We'll be in Seattle May 19 - Anyone want to go for a beer?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I guess the title pretty much says it all - Jim and I are touring the Pacific Northwest on our May vacation this year, and we’ll be in Seattle May 18th and 19th. We can’t go play on the 18th - we have a Mariners’ game to go see (although anyone who wants to is certainly free to join us for the game, too), but we are free for drinks in the evening, Saturday, May 19, if anyone wants to come out then. Any suggestions for a good place for beer and burgers and places to see while in Seattle would also be welcome.

I would also like to set up a date with our Victoria/Vancouver Dopers, but we haven’t nailed down a date for getting around there yet (our vacations are very play-it-by-ear).

Any takers? We’re good company, honest. :smiley:

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!

Oh boy! Canajuns!

Oh - wait. Only in the evening? Poop. I’ve got a play performance that night. Can’t make it during the day, huh?

If not, have a fantastic time!

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And I am working a half-day and then going to see La Boheme later that night. So phooey. But by replying, I have at least bumped the thread.

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Well shout out if you’re gonna be in Victoria. The Victoria Day parade on the 21st is massive and there’s festivities all weekend. Then there’s Swiftsure - the main races begin on the 26th and it’s quite the spectacle.

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Ooh, Victoria Day in Victoria - we might aim for that. We think we’ll be in Vancouver and Victoria the 20th and 21st - we’ll have to try to figure out a meeting on Sunday or Monday.

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I’m a short walk from downtown so it shouldn’t be a problem to arrange.

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So, no Seattle Doper takers? Can you recommend a good place to go anyway?

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Can’t have a beer (some nonsense about fetal alchohol syndrome…) but I’m available that evening and would be happy to join the festivities!

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That’s okay, stargazer, I don’t drink either. My husband has to do the beer drinking for both of us (he doesn’t seem to mind, though :smiley: ). Any suggestions on a good watering hole (and by watering hole, I mean someplace with good beer and isn’t too loud to actually talk to the people we sit down with)?

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Update: We’ll be in Seattle Thursday, MAY 17 instead of Saturday - that is, TONIGHT!!! If anyone wants to meet up, we’ll be at a place to be decided later for supper and beers (we are in Spokane right now, and don’t know where we’ll be eating tonight yet).

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Where, roughly, will you be in Seattle? Downtown? Eastside? Are you looking for recommendations?

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Rats, I’m booked tonight!

As for recommendations – I like Hale’s Pub & Brewery in Fremont/Ballard. Good microbrews, good food, not too loud (usually). It’s definitely off the tourist track, which may or may not be what you’re looking for.

Have fun, wherever you land!

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I’m rather fond of The Elysian as well (just off Broadway), depending on what part of the city you’re in. Enjoy; it’s a fun town pretty much wherever you end up. :slight_smile:

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Well, we had dinner at Ivar’s (I was hoping for something a little less fast-foody, but it was okay), went up the Space Needle, and drove around downtown for a little while.

We’re planning to go to the Northgate Mall for a little shopping tomorrow, followed by the Science Fiction Museum and a Mariner’s ballgame - any suggestions for lunch around Northgate Mall and dinner somewhere around the Sci Fi Museum area?

And what is the name for all these bushes with the clusters of gorgeous pink flowers on them?

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:confused: Why would you go to the Northgate Mall? Admittedly I haven’t bothered going there in quite some time, but it was always pretty lame and kinda rundown.

My standard lunch recommendation is Salumi. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near the Northgate Mall; it’s kind of on the border between Pioneer Square and Chinatown.

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Oh, and the bushes are likely either azaleas or rhododendrons.

For dinner, is there anything in particular you’re looking for? I’m not sure there’s much really worthwhile right around the SFM, so I’d think about heading a few blocks south to Belltown.

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Did you do the Pike Place Market? It’s awesome. There’s a great Russian pierogy place in the shops across the street from the market - food to die for!

I had a fantastic Lebanese meal at Zaina’s downtown (3rd and Pine). I was on foot and took the monorail between the Seattle Center and Westlake Center Mall (at 5th & Pine), which is a kinda cool thing to do in itself.

I bet they’re rhododendrons - we have pretty much the same climate and we have plenty of them this time of year.

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There’ll be plenty of places around the Northgate Mall, I can’t think of any offhand except The Maple Leaf Grill (a bit south of the Mall), which I haven’t been to in years. It’s a little pricey for lunch, but relaxed atmosphere and was good when I was there previously.

Mama’s isn’t far from the Sci Fi Museum. It isn’t autentica, but it’s always been good, and is a fun, quirky atmosphere.

You’re probably looking at Rhododendrons, which come in various shades, although pink is fairly predominant.

On preview, I see Quiddity beat me to it, but ah well, a couple other suggestions to consider. :slight_smile:

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Northgate is my neighborhood.

I’m not sure why you’re dropping by this mall in particular; there’s lots of better places for visitors to walk around and see the city and shop. The Fremont neighborhood is a good bet, though getting there is kind of messy with the bridge partially closed for construction. Ballard is kind of fun too.

But if that’s where you’re going, then okay. For lunch options, there’s not a lot that’s distinctive in the immediate vicinity. You have a bunch of chains (Azteca, Tony Romas) and middlebrow joints (Seattle Crab Company, which is owned by Skipper’s); the better restaurants are either in the adjoining neighborhoods or aren’t open for lunch on a weekday. There is one good choice, though, if you’re in the mood for something unusual: try the Indo Cafe. Seattle is known for its Pacific Rim immigrants, and these guys have pretty good Indonesian food.

If you’re willing to leave the neighborhood, I’d go west on Northgate Way over to Aurora, and try one of the dozens of Asian joints you’ll find there. The Korean BBQ and Vietnamese Pho type places are probably your best bets.

Re the pink flowers, I agree that azaleas or rhododendrons are your best bet. If the leaves are smallish, it’s the first; if they’re the size of your hand, it’s the second.

ETA: I wouldn’t recommend the Maple Leaf Grill. They used to be good but have slipped a bit. Also, I don’t think they’re open for weekday lunch. The Jones, across the street and a block south, is a better neighborhood restaurant.

Or, actually, now that I think about it, Snappy Dragon, on the same block as the Maple Leaf Grill, is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city. It’s Mandarin style, so not as spicy as Szechuan, and their handmade noodles are phenomenal. And I’m pretty sure they’re open for weekday lunch. That’d be a good choice.

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Because we’re tourists and we saw it on our way in? :wink:

Thanks for the suggestions, people. We’ll see where the day takes us.