Monorail Espresso (Yelp): Cory got his daily fix here which was close to our hotel. He was very satisified with his espresso based drinks, and the older Italian barista was very nice as well.
Cafe Besalu (Yelp): Supposedly one of the best places in Seattle to get a croissant.
Croissant - very nice. I saw them laminating the dough by hand behind the cash, which surprised me!
Ballard Farmer's Market (Yelp): A really nice, laid back Farmer's Market in the Ballard neighbourhood. I liked the vibe.
Some beautiful looking ginger
Tulips everywhere that weekend
Itty bitty succulents
Joule (Yelp): Popped in for brunch here at Joule. This place is billed as a Korean fusion brunch place, but it did not seem particularly asian to me. In addition to your entree, they have a rotating buffet table of accompaniments/side dishes according to a changing theme.
Hash - Potato hash, chili remoulade, smoked mackerel salad
Sausage dish - Mac n Cheese, fennel spaetzel, sausage. Very rich and savoury.
Wanderlust IPA
The Fremont Troll (Yelp): Decided to stop by this strange landmark.
Found this plaque sortof nearby with more information about it.
Blue Owl Workshop (Yelp): Cory wanted to stop by this mens' denim shop in Seattle (which he has purchased from online before), and got a new pair of Japanese denim. Hemmed for free. Definitely a cool store.
Bainbridge Island: We decided to take a little ferry ride to Bainbridge Island in the afternoon. The ticket is for the trip there (and the return trip is free). While I was waiting for our ferry to board, I heard a guy talking to his parents about the distance between Toronto and Waterloo... he must have gone to UWaterloo as well. Who else would use that particular reference?
On the ferry (click to embiggen)
Gorgeous scenery
On the island itself, there's a little main strip of shops that's about a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal.
Mora Ice Creamery (Yelp): Of course, I decided to seek out ice cream. The line was very long, but this place had truly excellent ice cream/gelato.
This is considered a single scoop. They allow two flavours per scoop, so I got half gianduja and half dulce de leche with chocolate shavings. Just awesome.
Cute french bulldog I saw outside a coffee shop!
Back from the island, we walked up to Fran's to pick up some chocolates. I had hoped there would be some discount (seeing as it was the day after Valentine's Day), but no such luck.
Fran's from the Downtown location
Picked up a box of mixed sea salt caramels. I haven't had these in around 5 years - still as good as I remembered!
Sitka and Spruce (Yelp): The next day, before we headed back to the airport, we popped out for a quick bite at Sitka and Spruce. I was worried it would be a bit too trendy, but I actually quite enjoyed the atmosphere. Luckily, it was a Monday and we arrived pretty early, so it was mostly empty :)
Yogurt with pears - I liked the pumpkin seeds so much, I started eating my yogurt like this at home!
Arugula salad with walnuts and cheese curd. I forgot to ask what kind of vinaigrette they used, but it was very tasty.
Poached egg on braised kale, emmer, squash puree, and a piece of toasted baguette. Really delicious, but I wish they used another type of bread. It also got cold really quickly because it was hard to cut the toast!
Our two dinner spots were not memorable, so I will skip those (Stateside, and Mamnoon).
FYI, this is the welcome home I got back in NJ. Not great.
Bottom Line: Our weekend trip to Seattle was very nice. I would love to go back, with a rental car to explore the nearby areas! The food was overall very good, and the atmosphere was very chill. There was no hint of snobbery that you sometimes get in NYC, and the vibe was a bit different than SF as well. Overall, a relaxing place to visit. We'll definitely be back!
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