It was an easy two hour flight. Janet and I decided to uber from the airport to our spot to save some time. When we arrived, we got our keys from the lockbox from the gate and followed the directions from airbnb. Turns out they gave us the wrong apt # because we spent five minutes trying to get into an occupied unit. Cue the mini panic attack! I called our host and luckily she directed us to the correct unit. We set our things down, freshened up and headed down to Elliot's Oyster House for happy hour!!!
We got so lucky with the weather! There was a little bit of a sprinkle at some point during our stay, but we could have made it without an umbrella. Oh and by this time, 3PM Friday, Elliot's happy hour was way crackalakin'...of course we endured the hour wait while sipping on cocktails.
We were seated at the bar where all the oyster shucking action was taking place. The selection = out of control! They probably had 20+ in variety. Unfortunately, at happy hour price it's whatever they were shucking at the moment. Still delicious nonetheless. The appetizers were decent. Somehow I really liked the calamari, lots of legs and very tender with a lemon aioli. The Elliot red ale paired wonderfully with the food. And this concludes round one of our food adventure.
As you can probably already tell...this is going to be a lengthy play by play blog...Anywho, we tried to burn off some of the food...and fast, because reservations for dinner was at 8PM. So the next few hours consisted of shopping and walking around nearby shops before setting home to get ready for dinner.
The Purple Cafe was such a cute restaurant. The wine staircase and rustic decor screamed first date or GNO. Us girls decided to start the night with the artisan cheese plate with a wine pairing. The cheese was to die for! After this course we actually got pretty full already, so when the lobster mac and cheese and brussel sprouts came out we were all cheesed out. It made for great left overs though. I definitely recommend both cheese dishes. Skip the sprouts, though.
Dinner was over before 10. We headed home to drop off our leftovers and had to force ourselves out of food coma to go out. Decided to swing by a nearby bar called Montana. Super interesting scene. They were playing 90s hip hop and the crowd was 85% urban lumberjacks. Had a pop there and called it a night. Bright and early to continue the foodie tour!
Any bar that has Fernet on tap is good in my book.
Day 2, we had a full day planned. Pike Place Market, Gum Wall, and Space Needle. First stop: Le Panier for coffee and pastries. I think this was my favorite place the entire weekend! The flakey breakfast pastries were sooo good. I took home a box of 6. The pistachio cream eclair was unique--such a treat! I definitely recommend it to anyone who is visiting.
The market was definitely the main attraction. I felt like we could've just gone there everyday...wait...Check out the cute fruit and vegetable tags: 'Pleeza No Squeeza!' Not pictured: 'Big Ass Grapes'.
My second favorite meal of the weekend: Pike Place Chowder!!! BELIEVE THE HYPE. New England clam chowder all the way. All the other flavors were good as well, not as memorable though. The scallop chowder had a very strong lemon thyme flavor, which I didn't mind, but Janet wasn't that big of a fan.
I absolutely loved the local speciality deli/craft food stores! Seattle is HUGE on beer and hot sauce. How can you hate that? We snagged a few snacks and some organic brew from Oregon.
This photo was snapped on our way to late night happy hour at Japonessa.
From the top of Space Needle
In front of Molly Moons Homemade Ice Cream Shop
This was a huge fatty moment...after the food excursions at Pike Place (La Panier, chowder, snacks from the market...) we picked up some tacos and fries at Pike Street Fish Fry. Hung out for a little, then had oysters and geoduck at Taylor Shellfish Farms. Yup. That happened. Then ice cream. Then Japonessa. #treatyoself
Our last morning consisted of buying goodies to bring home. We took the tram back to the airport, which was actually super convenient. The train is underground by the market and it took us straight to the airport. For a great bargain too, $2.75! *Traveler tip*
Stuffed bellies and fond memories. That's what I live for. Stay tuned my friends! Eat, drink, & be merry! ;-)
