Visiting Seattle

Tanager · April-1st-2003, 02:02 PM

My wife and I will be in Seattle for vacation 4/12-4/18. I would love to hear some advice re: places to eat, etc. We are staying at the Renaissance Madison in downtown (I think that's downtown, right?). I know that the Dave Holland 5tet is in town that week already.

Seriously, I would love to hear:

What restaurants do you recommend, especially in the low-mid price range?
What do you recommend NOT visiting (overpriced, overtouristed, not worth seeing)?
Is the coast of the Olympic Peninsula doable as a day trip, or should we get a room out there for one night?
Does anyone know the names of whale-watching tour operators?

Neither of us has ever been to Seattle before (the closest I've been is E. Idaho, which isn't that close), so any input would be appreciated.

clinthopson · April-1st-2003, 02:17 PM

tanny,

We were in Seattle last August and had a great time. The town is loaded with good restaurants. Check the Seattle visitors web site, I think they have a pretty good list.

Compared to L.A., S.F. or NYC the restaurant prices are reasonable. I'm sure Phil and some of the other NWites can give you recommendations on inexpensive places.

Pike Place Market is a gas and there are some reasonably priced restaurants in the environs (I'm terrible at rememebring names).

Jazz Alley is probably the most beautifully designed jazz club I've ever seen. They have top players regularly.

We loved the Underground city tour, it was fascinating.

The one thing you should avoid at all costs is that tour out to the island where they have the indian village and a salmon dinner. The food is terrible and the show is boring.

We liked the boat tour through the locks, well worth the money.

patricia · April-1st-2003, 02:43 PM

Clint,
Reading your post, it occurred to me, not for the first time, that a "hang" in Seattle, sometime, might be a good idea. The Right Coast, particularly New York, is, of course "Mecca", but we who are closer to the other side of the country may be more likely to go to a Seattle hang. What say you??

lynn · April-1st-2003, 02:43 PM

Nice Hotel just on the edge of downtown if I recall correctly. If you are into Baseball, check to see if the Mariners are in town. Safeco Field is a really nice stadium.

Don't miss the waterfront, you can grab food on the run there and catch a ferry ride across the sound for a nice (really nice view!!!!) of the skyline.

Salty's (West Seattle) or the Pallisades (Magnolia Bluffs) make for great evening dining with spectacular views.

The coast, rainforest and the beaches are wonderful but plan to overnight at one of the little towns over there. Plenty of accomodations and this is still the off season.

I haven't checked Tula's schedule that week but they have good local groups and occasionally you can catch a regional act. www.earshot.org has a calendar for most of the jazz around town and it should be up soon, I hope since I have some dates. Check Tula's calendar at www.tulas.com

You can also take the Clipper to Victoria BC. That is a wonderful sidetrip. That too is an overnight adventure.

Check out the wineries, drive to Mt. Rainier, take in the spring color. There's a lot to do and see. But as Clint said don't do the indian village, strickly a tourist rip (sorry Clint, no insult intended)

Tanager · April-1st-2003, 02:46 PM

Will it still be too snowy to drive near Mt. Rainier or up into the North Cascades?

lynn · April-1st-2003, 02:49 PM

You can drive to Paradise Lodge all winter at Rainier. The lodge is closed right now but man, on a clear day you really can see forever up there.

I don't know about Mt. Baker. We haven't had a lot of snow this year but you might ask GP. That's his neck of the woods.

I forgot to mention heading up toward Bellingham, GP's stomping grounds. From Burlington (You may be in time for the tulip festival at La Conner) drive over to Fidalgo Island, across Deception Pass and down Whidbey Island then catch the ferry to Port Townsend and over to the Pacific coast. A two day adventure but what a drive!

Pete C · April-1st-2003, 02:55 PM

The Sunday brunch buffet at Salty's is quite good.

I had an excellent Hangtown Fry at Cafe Nola on Bainbridge Island, and it's a pleasant ferry ride from Seattle, and a nice place for a walk.

I had an excellent Italian meal at Al Boccalino near Pioneer Square but it's not cheap.

I had a great cheap Cambodian meal in Chinatown, but I can't remember the name of the place.

I may be back for this year's Bumbershoot Festival. Depends on my job situation.

Tanager, don't miss the Experience Music Project.

al j · April-1st-2003, 02:56 PM

I'll be heading in for a Holland show myself. For music on the more adventurous side, browse here for show listings:

http://www.polestarmusic.org

For dinner I can unhesitatingly recommend Brad's Swingside Cafe. The menu is whatever Brad dreams up in the course of a week. Incredible food, every time I've been. He's only open for dinner though. You can reach him here if you want to make reservations ( the place seats maybe 30-40):

4212 Fremont Ave N
(206) 633-4057

also, a French bistro in Capitol Hill. Intimate settings, amazing wine list, unforgettable food:

Cassis
2359 10th Ave. E - Capitol Hill area
(206) 329-0580

and...

The Elysian Brewery
1221 Pike Street
(206) 860-1920

Shoot for a bed and breakfast in Port Townsend, across the Hood Canal from the Olympic Peninsula. That way you can visit the incredible William James Bookseller. Bud Shank lives there too.

When you get to the airport you should find plenty of brochures for whale watching and other indigenous forms of recreation. Have fun.

Monte Smith · April-1st-2003, 03:14 PM

My favorite restaurants are Cafe Campagne (not plain Campagne, its over-priced snooty cousin) and Dalia Lounge.

I second the Underground tour, really interesting and historical. Pikes Market is a must. Have never mustered the $20 entrance fee to see inside the EMP. I can't believe it is worth it. The building is a hideous piece of Frank Gehry trash.

The best things about Seattle are outside of Seattle.

The wineries in Woodinville are fun. You can take a tour of Chateau Ste. Michelle and enjoy a free tasting. Then you can cross the street to the Columbia Winery where you don't even have to take a tour for the free tasting. If at that point you are still thirsty, there is a brewery right next door. I confess I have never made it as far as the brewery.

Nearby Woodinville is Redmond, home of Microsoft, and the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls.

I hope it is clear and sunny when you visit out here so that you can get the full splendid views of Rainier, the Olympics, the Cascades, and Puget Sound. But if the whole place is choked with rain and fog, well, at least you'll be experiencing the real Seattle.

lynn · April-1st-2003, 07:23 PM

Snoqualmie Falls is a great drive and if you were into Twin Peaks you will recognize the falls and lodge. If you have lunch at the lodge, it's pricey but delicious.

Douglas · April-2nd-2003, 02:18 AM

You have got to go on the Ducks. Drag Monte along and get some pictures of him being highly embarrassed.

The underground tour was fun as was Pike Place Market. There was a bar near PPM overlooking the waterfront that had one of the only decent beers I've tasted in the US. Near the Japanese style garden there was a good Japanese restaurant. I can visualise the place but not the name. Dinner in the Seattle tower was reasonable and the view spectacular.

We also took a train to a winery (breakfast on the way and lunch on the way back). Very touristy, but nice if you are looking to do something different and importantly saves you from driving after tasting a few sherbets.

We also went up through Bellingham (didn't spot Graypencil, but thought we saw a whale) to Canada via the border crossing called Douglas. For a fleeting second I thought they had personalised the immigration stamp. From there we went to Vancouver Island and enjoyed travelling around. Worth a visit if time permits.

Monte Smith · April-2nd-2003, 02:39 AM

"We also took a train to a winery (breakfast on the way and lunch on the way back). Very touristy, but nice if you are looking to do something different and importantly saves you from driving after tasting a few sherberts."

That's the train to the Columbia Winery in Woodinville. It's part of the "get fucked up for free" tour of the Pacific Northwest--very popular.

Tanager · April-2nd-2003, 06:40 AM

Unfortunately, neither of us is a wine drinker, so we'll have to pass on the booze train.

Good to hear that we can at least drive close to Rainier, b/c I'd love to take a gander at the thing.

clinthopson · April-2nd-2003, 11:23 AM

The mention of Mt. Ranier brought back a memory from the distant past when I took Basic Training at Ft. Lewis. I was stationed there in 1953 from January to August.

Our take on Mt. Ranier was that if you couldn't see it it was going to rain. If you could see it, it probably was going to rain.

A very soggy time in my young life.

patricia · April-2nd-2003, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clinthopson
The mention of Mt. Ranier brought back a memory from the distant past when I took Basic Training at Ft. Lewis. I was stationed there in 1953 from January to August.

Our take on Mt. Ranier was that if you couldn't see it it was going to rain. If you could see it, it probably was going to rain.

A very soggy time in my young life.

LOL!!! I still remember a remark which my older brother made on a family trip to Seattle, when I was about fifteen. "Thank God we're Sanforized."
It's a beautiful city and has the rain as something in common with the at-least-as-beautiful Victoria and Vancouver.

The rain aside, I still think that it might be an idea, at some point, to get Monte, who I believe lives in Seattle, to check out the Jazz and organize a "hang".
It would be nice to see who our "nemisis" is, instead of imagining him as a knuckle-dragging, eyes-way-too-close-together monster.

Monte Smith · April-2nd-2003, 01:11 PM

You know, it is not a far drive (coupla hours) down south to Mt. St. Helens. Even after all these years, the impact of the eruption is still apparent and sublime in the old Kantian sense of the word. Ooh, I sound smaht.

patricia: About a hang, I am a shit for organizing. But I'll be there. I'll be the knuckle-dragging guy with his too-close-together eyes behind shades in the ice cream van outside dressed as a Hassidic Jew and listening in on a parabolic microphone.

patricia · April-2nd-2003, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Monte Smith

patricia: About a hang, I am a shit for organizing. But I'll be there. I'll be the knuckle-dragging guy with his too-close-together eyes behind shades in the ice cream van outside dressed as a Hassidic Jew and listening in on a parabolic microphone. [/B]

LOL!!!!! Sorry about that, but you will certainly stand out in a crowd. Who else lives in Seattle? Isn't gp there too? I know that organizing anything, much less a "hang" is not as easy as it sounds. I just thought it would be a terrific idea for those of us who are not absolutely sure that the East Coast city, "New York" actually exists, much like Shangrila, having never ventured farther across the continent than four or five states, or, in my case, provinces.
Of course, a NYC hang is much like "Mecca", with regard to jazz, but we lesser mortals may want to set our sights on a gathering closer to home. I know that you will at least bring a casserole.

It's impossible, I know, to get all of us in one place, but Seattle is as good a place as any, I would think, for Left-Coasters. Not to say that Right-Coasters, who would like to meet us, would be ridiculed or persecuted.

Monte Smith · April-2nd-2003, 02:14 PM

I was the lone West Coast representative at one New York hang. Surely the East Coast can cough up a body for the West Coast.

Represent!

patricia · April-2nd-2003, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Monte Smith
I was the lone West Coast representative at one New York hang. Surely the East Coast can cough up a body for the West Coast.

Represent!

Well, Monte, maybe we are as much a Mythical People as they are to us. They may have heard of "Lotus Land" and the hippies in CA, but the rest of us are the stuff of legend.

Monte Smith · April-2nd-2003, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by patricia
Well, Monte, maybe we are as much a Mythical People as they are to us. They've heard of "Lotus Land" and the hippies in CA, but the rest of us are the stuff of legend.

I've lived on both coasts, patricia. I can vouch for the existence of both New York City and Seattle.

Of course, probably I am a figment myself. Damn fine figure of a figment if I do say.

patricia · April-2nd-2003, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Monte Smith
I've lived on both coasts, patricia. I can vouch for the existence of both New York City and Seattle.

Of course, probably I am a figment myself. Damn fine figure of a figment if I do say.

Well, I'll take your word for it.
I sure wouldn't try to say that last bit, after a couple of glasses of wine.

graypencil · April-3rd-2003, 12:21 PM

A Few words about the further Nordlund ..Bellingham , Mt Baker , etc.. since Lynn and the others covered the Seattle scene quite well ..

Bellingham is about a ninety minute drive north on I-5 which is fairly pleasant once you get past the Everett crunch , and downright spectacular after you get up to Mt Vernon in Skagit Co. It's a very green and hilly college/marine town ..like a miniature Sanfrancisco with more big trees.
( BTW : it's a bit dryer up here than Seattle ..we get a bit of the Olympic rain shadow ..)

If you're driving, my suggestion is to get off I-5 at the Chuckanut Dr. xit just above Mt Vernon and go into Bellingham via that route. It is a spectacular 11 or so miles of winding coast hugging road with some of the best scenery north of Big Sur. When you get to Bellingham, you'll come into town in the old Fairhaven district ( which is a little like the old 60s Haight area in SFO, but much cleaner..) In Fairhaven , a great Restaurant is Dirty Dan Harris'.

If you're into Seafood, my favorite is the Marina in the harbor downtown ..there's also an Anthony's Homeport in the harbor area, but I prefer the first one ..bgreat food, better view ..and they usually play jazz ..not smooooth .. on the sound system.

This late in the year, the roads up to Baker are pretty clear ..takes about an hour and twenty ,and is another incredibly scenic drive. ( theres a pretty fair Italian joint on the way up to Baker in Glacier called Milanos ..for lunch , etc.

plan on hearing all jazz in Seattle ..that's pretty much what we all do up here ..that or Vancouver.

Ron Thorne · April-4th-2003, 02:19 AM

Tanager, you have a wonderful visit and some impressive sights ahead of you. You'll also enjoy some incredibly rich aromatics, not the least of which is your first sniff of cedars, other conifers and blossoms as soon as you leave the Seattle/Tacoma International Airport!

The Northwest is a spectacular part of America, and Patti and I have spent some of our very best vacation time in the Seattle area. In fact, we're also headed there in June, after far too long an absence.

There are many things of interest in and around Seattle, but a few no-brainers on the not-to-be-missed list include:

· Pike Place Market (if you can manage to get there at opening-early morning, it's simply amazing.)

· A ferry trip across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island (Bremerton, etc.) for further exploration ... Port Townsend, Olympic Peninsula, etc.

· Jazz Alley and/or Tula's, depending upon the artists in town. Jazz Alley is simply superb on many levels.

· Pioneer Square

· University District, Volunteer Park, Capitol Hill

· I definitely echo the positive sentiments regarding a drive to the Snoqualmie region ... simply sublime. You'll go nuts with the foliage and blooms, man!

I'm certain that I'm leaving off many other fine points of interest, so will chime again as I recall others.

Have a great time!

Tanager · April-7th-2003, 04:30 PM

Well, we have a reservation for the 16th at Jazz Alley to see Dave Holland. /me is getting pretty stoked about next week...

Pete C · April-7th-2003, 09:51 PM

I'll be coming back for Bumbershoot this year. I just got an incredible deal on the American Airlines website: $216.50, nonstop round trip JFK-SEA. I guess they're trying to raise cash with Chapter 11 impending.

al j · April-7th-2003, 10:16 PM

Pete, give me further details up the road.

graypencil · April-8th-2003, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
Well, we have a reservation for the 16th at Jazz Alley to see Dave Holland. /me is getting pretty stoked about next week...

Don't overlook Tula's ..it's a bit more reasonable and a bit funkier than JA, but it has good food and great mainly local jazz talent.

ceck out their calender on their website:

( usual deal - Tulas -usual deal)

Tanager · April-8th-2003, 02:25 PM

Graypencil, will do - been getting some advice on the local area from a birdwatching list, too, but for both jazz and birding, I have to be considerate of Mrs. Tanager, since neither is on her list of true passions.

graypencil · April-8th-2003, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
Graypencil, will do - been getting some advice on the local area from a birdwatching list, too, but for both jazz and birding, I have to be considerate of Mrs. Tanager, since neither is on her list of true passions.

To further complicate your life, the Eagle viewing up on the Skagit river is awesome .. ( abaout.. 70 mi N on the way to B/ham and Mt Baker )

Many nest up there ..

shrugs · April-8th-2003, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by graypencil
Don't overlook Tula's ..it's a bit more reasonable and a bit funkier than JA, but it has good food and great mainly local jazz talent.

ceck out their calender on their website:

( usual deal - Tulas -usual deal)

Yes, but isn't there around an 80% that a good portion of the crowd at Tula's will talk all the way through the set?
Don't get me wrong, I loved going to Tula's. But I'd take Dave Holland at JA over it any day of the week. And since the 16th is a weekday, I am sure they won't clear house(at least that was the norm when I used to go there).