Eating in Seattle, a brief guide
High Schtick
There's a certain retro appeal to Canlis that is just a joy to experience. The food is thoroughly modern and the wine list is very serious. You will eat very well and drink very well to match, and they have a damn fine and very enticing cocktail list, which may actually serve better than the wine list itself. The real pleasure of eating here is in the view and the old, old school service, the sort you can only pull off if you've been in the business 60 years. They greet you by name the first time you walk in and you can get a tour on which they show you the personalized wineglasses they keep on hand for their regulars - including a particularly dusty shelf of vintage glasses whose owners haven't been in for quite some time... The front of house is an absolute joy to watch.
Low Schtick
The really unmissable thing in Seattle is Happy Hour at the Walrus and the Carpenter. They open at 4pm, and oysters are 50% off for the first hour, and you get $1 off glasses of muscadet (they only have Bregeon, but then again, it's Bregeon!). The oysters are Pacifica, and so they're all about cream and flesh and sweetness, rather than the briny/sweet interplay of Atlantic ones, and they're 6 hours old, and at half off, they're cheaper than retail and you don't have to shuck them. Worth crossing the country for, as soon as possible.
Quinn's Pub and the Ethan Stowell empire are both pretty decent at what they do. You can find similar in any major metropolitan area, though.
The Calf and Kid in Melrose Market has what seems a pretty encyclopedic selection of cheeses from the Northwest. Some of them are bloody damn tasty.
Jittery Schtick
Stumptown and Victrola, 3 blocks apart, are the heavyweights in terms of sheer bean quality and care taken in brewing. Both make superlative coffee. Stumptown has better baked goods.
Caffe Vivace makes a mean espresso.
But really, this is Seattle. You walk into a random sandwich deli and there's a 50% chance you can get a cup of Stumptown from an air pot.
Boozy Schtick
Pleasantly surprised at the number of great microbrews we found, all of which were from NW brewers whose names we'd never run across in Boston. The star was probably a dark lager from Chukanuts.
Bar Ferd'nand, also in the Melrose Market, is a terrific wine bar. Didn't try the food, but very good selection of wines by the glass, and for retail.
Knee High Stocking Co. well worth a visit for the cocktails and atmosphere, as is Tavern Law. Each produced one of the best drinks I've ever had (the Cup of Awesome at Knee High, Dirt and Diesel at Tavern Law). Don't bother with the little speakeasy at Tavern Law (the Needle and Thread) - the main tavern is cheaper, just as good, and has a menu - one of the frustrating things about the Needle and Thread was that they try to do the thing that Drink does with no actual menu, but don't quite pull it off.
Sweet Schtick
Honore Artisan Bakery is in the middle of nowhere in Ballard, but would probably have a good-sized following if it were located in Paris. It's that good. Mostly tarts and bombes and such, as opposed to scones and muffins, but then again, it's too far away for breakfast anyway.
There's a certain retro appeal to Canlis that is just a joy to experience. The food is thoroughly modern and the wine list is very serious. You will eat very well and drink very well to match, and they have a damn fine and very enticing cocktail list, which may actually serve better than the wine list itself. The real pleasure of eating here is in the view and the old, old school service, the sort you can only pull off if you've been in the business 60 years. They greet you by name the first time you walk in and you can get a tour on which they show you the personalized wineglasses they keep on hand for their regulars - including a particularly dusty shelf of vintage glasses whose owners haven't been in for quite some time... The front of house is an absolute joy to watch.
Low Schtick
The really unmissable thing in Seattle is Happy Hour at the Walrus and the Carpenter. They open at 4pm, and oysters are 50% off for the first hour, and you get $1 off glasses of muscadet (they only have Bregeon, but then again, it's Bregeon!). The oysters are Pacifica, and so they're all about cream and flesh and sweetness, rather than the briny/sweet interplay of Atlantic ones, and they're 6 hours old, and at half off, they're cheaper than retail and you don't have to shuck them. Worth crossing the country for, as soon as possible.
Quinn's Pub and the Ethan Stowell empire are both pretty decent at what they do. You can find similar in any major metropolitan area, though.
The Calf and Kid in Melrose Market has what seems a pretty encyclopedic selection of cheeses from the Northwest. Some of them are bloody damn tasty.
Jittery Schtick
Stumptown and Victrola, 3 blocks apart, are the heavyweights in terms of sheer bean quality and care taken in brewing. Both make superlative coffee. Stumptown has better baked goods.
Caffe Vivace makes a mean espresso.
But really, this is Seattle. You walk into a random sandwich deli and there's a 50% chance you can get a cup of Stumptown from an air pot.
Boozy Schtick
Pleasantly surprised at the number of great microbrews we found, all of which were from NW brewers whose names we'd never run across in Boston. The star was probably a dark lager from Chukanuts.
Bar Ferd'nand, also in the Melrose Market, is a terrific wine bar. Didn't try the food, but very good selection of wines by the glass, and for retail.
Knee High Stocking Co. well worth a visit for the cocktails and atmosphere, as is Tavern Law. Each produced one of the best drinks I've ever had (the Cup of Awesome at Knee High, Dirt and Diesel at Tavern Law). Don't bother with the little speakeasy at Tavern Law (the Needle and Thread) - the main tavern is cheaper, just as good, and has a menu - one of the frustrating things about the Needle and Thread was that they try to do the thing that Drink does with no actual menu, but don't quite pull it off.
Sweet Schtick
Honore Artisan Bakery is in the middle of nowhere in Ballard, but would probably have a good-sized following if it were located in Paris. It's that good. Mostly tarts and bombes and such, as opposed to scones and muffins, but then again, it's too far away for breakfast anyway.