Sorry if I am boring you, but we are back on the Seattle trip again this week. Seriously, if you haven’t been there, you NEED to go. The food scene is wide and deep and there is so much to choose from that in a 5 day trip I gathered enough info to hopefully keep you entertained for another week.
When we travel for work, we always try to sneak in a little fun too. The bonus on this trip is that we have friends who live up there and we were able to see ALL of them on one trip. And this trip was FULL of Happy Accidents (from now on called HA).
After a fantastic night of dining and drinking with friends Byron and Christine, we headed to the docks early the next morning to catch the Victoria Clipper to go to British Columbia. John was a little worse for wear having indulged at Pike’s, Elysian, Quinn’s and Tavern Law. HA #1 – we met a retired couple on the boat who loved travel and dining as much as we do. They informed us that the Chihuly Museum and restaurant were now open, so our plan for Monday was changed (Moment of Truth – John was supposed to work on Monday, but pushed those tasks to Tuesday so he could museum hop with me!). Bloody Marys were ordered and it was suggested to me that I do a whole blog on them…hmmm. Tasty future topic with fun research on the horizon!
Victoria, British Columbia is astoundingly beautiful and we were so lucky to have ex-pat Las Vegas friends, Diane and Mary, to show us around. After 3 brewery restaurants and a quick trip to their “house in the woods” we were well lubricated and laughing and delighted we had made the journey. Don’t ask me anything about Victoria, we were there to spend time with friends, not sight see, and what I saw was lovely, but I was more interested in the time we spent with them. I will admit, however, to be very happy to live in the USA where beer and liquor are CONSIDERABLY more affordable ($26 Canadian for a 12 pack of Corona – yes, Corona!) Of course when in Canada, you must eat Poutine – it IS the national dish of Canada (at least that is what I kept telling myself). I had a great one with pulled pork.
Poutine!
Drinking with our buds, Diane and Mary!
As stated before, John skipped out on the tasks he had to do to museum hop with me, so we headed in a vaguely Space Needle direction having learned that the Chihuly Garden was directly in its slim shadow. Because it was early, breakfast was on the agenda and after passing up Top Pot Donuts, we found a quirky little bar/café called 5 Point Café – HA #2. The waiter looked like D-Day from Animal House and our food was diner perfect!
HA #3 – As we made our way to the Chihuly Museum, we found the Experience Music Project (EMP)! I knew it was in Seattle, but I didn’t realize we were literally going to trip over it! WOW! Great music, musical instrument, and artist exhibits in addition to Sci-Fi icons and horror movies. A perfectly HA!
Chihuly’s Museum was more than I could have hoped for or imagined, and the restaurant on site, Collections, was charming and entertaining as well. Each table top had a sunken shadow box of treats to look at, and all the visible areas were covered different collections of items from Dale Chihuly’s past.
Then of course there was HA #4 that I gushed about last week.
And of course the Pike Place Market! HA #5 – Finally after repeated trips to the Market I got to see the guys throw a fish! They did it just for me, they usually only toss the fish when someone is purchasing, so it was a rare treat and they even let me film it. To see the video go to my FB page Good for Spooning.
Cheese counter at Beecher’s Cheese makers!
Enjoy these pics and make time to go to Seattle! It is a food lover’s paradise and there is so much to see and do.
Curried Beef Buns at Mee Sum Pastry – another HA! Totally Cheap eats at $2.50!
Charcuterie at Elysian
Oysters at Elliott’s
My Food Memories this week are Girls Night Happy Hour and dinner with friend Lynn, junk food with my favorite kid, and testing out some new recipes in preparation for late summer visitors.
Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!
