Little-Known Regional Dish is Yakima’s Best Kept Secret

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is experience all of the regional dishes that most people outside of that area wouldn't know about. If you find yourself in St. Louis, they have items on the menu like Toasted Ravioli, Ooey Gooey Butter Cake and Provel cheese. Find yourself in Upstate New York and you'll see options like Chicken Riggies. Make your way to New Jersey and, though you've heard of bagels, have you had one with Taylor Ham? There's a lot of food out there that many outside of that region aren't familiar with.

I've had people ask me about my area and what our regional food is. The answer is super-easy.

If you find yourself in Yakima, you've gotta try the Cheese Zombie.

Many are discovering this for the first time thanks to a recent article by Gastro Obscura.

What bugs me the most is, as a Yakimanian, the photo they show is hardly a Cheese Zombie. I'm sure it'd delicious but it's just a ball of baked dough with cheese in the middle. Again, I'm sure it's great, but it's not a proper Cheese Zombie. You need that full, flat sheet cut up like school lunch pizza for the full experience.

There are a few places in Yakima that do serve this for nostalgia's sake. What was once a 'hey, remember that thing they made for school lunch in Yakima...' turned into a business or special menu option at a few places in Yakima including Mama Corie's Kitchen among others.

With tomato soup, always.