at Fri, 29 Jul 2005 20:54:01 GMT in <42ea9722$0$91670$bb4e3ad8
@newscene.com>,
virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz (Bob) wrote :
>I'll be in Seattle for three nights in mid-September. Any recommendations
>for places to visit and/or eat?
>
>(I've got an old post from Alex Rast where he recommends the Seattle Art
>Museum as a must-see,
The real must-see is the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The "straight" SAM
downtown is good but SAAM up the hill in Volunteer Park is great. However,
when you visit SAM, you get a free ticket to SAAM within the week, so you
can kill 2 birds with one admission stone.
Along different lines, provided the weather is good, Seward Park is a good
way to see old-growth forest without having to drive outside the city. You
have to take the trails that go into the interior of the park, though -
don't just take the paved loop trail around the lakefront or you'll miss
the forest part. But you can take a trail through the middle that winds up
connecting with the lakefront loop at the tip of the park, and thus combine
both in the same visit. Nice place to bring a picnic, too.
and he recommends Gelatiamo,
In mid-september you should pick the hazelnut flavour which is one of their
best (perhaps only the blueberry is better but it peaks in August). They
let you pick multiple flavours per size (small=2, medium=3, large=4) but
IMHO it's best to pick out one flavour rather than combine 2 or more and
create either disappointment with one or more flavours or a combination
that just doesn't harmonise well.
Don't be fooled by their new competitors, Bottega Italiana, situated in the
Pike Place Market. BI has a more modish look and handsome Italian servers
with thick accents, but while their ice creams are good, Gelatiamo's are
better overall. A lot of the local reviewers I think have been fooled, to
be honest, I think, charmed by the servers since most of the reviewers
locally have been women. Gelatiamo I think seems too polished in
appearance, too American in the help, for the reviewers to be able to see
through. It's yet another case of people judging a book by its cover.
Did I mention Caffe D'Arte for coffee? If not this is the best espresso
store in a city famous for espresso. It's on 2nd and Stewart, a stone's
throw from the Pike Place Market.
> Piroshky Piroshky, the
>Sea Garden, and Kabul as places to eat.)
There are some new places that have opened up, too, that are exciting and
good. The Marrakesh is a good Moroccan restaurant in Belltown, just north
of the downtown core. Belltown is the restaurant district, as it were, so
if you're in the mood you can simply park and random-walk until you find a
restaurant that catches your eye.
La Vita e' Bella not far away has good pizza - something of a first for
Seattle. However, I should be clear that we're talking good, not great.
Essential Baking now has a nice retail shop. Essential bakes the best bread
in Seattle, makes the best pastries, and produces the best chocolates quite
possibly in the USA. That's not just my opinion, either: William Leahmann
headed up the winning team at the World Cup of Baking in Paris, as well as
winning multiple categories in Next Generation Chocolatier competition.
Among the chocolates the one to try is the Essential 70% - the ultimate
ganache chocolate. Among the breads I favour the ciabatta (take this with
you on a picnic to Seward Park).
Did I also talk about the Metropolitan Grill as a good splurge restaurant
for steak? If not and you like steak, you should go. Don't be tempted,
however, to move away from the steaks in terms of dinner selections or
you'll be missing the point.
Also, don't think of seafood restaurants in Seattle. Sadly, Seattle's
seafood restaurants are all uniformly uninspiring. Again, you can have
*good* fish at any number of different locations: Flying Fish, Oceanaire,
Ray's Boathouse, etc. etc., but *great* fish isn't to be had by eating out.
It's something, in fact, of a Seattle malaise, that as you reach the upper
restaurant tier, there is, it seems, a quality ceiling, so that with the
exception of the Metropolitan Grill, even what are called "elite"
restaurants are nothing more than passable high-end establishments, serving
passable food. Critics around here lap it up and seem to suffer from a lack
of imagination when thinking about how good a restaurant can be. They don't
look for or expect a restaurant to be truly transporting or revelatory in
quality and thus that kind of dining experience isn't usually to be had
here.
--
Alex Rast
[email protected]
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