Excursion: Seattle, Washington

Kevin and I were back in the Northwest last weekend, with a trip to Seattle where we, admittedly, spent more than a little time in and around the Pike Place Market. Yes, it may seem touristy and cliche, but with our hotel just a few blocks away, how could we resist the amazing spread of food and flora? We could not. And while many a Seattle native may shun the local landmark for the smaller neighborhood markets, I am not yet so immune to its charms! After all, there is a reason the tourists flock there...

After arriving in the city late at night, we found ourselves without a concrete agenda, and gravitating toward the Market, first thing the next morning. Though this wasn't our first trip to Seattle, or to the Market for that matter, we still managed to spend almost two hours meandering through. Highlights? Of course the famous "flying" fish at Pike Place Fish are always a must-see, but I tend to be more partial to the breathtaking spread of the freshest produce.

Since our hotel room accommodations limited our reasonable produce acquisitions to two (delicious) peaches, though, I was happy to run across Pappardelle's Pasta. While not unique to the Pike Place Market, Pappardelle's Pasta is certainly unique among pasta - and less perishable than a peach! We sampled chocolate linguine and purchased a bag of Asian orzo. With its unique promise of sesame, lemon ginger, cayenne pepper, chive, and garlic parsley flavors, I can't wait to boil up the orzo in my own kitchen. Pappardelle's is definitely worth a second look if you find yourself in the market...but so are the peaches!

Saturday afternoon found us back at the Market, indulging in a cheese-centric lunch at Beecher's Handmade Cheese. The menu at Beecher's includes soup and at least five kinds of grilled sandwiches (grilled cheese, of course...plain, with pesto, with ham, even crab...), along with the "Worlds' Best" Mac & Cheese, the spicier "Mariachi" Mac & Cheese, and the oh-so-tempting cheesy, herbed "Breadzel". Kevin and I can attest - they are not joking about that "World's Best" thing. The Mac & Cheese is indulgently creamy and delicious, but also incredibly rich. Grab a sandwich and a Mac & Cheese to split, then try to squeeze your way onto milk-jug seats at the counter, where you can watch the cheese being made right in front of your eyes!

We were fortunate to cap off our trip with a few Washington reds when our friends (who also happen to be Seattle residents) took us to Purple Cafe and Wine Bar. With an impressive wine list of over 80 pages and a centrally located "tower of wine", Purple is the place to go if you are looking for selection! We ordered the "Washington Red" flight, which included the Corvidae 'Lenore' Syrah 2006, the Three Rivers Winery 2006 Columbia Valley Merlot, the Woodward Canyon Winery 2007 'Nelms Road' Cabernet Sauvignon, and the O-S Winery 2006 Red. They were all delicious wines, but I was surprised to find that, despite being less than partial to Merlot lately, I found the Three Rivers Merlot to be the most drinkable of the bunch!


If you find yourself in Seattle (and you should really consider it), make sure not to miss out on the incredible bounty of the Northwest. As for us, we can't wait to go back...