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Greetings from the Midwest -- New to Seattle


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Hello everyone,

I used to be a regular lurker to Egullet, then life took over and I went astray for a bit. I'm back now, though, and in a new location - the wonderful city of Seattle!

Problem is, there are so many dining options that my husband and I don't know where to begin. Scratch that, we've already started (we spent the last 3 days testing many yummy restaurants of various ethnicities), but we'd also like to hear about the city's best known and most respected places, as well as those hidden gems that only locals really know about.

One thing to note: My hubby is vegetarian. He'll eat cheese and other dairy and eggs, but no fish or chicken or beef, etc. We love food of pretty much every region and ethnicity.

I'm especially looking for places to catch dinner, but brunch spots would be nice too.

We're located between Capitol Hill and downtown, if that makes a difference (and we're not against walking or taking the bus).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Bryan

Bryan Ochalla, a.k.a. "Techno Foodie"

http://technofoodie.blogspot.com/

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people."

Orson Welles (1915 - 1985)

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Hello everyone,

I used to be a regular lurker to Egullet, then life took over and I went astray for a bit.  I'm back now, though, and in a new location - the wonderful city of Seattle!

Problem is, there are so many dining options that my husband and I don't know where to begin.  Scratch that, we've already started (we spent the last 3 days testing many yummy restaurants of various ethnicities), but we'd also like to hear about the city's best known and most respected places, as well as those hidden gems that only locals really know about.

One thing to note: My hubby is vegetarian.  He'll eat cheese and other dairy and eggs, but no fish or chicken or beef, etc.  We love food of pretty much every region and ethnicity.

I'm especially looking for places to catch dinner, but brunch spots would be nice too.

We're located between Capitol Hill and downtown, if that makes a difference (and we're not against walking or taking the bus).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Bryan

We really aren't an unfriendly group, but you will find we have written exhaustively on where to go, where to get the best vegetarian meals, including tasting menus, hidden gems...give us something more specific and we'll be more prolific.

Try out the 12th Avenue corridor - Lark and Licorous, Osteria La Spiga (watch out - the delicious flatbread is reputed to contain animal fats), Crave (if you stand the attitude), 1200 Bistro (nice, quiet brunch, not sure about dinner) for starters. Some would add Cafe Stellina. I wasn't pleased, but it has creative veg fare.

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Hi Bryan, I noticed in your blog that you seem to like baked goodies. If so, check out Café Besalu. I think their pastries are the best in town.

For eggs, I like the Sea Breeze Farm duck eggs available at the Ballard farmer's market and the U-District farmer's market.

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We really aren't an unfriendly group, but you will find we have written exhaustively on where to go, where to get the best vegetarian meals, including tasting menus, hidden gems...give us something more specific and we'll be more prolific.

Try out the 12th Avenue corridor - Lark and Licorous, Osteria La Spiga (watch out - the delicious flatbread is reputed to contain animal fats), Crave (if you stand the attitude), 1200 Bistro (nice, quiet brunch, not sure about dinner) for starters. Some would add Cafe Stellina. I wasn't pleased, but it has creative veg fare.

The key to 1200 is to eat in the bar, off the bar menu -- really great atmosphere, real bartenders and cocktails (though always a bit sweeter on the classics, e.g., Sazerac, Sidecar, than I prefer), and prices in line with food quality. Cheese plate is regularly quite good, not so sure of other vegie options.

Richard W. Mockler

Seattle

I will, in fact, eat anything once.

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Hello!

Oh, I knew after I sent the post that I should have either been more specific or looked over the past threads. Sorry about that - and thanks to those of you who still wrote :)

I guess I'm just overwhelmed with the choices here and don't know where to start! (Which is a glorious problem to have!) We're from Wisconsin and in Madison there are only so many choices (and we've been to them over and over again).

So, I'll be a good boy and read up on some of the past threads - esp. the one about the international district. We certainly love anything Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Lao, etc.

Ling: I'm most definitely a fan of baked goodies and will check out Café Besalu. Thank you for the hint!

As for vegetarian places, we've been to Tea Pot a few times already, and even though I've seen poor reviews for it we really like it. Last night we went to Cafe Flora and had a nice experience as well.

I'll keep doing some digging, but if you can think of any places that really jump out at you that have veggie options beyond salads, please let me know :)

Bryan Ochalla, a.k.a. "Techno Foodie"

http://technofoodie.blogspot.com/

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people."

Orson Welles (1915 - 1985)

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Since you mentioned Vietnamese check out the Green Leaf thread about halfway down the page. It's a fantastic place. For Chinese I'd suggest Seven Stars Pepper (Szechuan), and I'd suggest you get the Szechuan (dungeness) crab. There are varying opinions on this place which you'll find just a little ways down in the Chinese thread, but I'm guessing, being from Madison, that you will like it. (I'm not being snotty, I swear, it's just that I have so many midwestern relatives and I know what Chinese food is like there).

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techno foodie: If you're really interested in Chinese food, I'd suggest a day trip up to Richmond (B.C., Canada). It's about 2 hours away. I can PM you a list of restaurants that are heads and shoulders above anything you'll find in Seattle (no disrespect intended). :smile: Or make friends with people who make good Chinese food at home. I was very disappointed with Seven Stars Pepper when I went about two weeks ago.

Edited by Ling (log)
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The chef has changed at Carmelita again, since he left to start the also very nice Oliver's Twist down the street... I don't believe I've been there since the change, but on average, I usually find Carmelita far more interesting than Flora. Flora is sort of vegetarian comfort food, and Carmelita tends to be slightly more daring.

double post, sorry

(BTW, I've also heard good things about another vegetarian restaurant called Carmelita, but haven't been so can't personally recommend.)

Jason Truesdell

Blog: Pursuing My Passions

Take me to your ryokan, please

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I definitely prefer Carmelita to Cafe Flora, even though their chefs (and thus the menu) do change often. An article ran in the Seattle Times recently: Six degrees of Carmelita. It's really interesting to see how many of Seattle's top chefs have made their way through Carmelita's kitchen over the years.

Seattle is a fairly vegetarian-friendly town, with most restaurants having at least one entree option, so there's really no need to seek out all-veg places unless you really want to.

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We checked out Flora on the recommendation of a friend who used to live here and liked it enough. My husband's dish was especially yummy in a comfort food sort of way. My pizza (with figs, pine nuts and goat cheese) was certainly edible but definitely better in theory than in practice. (I'm no chef, but if I made it I'd use a crispy, thin crust and top it with carmelized onions, figs and blue cheese.)

We may try Carmelita soon, so thanks for sharing your thoughts on that one!

We've quickly found that most places have veggie offerings, which is great. The hubby likes to try veggie-specific places now and then, though, especially considering how few of them are to be found in the midwest.

Thanks, too, for offering up chinese suggestions in the Seattle area! Anything outside of the city is likely to stay on our "must visit" list for some time, as we don't have a car, but we'll definitely be trying the local ones soon.

For some reason, we're both craving pizza and have no idea where to find a good example of it around here. I know there have been posts on that here before, so I'm going to go check them out as soon as time allows :)

Bryan Ochalla, a.k.a. "Techno Foodie"

http://technofoodie.blogspot.com/

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people."

Orson Welles (1915 - 1985)

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We love Via Trib for pizza and Pagliacci.

Steelhead diner in the pike Place Market has some good veggie options too.

my favs in the ID are Seven Star Pepper, Green Leaf, Canton Wonton Noodle House, Tropics Thai and Green Village- awesome fried rice!!!

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For some reason, we're both craving pizza and have no idea where to find a good example of it around here.  I know there have been posts on that here before, so I'm going to go check them out as soon as time allows :)

As I've said elsewhere, I'm a big fan of Stellar Pizza in Georgetown. They have an interesting and tasty veggie option with Yukon Gold potatoes and blue cheese.

Most women don't seem to know how much flour to use so it gets so thick you have to chop it off the plate with a knife and it tastes like wallpaper paste....Just why cream sauce is bitched up so often is an all-time mytery to me, because it's so easy to make and can be used as the basis for such a variety of really delicious food.

- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink, 1946

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