Best place to eat in Seattle???

[Dawgs]

Spending a few days downtown and need some recommendations. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[phantom power]

1. I had the best clam chowder, ever, at Pike Brewing

And the beer is pretty damned good too.

http://pikebrewing.com/

[cemaphonic]

2. What kind of restaurants are you looking for?

Fancy/expensive, casual, ethnic, or something else. Also, are you only going to be downtown?

[HeiressofBickworth]

3. One of my favorites

is Ikon Grill. It's on the corner of 5th & Virginia, across from the Westin Hotel. They have a variety of "comfort" foods -- fried chicken, meatloaf, and their Butternut Squash soup is excellent. For brunch, I've had (my favorite) Ikon's Joe's Special. For lunch, I've had the soup and the BLT Wedge Salad. I've also had their hamburger and it was also very good. It's also an interesting place -- lots of artwork and a collection of little lamps on shelves around the room. Overhead are nets with blown glass seashells. In 1999, I sat at a window seat having dinner and watched the WTO demonstrators marching down the street and all the police in riot gear. My other visits haven't been as eventful.
Here's their menu: http://icongrill.com/foodwine.html

Another favorite is the Georgian Room at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel (4th & University). It's absolutely gorgeous! A waiter told me once that it's painted with 13 different shades of yellow. Huge tall ceilings, detailed moldings. The lobby of the hotel is jaw-dropping. I used to work across the street and went there for lunch many times. http://www.fairmont.com/seattle/dining/thegeorgian/ The food is excellent and (at least when I used to go there) they always placed a chocolate on a small plate when they presented the bill. The chocolate had a bit of sea salt on the top.

If it's Chinese food you want, Sun Ya in the International District serves Dim Sum from 9 - 3. It's a very popular place and can be crowded. If it's cheap/cheerful you want, there's a food court at Uwajimaya in the International District.

I hope you enjoy your stay in the area.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Also an excellent choice! nt

[Jean Louise Finch]

4. My vote:

I think the best restaurant in Seattle is the Whale Wins in Wallingford. The chef, Renee Erickson, also runs the wonderful Walrus & Carpenter in Ballard. Her other place, Boat Street, has sadly closed, but I think there's something called Boat Street Kitchen that serves lunch and brunch and is closer to downtown.

Generally, I' d argue that the best restaurants are in the neighborhoods, rather than downtown - Ballard and Capitol Hill are tops for delicious food. There are some good places downtown; I'm partial to the Pink Door near Pike Place Market.

I have a (not regularly updated) blog about a certain Seattle-based band, and wrote a super long post for people that were coming to this fair city for a show in 2013 - it has lots of restaurant recs in it, and most of them still hold up!

[Xipe Totec]

5. Etta's

http://tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=ettas

[suffragette]

7. Le Pichet is pretty yummy

http://lepichetseattle.com/home/

You can also create your own picnic from pickings at Pike Place Market and cross over to Steinbrueck park (look for the totem pole) to enjoy a great view while you eat your lunch.

A few favorites: the smoked salmon and potato cheese piroshkys from Piroshky, Piroshky, the hummus and roast vegetables at Turkish Delight, some rainier cherries from a fruit stand.

[betsuni]

8. Some suggestions.

Pier 54 Ivar's Acres of Clams has a good happy hour in its bar, all food half-off. Fish 'n' chips, fish tacos, clam chowder and a pint of Red Hook ESB! If you take a ferry joy-ride over to Bainbridge Island and back, Ivar's has a Fish Bar on Pier 54 where you can pick up clam bisque and fried clams, scallops, oysters, etc. (and substitute the fries with wild rice or salad), to eat on the ferry (or eat it in the outside seating area on the pier where seagulls know suckers will fling the French fries nobody eats at them). Along the waterfront you can take the streetcar-bus over to Pioneer Square and up to the International District where everything is delicious.

Across Elliot Bay is Salty's, a restaurant in Alki with a beautiful view of Seattle. Outdoor seating in summer, happy hour. A pint of Mac & Jack African Amber and oyster shooters. There used to be a water taxi that went from Pier 54 across the bay to a little pier and you could walk down the street to Salty's.

Pike Place Market. You must buy smoked salmon, and fruit in season (I miss blackberries). Jack's Fish Spot in the Sanitary Market has a tiny restaurant -- have the Dungeness crab if it's on the menu. A smoked salmon piroshky at Piroshky-Piroshky (near the original location of Starbucks). In the back is old Emmet Watson's Oyster Bar. In the main market is the Athenian Inn (famous for a scene shot there in "Sleepless in Seattle). If you can get them to seat you upstairs, there's a great view of the Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

Tom Douglas' Palace Kitchen has good applewood-grilled chicken wings for happy hour (also a late-night happy hour). It's near the monorail you can take to the Seattle Center. The view from the Space Needle of the summer sunset is spectacular.

I'm from the Pacific Northwest but I love doing touristy things when I go back. Like take the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square.There's an extremely touristy thing, a cruise around the bay, salmon dinner and Salish Indian dance show on Blake Island. Tillicum Village. Kind of expensive, but I thought it was great. They give you a cup of clams in nectar when you first arrive and my husband and sister and I loved it so much we forced the bored teenagers serving it to give us more. You throw the clam shells on the ground. It was a very low tide that day and they give you time to explore -- it's amazing what weird creatures you can see. The masks used for the performance were fantastic. Bill Clinton went to Tillicum Village once for some sort of summit, I forget.

[mentalsolstice]

9. Olive Garden!

[LynneSin]

13. Less than 4000 posts and you beat me to the punch!!

You are a very experienced DUer I must say!!!

[mentalsolstice]

14. OG was before my time.

However, that thread was linked to so often I read through it. I was around for some of RL's later hijinks.

[LynneSin]

15. I hope you'll fit in well with us old-timers. Last one didn't fare well during initiation....

[shanti]

10. Salumi!

if you like cured meats. Get there early though, the line is humungous.

[Arugula Latte]

11. For lunch or a casual, fast dinner: Blue Water Taco Grill

http://bluewatertacogrill.com/

Three locations, absolutely tasty, fresh tacos. You order a shrimp or fish taco, they cook it up right in front of you. Delicious.

[Aristus]

12. 10 Mercer.

At #10, Mercer St, natch.

Pretty good Northwest fusion cuisine.

Great place for drinks and dinner après opera.

Call for reservations. Insanely difficult to get into for dinner without one.

[jmowreader]

16. Pecos Pit Barbecue

It's on First Street close to Starbucks Center, it's only open for lunch, and you should NOT get the "hot" sauce. "Medium' is almost too hot for almost anyone.

[betsuni]

17. Pecos Pit barbecue is MAGICAL.

One of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. One of my first stops when visiting Seattle.

[jmowreader]

19. Question for Seattle residents: Does Pecos Pit have heaters in its seating area?

Next time I'm in Seattle it will be cold, and the Pit's seating area is open air...

[betsuni]

22. I don't know, maybe someone else does.

But I doubt it. We people of the Northwest shun umbrellas and outdoor heating -- wet and cold is normal.

There was talk of Pecos opening another site at the old Red Robin location near the University District. Does anybody know about that?

Speaking of Red Robin, I once had a roommate who worked there who was obsessed with the burger chain Kidd Valley: their Walla Walla sweet onion rings, blackberry shakes, fried mushrooms. Last time I visited Seattle I had a great veggie burger and the mushrooms and fried green peppers there. Dick's Drive-In is another must because of nostalgia (and like Costco, they take care of their employees).

Next visit I want to try the Seattle Dog, a hot dog with cream cheese and sauteed onions. That became a thing after I left. And also the fusion hot dogs like Gourmet Dog Japon and Tokyo Dog. I guess that's the new thing. I believe Seattle was where teriyaki got its start in the U.S., there used to be teriyaki places all over and now they seem so quaint and old-fashioned, Old Seattle. Pecos and Dick's are Old Seattle.

[Chan790]

18. Starbucks!

[Major Nikon]

20. You can always go to the original Starbucks

Except it isn't the original Starbucks.

Or you can go to one of several actually good espresso bars. Victrola, Vivace, and/or Stumptown come to mind, but there's others.

[trof]

21. McDonald's

For a quick cheeseburger, you can't beat McDonald's.

A juicy 100% beef patty simply seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper, melty American cheese, tangy pickles, minced onions, ketchup and mustard.

Also, try the fries.

Golden crispy.

If you want Italian, try Olive Garden.