This Ain't Tucson: Eating 'Cougar Gold' and an 'Old European' breakfast

PULLMAN, Washington — For the last three-plus seasons, UA football beat writer Justin Spears has highlighted multiple restaurants and food spots that can only be found in the cities the Arizona Wildcats are playing in. 

From seafood and burritos in San Diego, to Skyline Chili in Cincinnati, to fried okra and catfish tails in Starkville, Mississippi, we've sampled a wide range of delicious food since the 2023 season.

The first bite of the season was the famous "Cougar Tail" donut at BYU. 

Up next: "The Old European Restaurant," followed by "Cougar Gold" cheese and a sweet treat at Ferdinand's Ice Cream Shoppe located about a quarter-mile from Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on the Washington State campus. 

The Old European, Ferdinand's

The rundown (The Old European): One of the most popular breakfast and lunch spots in the Pullman and Idaho area is "The Old European Restaurant" near downtown Pullman.

The European-style restaurant, which opened in 1989, is adjacent to a motel and takes pride in its freshly-squeezed orange juice and lemonade, along with its scratch cooking. The Old European Restaurant makes in-house pancake batter, breads and other dishes. 

The Old European Restaurant is known for its "aebleskivers," which is Danish for "apple slices," although the only apple ingredient included is the apple sauce on the side. Aebleskivers are fluffy pancake balls — sometimes served with a sausage center — that come with a raspberry syrup.

Dutch babies, German potato pancakes (with apple sauce), Hungarian goulash and Swedish crepes can also be ordered at The Old European. 

The rundown (Ferdinand's): In 1938, the Washington State college dairy product judging team was raising money for competition. The middle name for Rune Goranson, one of the members of the team, was Ferdinand. The Disney short film "Ferdinand the Bull" was also released in 1938. 

So, in order to raise funds, the WSU college dairy product judging team sold ice cream sundaes at a stand called "Ferdinand's." 

In 1948, Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe was open and attached to the WSU creamery, which mass-produces ice cream and cheese. A portion of the revenue at the WSU creamery goes towards educational support for food science students at Washington State. 

In the late 1940s, the WSU creamery and WSU dairy professor Dr. Norman Golding created a way to preserve its sharp white cheddar cheese — called "Cougar Gold" — in tins to send to troops overseas. 

The WSU creamery produces 250,000 30-ounce cans of Cougar Gold every year, with 80% of the product being Cougar Gold. Over 22,000 gallons of ice cream are produced and sold annually at Ferdinand's and other places on the WSU campus. 

Eight flavors of cheese can be purchased at Ferdinand's — and 20 flavors of ice cream, including "Cougar Tracks," which is vanilla ice cream with swirls of fudge and peanut butter cups.

Other popular ice cream flavors at Ferdinand's are "Apple Cup Crisp," with vanilla ice cream, apple flavoring, caramel, oatmeal cookies and spices; "Tin Lizzy," with vanilla ice cream, swirls of caramel and chocolate-covered toffee; and "Huckleberry Ripple," with huckleberry ice cream and swirls of huckleberry. 

The order (The Old European): Aebleskivers, two eggs, two pieces of bacon, a cinnamon roll and coffee.

The order (Ferdinand's): Cougar Gold and Cougar Tracks ice cream.

The final verdict (The Old European): A simple breakfast that wasn't anything to write home about, but we're doing it anyways. However, the aebleskivers and cinnamon roll were worth the price of admission. 7/10

The final verdict (Ferdinand's): The Cougar Gold is crumbly, yet smooth, rich and easy to eat. It's good enough to eat by itself instead of pairing the cheese with meat and olives on a charcuterie board. The ice cream was also rich, but not overly sweet and rivals the "Muscadine Ripple" at Mississippi State. 

One scoop of ice cream at Ferdinand's is a very generous scoop. In honor of the 1992 Washington State football team in attendance on Saturday, we're bumping the Ferdinand's experience from 9/10 to a 9.2/10. 

The big number: '92

How does Washington State celebrate a past bowl win in Tucson? By honoring the team with the Arizona Wildcats in attendance. Washington State honored the 1992 Copper Bowl team during the Cougars’ home battle with Arizona at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on Saturday.

Former Washington State star quarterback Drew Bledsoe, longtime WSU head coach Mike Price — now 80 years old — and other members of the ‘92 WSU football team were recognized. 

The current Cougars donned their gray helmets with the crimson "Cougars" script decal, a throwback look that started in 1978. 

Washington State won two games in Tucson in 1992: the Pac-10 opener against the Wildcats and the Copper Bowl against Utah. WSU, which only lost three games in 1992, won both games in Tucson by three points apiece. 

He said it

"(Noah) Fifita should be in that conversation (of being an NFL quarterback). This isn't a secret: the challenge he's going to have, which he's had his entire career, he's not just an undersized quarterback; he's extremely undersized. ... But, this is a big disclaimer, I think there's a lot of ways that size helps him with the way he plays.

"He's able to have arm angles and fit the ball through different angles and windows through the offensive line and defensive line that taller quarterbacks would struggle with. He has arm strength and arm talent despite the size.

"He's athletic and elusive, but is obviously not Kyler Murray. ... An elite trait that Fifita has, more than anything, is processing and the ability to think quickly, react and anticipate. ... He has a lot of great traits and I think he'll play professional football. It's going to take a team believing in him." 

— CBS analyst Adam Breneman, on Arizona's quarterback playing professionally after this season (via ESPN Tucson’s “Spears & Ali”)