MY USA Trip – Seattle’s Food Glorious Food

I was already loving the vibe of Seattle. Our first day packed so much in, but day 2 was set to involve one of my favourite things which is food.

Small American breakfast

We had an early start (which was fine as the jetlag had me awake at 5am) and breakfast in the hotel set me up for another busy day. Our first tour was within walking distance of the hotel and was an underground history tour in Pioneer Square. Sawmills played a big part for Seattle as it became a very big player in the timber industry. The town soon had a rather sordid reputation for prostitution, liquor & gambling. Indoor plumbing hadn’t reached the town and sewage came & went with the tide, so not a pleasant place to be at all. In 1889 a great fire ravaged the city, all but destroying the wooden buildings of the business district and causing great devastation. This disaster did have a silver lining, creating many construction jobs to replace the buildings with brick & concrete ones. A few years later gold was discovered in the Klondike and Seattle then began to flourish & expand as it became the major distribution point for the gold prospectors.

Pioneer Square

One of the problems with all the sawdust and sewage was that it made the city sink, hence why this was an underground tour. It took us around the original entrances and rooms which are below street level. I’d highly recommend this trip to learn about how this city came to be what it is today.

A short walk uphill to Pike Place food market was our next stop. Once again there was lots of history and we had a great guide who both educated and fed us at the same time. Sad to learn that during World War 2 how many of the American Japanese farmers who were prevalent in Seattle were forced out of their homes in to internment never to return due to the tensions.

The starting point was outside the market and something that I never expected to see anywhere. The gum wall outside the theatre (yes-chewing gum)! It started in the early 1990’s because theatre owners asked patrons not to chew inside and therefore they stuck the globs of gum on the wall outside. The owners tried cleaning it off, but it happened so much they eventually gave up and it grew in to a rather bizarre tourist attraction.

On to more palatable things…we started our tasting experience with fresh doughnuts, then a (now famous) Greek yoghurt stand, Ellenos, then on to chocolate covered cherries, then mac n cheese, delicious chowder, piroshky (Russian sweet & savoury dumplings) and finally crab cakes. There was certainly no need for lunch. The market is also famous for it’s fishmongers throwing & catching fish with gay abandon! The flower stalls were also eye-catching and prices were incredibly cheap. I saw an arrangement for $15 that would easily cost £50 in the UK

The tour was around 2 hours and was the highlight of my trip. After a quick pit-stop for a cocktail I spent a couple of hours wandering the streets of Seattle, calling in to the world’s very first Starbucks and enjoying the architecture.

Rachel the Pike Place pig (on the left)

Dinner that evening was hosted by the port of Seattle in the All Water Seafood restaurant and as you would expect from a restaurant housed in a 5 star hotel the food was fantastic. The short rib and scallop dish I had was to die for. Although we were told to order whatever we liked I managed to refrain from ordering the bottle of wine that was $520!!!

As you can see I loved this city as it has so much to offer. Great food, drink, atmosphere, architecture and fabulous views of the surrounding waters.

For more information on cruises from Seattle or Vancouver where you can take in a few days stay in this city feel free to call on 0800 408 6105 or e-mail [email protected]

In my next instalment we move on to Vegas baby!