Seattle's Best

Seattle is . . . a foodie town.  Who knew? I assume those who live there know this dirty little secret and they just wanted to keep it to themselves and avoid tourists – ne, visitors – like me (which is really rude by the way). How dare you not tell me how lovely it is there with the fabulous fall weather, quirky things to do and the food – the amazing food. I swear I gained 10 lbs. over the course of 4 days much to my dismay. My husband practically had to roll me onto the plane – I was THAT full from the weekend of foodie debauchery. No, no, don’t feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for yourselves.Folks let me tell you, if you haven’t been to Seattle you are missing out!

Just so you know, every trip my husband and I take is a process. A. Long. Process. Some more than others, but still, a process. There is much research involved to create an effortless trip (yes, this sounds contradictory but trust me, for us, it works). It begins with an outline (yeah, you heard me) of the location itself, mode(s) of transportation, hotel options, things to do and of course places to eat. Then the outline is narrowed down to include those elements of the trip which have been vetted and highly recommended by multiple sources (personal recommendations, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google searches, Forbes, Foders, local tourism sites, UrbanSpoon, Zagat, James Beard, Anthony Bourdain, etc.). Then – the spreadsheet. I live and die by the spreadsheet. This is where I begin to break down the travel days, times, attractions/places to visit and the most important – food breaks. Reservations are made, tickets are purchased and confirmations are received. It may sound ridiculous, but you have no idea how many times this method has saved us from terrible restaurants, the inability to get in to see specific sights or even down time where we were bored and needed additional options for things to do. I’m telling you – it works. I like spontaneity – I can be impulsive - but only when it is well organized.

My husband. I love him dearly, but he has no concept of travel arrangements. This is partly my fault I admit. I handle it all and tell him where to be and when – again, this works for us. The notion of researching hotels to ensure appropriate and available air conditioning, wireless email access and a plethora of bath towels in relation to where we want to roam/eat/visit is kind of overwhelming. I personally love it. LOVE IT! I am beyond thrilled when a restaurant I have researched turns out to be AMAZING or when the hotel where we have chosen to stay is so lovely with staff so charming we want to move in. It makes me happy. I feel like I have personally created and validated an itinerary worthy of passing along to any friend or family member who wants to have the same experience (or a variation thereof).

So, here is what I can say about the food – if you are looking for some great variety, try Seattle. I’ll give you the easy rundown by meal because it is the easiest way to lead you on this journey of tastiness.

Breakfast – Biscuit Bitch. Yep – that’ right. Located inside the tiny independent coffee shoppe Café Lieto is a counter selling the best biscuits ever – EVER! I read about this place and with nothing but four star reviews and above I felt it was a safe bet. The fact that it was right around the corner from our hotel near Pike Place Market was also a very big draw. Although now I can’t remember if I chose the hotel because it was close to food or visa-verse – whatever. Go there! All day, warm biscuits come out of the oven and are disseminated among the masses of people waiting to get in (it’s a tiny place remember). I had the “Buttered-up Bitch” – a deceptively large, warm, flaky biscuit laden with butter and honey. The best $3 I’ve ever remembered spending - seriously. They have variations with sausage gravy, pulled pork, and biscuits without gluten (for those who are allergic or just torturing themselves) but the original is amazing all by itself.

Lunch –Salumi. Don’t let the fact that Mario Batali’s family started and runs the joint sway you – this place stands on its own. It’s a deli for sure and it’s filled with some of the best Salami you have ever had, with the nicest people ever running this place. I say this because newbies like me go in, are visibly terrified

of all there is to choose from, and they patiently wait and smile with an honest and helpful grin not one of those “hurry up and make your choice I was supposed to be on break 20 min. ago” grins. While standing in line and placing my order for the classic Salumi Muffo with house tapenade, provolone, Cotto Salami and Sopressata salami, I noticed the expectant mother in front of me ordering a Porchetta sandwich that was large enough to feed not only this mom and baby but probably another family as well. “That looks amazing” I said. “It IS” she replied “And I’m going to eat it all”. That a girl! So if you have the opportunity to spend some time waiting in line (which moves pretty quickly), order a Porchetta for me (and the neighbors to share) and maybe a meatball or two which I hear are divine. Oh, and get it to go because there are like 5 tables in the place and they are always full so be prepared to go home and enjoy in peace where nobody will mock you for eating your weight in sandwich.

Lunch – Tom Douglas’ Brave Horse Tavern is a must try. Yes, it’s a pub and they have pub food but it’s really good pub food. Not stuffy, not pretentious, not trying to be anything more than it is – it’s a pub. Period. Filled with local brews, ciders (I strongly recommend the Pineapple cider) and mighty tasty set of burgers which you will leave feeling pretty darn good about your choice to hang here. They even have shuffleboard. Why? I have no idea. What I do know is that you must try the handmade pretzels and their variety of dips. We had the sour cream and crispy onion and while it sounds weird, it was SO good. I would have liked to try the pimento-cheddar dip (pretzel dip wish list) and little smoked porkies with mustard but really, with the amazingly satisfying but not too filling specialty burger with Bloody Mary ketchup (yes, it was quite tasty) I had no room. No. Room. Go there and order the bacon spiked deviled eggs or the bratwurst because they sound SO good. Please – do it for me.

Dinner (Downtown) – Altura. I cannot begin to describe how great this dinner was. I compare it to meals I have had over the years in New York which make me smile just remembering how great they were. One of my favorite things to do is sit at the Chef’s table/counter. It is bar none the best seat in the house if you can get it. And at Altura, the way to get it is to go alone or with one other

person. Any party larger than that and there is no way they are giving you that seat – no way, no how. And if you aren’t a foodie, this isn’t the place for you honestly. They expect you and WANT you to engage (when the time is right not when they are in the weeds). They WANT you to LOVE the food and their preparation and presentation of it. They want you to promise them your next born if they in turn give you just one more bite of what you just ate as your plate is empty and sad looking, making you want to cry. It’s true – I almost cried when my agnolotti (pillows of deliciousness) filled with whipped potato, lightly sheltered in a delicate pork broth with perfectly prepared sausage and carefully shaved white truffle had vanished mysteriously (I ate it) from my plate. If you go (and you should), order the three or four course tasting menu (we did four and it was a lot of food for me – seriously) with paired wines – you won’t be sorry. The menu changes based on the season and local items but I guarantee you won’t be sorry. It’s pricey for sure, but if you don’t need to send your kids to college right away, make a reservation now and send them to a local community college for a year – you’ll thank me later.

Dinner (Woodinville) – Barking Frog. Rustic lodge bistro. That definitely sums it up. I loved everything about this place. It was located across the street from our

lodge – bonus! They took our reservation thirty minutes before we arrived because we didn’t realize we were going to be eating dinner and had no reservation – accommodating! The server was THE loveliest girl ever with actual food knowledge – charming! The food was REALLY good – clincher! When I was younger (much) my father used to go pheasant hunting and he would bring back pheasant and painstakingly prepare what we now refer to lovingly as “Christmas Pheasant” (even though now we make it with chicken). I have never had it prepared any other way which I deemed worthy. Until now. Their pheasant with braised cabbage and apples with a smoked onion-pheasant ravioli in a foie gras butter/broth was weighty and complex. So many layers of flavor that mingled so well it was almost ridiculous. If you have the opportunity to stay in Woodinville, please, I beg of you, make this restaurant one of your destinations.

Late Night – The Alibi Room. If you can get make your way beyond the gum wall and get past the ooky feeling that Jack the Ripper is going to abduct you from a hidden stairwell in the dimly lit alleyway, you will dig this place. We were originally going to go to another local gem when we arrived late in Seattle, but being that we were starving and exhausted, we took our hotel’s suggestion and took a short stroll to The Alibi. At first, this dark hole in the wall (turns out to be a haunted hole in the wall actually) looks a bit unnerving and dingy but it serves some of the best pizza we’ve ever had (and let’s not forget I’m Italian, from Chicago and love NY so . . .). We decided, being the creative people we are, to construct our own pie rather than choose from the carefully predetermined list provided to us. Should you decide to create your own pizza (not everyone is as inspired), note that their choice of toppings ranges from Andouille or rosemary sausage, Chorizo, and prosciutto to caramelized onions, arugula, potatoes, capers and Gorgonzola with your choice of sauce including truffle oil, pesto and tomato. Yeah, the choices are countless and one could go a bit bug-eyed with what to order (choose wisely here kids), but if you go with the meatball, salami, and fresh mozzarella with classic tomato sauce you won’t leave sorry – or hungry.

Seattle is a wonderful city with your typical crazies and quirky amusements, but what I loved most (aside from our family and friends who reside there – not to be confused with the typical crazies) was the variety of tasty delights and the sheer loveliness of it all. The pride these gastronomes take in their art is heartwarming. Oh sure, you think all I do is think about food so anywhere with any food of any kind is going to be good according to me – not true my friends – not true. I’ve had some terrible, down right awful food in my travels and I’m not afraid to admit it because that’s what makes me better able to decipher the truly extraordinary from the familiar. What I loved most about this Seattle culinary experience was the unexpected nirvana of it all (Cobain fans). And while there are a few choice eateries we missed along the way (probably more than a few) like Quinn’s Pub (wild boar sloppy joe) and Paseo (Caribbean Roast Sandwich or Onion Obsession Sandwich), I know we can always go back later because I swear if I had eaten any more on this trip I would have physically exploded. What a mess that would have been. Let this be a lesson to you on your culinary journeys – bring loose pants.