Seattle: Food Highlights

The day of the Chocolate Tour was actually the first day of my vacation.  The following day, J. and I boarded a plane to Seattle.  A  friend was getting married there on July 3, so we decided to make it a vacation of it and stayed for six days.  We were quite fortunate with the characteristically dismal rainy weather in Seattle and enjoyed about three days of beautiful sunny Seattle.  The weather was a cool 60 to 70 degrees out, which was a huge relief from the 90-100 degree heat wave that was going on in New Jersey. 

We took advantage of the abundance of fresh seafood in Seattle.  One of the things I love about Seattle is that Seattle residents (Seattle-ites?) take care to get fresh ingredients that are local and sustainable.  

But no trip to Seattle is complete without coffee.  

Okay, I cheated, this is actually hot chocolate, but the foam art was so pretty that I had to take a picture of it. 

The best meal we had was at Etta's, which was behind the Pike Place Market.

Grilled Octopus 

Etta's specialty - "Rub With Love" wild king salmon with sauteed greens, cornbread pudding and shiitake relish 

Chocolate malted milk cake with rice crispies 

The wedding was lovely, but most notably (food-wise, at least) was in lieu of a wedding cake, the happy couple served cupcakes from Cupcake Royale.  (Which, in my opinion, is the best idea ever!)

For breakfast, we went to Portage Bay Cafe twice, because it was next to our hotel, and the food was delicious.  Most notably, they serve pancakes that includes an all-you-can-eat toppings bar, with fresh fruit, freshly whipped cream, and other goodies. 

On to more seafood...

In case you can't tell, that is an oyster on the button, which I tried for the first time at Elliot's Oyster House.  I actually quite enjoyed my oysters,which were salty, sweet, and briny and didn't have too much of a fishy aftertaste.  Not sure what took me so long to try them. 

The weather was so nice, we were able to sit in the back deck at Ivar's Salmon House, where we had this gorgeous view of the Seattle waterfront.

From left to right, seafood cocktail, smoked salmon, and fried clams and chips.  (And, yes,  that is J. wearing a Charlie the Tuna T-shirt 

For our last dinner in Seattle, we went to Chandler's Crabhouse. Once again, we were lucky enough to be able to sit outside. 

King Crab Legs with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus

Grilled salmon with rainbow quinoa pilaf

You may have noticed the lack of mention of Seattle' famous Pike Place Market, which we did go to.  I had been there before on previous trips to Seattle, so I didn't feel the need to take any pictures.  Even if we hadn't gone, I'd say we had a lovely trip with plenty of fresh, delectable eats. 

Note: I was not compensated by any of the above establishments for this review.