OK, from all the Seattle website, I understand that I am supposed to eat some delicious salmon. And believe me, I will!
What else to eat as a regional specialty? There’s a big whopping ocean slightly to the left, and I have to think that something good si coming out of there.
What should I absolutely make time for eats-wise in Seattle?
Thanks,
Cem
Just be sure you ask for “wild salmon”; I’ll bet most restaurants in Seattle, as everywhere else, are serving farm-raised salmon from Scotland, Norway, or Chile.
Fear…is it substantially different? As a salmon eater (in the Midwest), I do notice differences between wild and farm raised, butI wonder if I’m getting the real deal.
How about Tuna…Seattle get good tuna? Clams, Mussels, etc.? I have to think that Seattle has it way over Chicago in the seafood area…
Dungeness crab. If you’ve only had the little East Coast soft-shell or blue varieties, or worse yet canned, Dungeness will be a real treat. For one suggestion, Anthony’s out in Shilshole has an all-you-can-eat crab dinner deal on Sundays.
We’ve also got an excellent choice of Asian-influenced restaurants, beyond the typical Chinese and Thai. For one, there’s Monsoon, a Vietnamese eatery, which I highly, highly recommend. In general Seattle cuisine has incorporated a lot of Asian touches, similar to what has happened in restaurants in San Francisco or New York, but with our own style. It’s not unusual to see teriyaki-glazed salmon on the menus of even putatively American joints, for example.
I love living in Seattle, and the chow is one of the big reasons. 
Good, but not significantly better than any other coastal city. It’s not a local fishery; salmon and halibut are at the top for us.
Absolutely, the shellfish is excellent. Penn Cove mussels are farmed about an hour north of Seattle, and are heavenly, and our oysters are also spectacular. For a sampling of the latter, go to the Brooklyn downtown.
I’d definitely agree with that. I visited Chicago a couple of years ago and ate at some very nice places. Chicago thumps Seattle in a number of culinary categories — Greek, say — but Seattle beats Chicago in seafood, no question.
Don’t get me started!
Farmed salmon are artificially colored with dye in the feed. Without it, it would be a pale grey.
Farmed salmon are fed loads of antibiotics and pesticides to control infections and parasites in the pens.
Farmed salmon are also higher in PCB’s and other carcinogens than wild salmon are.
Wild salmon are higher in omega-w fatty acids, a hearty healthy fat that boosts good cholesterol levels.
Plus, it just tastes better.
I recommend the wild caught salmon stuffed with Dungeness crab. You won’t regret it.
The Copper River salmon are in right now. They are the best (and the most expensive)
There’s a place on the water front, about 2 blocks north of the ferry terminal that alder grills several types of local fish at a walk-up. Yummmmm.
You can get fresh shrimp and crab at the pike place market. There’s nothing better than eating fresh shrimp from a paper bag while walking along the waterfront.
Another place to get a good assortment of raw local oysters is Ponti’s grill in Fremont. It’s just south of the Fremont bridge.
Great suggestions all!
I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Dungeness crab-stuffed halibut! I am drooling right now.
I have to try some mussels and the oysters. Cervaise…is there a local oyster preparation that I should be on the lookout for? Should I look for Rockefeller, or just raw? I guess what I’m asking is if there’s a Seattle-specific way people eat the slimy little wonders.
picnurse, we get the Copper River salmon at nicer places in Chicago, and I do enjoy it (good and oily, dense). I’ll be onthe lookout for local, fresh salmon, though.
Cervaise, next time you’re out our way, give me a head-up, and I’ll be hapy to make some recommendations for eateries!
-Cem
Wander around the Pike Place Market downtown, or its nearby adjuncts. Your sense of smell will direct you to something both strange and delightful. I wandered into a Thai eatery there at 8 am once and the guy fixed me up with satay beef and eggs. It wasn’t on the menu, but it was delicious!
Ivar’s is a fat-food seafood chain (with one or two fancy restaurants) that will satisfy your salmon Jones. It’s probably farm-raised, but man is it tasty!
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Let’s see if we can’t get you some more opinions.
Moved to IMHO
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The food is a little on the expensive side, but the view is incredible from the Space Needle. That was the first place my host took me on my first visit to Seattle.
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I can’t believe I’m the first to suggest this, but for good fast junk food, go to Dick’s . Good burgers, but better shakes.
I’ll be up in Seattle the next two weeks, and I’m taking my wife for her first taste of…um…erm…nevermind.
Heh. The first time I’d ever heard of Dick’s was shortly after I’d first moved here, and my husband and I were trying to think of places to go. As we were thinking, there was a long silence. Then suddenly, my husband says loudly, facing his computer and not looking in my direction: “DICK’S.”
Completely startled, I figured I’d just follow along. “PENES.” I said.
Shorlty after I discovered, damn. They do have good burgers, and even better shakes.
And if you go to Anthony’s in Shilshole… heh… I just applied there. Maybe I’ll be leading you to your table. 
Pho! Vietnamese noodle soup with beef, served with a side dish of condiments. Go to one of the Pho Thanh locations, because they serve complimentary cream puffs also.
It is delicious. And the portions are practically large enough to swim in.
Seattle also has a large Indian population and by extension a lot of great Indian restaurants. most have buffet style lunches and standard menu ordering at night.
some of the oyster bars around town will offer locally caught mussels which are amazingly fresh.
That is quite true. The best (as I’ve been told by Indians I’ve known) is a small place at the Crossroads mall in Bellevue. I forget the name however.
I recommend Otis Austin’s OK Corral BBQ in Greenlake. Its a take out place. No menus. Just order the “hook up”. It will cost you anywhere between 20 and 30 dollars and be more than enough for two people. It is barnone some of the best bbq I have ever had.
The Other Coast Cafe in Ballard is a great sandwich place.
My favorite mussels are at Ray’s Boathouse on Shilshole. But I have a secret…
I have the recipe! Here it is, from the Ray’s boathouse cookbook:
[spoiler] Thai Mussels
1 cup coconut milk
2 tsps fresh lime juice
1 tsp red curry paste
2 tsps Thai fish sauce
2/3 cup sake
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp chopped fresh basil
2 pounds Penn Cove mussels cleaned and debearded
Whisk all the ingredients except the mussels in a large bowl
Heat a heavy sauce pan over high heat for 30 seconds
Add sauce and mussels and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until mussels are open.
Serve with lots of crusty bread…OH MY![/spoiler]
Do you actually have to eat, given all the available caffiene?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, seafood. Very good points. Listen to the wise people above.
But while you’re in town, do not miss trying a Top Pot doughnut. They’ve got 3 locations. These doughnuts are pretty much the anti-Krispy Kreme – dense, greasy, very filling, and incredibly tasty. I’m partial to the cinnamon old-fashioned, but I haven’t had a bad doughnut from Top Pot yet.
Other local pastry fans may try to persuade you that Cupcake Royale’s cupcakes are better, but do not believe them.
The other local culinary specialty to try, of course, is coffee. However, I don’t drink coffee, so I’ll hope that someone else can recommend a high-quality local espresso purveyor.
Udupi Palace. Not really worth crossing the bridge for on a holiday weekend, though.
Cemetery Savior, is there any particular kind of price range you’re looking at? For example, there are a fair number of James Beard award winners in this town, but they’re at more upscale places.
If you’re a drinker and are at the Pike Place Market after 5:00, you should stop in at the Zig Zag Cafe. Find the place where they throw the fish and look to your right; you’ll see some stairs going down. Walk down the stairs, then across the walkway that goes over the street, then go down some more stairs and you’ll eventually find the Zig Zag on your right. The food is nothing to write home about, but the drinks are fabulous.
If you want to be really hardcore about raw oysters, you can go to the University District farmer’s market and buy oysters and a shucking knife directly from the shellfish farmer