Seattle Final Thoughts

Living in my new house in the Oakland hills, my time in Seattle seem like a blur. An extended vacation that like all vacations had to end. I would be remiss not to mention a couple of places that I will miss from my time in Seattle.

1. Chuck's

When I first moved to Seattle, Chuck's was your standard convenience store. Somehow in the course of 18 months it turned into a temple of awesomeness. More and more space was devoted to a rich variety of NW microbrews, tables were added, and 30 taps were installed. While there are other beer store/bars in Seattle(see Bottleworks) none of those have ice cream for the kids! I could indulge my alcoholic tendencies while my children enjoyed a frozen treat...yeah!(Don't worry I lived walking distance from Chuck's) Then right before I left Chuck started having rotating food carts. Awesome! (Well I did get food poisoning from one of the carts but don't let that hold you back)

Yeah this is good stuff...

2. U:Don

Before the opening of U:Don in January of this year, Seattle was a noodle wasteland. There were a few mediocre Ramen places but not much else. Then there came U:Don...a cafeteria style establishment that crafts hand made udon noodles with a delicious broth. Once you select your noodle/broth combination, there is tempura bar of a fried goodies to choose from cafeteria style. My favorite combination was to get a large bowl of soup udon and then load it up with shrimp tempura, potato croquettes, and maybe some fried veggies. Then split the bowl up with the spawn. Total cost: $10.50 for three.

Udon!

3. Pike Place Market 

Yeah its touristy as hell but there is something awesome about the market. Unlike the Ferry Building there is no pretension with the Market. It is literally a maze of shops, produce markets, a cornucopia of food vendors , flowers peddlers, and of course seafood markets. I rarely shopped at the seafood markets given the cost of their wares. The produce markets were a better deal especially on veggies often carrying great local crops at lower than supermarket prices. The $5 dollar flower bouquets were also a great deal. But what I liked best were the random little shops. An outlet of the Spanish Table, the Bavarian Meat Market-a strangle little piece of Germany hiding in the recesses of one of the annex buildings, and the RR ranch outlet serving dry aged meat at a reasonable price.Is the Ferry Building cleaner, more foodie orientated, better organized...of course. But you will never get lost in the underwarrens in Ferry Building or find a 60's era German meat market there.

4. Whidbey Island

This is the West Marin of the Pacific Northwest. A foodies dream. Seafood trucks dotting the roads, ramshackle Farmer's Markets with truly local farmers selling just picked produce, and trendy little towns filled with establishments serving mussels and good micro-brews. It is an easy ferry ride from Mukilteo and the wandering road takes you near little villages like Coupeville and Langley. As you drive up to the top of the island make sure you stop by the seafood truck near the Goose market for great live seafood(spot prawns, clams, oysters, you name it). In the middle of the island you will uncover the Lavender Wind Farm nestled over a wind swept field exploding in purple. Ignore the ugly blip that is Oak Harbor and finish your trip at Deception Pass with awe inspiring views.

Whidbey Island

5. Salmon

In most corners of America, you have one choice in Salmon. A sickly orange piece of fish labeled Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon. This largely flavorless fish whose color is due to color pellets has nothing on the wild Salmon of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In Seattle, the great clearing house for the vast majority of wild salmon(and 70% of the domestic seafood catch), the choices are vast. You can select fish by type (Coho, Sockeye, and Chinook(or King), color(Ivory, Marbled, or Standard), and location (Copper River). The prices are not cheap for the premium king salmon, but for a couple of weeks in the late summer you can usually find it on sale in the $9.99 to $12.99 pound price range. Once you take a bite into any of these varietals, the difference between the farm raised stuff becomes apparent. The depth of flavor and richness of the flesh define this fish. Even in the off season you will rarely find farmed raised stuff in stores or in restaurants. So strong is everyone's devotion to the wild stuff that they will eat frozen salmon rather utilize the fresh farm raised stuff.

I would recommend purchasing and preparing your own salmon. The restaurants charge a fortune for salmon even in Seattle and the selection is often limited. On exception would be Ray's Boathouse which usually carries premium salmon from a marquee location like Cooper River. Their view of the Sound is phenomenal as well and the salmon is always prepared correctly. Nothing groundbreaking with their food but for a "view restaurant" they always deliver.

It is sad to leave the Pacific Northwest and Seattle, but ultimately the weather and phenomenal food scene in the Bay Area will help me forget Seattle soon enough.

Pan seared King Salmon with grilled peaches and heirloom tomatoes 

Appendix:

Chuck's is located at 656 NW 85th Ave Seattle WA
http://chucks85th.wordpress.com/

U:Don is located at 4515 University Ave NE Seattle WA
http://freshudon.com/