Upon experiencing another glorious day we have decided that the impression one has that it is always dreary and rainy in Seattle is all a local inspired conspiracy. They are simply trying to keep their city a secret.
Before breakfast at The London Plane we stopped in next-door to check out the baker’s operation. 160 large boules of sourdough, almost black in their caramelisation, and another 120 about to go in, feeding the seven restaurants/cafes and some for retail. A civilised 5am start, finished by 12noon. More fresh and inventive breakfast offerings at London Plane and a couple of pastries…buckwheat canalé and cardamom Kouign Amann…the things I do in the name of research….
At home on the water, and hard at work.
A wander back through town past the day’s food truck spot (Marination Mobile was judged best food truck on Good Morning America) and back to the deck chairs on the house boat to organise the last couple of day’s food porn photos for you to enjoy and plan the trip down the Puget Sound coast to Portland tomorrow.
Time for dinner. A walk and a bus to Ballard district on the coast looking out to Puget Sound. Ballard Ave is a delightful street. Another old warehouse area that has been revitalised into a boutique shopping and eating destination. Our destination, The Walrus and the Carpenter oyster bar and shared plate eatery. Aaron the bartender quickly took us under his wing including putting us in contact with a foodtrucking chef friend in LA. Aaron started my Walrus experience with a tasting of all 7 oyster varieties they serve, followed by a dish of beet thinnings, spiced labneh and walnuts. The thinnings are literally that – the tiny beets that are pulled out and usually discarded as the farmers thin the lines of growing beets. Now that is sustainability!! The scallop tartare was even more heavenly than the beets. And I’m not giving away the secret of the maple bread pudding….
Seattle street trucks.
Back up the top end of Ballard Ave to Hot Cakes, just before the queue started. Molten hot cakes of varying degrees of sweetness and decadence along with other chocolate and caramel related goodies, alcoholic shakes (and the salted caramel milkshake I was forced to try). The delightful young chemistry researcher and her in-laws we were crammed beside (boyfriend left outside) had been through the menu and was demolishing her favourite hot choc chip cookie topped with ice cream and salted caramel… As people satiated their chocoholic needs they were replaced by yet more. Truly a phenomenon. We left the chocolate caramel chaos for the sanity and serenity of our last night on the house boat.
Seattle is truly an intriguing place to be returned to. Again we ran out of meals, but here is where we would have gone if someone had donated some more:
- Paseo (Ballard and Fremont)
- Vif (Fremont)
- Poppy (Capitol Hill)
- The Corson Building
- Slate (for apparently great coffee in Ballard)
And if we’d had more time we would have taken the 30 minute trip out to Woodenville for a tasting session of Washington wines.
