One of the other reasons I came to Seattle was to visit my girlfriend, Chris, who moved here a couple of years ago.
A trip to see her was long overdue.
We used to work together at the now-defunct Honolulu Advertiser and had done our fair share of traveling, from the chilly summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise to the wineries of Napa Valley. Now it was time to experience Seattle from her point of view.
Since she knows me so well — smile — she booked a food tour of Pike Place Market with Savor Seattle Food Tours, a local food tour company that takes small groups behind-the-scenes at the historic market (among other places) for $39 per person. It’s a two-hour walking tour that guarantees at least 16 bites and sips, an up-close look at about 10 vendors, and one-on-one time with the famous fish-throwing fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Co.
It was a great way to learn about the market — and about Seattle’s culinary scene — while eating. It’s a no brainer!
But that’s not all we did.
Here’s what my first day with Chris — and in Marysville — looked like:
Piroshky Piroshky Bakery
Back in 1992, the Kotelnikov family had four months to put together their business — thinking it would actually take longer to get a stall in the busy market — and, on opening day, didn't have enough money for flour and butter, two pretty important ingredients. That morning there was an unmarked envelope with $1,500 in cash in it that someone had slid under the door. Apparently, a local Russian baker wanted to help out the struggling family. Today, this is one of the most popular stops on the market tour.
7 Comments
What a great Seattle trip! Portland will be just as fun, even though PDX is a little more weird. What are the chances that the Cat would relocate to Seattle? We’ve got everything here, minus the warm weather and the beach. Plus your hubby’s family is here. Now you know why so many Hawaiian folks are up here!
So glad you got to try the Market food tour. I’ve never done it, but my foodie Maui friends have really enjoyed it.
The artist in picture #12 is Seattle Aki Sogabe, known for her beautiful paper cut artwork. She’s one of my favorites. She manages to combine a lot of Seattle locales in traditional stylings.
I moved to Seattle 24 years ago, and I was surprised at the number of Hawai`i folks up here.
You know, there is both an Uwajimaya, and Trader Joe’s here in Portland Metro, so if you’re thinking omiyage, you could visit the ones here.
Very cool you are doing this, nice to see familiar places. Can’t wait to see what is next. As an aside, when I was dragged kicking and screaming off Oahu in 1996 it was because the ex hated Hawaii and she took a job in Marysville, WA. I love some of the scenery on the drive up from Seattle to Marysville. Man I wish you had time to go eat pancakes at Snoqualmie Falls… Salish Lodge. Probably not much snow at the Summit but there are some cool places up there.
Can’t wait to see what you have in store next.
Wow, lau lau. Now I wanna go back to Seattle just for the food tour. Hmmm, if I am not mistaken, UH football will be playing in Seattle in 2015. I may just have to go to the game and get some yummies at Pike Place Market. Did you try any of the wine flavored chocolate covered cherries at Chukar. Those were so good. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
I don’t have twitter, so I posted a few website links to stuff here in Portland. Check out your “The Cat Dish” facebook page. Also note, there is free wi-fi at all public libraries within Multnomah County (which the City of Portland is a part of). I listed a link there as well.
Dicks is the place where the cool hang out