For Hansell, nothing beats home cooking

Published 9:38 am Tuesday, March 20, 2007

If County Commissioner Bill Hansell had his druthers, he’d eat his wife’s cooking every night of his life.

“Overall, I’d rather eat at home,” he said when asked about his favorite food. “For me, I’m always away from home and out in public, so I like to come home. Of course, Margaret’s (his wife) the opposite. So, we compromise.

Hansell didn’t have to think long about what he likes to eat when he’s not chowing down on Margaret’s home cooking.

“”I’m a meat and potatoes guy,” he said. “I think two of the best restaurants anywhere are in Athena and Weston. The Doubletree in Athena has great home cooking and the Long Branch in Weston is the same thing. In all my travels I haven’t come across a better breakfast than at the Long Branch.”

While Hansell prefers home-style food, he enjoys many other tastes. He listed the lemon chicken at Kwong’s in Pendleton and the taco dinner at El Cazador in Hermiston. He said he also enjoys a good steak and likes to lunch at the Cookie Tree, Rooster’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and other places near his Pendleton office.

“Much to the consternation of my wife, I’m not adventurous about food,” he said. “The various sauces, for example, are lost on me.”

However, Hansell does have one weakness – seafood.

“I particularly like prawns and Dungennes crab legs,” he said. “Raphael’s (in Pendleton) has January crab specials and my birthday’s in January so I try to celebrate it there.”

Hansell also enjoys the Oasis and the Fountain in Milton-Freewater; and the Homestead and Clarette’s Restaurant in Walla Walla.

“We’re fortunate because throughout the area we have many places to eat that have both a good value and good quality,” he said.