On our second day in Seattle we went downtown to take part in a culinary walking tour of Pike Place Market with Savor Seattle Food Tours. I knew we wanted to do some kind of walking tour in Seattle and our hosts were definitely up for it. We did a bit of research (and recon – Jess saw the tour walking through the market one day) and found out that this company uses earphones so the guide doesn’t have to shout. I was slightly concerned at the geek factor but so excited to do it that I decided it didn’t really matter.
I don’t know what kind of insanity I was expecting but it was all very civilized. We met at a coffee place to pick up our headset thingies and headed out. The tour guide was adorable and funny but for some reason the rest of our tour didn’t seem to think so. Before we even walked into the market she made a crack at Mark (apple is not a vegetable) and I knew we would be friends. I think the rest of the group had zero sense of humor and were only in it for the food and because their wives made them go. I mean we were only in it for the food too but come on now, they made no effort to have even a little fun which was kind of a drag. Anyway, first stop – Donuts.
Watch as Matthew makes it look like he is paying attention so people don’t notice he is going in for donut #2 or maybe #3. I don’t blame him! They were tiny, hot and sugary. Deeeelicious!
Of course we saw the place where they throw fish. It was loud and there were tons of people there but we did try some smoked salmon. I didn’t take any pictures because there were 500 people there taking pictures.
One of the rare vacation photos of me and I’m jamming a peach into my mouth. Luckily the fruit was already cut up because I’m the messiest fruit cutter ever. I think it is because of the shape of fruit. I can’t imagine its me.
Jess and Mark perfecting the LWC – Listening while chewing. We had to do alot of that.
There was of course a ton more walking/eating. We had some outrageously good clam chowder and I never thought I would say that. I’m still shocked! I dislike clams AND creamy soup but I didn’t want to look like a loser in front of the losers on the tour so I tried it. I guess if you are going to try it for the first time, you might as well try award winning hall of fame chowder. It was great in a teeny sample cup but I don’t know if I could eat a whole bowl. Other highlights included piroshkys (meh), cheese (amazing), and this ridiculous cherry and peach salsa that we ended up going back for after the tour ended.
It was a beautiful day and the tour was fun and informative about the history of the market. I’d definitely do another tour with them, possibly the Downtown Seattle one that started 3 days after we left…grrr. The group (of deadbeats) was a little bigger than I like but hey, that’s what we get for doing something touristy on a Sunday morning.
Tags: seattle, travel
July 28th, 2008
I was getting all crazy about my first post because why? I am pushing myself over the wall of crazy and just jumping in. I hope it doesn’t hurt too much.
Since everyone reading this knows us I am assuming it’s also known that we just got back from a 2 week trip to Vancouver. More on that later. While we were there we drove to Seattle for the weekend to see good friends Jessica and Mark. We stayed at their awesome house on the top of a mountain about 20 minutes from downtown and silently (okay vocally) wished we lived there about 72 times in the 2 days we stayed there. They have wifi and chocolate milk. We almost moved into their guest room.
We arrived Saturday around lunchtime ready to eat. Jess directed us to Lunchbox Laboratory in Ballard. Although I am not a huge burger fan Matthew is so it was pretty exciting stuff. When Jess brought it up he was sort of faking ambivalence but I knew inside he must have been all “OMG!OMGOMG!!TOTALLY!OMG!” Matthew and Mark both enjoyed their prime rib cheeseburgers and Jess and I split a regular burger and some fries. The place is adorable, tiny with mostly outdoor seating. I chatted for a few minutes with the owner who was astounded at how busy it has gotten but seriously, she cuckoo crazy cause its super awesome. Basically you choose your meat, then cheese and other toppings and sides. Then you um…choose your milkshake. Mark is obviously the smartest guy around because he ordered the nutella milkshake and choked back every last bit. I stuck with root beer because I knew where we were going after burgers and didn’t want to be too full. Very big mistake. I am still regretting that decision. NUTELLA! MILKSHAKE!
After we finished our burgers we had a bit of a back and forth about WHICH cupcake place to try. Jess recommended Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford but I rallied for (and won) a visit to Cupcake Royale in Ballard which I had heard about a bazillion times. Ballard is a bit of a destination and is billed as the “Brooklyn of Seattle”. We walked around and window-shopped a bit and Jess talked me out of getting a green shellacked rock tea light holder as a souvenir of Fakewestcoast Brooklyn. As for Cupcake Royale…YUM! It definitely passes the delicious cupcake test. I was getting kind of worried about the West Coast after the Sprinkles debaucle of April ‘08 but they were really really delicious. I’m not usually down with such a tiny icing-to-cake ratio but meh, what can you do. I totally forgot to get a photo of the storefront, or inside, or the cute tshirts, or us in the shop but here are the cupcakes!
So although Ballard is no Brooklyn it is definitely cool and I can’t wait to go back. While walking around we stopped into one of the galleries and Jess went all nutty-nuts over some Cakespy display. Apparently Cakespy is a thing I have never heard about. I quickly fell in love with her little pictures of cupcakes out and about and Jess bought me one to replace the green rock disaster! More pics to come on that and the rest of our exciting weekend.
Tags: cupcakes, hamburgers, seattle, travel
July 23rd, 2008
