I couldn’t write this blog until now.
For months, I had been planning a trip to Seattle and Portland, partly to do some writing and see friends. But mainly because my husband, Derek, was giving his first presentation at a national conference — read: big deal — and I wanted to support him.
But it was going to be a surprise.
So I couldn’t mention this in the blog or on Instagram, the only two places he checks. (Facebook was no problem!)
I got here this morning, after a brutal overnight flight that didn’t come with blankets. I thought, at one point, I had hypothermia.
Getting from the airport to the Grand Hyatt Seattle, where one of his conferences is being held, was easy. Catch the light rail, get off at the last stop, and walk two and a half blocks to the hotel.
Except that didn’t include the persistent rain. And Apple Maps completely blows.
So I’ll be in the downtown Seattle area until Sunday, staying with a girlfriend until Tuesday, then jetting to Portland for a couple of days.
Got any must-dos or must-eats while I’m here?
25 Comments
Hello Cat,
Never been there so I have no advice but have a GREAT TIME!
Hey Cat & D,
Besides checking out the original Starbucks there is a cool breakfast spot called the Crumpet Shop a block away from Pike Place Market. It’s quaint and definitely evokes a Seattle vibe. For lunch, head out to Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, owned by Mario Batali’s family. One of the great sandwich experiences in the country. Be forewarned they are only open from 11am to 4pm M-F. We got there at 10:30am and a sizeable line had already formed. If you and Derek have the time, you may want to experience the Seattle Underground Tour. It’s a kitschy, low brow, excursion exposing the hidden history of the city. Hopefully, you’ll get one of the guides who will make you laugh the entire time. Also, the Chittenden Locks is something worth seeing only if the weather is cooperating. I hope you guys make the most of your trip. Have fun.
Hi Cat,
Where do I start? I think Salumi (Mario Batali’s dad) and Ezelle’s fried chicken (Oprah’s favorite) are 2 places that’s a bit different, considering you come from food heaven. There’s Ding Tai Fung in Bellevue (I don’t think Hawaii has one yet). Revel (Rachel Yang) is a good blend of Korean and French (yes, it works). Wild Ginger if you like upscale Southeast Asian Hawker stand foods, Art of the Table is an adventure, Belle Clementine is fun and refreshing, Perché No is a fun story…etc. Lots of wine tasting in Woodinville and fine dining from Herb Farm to Canlis. Get rain soaked, take in the coffee culture and understand why we don’t tan here, we rust.
We’re making David Chang’s Bo Saam for some friends on Saturday if you and your hubby want to come over. Just wanted to extend a little aloha.
This is odd because I’m usually making a list of what I want to eat in Hawaii, but I guess we do have good grub here as well.
Find the Marination food truck (marinationmobile.com), they are near Starbucks HQ today and in the International District tomorrow… SPAM SLIDERS!!! They are there from 11am-2pm.
some great surf up in the pac NW, if you can handle GW sharks and 6mm suits
great food up there, too. the popular, publicized places are great, but there are so many hole in the wall local places that pump out great eats.
voodoo donuts, though.
Check out the tiny donut stand near the flying fish at Pike’s. Watching their donut machine in action is almost as good as eating them fresh-off the line. For breakfast, try Local 360 in Belltown. It’s a similar concept to Whole Ox Deli. Umi Sake house (next door to Local 360) is worth a trip for sushi. Just North of downtown is an Asian-fusion place called Revel. I’ve heard really good things about them from foodies in the area.
Also, any Tom Douglas joint is worth visiting. Just go during off-hours, or make a reservation.
Oh damn, I wish I knew about this earlier since….I live here!! 😛
Anyway, one thing to note, other than Washington specific items, do your shopping in Oregon rather than Washington. Oregon has NO SALES TAX!! Everything you buy, from groceries to shoes, is tax free. If you’ll have access to a car, and are willing to make the drive, Woodburn, OR, has a factory outlet mall: https://www.woodburncompanystores.com/
You can also find other “regular” shopping malls in the Portland area: Lloyd Center, Washington Square, Clackamas Town Center. Lloyd Center has an ice skating rink, so you can shop and skate if you want. I’m not sure how much they charge to skate there.
You need to do the touristy thing at Pikes Place but there is a great cheese place – Beechers Handmade Cheese https://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/
if you want local flavor – there is Kauai Family Restarant (south Seattle – Georgetown) – https://www.kauaifamilyrestaurant.com/
Kona Kitchen in the Northgate (north Seattle)
https://www.konakitchen.com/
I do agree with Dio – that if you are going to bring back omiyage buy it in Oregon.
Enjoy our liquid sunshine!
The first time I ever saw your blog, about three years ago, you were on a trip to Seattle and surroundings. Your words and pics of what you ate drew me in.
I spoke at an insurance industry conference in Portland a few years ago. It was fun, because I’m not in the insurance business, and I didn’t have to do any work there other than give a presentation (no sales prospects, strategic alliances, or networking to report back on). I liked the city, but don’t remember the food.
Never been to Seattle, so your trip is my guide for my first trip, whenever that may be.
Ooh! I just had a fun venture in Seattle with a couple of foodie friends (well, they like to think they are foodies!) Here is the hit list — Serious Pie (as in Pizza) and Serious Biscuit — both incorporated local ingredients and were good! If you’re short on time (or meal slots) shoot for Serious Biscuit only cause we don’t really have that style of food here in the islands. Chocolati Cafe – o. m. g – seriously delicious chocolate treats of the eating, drinking (as in coffee) and sipping (as in alcohol) mixed with coffee house hangout vibe!! If you go to Bainbridge Island – Mora creamery for homemade ice cream. But if you have to choose ONE – go for Shiro’s Sushi!! HEAVENLY bliss at the sushi bar for sure….
some of my favorites in Seattle:
Ray’s Boathouse/Ray’s cafe in Shilsole (west of Ballard)
Canlis Restaurant (Queen Anne overlooking Lake Union),
Elliot’s Oyster house on the waterfront,
Matt’s in the Market (Pike Place),
Tilth in Wallingford
I saw that you already went to Molly Moon and that people have suggested Salumi and Tom Douglas’ places. Lived there for 12 years, if you need more ideas just ask.
BTW – Dick’s burgers are overrated and gave me a sore stomach every time I went, but people seem to like it 🙂
oh yeah, TOP POT DONUTS! maple bars!!! etc.
Room service!
Sea Garden in the International District (also in Bellevue)
John Howie Steak @ The Bravern (Bellevue)
Din Tai Fung Restaurant (Dim Sum, Bellevue)
Noble Court (Chinese, Bellevue)
Café Presse (Capitol Hill, near Seattle U)
Portland tips from Hawai’i transplant:
Powell’s – best bookstore on planet
Food carts – check out wweek site for guides to the ever changing landscape
Obligatory Voodoo Donuts stop
Fire on the Mountain for hot wings heaven
Download the Mercury’s free happy hour app and go nuts – it’s all about the food deals at our best eateries
Hot Lips pizza
Farmer’s Markets all over city, check their site
McMennamins theaters!
On the drive up to Mt Hood there’s a BBQ joint in a big old house in Zigzag. Awesome.
Screen Door for brunch
Stumptown coffee
Ugh, I could go on and on and on…
Serious Pie. Trophy Cupcakes. Pike Place Market. Enjoy
Piroshky,Piroshky at Pikes
Top Pot Donuts
Taylor Shellfish Farms- Kumamoto oysters
Skillet- breakfast
Ivar’s- halibut and chips
Manny’s draft beer
Cat, something to pay attention to…
this coming Sunday morning, Nov 4th, we will switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. Effective at 2am, Sunday morning, change your clocks backwards by 1 hour. You can either change clocks before you go to sleep (if you go to sleep early), or after you wake up. Point is, remember to change them. Otherwise you’ll end up 1 hour ahead of everyone, and showing up an hour early for everything, including your flight home. After 2am, you might have to turn off your cell phone and turn it back on again, to get the correct time. Otherwise it might not be right, unless it changes automatically between Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time.
Lots of great Seattle recommendations already.
I second the Tom Douglas nominations. The best salmon I’ve ever eaten was at Etta’s, his seafood restaurant in Pike Place Market (the north part). But any Tom Douglas restaurant will serve you well. His first (and, I think, still his flagship) is the Dahlia Lounge.
One of my foodie friends says that the best salmon SHE’s ever eaten was just recently at Aqua, a restaurant on the waterfront, run by the same folks who run El Gaucho, one of the premiere steakhouses in town.
My favorite steakhouse in town is Daniel’s. They have several branches, but I really like the one at Leschi, on the shores of Lake Washington.
The happy hour at Wann Izakaya is good.
For a good, reasonably-priced sandwich (esp. if the line at Salumi is too long, which it will be if you go any time after 12:00), go get a Philly cheesesteak at Tat’s. I learned about Tat’s from friends from Maui! And it is amazingly good without any Philly attitude. (They also sell Tastykakes).
One of my favorite restaurants in town is Panos Kleftikos. It’s a little Greek hole-in-the-wall, and you have to like garlic to enjoy it, but Panos is the best. He used to live in Honolulu and cooked at the Mad Greek (anyone else remember that?) Sweetie & I would love to take you guys there if you have time (I made the offer via twitter too). Panos is not open on Sundays, however, and he doesn’t serve lunch.
Arguably the best sushi restaurant in town is Shiro’s on First (Belltown). Shiro Kashiba is the granddaddy of the sushi scene. Others swear by Nishino’s (I’ve never been there) in Madison Park. For the rock-n-roll sushi scene, go to Japonessa. I’ve not been there either, but they push the sushi envelope.
Pam (nerdseyeview), Amber (Tiabla) & Nathan Kam are absolutely right about Bakery Nouveau. Pam was the one who turned me onto it. I love their pear tarts, but they are justly known for their outstanding twice-baked croissants.
I know Derek is a great beer fan – I’ve heard good things about Tap House Grill downtown. Don’t know about the food, but the beer selection is supposed to be terrific.
Can’t speak for Seattle, but Portland has a great food scene. Aside from what has already been mentioned, I would strongly recommend Olympic Provisions (https://www.olympicprovisions.com/ appropriately enough). Excellent salamis and sausages, and their restaurants (all 2 of ’em) are incredible. Try the rotisserie chicken and potatoes — The potatoes are cooked directly beneath the chickens and are coated in the drippings! Not diet food to be certain but soooooo goooooood…
The majority of the food carts in town are great too. They’re arranged in “pods” in various places downtown. I’m partial to the Bahn Mi cart on 4th Ave near PSU, and the Frying Scotsman for fish’n’chips at the Alder street pod.
As for beer, I’m partial to the offerings of McMennamin’s (The Bagdad, Hillsdale Pub, and a bunch of other pubs), but really it’s best to find a stool and ask what’s local. If you can find ciders by Wandering Aengus and/or Anthem Ciders, give those a try too.
I’d offer to show you around but it looks like you’re in Portland at the same time I’ll be out on the coast… Oh well.
For non-restaurant recommendations, the Olympic Sculpture Park, Experience Music Project (EMP), and REI’s flagship store (on 222 Yale, not far from the Grand Hyatt) are fun, I think. Nordstrom’s Flagship store is also here at 5th & Pine.
If it is still there make the trek to Issaquah and eat at the Flying Pie Pizzeria. It is amazing pizza. There is a Krispy Kreme on the other side of the freeway. The fish flying around in town is cool but a ferry boat ride is great! Do a RT.
Have fun! Just don’t expect to see much this time of year…..
Mt Ranier is rarely visible. A drive to see Mt St. Helens is worth it!
Concur with the above…….Salumis for the Porchetta sandwich. Along the lines of da Portuguese Vinha D’alhos. Gotta go early because they sell out pretty fast. Also Paseos in Freemont for a damn good Cuban sandwich.
Oh…..and get your sweet tooth fix @ Cupcake Royale on either Pine or on E Pike St in Capitol Hill.
If you got time….Sundays Seahawk game will showcase U of Wisconsin QB…….Russell Wilson. Enjoy Sea-Town!!!!!
I know you love your doughnuts. So you gotta check out Top Pots. My favorites were their old fashioned doughnuts. And if you want Asian, try Wild Ginger. They have a satay bar on the ground floor. But if you and Derek want something more cozy, get a table upstairs where you can still view the diners downstairs. Both places are in downtown Seattle