Seattle?

Staying downtown, or just north. No car, bus and taxi only. Anyone have recent notes? Not looking for the budget busters, but rather local produce/flesh bounty. Curious if any places in the International District hold up to Chicago, NYC or LA's best. Have seen the salmon toss on past visits--now seek more.

Preliminary research:
Armendino's Salumi, Coffee--Cafe D'arte and Cherry Street, Tamarind Tree, Matt's--oyster happy hour,
Etta's-b'fast, Maximilien, Saigon Cafe, El Purrco Lloron, Elliott's for oysters, Pho Cyclo, Panos Kleftiko--is this really great--in the sense of Chicago's great Greek restaurants--and accessible to downtown too?

Our first hotel offered a free shuttle service all over town, which was very convenient in the beginning before we learned the city. It is quite feasible to walk everywhere. The grid layout of the streets makes it very easy to navigate. The weather is mild and comfortable. The streets are steeper than here in Chicago, but it's a good workout. Between all the walking and seafood, I lost 3-5 lbs!

I highly recommend Matt's in the Market. I see that you are already considering them. I am not a huge fan of catfish, but his catfish sandwich was delicious. Matt's is kind of hard to find if you've never been. There is a tiny door that leads upstairs to the restaurant on Pike in between the floral shop and produce market. If you're dining alone, they'll seat you at the bar. A man was insulted and upset by this and left.

My boyfriend and I really enjoyed our dinners at Icon Grill. They serve good comfort food and have a vast collection of hand blown glass artwork which fills the restaurant. IIRC, I ordered the meatloaf which was delicious - I don't think many restaurants do a very good job executing meatloaf in general. 1933 5th Ave, Seattle, 98101 - (206) 441-6330

Like the others on the board, we enjoyed a sandwich from Salumi on our trip up to Vancouver. It is pretty messy to eat in the car!

Have fun!

Steve,

My info is a little out of date for a city with as vibrant a restaurant scene as Seattle, 'bout 18-months old, but here goes. The two places I most highly recommend are Matt's and Salumi. Both have been recommended by others, though I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Salumi is a small place that makes everything in-house. We were there on a Friday, which is gnocchi take out day, and stood in a very convivial line for about 15-minutes. You order as you pass through the line and everyone, but you, will seem like a regular, and probably are, and know their order already. My wife and I solved the problem by ordering way too much food.

If Salumi has lamb prosciutto that is supposed to be fantastic, but it seems as if they are always out, we had a grilled lamb sandwich, a mixed Salumi plate with olives and cheese, the fresh mozzarella was outstanding, and capicola with a hint of curry was just incredible. The waiter also gave us tastes of the braised meat, brisket with a hint of cinnamon, ox tail and porchetta.

Matt's, on the second floor of the Pike Place Market, do not mix this Matt's up with a small chain of a similar name, was a very small place as well, but the people were really nice, though a bit on the busy side as there is only three people working the restaurant, chef, waiter and the owner, who did a bit of everything. The chef is a hoot, a 30's (ish) woman cooking like a house-a-fire on two, count em, two gas free standing burners, a small free standing oven and that is about it, just amazing.

Everything we ate there was very good, piri-prir clams, mussels, snapper w/beans/chorizo/corn/escarole and the pot de creme was the best I have ever had. Matt's seems very concerned with best value for best wine, they sold me on a $50 pinot, then changed up and recommended a $28 pinot which was excellent. The pinot noir was Gig Fire, if I am not mistaken.

We also ate at Flying Fish, I liked the place, but it seemed as if they were a bit too, ummmmmm, I don't know, maybe aspirations of Lettuce Entertain You. But maybe I am a wee bit sour on the place as I had this beautiful corned meal crusted, deep fried crisp rockfish that was served with Vietnamese rice paper, lots of herbs and a habenero/pineapple salsa that had so damn much salt in the crust I could not really even eat the damn thing. I was really annoyed.

The rest of the food was good, there were four of us so we tried a few things, the crowd is upscale and the area the restaurant is in is vibrant and youthful. A good place to go out after dinner for a few drinks.

We also did the straight-up tourist thing at The Crab Pot on one of the piers. We had a crab boil, very New Orleans like, with Dungeness crab, snow crab, andouille sausage, red potato, mussels, shrimp, skewered halibut (or was it salmon), clams (the clams were great with the andioulle) and corn. I would have liked king crab as well, but it was not an option, though lobster was an option, which we passed on.

Seattle is a great city, you will have fun and eat well.

Regards,
Gary

Salumi
309 3rd Ave S
Seattle, Washington 98104
(206) 621-8772

Matt's in the Market
94 Pike St
Corner Mrkt Building Ste 32
Seattle, WA 98101
206-467-7909
(Second floor)

It's might be a budget buster, but I still have dreams about my meal at Harvest Vine, a Basque Tapas place in the Madison Valley neighborhood. If I remember correctly it was pretty easy to get to by bus.

Two people should be able to escape with 5 plates and a couple desserts for under $100, assuming they don't drink.

My wife and I really liked Wild Ginger. It's a bit fancy, and at first seemed to be a bit pretentious, but it turned out to be a very cool, quite committed place, from the staff to the space. I particularly recommend the selection of satays.

Here's a Gayot review with a link:

http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/in ... 9933&code=

I had a really good pho, too, but I can't remember the name of the place. If I can, I'll report back.

Geo

We had Wild Ginger for our last lunch in Seattle. I dined there my first time in Seattle back in '97 in its original location. I ordered their version of peking duck that is served with rice and steamed buns. ( think of the steamed char siu bao ) It did not live up to my fond memories, so I was disappointed. I would not consider it to be a fancy restaurant, at least by Chicago standards....the atmosphere reminds me of PF Changs or Ben Pao.

G Wiv wrote:The two places I most highly recommend are Matt's and Salumi.

Next week's Seattle run has canceled, however, we have planned a Sep vacation alighting in Seattle and heading up to Vancouver.

Salumi is on the agenda day of arrival. Matt's, hopefully, the evening prior to departure. Will post a Vancouver query as the trip nears.

Jumping the gun, my first recommendation for vancouver is Sun Sui Wah. Go for the roast squab and maybe salt and pepper crab of some sort.

I just spent a day in Vancouver (you can see my report on extramsg.com) and am going for a trip again in August. Great city for Asian food. I'll try to pass along the results of my explorations and research when you post in the future.

September is a good month for the Northwest. Although, right now is pretty good. Here in Oregon we've got raspberries and blueberries in full swing with strawberries just at the end of their season and blackberries slowly coming into season. Plus, cherries are fantastic right now and other stone fruits are coming in.

extramsg wrote:I just spent a day in Vancouver (you can see my report on extramsg.com) and am going for a trip again in August.

I'm really looking forward to your report on your Aug trip after scanning your blog. When I see markets like that while on vacation, it makes me wish I had packed along my cooking MDR--one 8" chef's knife/cutting board, two spun iron pans, one wooden rice paddle and my portable one burner propane stove in my suitcase. Torture, sheer torture. Yet even so--markets remain central to every trip I take. Oh well, I'll have to remember to pack so in my retirement.

Finished my reports on my long weekend in Vancouver:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Vancouver is a great city and a great city for food. I don't know if I've ever been in a North American city so permeated by Asian food. Here are some "don't miss" options:

* Richmond Night Market: Asian night fair with scores of food booths.
* Vij's: Upscale Indian, some of the best I've ever had.
* Go Fish: Great fish and chips and inventive fish specials.
* West: Very good haute Northwest cuisine and, imo, a good value at this level.
* Oyama: In Granville Public Market. Duck, goose, wild board prosciutto, plus many sausages.
* Les Amis du Fromage: Great cheese shop. Many local cheeses. Try the Tiger Blue.
* Kintaro Ramen House: Fresh made ramen and pork broth made daily.
* Phnom Penh: Cambodian/Vietnamese that steps above even many of the best places I've been.


btw, report also includes meals at Salumi and Gelatiamo and at Malay Satay Hut in Seattle.

From Vij's:

Lamb "popsicles" in fenugreek curry

That's a shame about Sun Sui Wah. I was at the Richmond location there (once) about 16 months ago and had a fantastic meal. That being said, we were there for dinner, not dim sum.

I was in Seattle last week. Ate incredibly well, despite only being there two short days and Salumi being closed.

Some of the best coffee and donuts in town are at Top Pot Doughnuts, at 5th and Lenora in the Belltown neighborhood (close to downtown). Everything is made fresh.
University of Chicago connection: see if you can find the Robert Maynard Hutchins-edited Great Books of Western Civilization in the bookshelves lining the wall of this place.

A little fast-foodish, but the Ivar's fish bar locations all over the city serve clam chowder of a quality rarely seen in Chicago.

Had a great Italian meal at Volterra in the Ballard neighborhood (great place to walk around--like a bit of Boston in Seattle).

Tamarind Tree, despite occasional long waits, serves both authentic and inexpensive Vietnamese food. Totally blows NYC's best Vietnamese out of the water, and stacks up quite well to Argyle.

Do not have the review at hand any longer and, as with G Wiv, time may have blunted my memory (or altered the facts), but I will second his semi-demi-recommendation for Flying Fish. (Message me if you want the details; I can find the review with dishes, etc.) Lovely Dining Companion had a really wonderful dinner there, albeit after a doozy of a fight. Didn't have much conversation and the place was really jam-packed (we ate at the bar--and it should be noted that they did an exceptional job setting us up there). In spite of those potential problems, we both really enjoyed the dinner.

Will also enthusiastically second any mention of Matt's in the Market. Wow. What an accomplishment and what great food! We'd go back in a heartbeat. Since I don't have much positive to say about the Pike Place Market in which it is located, I'll keep mum on that subject. I do remember some pretty nice small Indian grocers across the street though....

Also found a Nepali/Tibetan place near the University. We enjoyed it a great deal (having both been to Nepal twice and to Tibet, we had something to measure it against). If you're interested, I can dig up the name and address (think it's called something expectable, like "Himalaya"). BTW, a Nepali friend of ours who moved to Seattle for an MBA, has gone on our rec and reports back positively.

Hard to imagine you'll have any bad meals, no matter where you end up.

Have fun!

Gypsy Boy

Hello all,

Julia and I are in Seattle from this evening until Sept 10th - we're seeking suggestions for any and all things chowish in Seattle - breakfast spots, lunch, snacks, cafes, dinners. We have a reservation for Matt's in the Market for tomorrow evening. But otherwise our schedule is entirely free.

We're staying downtown near Belltown - though we do have a car we're always up for walking (but seemingly Seattle is a town which takes a lot of driving to get around).

Immediately (i.e. this evening) we're seeking someplace in the Queen Anne area.

I'll be posting a lot about our trip out West in the next few days - we've had some really amazing meals in Portland, San Francisco/Berkeley, and Santa Barbara.

Shannon

Hi Shannon--

If you like raw oysters, then don't miss Happy Hour at Elliott's on the waterfront. Every day from 3 to 6 the oyster of the day is priced at 50c per starting at 3 pm, with a 20c increase every half hour until 6 pm. Since $2 per oyster is common in most of Seattle, 50c or even 90c oysters are a real bargain. The beer of the day is $3/pint during this time and they have a number of other tasty treats on the happy hour menu like a blackened rockfish taco.

When we were there in July, most of the oysters they had available were from cold northern waters off Vancouver island. The first day we had Stranges Bay oysters and the second time the oysters (whose provenance I didn't catch) were so good we ordered two dozen. They also serve them with a delicious mignonette granita: a frozen slush of champagne, vinegar, and shallots.

You can sit outside right on the pier with reasonably good views of the boat traffic, Alki, and--when we were there--the coast guard gunboats escorting all the ferries across Elliott Bay.

Another place we enjoyed for a very different waterfront experience was Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. Fisherman's terminal is on the canal connecting Lake Union to Elliott Bay and it is the home of the Alaskan Fishing Fleet. The working terminal contains, not surprisingly, a bustling, family-friendly seafood restaurant with great views of the fleet and fairly reasonable prices (not much over $20). I think the restaurant is required by their lease with the terminal to keep some dishes very reasonably priced so the fisherman can afford to eat there. No fancy preparations, just good fresh fish and great local beers. There seemed to be a little walk-up cafe on the side of the terminal. Just beyond the cafe is the memorial to the huge number of fleet members who have lost their lives over the years. I'm not sure how easy it is to get there without a car as a friend picked us up and drove us there.

My only non-seafood related tip is a very tasty sandwich place called the Baguette Box, just the other side of I-5 from downtown on Pine Street. A very spare, loft-like space with a driving beat and creative well-made sandwiches and a couple of soups. We had a great red-wine braised pork loin sandwich and an arugula salad, and they gave us a free taste of a cold garlic and grape soup.


Elliott's
Pier 56

http://www.elliottsoysterhouse.com

Chinook's
1900 West Nickerson Street Seattle, WA 98119
PH: (206) 283-4665 Fax: (206) 283-3705

http://www.anthonys.com/restaurants/info/chinooks.html

The Baguette Box
1201 Pine St
Seattle, WA 98101-1931
(206) 332-0220

http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/41412954/seattle_wa/the_baguette_box.html

Long time reader... first time poster...

I'm in Seattle ALOT... and I agree with almost all of the suggestions above. Here are my chow-worthy favorites (in no particular order)

-Top Pot Donuts (Cap Hill and Belltown)

(the one in Capitol Hill has a bit more soul than the one in Belltown. It's the same factory product. I just like the feel of the smaller store. The cake donuts are what to get.)

-Salumi (Pioneer Square/International District)

(absolutely a must. It is open twice a week for dinner. I believe T-F for Lunch and closed on weekends. The dinners are legendary and near impossible to get a reservation. The Porchetta sandwich is fantastic, the way the garlic spread tastes w/ the crusty bread and the pork that has been stewing for hours. Lately, I go there with someone and split the hot meat sampler and the cold meat sampler. It gives you a good idea of what they have. The place only has two two tops and large common table that seats ten.)

-Salty's on Alki Beach (West Seattle)

(The buffett brunch is outstanding. Lots of crab and freshly shucked oysters. The rest of the week, ehh)

-Oceanaire (Downtown)

(I know it's a chain. But, I like the fish restaurant/steak house vibe to the place. The Oceanaire hasbrowns (crispy and served w/ onions and bacon) are worth it).

-Tamarind Tree (International District)

(probably the best non Pho vietnamese place I've been to in Seattle. It isn't the cheapest, but definitely one of the most accessible in the ID).

-Maneki (International District)

(If you like Japanese cooked food, this is the place. I believe it is one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in Seattle. Aji fry, miso soaked black cod collar, hopefully you get the picture. Better than the stuff you get at Katsu on Peterson at a lower price point and bigger portions. They have sushi, but there are other places to go for that... see below)

-Dahlia Lounge (Belltown)

(Like most of the Tom Douglas restaurants, the food is good. I love the Coconut Cream Pie dessert. You can also purchase a bite sized portion from the Dhalia bakery next door.)

And my two favorite must eats:

1) Kisaku (Green Lake)

(for sushi, this place is unbelievable. The key is to make a reservation to sit at the bar. Then ask your chef (hopefully, it's Nakano, the head chef) to just feed you pieces until you are full. You will have a much different experience than if you just sit and order off the menu. They have lots of off the menu items. If you don't mind paying Katsu prices, Kisaku will seem like a steal. You can eat about 31 pieces of the highest quality fish, higher than anything I've had in Chicago, for about $65.)

2) Seven Star Pepper (International District)

(Sichuanese food at it's very best. You must get the Sichuanese Crab. It's a whole live crab dry fried with sichuanese peppercorns. The price can range from $14 to about $21 and it is posted on a dry erase board near the kitchen. One time, I actually saw the price go down during my meal. At any price, it's one of the best dishes I have ever had and you CANNOT find this dish in Chicago. They use a higher quantity of sichuan peppercorns in their dishes than Lao Szechuan does, bestowing more of a mouth numbing hot sensation. If you go, order some of the same dishes you would at Lao Szechuan. There is a difference in spiciness. They also have a pretty good hot pot.

Enjoy Seattle... It's a great eating city!

Thanks for the suggestions.

First report - we ended up at Ten Mercer (at, surprise surprise, 10 Mercer Street in Queen Anne - www.tenmercer.com). They are participating along with 28 other restaurants in "Dinner at 8" which offers appetizers, entrees and desserts for $20.

Exceptionally good - we had 6 truly great dishes with very generous portions and a comfortable space (I have later learned they also have a great 2nd floor seating area which might be more romantic than their larger bar dominated dining room downstairs).

We ate the following dishes:

Appetizers: Gorgonzola and Mixithra Samosas with beets, walnuts, and apricot mango chutnet. This was very light and rich with the beets melted into the cheese in the middle of the samosa - a delightful way to start the meal.

Bruschetta - heirloom tomatoes, fress mozzerrella and toasted seed bread. A simple dish but the basil on the top was fresh and large - and very tasty with great balsmic and very fresh cheese - also a great way to start the meal.

Entrees:

Grilled Flat Iron Steak Salas. A whole, large steak cooked medium rare (emphasis on the rare) well peppered over wild greens, pancetta, fresh basil, small bits of onion fried in strips and Stilton Vinaigrette - large, tasty and fresh.

Lobster Risotto - large chunks of perfectly cooked lobster over risotta with fresh peas and corn and just the right flavors and consistency - very very good.

Dessert:

Fresh seasonal fruit (nectarines) with Italian cream and vanilla wafer - licked the plate clean, the cookies were extremely tasty and the combination worked perfectly.

Vanilla Bean Custard. With a very carmelized shell and a very light texture - also licked this dish clean.

We also had two great glasses of wine with our meal - overall a very tasty meal and a great end to an otherwise iffy first day in seattle (friendly warning - don't stay at or near the Day's Inn City Center - on 7th and Balnchard - no an area you want to walk in, perhaps even park and go to your small room in - we checked out and are not staying there another night).

Shannon

That's a good deal at Ten Mercer. I made it there on my last trip when I met up with some friends, and had a quite good meal. I guess it just paled in comparison to salumi and harvest vine.

I also had some exceptional doughnuts at one of seattle's many coffee shops. I can't for the life of me remember which it was, but they were clearly hand- and fresh-made.

Now I want a doughnut. Damn.

This evening after resolving our hotel difficulties (resulting in staying in Bellvue - not ideal but a vast improvement over the Day's Inn which was truly in a not-so-safe section of town) we went down to Pike's Place Market and ate dinner at Matt's In the Market (made the reservation's yesturday).

Before eating there, however, we also found a very nice little bar "Books and More" (I think this was the name, it is on Polk Alley two blocks north of the building where Matt's is located). Very small selection of drinks (four beers, a few wines, one mixed drink) and a very eclectic atmosphere - apparently they do in fact sell books in the afternoon by appointment then turn into a bar/English Pub in the evening). And importantly for this traveller at least, besides a good cider they offer free wifi and extremely comfortable couches.

At Matt's we ate very well - definitely a good suggestion. My basic comment - get the daily specials, they were better, at least for the entrees, than their menu. Julia had the daily special salad - heirloom tomatoes, bread and salami - quite tasty. I had their pear, smoked catfish and walnut salad - which was extremely good.

For the entrees Julia had their ahi tuna nicoise salad, which while tasty and good was somewhat disappointing - the tuna was just slightly too cooked for a great nicoise, some of the pototoes were undercooked, while a few of the olives were perhaps not quite done. But these are minor complaints, it was still very good.

My dinner was the daily special - hallibut in a spicy sauce with a bread pudding like stuffing and spinnach. Sounds simple but was anything but - each piece was expertly prepared and the Hallibut was cooked exactly right - light, flavorful and overall some of the best cooked fish I have ever had.

For dessert we shared the Chocolate Pot de Crème - quite rich and tasty.

Julia had a very good Pinot Gris from Oregon while I had the iced tea. Which I mention because it was notably good - a mint tea with a lot of flavor and no need at all for any sweetener (which I find is rarely the case for me with most ice teas).

Tomorrow we are going to spend much of the day outside of Seattle in Tacoma (and perhaps on the ferry).

Shannon

Just to add a couple suggestions. Since I'm in Portland, I read a lot of Seattle threads, since we're always combined under PNW forums. A couple I haven't heard mentioned here but are *often* recommended:

* Union
* Lampreia
* Lark

Of course, the two places I probably see mentioned more than any others, justifiably, are Matt's and Salumi. But those are already covered.

recently returned from our NW passage.

One eating day in Seattle.

Maltby Cafe on the eastern ex-urban fringe for b'fast. Ok, not worth the schlep though. Doesn't anyone around here have to go to work? Place was packed 9:00 on a weekday morning.

Salumi. cured meats exceptional. MUST GET THE LAMB PROSCUITTO. House made sausage very good. Meatballs barely adequate.

Tamarind Tree. If you can find Salumi (jackson and 3rd), TT is a nominal eight blocks east NW corner of Jackson and 12th in the back of the parking lot--hard to see when driving. Food is very good. At the end of a long day that began in Vancouver, was too tired to read the lengthy menu. Ordered the beef 7 ways, papaya salad, stuffed squid. Would gladly return. In this vicinity are a dozen or two Viet restaurants. Some, I suspect, serve dishes easily as good as TT, but since they are not yet charted--or they are not as culturally accessible as TT, will have to wait for locals' reports.

Will post separately about Vancouver, but here's a thumbnail heads up: there is a well regarded Cambodian place Phomh Penh in the old Chinatown area that IMHO stands up to Lotus Of Siam for food that is notable. a do not miss, together with Shanghai Wind out in Richmond near the airport and the East Vancouver Farmer's Market Sat mornings.

I am headed to Seattle for a few days. Any suggestions on some wine bars? We will be staying downtown and will have a car so we are not restricted to any particular area.
Thanks!

Here's our Seattle report

We had lunch at Salumi - went around 2:30 and there wasn't a bad line. It got longer when the cash register/card reader thingee malfunctioned. We went and sat down and paid after eating Very good, we had the proscuitto/fig/chevre and the grilled lamb (wanted tongue but they were out). Good, but not transcendant as some here have said. It's in an area with a lot of galleries, so later that day we went to their "first thursdays" openings. Fun, and some very weird art.

Dinner at Lark - very good, Thursday night so no crowds. I think this was my favorite meal. We had fun ordering wine by the glass and tasting with the different dishes. DO NOT order the squid ceviche. Just don't. Everything else was marvelous. Nice list of wines by the glass. Matt, from Matt's at the Market, was there eating.

Breakfast at Le Pichet - just some croissants and coffee. They serve cafe vita coffee, my husband found it a bit bitter, I liked it. Very french.

Dinner at Matt's in the Market, we had a 7:30 reservation and pushed it back to 8:30 (they were very nice about it). Very good, the piri-piri clams were fantastic. We kind of hoped for a simpler preparation of the fish, but what we had was good. Again, nice list of wines by the glass. If you want to walk in, go at 9 pm. We had a lovely table by the window, so David got a lot of photos. He took one looking from the window out the door, across the kitchen, which I think annoyed Matt.

We took a day trip to Whidbey Island, and had mussels at Penn Cove (at some very old place known for their mussels). Very good, very fresh - just mussels steamed in beer with garlic and onions.

Dinner at Seven Stars Peppers - this was David's favorite meal of the trip. Excellent Chinese food. I LOVED the string beans cooked with szechuan peppers.

Breakfast at a french cafe-type place across from Pike Market - Panier - just really nice pastries and coffee.

Any recommendations on Seattle's best phô? (Assuming it makes sense to ask such a question!! :^)

Geo

I don't know where the best pho in Seattle might be found, but there is a huge Asian community, and the largest food store in town, Uwajimaya Village, is all Asian. So it's not unreasonable to seek out Asian food in Seattle.

And while I can't help with the pho, I can recommend another dandy restaurant. Cutters is just a short walk across the park at the end of Pike Place Market, and while they have great seafood and an fabulous view of the harbor, the thing I found most memorable was the smoked salmon chowder. Worth the trip to Seattle.

And if you don't mind dining al fresco, you can pick up lots of goodies at Pike Place Market, too. Amazing place to find fabulous local produce and the freshest fish and seafood, plus lots of great crafts, if you're looking for souvenirs.

Geo wrote:Any recommendations on Seattle's best phô? (Assuming it makes sense to ask such a question!! :^)

Geo

Pho Hoa Restaurant
618 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-7189

My wife and I took a trip to Seattle in July.

One night we had dinner at Brouwer’s Café which gets a lot of press as an elite beer bar. The tap list was good but not as unique as I was hoping for. There were a handful of local beers and some decent Belgians, but nothing particularly rare or hard to find at other Belgian beer bars around the country. The bottle list, on the other hand, was truly exceptional. Lots of rare options including some cellared items dating back as far as 10 years from what I saw. Not an overwhelming number of vintage beers but definitely enough to excite anyone seeking out rare beers. As usual the bottled beers were pretty pricey but at least the selection was good enough to merit the price tag and they had plenty of beautiful and style-appropriate glassware. One of the beers was served with a significant amount of sediment that made the beer taste quite bitter which is kind of unforgivable at 18 dollars a bottle. The food was so-so. Good but not great mussels that were served in a cream sauce. The fries were thick-cut and the dipping sauces were interesting but mostly unremarkable. The lamb burger is famous and it was solid, but didn’t taste particularly fresh and it was kind of a small portion. I’d return to Brouwer’s if I’m in the area but I don’t see myself making a special trip again.
http://brouwerscafe.blogspot.com/

Pure Fish


We ended up at Pike’s Market for breakfast both days which was good because it’s kind of a mine field. We definitely had as many misses at hits, but by the end we found a couple favorites. For smoked fish skip the specialty shops and the fish-throwing show (ugh we had some terrible fish from there) and go to Pure Fish. They have a nice variety of options including alder-smoked salmon, teriyaki salmon nuggets and salmon pepperoni. The piroshkies from the piroshky shop feature a nice, yeasty dough but the insides were pretty standard. The mac-and-cheese from Beecher’s gets a lot of buzz and I have to agree it was pretty good. The macaroni is covered in a rather rich béchamel cheese sauce that had a nice texture particularly when we got a scoop from a fresh batch. Le Panier has some nice baked items particularly the rhubarb tart that featured some seriously fresh rhubarb. Chukars dried fruits were pricey but we enjoyed the sample of dried Washington cherries that they were handing out liberally. Our absolute favorite item was the fresh-fried donuts from the donut shop around the corner from the fish throwers. The small donuts go through a conveyor belt and drop onto a spinning platform ready to serve. Be sure to ask for the donuts that come right of the belt, they are spectacular when they’re piping hot.

Eliot's Oyster House


We stopped by Eliot’s Oyster House for their 3 o’clock happy hour. Starting at 3 they offer one type of oyster for 50 cents a piece, with a cap at a dozen a person (and 36 per table). At 3:30 the price goes to 75 cents, 4:00 1 dollar, 4:30 1.25 and so on until 6. Typically their oysters cost between 1.75 and 2.25 each, so this is a great a deal. We each ordered a dozen oysters and a half a dungeness crab to round out the meal. The oysters were nice and fresh, a tremendous value. We ordered the crab with their spicy chili sauce that was sweet and sticky with a little heat. The crab had a great texture and married very well with the honey glaze. They serve the crab with a bowl of warm tea to wash your hands and afterward they cover your hands in crushed saltine crackers to dry them off. Kind of an interesting gimmick. Terrific seafood at a reasonable price smack dab in the middle of the tourist district. No doubt we’ll be back next time we’re in Seattle.
http://www.elliottsoysterhouse.com/

After the happy hour we had some down time so we made the trek up north to visit another one of Seattle’s premier beer bars, Uber Tavern. It had a cool, very local atmosphere. The tap list was shorter than Brouwer’s but it featured many more options I was interested in trying. The focus was a lot more on smaller, west coast breweries, many of which I’d never heard of before. I particularly enjoyed a pint of the Nankasi Oatmeal Stout that had a deep roasted flavor and a beautiful dry finish. They also offer growler pours from their kegs which I thought was very cool. It’s about a 15 minute bus ride from downtown so if you’re looking for a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy some outstanding west coast pints with the locals, Uber would be at the top of my list.
http://www.uberbier.com/

Lark
Pictured: Seared Copper River salmon with buckwheat spaetzle and vanilla foam


We had kind of mixed feelings about Lark. They feature some exceptionally fresh local produce and fish. All the ingredients were truly of the highest quality. Yet somehow each of the dishes seemed a little off. We started off with the salad with root vegetables. The butter lettuce and arugula were nice and tender but the salad featured only a couple small slivers of roasted beets and was overdressed. Next came the caviar served atop a potato rosti. The caviar was wonderful and it was served with some local cream, but we would’ve preferred it with some neutral tasting toast. The rosti itself had a nice crust, but the big starchy flavor completely overpowered the caviar and much of the caviar got lost in a nest of potatoes. The pairing was totally off in my eyes. We ended up eating the caviar separately. Next up was the seared copper river salmon. The salmon was seared perfectly with a nice silky interior, however it was served with a vanilla foam that did not match the flavor at all. Once again I had to separate the main attraction of the dish from the supporting feature so as to enjoy the excellent fish. The final dish was a baked faro that had great texture but a rich cream sauce that seemed heavy, definitely not a good way to end a light meal. Overall it was kind of a strange experience. The food was skillfully prepared and the ingredients were great, but we just didn’t agree with the chef’s taste. I’d be willing to give Lark another shot in the future because the ingredients were the reason we went there in the first place and they matched the hype, but I’ll be more scrutinizing of the menu to make sure I know what to expect.
http://www.larkseattle.com/

Next door to Lark was a cocktail bar called Licorous. We figured why not enjoy a cocktail before calling it a night. Apparently the bar is owned by the same person who owns Lark. The bar has a mellow atmosphere and features homemade bitters and infused liquors. I ordered a cocktail with rye and their homemade bitters and my wife ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail. My cocktail was completely unbalanced. I think the homemade bitters were stronger than regular bitters because they were all I could taste. My wife’s non-alcoholic mohito tasted like seltzer water with muddled mint. The Lark family of establishments was definitely 0-2 that night.
http://www.licorous.com/

Was in Seattle for about 24 hours this past weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate. Thanks to everyone on here for the recommendations.

Here's where we went:
Coffee - Victrola and Stumptown. Both of these were excellent, and the Capitol Hill neighborhood is a cool place to walk around.
Elliott's - Unfortunately, I was here on a Saturday, so no happy hour, but we still enjoyed a dozen oysters here. Sit at the bar and talk to the shuckers, they'll slip you a few free oysters.
Kisaku - Made a reservation to sit at the bar and ordered omakase. Really enjoyed this place, in Chicago it would certainly be GNR-worthy. As mentioned by a previous poster, everything is incredibly fresh but also very reasonably priced. It's a little bit north of downtown, but one of the Metro buses stops right in front of the place and runs past midnight.
Cafe Campagne - Had brunch here, it was surprisingly good considering the location right next to Pike Place.

A few years ago I was sitting in Victor Steinbrueck Park after an interview with the City when a beautiful woman with two dachshunds sat near me and smiled. So I took this opportunity and did what any LTH male would have done... I asked her "if you had to leave Seattle tomorrow, forever, what and where would your last meal be?" She looked out over Elliot Bay for few seconds and said longingly, "Panang Curry at Thai Tom…"

Strange but true story...

Thai Tom
4543 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105-4510 <map>
(206) 548-9548