Everything here is made without wheat, and it’s leagues better than other gluten-free approximations you may have tried. Grab a slice of quiche to eat now, and a dozen chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies for the road.

Opened in 1916, this Upcountry Maui icon draws hordes of locals and savvy tourists with its racks of sweets, including legendary cream puffs and amazing stick doughnuts. The menu here also features pies, rolls, bread, cookies, cupcakes, turnovers, and irresistible guava malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts), but the bakery is best known for its Long Johns—yeast-risen pastry bars coated with glaze or icing. Go early, as the crowds pick the trays bare by 10 a.m., and be sure to check out the memorabilia of bygone eras tucked among the postcards, pantry staples, and fishing gear for sale.

Montanans love their bakeries almost as much as they love their huckleberries. Naturally, combining baked goods with huckleberries is a match made in Big Sky Heaven. For a bite of bliss, try the huckleberry scones at Woodside Bakery. Home made on site, they’re soft and fluffy and full of flavor. The bakery also makes a mean huckleberry cream pie, if you’re lucky enough to snap a piece.