IN NEED of quick guide to eat in Seattle with a foodie from S.F. this weekend
Hi I have a friend coming to eat there way through Seattle this weekend- I have eaten at Wild Ginger and loved it- Would love a quick guide to eating in Seattle coming in friday night leaving Sun afternoon. Thank you for your suggestions. Delicious food- open to hole in the wall places- oh yes and also a request for the best place to have a hamburger at.
Friday night go to a nice dinner out in Seattle- Matt's in the Market- Mistral- Palace Kithen- Cantinetta- La Spiga- Union- Anchovies & Olives- etc & drinks if desired- Zip Zag- Vessel- Spur- The List- etc
Satuday do a light Breakfast/brunch/coffee at a place like Le Pichet, Lola's, Portage Bay Cafe, Boat Street, Oddfellows Cafe, 5 Spot, etc and then venture to the Pike Place market in the afternoon to try a few items like Daily Dozen donuts- Piroshky Piroshky- Three Sisters- The Crumpet Shop- etc for a late lunch through the market- picking up eats here and there
For Saturday dinner do something unique like dinner in the ID (International District) or at a up and coming or special spot outside of downtown- For the ID I suggest Green Leaf, Tamarind Tree, Seven Stars Szechaun, and Malay Satay Hut... For up and coming or special I suggest Spring Hill, Sutra, Emmer & Rye, Art of the Table, Elemental, Trellis, etc...
Sunday have light breakfast treat and coffee at a place like Macrina or in Ballard at the fabulous and acclaimed Honore Bakery or famous Besalu's- then wander the Ballard Farmer's Market, explore, and purchase a light lunch
For too much of a muchness some morning, Cafe Besalu, in Ballard is a little slice of France - watch James lovingly prepare buttery pastries.
Or go to Irwin's, in Wallingford, for coffee (Vita) and the only real-deal blueberry muffin I've found. Ever,
In the evening, Elemental Next Door has very nice small plates from a very small menu, and, like a hundred wines in splits. Go next Door to Elemental, itself, and surrender to Phred. Some can't handle this surrender thing, but I think it's the cat's meow.
Lunchbox laboratory, in Ballard, is surely the most memorable hamburger establishment in these parts, though Two-Bells is a close second. For the more conventionally oriented, Palace Kitchen will be a winner.
Maybe you can find an evening for Art of the Table, in Wallingford, or, for a wackier take, Pasta Freska. Walk in, answer two questions: "any allergies to seafood?" (he musta got sued sometime...) and "want wine?," then sit back and let Mike take care of you. I definitely don't get down there often enough. This is an intensey low-intensity place.
Tamarind Tree is lovely, spacious, all pleasantly designy, and quite good. Love the pickled bon-bon salad there, and the insane 7-courses-of-beef. For an equally wonderful meal, at somewhat lower $ (but you will be OK in any of these), try Green Leaf, a few blocks away.
The Pike Place Market goes without saying. Just start someplace and go until you're done. You can't eat it all, but highlights include Uli's (grilled sausages), Market Grill (grilled salmon and halibut), Pike Place Chowder (seared scallop), El Puerco Lloron (carne asada tacos, and a dozen fresh tortillas, por favor), Mee Sum for a BBQ Pork Baked Bao, Very French French Toast at Cafe Campagne for brunch, A dish of mussells at Maximilien (check the view from the upstairs bar). If slumming, hang-town fry at The Athenian (lotta lotta taps). I try to get a kefta-kebab at Turkish Delight every now and then, and there is ALWAYS room for just a cup of Cioppino at Jack's Fish Spot.
And, an oddball: Ivar's salmon house for Happy hour. Looks over Lake Union toward downtown. Not the spectacle of Ray's Boat House, to be sure, but makes me glad to live here. Get the F&C (of course), the Halibut bites, the Clam Chowder, and Calamari (seasonal, but fine).
Might as well face it: your friend is just going to have to come back, and we haven't even scratched the small-plates scene.
For the best burger place, you can't go wrong with either Zippy's in West Seattle (www.zippysgiantburgers.com) or The Attic Alehouse in Madison Park (www.atticalehouse.com). Zippy's is tiny, so you might have to eat it elsewhere and The Attic is a sports pub, but don't be put off by the meat-heads and since this is Super Bowl Weekend, Sunday will no doubt be really packed.
Palace Kitchen is a good last minute weekend dinner option - they don't take reservations and thus don't punish spontaneity. Better than Wild Ginger and at least as professional an operation. Excellent burger there as well.
I recommend trying the Greater Seattle board for this question, BTW. (http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/63 in case this thread doesn't just get moved there.)