I Ate and Drank Seattle. It Was Yummy.

This past weekend, Robin, myself and plenty of others headed up to Seattle for the Lebowski Fest. Needless to say, everyone had the best time possible. I could (and probably will) do an entire post just on our shenanigans, from the crazy hotel we stayed at to the crazy parties in the crazy hotel we stayed at, but that will be for another time.

Robin and I went up before everyone else (Thursday) in order that we could have a relaxing, fun time while in the great Seattle. We holed up at the Moore Hotel and no, I did not book it because it shares my totally awesome name. Our friends from Portland decided on it because of my totally awesome name. And the super-duper cheap room rates. Smack dab in the middle of everything on 2nd and Virginia, we soon discovered that the hotel location made every aesthetic criticism pointless because we were minutes away from EVERYTHING.

We arrived at 7:30 and were hungry. Because I have no shame, I ask natives everything wherever I go (Robin just loves it). There are all sorts of "activity" maps you can find in the hotel, with "suggested" eateries and shopping locations neatly printed for your convenience. But I'm much smarter than that (massaging large brain); if it's printed somewhere, that stupid restaurant PAID to have it put there. No, the natives know. They know. The front desk lady being one of these natives, I knew she could give us a direction to walk and run into some good restaurants. Pointing north, she told us to head up 2nd and there were several we could choose from. I later discovered that she sent us into the Belltown district. She mentioned Italian and several others, but Robin and I stopped listening after Italian. In fact, the restaurant, La Vita e Bella, had a website that we were visiting in the foyer as the hotel lady was still talking. Pretty much deciding on Italian, Robin and I began our walk.

On the way down 2nd, we passed all sorts of neat restaurants and bars. Taking mental notes on each of them for a later return, we soon came upon La Vita e Bella. The owners, partners in life and in business, had an adorable set-up. Small and candle lit, the restaurant was in the style of a bistro, with "table for two" written all over it. Our server came up to the table and in the most beautiful Italian accent asked, "may I get you two saahhmthing to dreenk?" Wiping the pee from my leg (I get excited about accents), I ordered the house Chianti. For an '05, it was excellent. Robin ordered the lasagne, I ordered the Funghi e Salsiccia crepes. Mine was the more elaborate dish, but Robin's was no less devourable (thank you, thesaurus). Smothered in a parmegiano sauce, the sweet crepes were a perfect balance between the salty cheese and meat. I died and went to heaven and so did Robin after trying it.

On our way back to the hotel, we happened upon a bar called Karma (again on 2nd) and popped in for a couple of drinks. They had an elaborate drink menu; elaborate in the sense that the drinks were none I'd ever heard of, except the Sangria. I ordered that along with another drink. Robin had the cucumber masterpiece made with Hendrick's gin (VERY refreshing) and a Knob on the rocks. Reading this paragraph over makes it sound like we ordered all these drinks at the same time. Well guess what? We did 'cuz that's how we roll. But seriously, we did because we're drunks. But seriously, we didn't.

I wanted Saki. We passed two sushi bars on the way to dinner and I wanted Saki more than I wanted to keep breathing. The Japanese restaurant was barely open; the server was making her final rounds. We told her we just wanted some Saki and she encouraged us to have a seat. It took her quite some time to get to us, but after glancing around and noticing a fairly busy restaurant with ONE server, I could understand (and feel) her pain. Rushing to the bar, she apologized profusely for the wait. We didn't care because we had already had wine, whiskey, gin, vodka, whiskey and sangria, so we were just happy our livers were functioning. Not for long! I'm a fan of unfiltered Saki. Slightly sweet but usually dry, I take it chilled (like it's supposed to be) and have enjoyed every brand I've ever tried. The server giggled and told us that unfiltered Saki is her favorite. Then she poured a rather large portion of Saki for the both of us, saying the extra was because we had to wait so long. Free booze for waiting 5 minutes?? I peed myself again.

The next morning, I was considerably hung over but not in any mood to let that stop me. After drinking Puget Sound (yuck...maybe not...), I was ready for breakfast. Again asking the front desk where a good breakfast place was, they pointed us towards Pike's Place Market. The market was bustling with people, stores were slowly opening and venders were setting out their wares. We walked up and down the market, but we couldn't find a specific "breakfast" restaurant. For whatever reason, most of the restaurants there are lunch or dinner, and the places that offer breakfast were either overpriced or just patisseries. Using my "ask the natives" trick, I found a vender who looked very Seattleite-ish. You know, like she had this cloud of smugness hanging over her organically shampooed head. She shrugged and said, "there's a place called Lowell's in the market. Yeah, that's pretty good. Plenty of people seem to like it." Though the font and color of the Lowell's sign bore a remarkable resemblence to the home improvement chain "Lowe's" sign, the food didn't taste of drywall and wood shavings. To the contrary, this was THE BEST BREAKFAST I ATE ALL YEAR AND PROBABLY FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH AT LEAST UNTIL WE GO TO MARCHÉ AGAIN. Seriously though, I had the Dungeness Crab Cake Benedict (P.S. the seafood in Seattle is *kinda* fresh), which came with perfect hashbrowns but who the fuck cares because I was devouring that benedict! Spiced and herbed to perfection, that dish was why I eat breakfast. Screw that. It's why I eat at all. Robin had the breakfast quesadilla, which if you can handle tons of spice and tomatoes in the morning (not for my poor tummy), it was a fantastic dish.

Our friends were supposed to arrive at lunch time, around 1 or 1:30. After calling them at 11:15, and them telling us they were headed from Portland, this should have held true. Alas, they got a start much later than that (12:45), so Robin and I were left to our own devices with regards to lunch. Back in Belltown, Robin showed me the Ace Hotel, which we would have stayed at if it weren't for a certain other hotel that boasted such an awesome name. The Cyclops, the restaurant/bar attached to the hotel, is where we finally landed. I ordered a Guiness because I hadn't drank yet that day. The menu before us, I immediately knew I would love the food when I saw "Grilled sharp cheddar and fontina cheese sandwich". Robin ordered the Oregon Burger (Oregon meat and Tillamook cheese, "the best burger in Belltown"). Robin's burger WAS the best in Belltown because if someone had a better burger, it would kill you because of its awesomeness. My fancy grilled cheese sandwich was equally mind-bendingly scrumptious, the side salad was of the mixed baby-greens and adolescent-greens balsamic variety.

The crew finally arrived. After an essential run to the liquor store, we were ready for dinner. Joe knew of a restaurant; the Fisherman's Restaurant on Pier 57. Though the service left much to be desired (went with a party of 10 and barely got attention, but they weren't busy so WTF), the food made up for it. We ordered the calamari and crab dip appetizers and I had the Scallops for the entrée. The ambiance was nautically rustic and the food extremely fresh. The view was spectacular. Right on the waterfront, we watched the romantically lit romantic boats and romantic ferrys drift by. Perhaps not so romantic in the daytime, the ferrys look beautiful in the dark. We expected that place to be roaring on a Friday night, but it wasn't tourist season.

After a night of heavy partying/drinking/shenanagining (thanks for nothing thesaurus), we needed breakfast. Most of the crew met in the lobby for a return to Lowell's, because I made them. After breakfast, we perused the market for fun things (picked up a sterling silver ring, fireweed honey and hand lotion) and went out for more shopping. After an afternoon of walking, Joe, Michelle and myself were tuckered out and wanted to return to the hotel for cribbage playing. The rest of the gang split off for more shopping. A lazy afternoon was exactly what I needed after the night before and the night to come. Dinner came and I wanted sushi. I was very nice about it, as I strong-armed people into Lowell's (not that they didn't mind). We said, "let's just walk down 2nd into Belltown again and decide when we get there". We walked across Virginia and smack dab in our faces was Wann Japanese Izakaya. As with all the restaurants, their menu was posted in the window. A brief glance showed us exactly what we wanted to see - something for everybody. Arriving at 6:40 on Saturday, we again expected the place to be packed... but it wasn't. Seattleites must not go out for dinner until 7 or 8. We didn't know it at first, but as they were dropping the "happy hour" menus in front of us, we grew increasingly excited. Lasting until 7, we had just made it. Their sushi rolls (6 pcs.) were $4. Their drinks were $4-5. Their service, impeccable. We all got really excited and ordered our weight in sushi. Robin and I both ordered three plates and thank god they forgot to order my last one, because after 12 pieces of perfectly prepared sushi, I couldn't handle another bite. Our bill, 5 plates of sushi and two drinks, came to $29. Boo-ya.

Saturday night was spent at the bowling lanes, being way drunk and celebrating all things Lebowski. Pictures to come, I'm sure.

Anyway, if you're ever in Seattle (downtown specifically), there are incredible eats all around you. Take some time, walk around and you won't be disappointed. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find some stupid chain restaurant, unless the Westlake Center (a.k.a. big mall) is your thing.