My whistle stop trip to Seattle lived up to the name of the movie: I most certainly was “Sleepless in Seattle”. We took off from Chicago in the evening and the time difference consequently bought us a few more hours upon arrival. We checked in at our hotel, Hotel Andra, which is located downtown and went searching for food- always a top priority in my books. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot open in the city at this time, but we found a bar/restaurant called Rocco’s that served until 2am. I can’t quite recall the pizza we had, but I am fairly certain that it was a “Stacey & Tina’s Night Out”: mozzarella, meatballs, peppers, basil with marinara sauce and a garlic infused olive oil base. (I have copied this off their menu on their website, but am pretty sure this is what we had…my friend who ate it with me will know why I’m pretty sure we selected this one ;-)) It was just what we needed: pizza, beer and a bit of hipster watching. We watched a rather unattractive man attempt to charm two women simultaneously, admired their impressive spirits selection and devoured what was, all in all, a pretty good pizza. I didn’t take any photos that night, but I have borrowed a couple from their website below. Dark and moody in decor, but entertaining in employees and food, it finished off our evening of travelling well!
So, we headed back to the hotel on foot to get a few hours of sleep before the busy next day (all work related). However, I really was “Sleepless in Seattle”. With a group text doing the rounds about “what time are we meeting for breakfast?”, by 6.30am I was showered, sans make up and with wet hair, out on the streets of Seattle to explore. Now, this is always kind of risky. I was determined to find Pike Place. I tapped it into my phone, and started walking. I knew that Pike Place was by water, so was baffled by the fact that I was walking up hill…yes, I had entered the wrong address on my iPhone and was heading for Pike Street. So, after a 2-3 mile walking detour, I ended up at my intended destination: the original Starbucks. I have to say, it was rather a let down, but I suppose they have preserved the rustic, original style of the place (including scaffolding on the outside…). I am a big Starbucks fan though, so picked up a couple of Pike Place Market mugs (one for me- which I use now I am back in the UK, and one for another Starbucks loving friend).
At this stage, a friend joined me. Coiffed (as always), we grabbed coffee at one of the more “authentic” coffee places down near Pike Place Market: Seattle Coffee Works where we had two beautiful cups of coffee, accompanied by some Greek yogurt (for me) and belly laughs (my friend) as apparently I pronounced the letter “h” the American way (I am still not sure whether this is “aitch” or “haitch”…). We then popped into Target. Where a man barked at my friend. Like a dog. Seattle is a rather strange place…
We took a quick walk around the market. There was no fish throwing at this time of day apparently, but a man did play a cruel joke on me with a fish and a piece of string that resulted in a high pitch squeal from me in the middle of the market. And, echoing the point above (“Seattle is a rather strange place…”) we discovered the wall of chewing gum art. Yum.
By now, it’s nearing breakfast time and our other friend joins us to go to Lowell’s for breakfast where I had French Toast (I don’t eat eggs…on their own) and I recall somebody eating Dungeness Crab for breakfast. The photo on the left below is from their website: our view (unfortunately) was more rainy and foggy than the image below! All of this, and it’s still only 8.30am. We head back to our hotel and crack on with some work, but first we stop to try a Red Pepper Sesame Seed Ball…I wasn’t a fan!
Prior to our meeting, a 4th friend landed in Seattle and met us for lunch at a sushi restaurant, which I cannot remember the name of, but there was a sushi happy hour and miso soup. We quickly ate and headed off to an afternoon of meetings. Post the meetings, we had a while to wait for our flight back (took off at 10.30pm, landed at 4.30am…) so we toured the city in our rental car before settling Ma’ono (translation: flavour) for our dinner. The window boasts noodles, chicken and whiskey- this is a Hawaiian restaurant, and the fried chicken is served with rice, kimchee and chilli sauce. At this stage, exhaustion was setting in: I had to go back out to the car to remove the contact lenses and replace with glasses! This was my first experience of Hawaiian food, and (had I not been so exhausted…and grumpy) I think I would have enjoyed it!
So, by 10pm we are boarding a flight back to Chicago. A mere 22 hours after we landed. We packed it in (and I haven’t even mentioned the gruelling afternoon of meetings in a very hot, and dark room), and it will always remain one of my favourite 22 hours during my year in the US. In conclusion, Seattle is a bit weird. People bark. And make art out of gum. However, with the right company, very little sleep and a willingness to embark upon a gastronomical adventure, it was a great day. Good food. Good mood. See ya, Seattle!
