On the Road: Seattle

A few weeks ago, we posted on Twitter and here that we'd be heading to Seattle and asked for your recommendations. Now that trip is over and we'd like to update you on where we ate, but most of all, say a big thanks for your recommendations!

Twitterer @RyMB tipped us off to Serious Pie and Vivace Coffee. Wow, are we glad we tried those out! My mouth still waters when I think of the pizza my friend and I shared at Serious Pie. It was a simple pizza margerita, but what blew me away was the attention to detail and the intensity of flavors, even down to the underside of the crust, which was seasoned just as well as the upper side. I think about that pizza often. And the dessert of blueberry-buttermilk gelato was just as good.

Seeking out Vivace led me to the new-to-me area of Capitol Hill, where we found the coffee shop along with another gem, Poppy. The coffee and atmosphere at Vivace were just what we needed for getting a little work done while on our trip. Poppy serves thali meals; each option gives you a pickled item, a salad, a main dish, a soup, etc. but the variations are amazing.

What I liked best about Poppy was the interesting combos of flavors. My thali meal, seen above, had combos like a cantaloupe salad and cool green gazpacho with cucumber and mint. And we especially appreciate our kind server's clear and helpful descriptions of everything.

Commenter Delaney Mae suggested we try out Black Bottle, which turned out to be another great restaurant. We inadvertently went pretty olive-heavy on our choices. The menu descriptions leave a lot out; our $9 "grilled lamb and sumac hummus" turned out to be a full plate full of hummus, lamb kabobs, slices of cucumber - really enough for a full meal on its own. We also got the brie leek french-country pesto flatbread (which came with more olives!), Spanish fried olives, and caprese skewers. With all that, we were stuffed but everything was really delicious.
A repeat for me (but new to my friend) was Macrina Bakery, where we had lovely lattes and delicious baked goods. I had pine nut tart, similar in form to a chess pie, while my friend had a bran muffin with "exploding" raspberry filling.


With a little pre-planning, my friend suggested that we eat at Salish Lodge and Spa, and we had very good brunch there. The lodge is a very doable short drive east of Seattle, and you can hike around the Snoqualmie Falls area to work off a bit of your food. Here, my friend Shea is very excited about our brunch of croque madame and huevos rancheros.
A serendipitous find was La Creperie Voila, which we found as we were getting ready to go into the nearby movie theater (we snuck in Nutella with chocolate and sweet chestnut spread with crème fraîche crepes to the movie we saw. It would have been perfect if that movie had been Julie and Julia, but weirdly, it wasn't playing!). And of course we stopped at the Pike Place Market and loaded up on cherries and other lovely fruits.
All in all, it was a lovely trip: time with my good friend, great weather, and fantastic food. The restaurants were busy but not overly crowded. Every time I go to Seattle I'm always impressed with how friendly and helpful the people in the food industry are. They seem eager to answer any questions you may have and take pleasure in your interest in their work.
Thank you again for your fantastic recommendations, and we hope everyone is able to try out dining in Seattle sometime!