sleepyAnd then I remembered that I'm probably never going to have a hundred and fifty million dollars and that I should go to sleep because I had to get up in the morning and work.
Because I was grasping for blathery straws earlier today when I was writing this, I offer you places to eat in Seattle if you ever visit, presented to you by me, me being a person who doesn't really know enough about Seattle. Basically, these are places I eat at. Some more often than others.
Doughnuts. Daily Dozen Donuts, in Pike Place Market--tiny, hot, fresh donuts in brown paper bags. Cinnamon, chocolate iced with sprinkles, powdered, or plain. Winchell's, on 45th (just west of the U. District) has donuts I like. Top Pot Donuts are often recommended, but I think they're heavy and not so good. The Krispy Kreme is out on Aurora.
Sandwiches. The best sandwiches in the city can be found at the Crumpet Shop, also in Pike Place. They make their own bread, and you can get British-y style combinations and fillings (watercress, cucumber), and the meats are absolutely real and succulent, cut right off the bone. Plus they have all sorts of teas, iced tea, scones, great soups, and, of course, crumpets.
Pastries. For the really rich kind--cakes and moussey things--Dilettante's and B&O Espresso, both in the Capitol Hill area. For cookies, tarts, scones, and so on, Grand Central Bakery, Pioneer Square. There's probably even better stuff out there somewhere, but I haven't explored as far as I'd like yet.
Chocolate. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Just off Pike Place. Perfect fudge. Dipped apples. Other things. There's a Godiva in Westlake (a downtown mall) and a Neuhaus Chocolates on the concourse level of Pacific Place (another downtown mall). Westlake also has a large, cheap food court, by the way.
Breakfast/Brunch. The IHOP on Madison. B&O Espresso on E. Olive Way. El Greco on Broadway. The Crumpet Shop, in the market.
Seafood. I have no idea. I don't really get out and eat seafood much. But the Pike Pub and Brewery (in the market) has great garlic shrimp, and FX McRory's (near the stadium) has a great grilled salmon plate. It also has, like, a million types of booze arrayed across the mirrored bar wall, mostly whiskey, I think. You probably don't want to go on a game day.
Burgers. Julia's on Broadway is pretty good, and FX McRory's, and Pike Pub and Brewery. I've had trouble finding good burgers though. I'm picky.
Steak. Morton's, on Sixth Avenue, if you want to go crazy and spend at least a hundred bucks a person...yeah. Never mind. I'm sure there are online restaurant guides.
Pizza. The name of pizza in Seattle is Pagliacci's. They also have a tasty house salad.
Coffee. I like the coffee at Il Fornaio, in Pacific Place, but I'm only certain about the coffee made at the risotteria at street level, and not at their café inside. The coffee's also good at Grand Central. There's also a nice new café in the market called Local Color, open-air (no front wall, anyway), with art on the walls.
Hummus and warm pita slices. The Elysian at the corner of Pike & 12th in Capitol Hill (pub).
Tacos. Bimbo's ("Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen"), Pine Street, Capitol Hill.
Health-nutty. Inside the downtown Convention Center, below the Gold's gym, there's a little juice bar type place where you can get freshly squeezed juice mixes, great salads and sandwiches, all fresh and usually made very quickly. The chicken is free-range, they've told me. Also, you can go to the co-op, Madison Market, around Madison and 15th, and get really good stuff to go, ready-to-eat from their deli and café counter--for example, sesame salmon, mozarella sandwiches, and all kinds of tofu and vegetable "side" dishes, some labeled for vegans, etc.
Ice Cream. There's a gelato place, Gelatiamo, on Third, near the market. I should be more familiar with good ice cream places...then again, maybe not. (Note: The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory also has ice cream.)
Impromptu lunch. The cafés in Nordstrom department stores (downtown, Northgate mall) actually have good food and really nice dining rooms, and they're right there while you're shopping.
Casual dinner. B&O Espresso is also pretty good for dinners, as their entrees are tapas-style (small and inexpensive). The menu has a middle-eastern sort of flavor. I recommend the baby boreks. They serve bar drinks.
Italian. I used to like Stella's Trattoria in the U. District (45th) quite a lot and then I visited Spokane and went to Luigi's, and ate, and wept, and knelt down and prayed to the gods of linguine, and in comparison haven't felt as enthusiastic about Stella's since then. So I'm not sure. It's still okay, I think. Arguably better than Olive Garden. I welcome recommendations from anyone who knows Seattle Italian restaurants.
Asian food. It's everywhere in Seattle, but I have no recommendations.
Miscellaneous. The Red Line, corner of E. Olive & E. Denny--peanut butter on a spoon, carrot sticks, sandwiches, various salads, amazing ginger cookies. Newly opened. Hopefully will be around for a while.
Other people should add their recommendations--please! :>)
