freckles & ash

So my husband and I would consider ourselves foodie types, and that was a big focus of our vacation. I've been telling people that we just wandered around seeing stuff while we waited until we could next eat. And the trip definitely didn't disappoint.

Our first night in Seattle we decided to go down to the pier area, thinking it might be a good place to find a place to eat some dinner, since lots of the restaurants down there would have views of the harbour and water. There were the traditional seafood places, most with big neon signs, advertising their great crab deals or the catch of the day. But after looking at all the options we settled on Elliott's Oyster House, which seemed like a classier option, ie. less touristy.

Obviously we ate some oysters. Our server selected three local types for us to try, and it was interesting to see how different they really tasted. I liked the one with the strongest sea water flavour. Yum! They were served with rye bread to cleanse the palette, and a sorbet mignonette of three types of vinegars.

For the mains, Dave had scallops with risotto, and I had ravioli with fresh crab. So good! The servers even commented on how good our selections were. Two of the house favourites.

I also have to comment on the service, as our waiter was the best waiter I have ever had. So Elliott's is highly recommended.

For breakfast on both days, we stopped in Belle Epicurean, which was right next to our hotel. It is a beautiful patisserie, owned by Carolyn Ferguson who studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She makes all sorts of french pastries and sandwiches, as well as serves local coffee, Caffe Vita. We had the butter croissants and also the ham and gruyere croissants. Delish!

Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves at Pike's Place Market, being tempted by all sorts of good food offerings. We made it all the way through the market, without succumbing, until we saw this place. Piroshky Piroshky is a Russia bakery, offering sweet and savoury pastries with various fillings. We chose the Potato, Onion, & Cheese, and the Smoked Salmon, which had just come out of the oven. These were really tasty, and perfect to eat as we wandered down the street.

Later that afternoon we stopped quickly at Cupcake Royale, for a warm drink, and of course a cupcake! We shared a salted caramel cupcake. I ate it too quickly to get any pictures. It was good, nice crumb to the cake and the icing was the perfect balance of sweetness. It's no surprise they were voted Best Cupcake in Seattle.

Our last stop was at the 35th Street Bistro, in the Fremont area. Lots of restaurants these days are offering prix fixe menu's, and we decided to take that option here. We had a choice of three items for each of our three courses. I had mussels and clams to start, and then beef loin with arugula, farrow, and blue cheese, with a bread pudding for dessert. Wonderful! And it was really awesome how affordable the meal really was. Finished off with a great bottle of wine, and Seattle definitely impressed with it's dining scene.