One day in Seattle, foodie spots must see
I'm planning on visiting Seattle for a day next week and want to know of the best foodie places to go. I know about the foodie walking tours, I actually have my own foodie tour biz in Olympia (brookesbites.com), I want a little more of a free form visit checking out great groceries, cheese, shops, spirits tasting (is there any, hubs likes whiskey), good restaurants to see etc. Any suggestions? Thanks.
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Teknotic
Sep 26, 2010 10:08 PM
The Cheese Cellar (100 4th Ave N # 150) across from the Seattle Center is wonderful. They have a great contract going with Neal's Yard and are able to get many English cheeses you can't find anywhere else. Their cheese selection is otherwise very good, and they have some other specialty foods, including gelato.
You should check out Salumi's (309 3rd ave s) for great cured meat products and sandwiches, Molly Moon's ice cream (917 E Pine St) and Paseo (4225 Fremont Ave N) for Cuban food. These are all very popular staple restaurants, as evidenced by the lines outside.
If you're up in the North Seattle area, HT Oaktree market (10008 Aurora Ave N) is a great place to shop. It's owned by a Chinese couple, but they are an international market with extensive Russian, Mexican, Indonesian, Japanese, etc sections. And it's one of few places I've seen crazy tropical asian fruits like jackfruit and rambutan offered.
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Salumi
309 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104›3 Replies-
re: Teknotic
This thread is somewhat out of date, but I'm happy I stumbled on teknotic's mention of The Cheese Cellar! I live 3 blocks away but had never heard of it. Checked out some Yelp reviews (it's somehow missing from these boards) and it looks like a great spot. I'm hoping to check it out this weekend and see if its vibe is up to par with Cowgirl Creamery (of SF and DC).
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Tom Armitage
Sep 24, 2010 01:54 PM
Groceries: A big category, but without knowing more about what, specifically, you’re looking for, a few suggestions are the newly opened Filipino supermarket in Southcenter, Seafood City; Pacific Food Importers (aka Big John’s), which has a little bit of seemingly everything, but specializes in Italian, Greek, and other Mediterranean foods; and Uwajemaya in the International District. There are loads of interesting small ethnic grocery stores scattered around the Greater Seattle Area (including Bellevue), but you’ve only got one day.
Cheese shops: The Calf and Kid, The Cheese Cellar, De Laurenti (which also qualifies in the grocery category), Spanish Table for a good selection of Spanish, Portuguese, and Basque cheeses and its sibling, Paris Grocery, for cheeses from France and Belgium. Also, Pacific Food Importers has a good selection of cheese.
Spirits tasting: Put yourself in the hands of one of the many great Seattle bartenders. King of the Hill is Murray Stenson at Zig Zag Café. There are many others including those at Tavern Law, Vessel, Taste, Liberty, Rob Roy, Tini Bigs, Sambar, and on and on and on, but if you’ve only got one shot (pun intended), Zig Zag is where you want to go.
Restaurants. Since you only have one day (three meals?) I’d go to Café Campagne for breakfast, Long Provincial (Vietnamese) or Paseo (for great Caribbean sandwiches) for lunch, and Spinasse or Joule for dinner. And, if you can possibly squeeze it in, have a croissant and espresso at Café Besalu. But there’s obviously tons and tons of information about Seattle restaurants on this board, and we don’t know much about your specific preferences. So do a little reading, and if you still have questions about restaurants, come on back and ask them.
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Big John's PFI in the international district offers great selections of imported foods at remarkably good prices. (Especially compared to shops at Pike Place Market.) It's not far from Salumi so you can combine the two. Salumi is a must and I also suggest Serious Pie.
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Pike Place Market
1501 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101Serious Pie
316 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101Salumi
309 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104›5 Replies-
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re: Scott O
klsalas
Sep 27, 2010 01:27 PM
Just call the telephone number under the link "Seattle Storefront" (206) 621-8772 the morning you want to order. Then just show up and bypass the line. I haven't done this for awhile but I used to just tell the folks in line "pardon me, picking up a preorder." Go to the register and tell them you phoned in an order. They will likely already have it ready. Enjoy
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re: klsalas
The reason(s) this works are that the line takes a lot of time, because this is NOT fast-food (see: Slow Food Movement), so the cashier is waiting, along with everybody else, and will pleasantly accommodate your (deliciously) line-jumping arrival. He/she may require you to wait a sandwich or two before ringing you up, but just lean against the wall and smile to share your delight with the waiters-in-line.
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Any spot that is a DeLaurenti's is great for gourmet items. The cheese counter at their Pike Place Market location is terrific. The wine selections upstairs are vast and in most cases affordable. Look at the Mark Ryan website for tasting room times for his outstanding wines. Esquin or Pete's for very affordable and vast selections of wines. Don't miss Salumi for their lunch time sandwiches. Get there early as a line forms early.
Steelhead Diner, Matt's in the Market, Chez Shea ... all good non-chain Seattle restaurants. Many here will rave about Crush. Forget it. Over priced. Crowded. Mediocre food. Seattle has many better places.
Report back on your "North on I-5 Adventure"!
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Pike Place Market
1501 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101Steelhead Diner
95 Pine Street, Suite 17, Seattle, WA 98101Chez Shea
94 Pike St. Suite 34, Seattle, WA 98101Salumi
309 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
