What to Eat & Drink in Downtown Seattle, March 2013

Seattle was such a hard city to decide what I wanted to eat. There are way too many choices for amazing cuisine.

Here are the food, drink, & restaurant establishments I visited in March 2013 over 3 days and what I ordered. Mostly, these were easily walkable from the Westin Seattle around downtown. All in all, I think I made tasty decisions! 

Om nom notes: Downtown Seattle  (Not in any order of preference but bolded names are not to be missed)

For Food

• Sitka & Spruce - sourdough, black cod, artichoke gratin, halibut, gateau basque. get more details here
• Salumi - Get here at around 10:30am, trust me - the line will be shorter than if you came later. Also, get some salumi to go! It doesn't need to be refrigerated. Even if you can't finish the sandwiches, get at least 2 to try. I got the muffo and a Finnochiona (black peppercorn and fennel) & Provolone on Giuseppe. So good! Definitely add the onions and peppers too.
• Dahlia Lounge - came here for drinks only (liked the menu at Serious Pie better that night) Interesting cocktails (many with hibiscus infused liquors) and a solid glass wine list.
• Taylor Shelfish Farms - oysters, tried one of every kind
• Mamnoon - in the words of my friend, we tried everything with something funky including bamyeh bi zeit (okra), bateresh (eggplant and lamb), arnabeit makli (cauliflower), muhammara (walnut pepper paste), fattoush (mache radish salad)
• Serious Pie - Regular margherita, and the soft egg/cotto pizza. If there's a wait, head over to Dahlia Lounge for a drink.
• The Crumpet Shop - have you ever had a crumpet? Now i have! tried the pesto, tomato & english cheese. Their crumpet shop blend tea is good as well - free refills and they'll even give you a to-go cup. 
• Beecher's Handmade Cheese - supposedly the world's best Mac & Cheese. It was a bit too 'wet' for me. Fun to watch the cheese making though and try their flagship cheese.
• Pike Place Chowder - the original new england seafood chowder is the one to try. I could drink a vat of this

For Sweets

• Dahlia Bakery - Get the famous Triple creme coconut pie, available in bite, individual, and normal pie sizes. I might have come here 3 times in 3 days...Wish I could have tried their homemade english muffin breakfast sandwich but ran out of time :(
• Top Pot Doughnuts - warm fresh doughnuts. Got an old-fashioned glazed and a mug of coffee. great place to chill and read a magazinego

For Coffee

• Zeitgeist Koffee - Get some coffee to go as you wait in line for Salumi around the corner.
• Stumptown Coffee - The same as what's from Portland, might as well get some to go!
• Caffe Senso Unico

Sitka and Spruce, Seattle

I truly loved my meal at Sitka & Spruce, it was probably one of my favorite meals ever and most certainly my favorite sourdough. A simple Northwest cusine menu with fun, unique ingredients like stinging nettle or pickled fiddleheads - love! Fantastic service and I loved the open kitchen setting. The best seat in the house is at the communal table where you can watch the magic happen.

Make sure to make reservations in advance to not miss out. It's a favorite of locals and visitors!

What we ordered from their March 2013 menu:

• Sourdough - This is NOT too be missed. I'm still sad that I failed at buying sourdough to bring home. It's available for purchase daily after 2pm, but apparently you have to get there exactly then or else they sell out. The bread is baked at their sister restaurant The Corson Building and it has this really great charred crispy crust with a soft, chewy tangy center. I dream about this sourdough.
• Raw black cod, creme fraiche, warm potato, pickled fiddleheads - what a creative dish with a lot going on, but worked as a whole. The curliques are the pickled fiddleheads.
• Gratin of artichokes, cream, wood sorrel & winter mushrooms - earthy, creamy with a bit of crunch. a bit heavy for me on its own but it's good for sharing.
• Neah bay halibut with Whidbey kamut and stinging nettle - decided on the halibut over lamb, only because I really wanted to try stinging nettle. it worked out because I don't think i could have had the room for the lamb (though that was the host's reco)
• Chinon, Les Pensees de Pallus 2010 - French Loire Valley wine that was similar to a very well structured cabernet franc, green bell peppery, herbaceous and held up well to our fish dishes
• Gateau basque with poached figs - creamy custard center. get it even if you're full.

Can't wait to return, especially for the bread. Oh, and even better - they do seasonal menus so I'm sure there'll be something different next time!

See the full picture gallery here: http://on.fb.me/11tadWC

Neah bay halibut with Whidbey kamut and stinging nettle from Sitka & Spruce