Johnny Hammersticks Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Mrs. Hammersticks and I will be traveling to Seattle for a professional conference in February (11th-15th). We have never been there, and are looking for some suggestions for good dining, bars, museums, entertainment, etc... The 11th of February is my birthday, and I LOVE French food, so we made reservations at this restaurant called Maximilien (located in Pikes Place Market). This restaurant came highly recommended by a friend who ate there this summer, but I am open to suggstions of people think there is a better French restaurant in town. For Valentine's Day, the wife and I decided to make reservations at Elliot's Oyster House. We both love raw oysters, and the menu seems to offer a wide variety of other seafoods. Again, would be open to other suggestions (oyster bar part is a must). Otherwise, we have no plans and a great deal of down time to explore Seattle. Interested to hear about those "must see" things that tourists usually aren't aware of. BTW...we are staying at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel on 6th Avenue and will be walking/cabbing wherever we choose to go. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I hear they have good coffee there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I got nuthin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemhoff Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I live down in Portland, but have enjoyed Seattle a bit over the past 10 years. El Gaucho steakhouse is unbelievable...expensive but a real treat. Excellent food and excellent service as well. I haven't personally been to it but I hear that the rock and roll museum is pretty cool as well (sort of on the south part of the city). If you had a vehicle I would also recommend a drive out on the olympic peninsula - it is beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 I live down in Portland, but have enjoyed Seattle a bit over the past 10 years. El Gaucho steakhouse is unbelievable...expensive but a real treat. Excellent food and excellent service as well. I haven't personally been to it but I hear that the rock and roll museum is pretty cool as well (sort of on the south part of the city). If you had a vehicle I would also recommend a drive out on the olympic peninsula - it is beautiful I heard about the rock and roll museum, and we're definitely planning on checking it out. Also heard that there is a good art museum nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemhoff Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hammersticks, Portland and Seattle are such cool cities..very different from the east coast (I grew up in the Cuse). I would leave a day just to check out the coffee shops, music stores, and simply walk around...Also I am sure that there is a cool "pub tour" like they have here in Portland. Prepare for the NW mellow my friend, people out here drive 10 below the speed limit and quit work at 3:30! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) 2-11 is also my birthday! Cool... My wife always gets mad and calls me a kill joy when I say: "If you take 26 random people and ask them what their birthday is (just day and month), the probability is ALMOST one that 2 people will have the same birthday." Usually I say this when two people have the same birthday. Anyway... Back in 1994 we did our honeymoon in Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria and all through BC up to Banff and Jasper, AB... Very nice in the NorthWest! Edited January 30, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I was there last June for a conference. Pike place market is a must. Pike brewery right around the corner has excellent beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hammersticks, Portland and Seattle are such cool cities..very different from the east coast (I grew up in the Cuse). I would leave a day just to check out the coffee shops, music stores, and simply walk around...Also I am sure that there is a cool "pub tour" like they have here in Portland. Prepare for the NW mellow my friend, people out here drive 10 below the speed limit and quit work at 3:30! Very much looking forward to the trip. Never been to the northwest, unless you consider Alaska the northwest. A pub tour sounds awesome. I read an article recently that had like 4 or 5 of the top 25 pubs in the west right in Seattle! Definitely going to drink a lot of beer. 2-11 is also my birthday! Cool... My wife always gets mad and calls me a kill joy when I say: "If you take 26 random people and ask them what their birthday is (just day and month), the probability is ALMOST one that 2 people will have the same birthday." Usually I say this when two people have the same birthday. Anyway... Back in 1994 we did our honeymoon in Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria and all through BC up to Banff and Jasper, AB... Very nice in the NorthWest! Cheers birthday buddy!! I actually have come across many people in my life who share my birthday. That honeymoon trip sounds great....thinking about spending a couple days in Banff on our way back down to the lower 48 this summer. I was there last June for a conference. Pike place market is a must. Pike brewery right around the corner has excellent beers. Thanks for the tip. I think my hotel is just a few blocks away from Pike Place Market. Eat at any good restaurants while you were there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 The couple days in Seattle we did Space Needle, Pike Market... Climbed a bit up Mt. Rainier (a bunch of snow still in June) Even had a rare two days in Seattle with NO clouds and perfect views of the mountain! We also went to Snoqualmie (sp) Falls... Being a lock and dam operator here in Chicago, went to check out the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Chittenden (Ballard) Lock... Pretty cool there... They actually have a way of processing the brackish water back away from the freshwater Lake Washington @ the navigation lock and back towards the Puget. Check out the fish ladder that they have for the salmon to get around the lock structure... Okay, I am getting nerdy now! Have fun and happy early birthday!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkFast Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Chinooks is good and on the Fisherman's wharf up there. You can walk around the docks and check out all the fishing boats, including some of the Deadliest Catch boats, depending on time of year, and then go have dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Chinooks is good and on the Fisherman's wharf up there. You can walk around the docks and check out all the fishing boats, including some of the Deadliest Catch boats, depending on time of year, and then go have dinner. Good idea...we are actually going to Elliot's Oyster House on pier 58 (which I think is in the fisherman's wharf). Someone told me that there are seafood merchants in Pike's Market who serve seafood dishes right from their booth. Basically pull up a stool and have fresh oysters shucked for you. That sounds pretty cool. My wife is determined to get a cup of Starbucks coffee from the original location in the market. I don't like Starbucks, but you know girls...there will be pic's on her damned facebook page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullim4 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I live in the area. Pike Place is a must, though I think the original Starbucks is a waste of time. Lines are long and it is the same coffee that you can get anywhere else. Go to Caffe D'Arte instead on 2nd and Stewart (a few blocks from the market). The espresso there is excellent, and if you pick up a pound of beans, your drink there is free. El Gaucho is a great steakhouse, but so are Daniels Broiler and the Met. If you go to the Experience Music Project, also go to the Science Fiction Museum, which is attached. Both are owned by Paul Allen and are great exhibits. Don't waste your time with nearby Pacific Science Center unless you want to see an IMAX movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 It's a beautiful city in August & September. The other 10 months it's drizzle and fog, followed by fog and drizzle. Hopefully the weather will clear enough to be able to see the mountains. Mt Baker is N, Mt Ranier S, and the Olympic chain to the W, Cascades on the E. Since it's still winter, don't go too far outside the city. The elevation changes are severe and you can get caught in some pretty nasty snow and ice as the elevations increase. We lived there from '86 to '03 so nothing current to offer on restaurants. I do know they have McCormicks at 4th & Columbia downtown for excellent seafood. and also Anthony's Home Port, a local chain, also great seafood. If you like the Alaska dishes such as King Crab & Salmon, they will be good because they will be fresh! Take a Ferry ride. One of the "short" routes say to Bainbridge Island. You can be a "walk-on" and it's a pleasant couple of hours looking at the scenery from Puget Sound. if you're at Pike Place, look to the West, down the hill, and you'll see the Ferry Terminal. Boeing has tours but they're up at Everett, about 40 miles N. They should have a lot of 787's parked out front! If you want to buy one they're $200 Mil. without batteries! They also have a nice Museum just S of downtown, on E Marginal Way. Not a bad cab ride, but not a safe walk from downtown. The monorail runs from downtown to the "Seattle/city center": where the Space needle and the R&R museum are located. The Space needle also has a restaurant that revolves. It used to be OK, a little expensive, but the tourists love it! Enjoy the "Left Coast!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Thanks for the tip. I think my hotel is just a few blocks away from Pike Place Market. Eat at any good restaurants while you were there? I was there for the National Homebrewers Conference, so naturally everywhere we went revolved around beer. I didn't eat at Pike brewery, but their menu looked good. I did eat at Elysian Brewing for lunch one day and the food (and beer) were damn good. It's walking distance from pike market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaattMaann Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 do brewery tours, all of them!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 do brewery tours, all of them!!!! Oh, I definitely plan on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) Oh, I definitely plan on it! Wife and her Mom went as tourists for a long weekend last fall. They really enjoyed this two hour guided walking tour of the market http://www.savorseattletours.com/ She said best resturant they went to was Palace Kitchen http://tomdouglas.com/index.php/restaurants/palace-kitchen They also enjoyed very much place called Barolo Edited February 1, 2013 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 BTW, just saw on y DVR that it is set to record The Layover in Seattle with Bourdain. I know not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoy this show, great overview of the highlights of what to do in a city. Travel Channel 9 eastern on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 BTW, just saw on y DVR that it is set to record The Layover in Seattle with Bourdain. I know not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoy this show, great overview of the highlights of what to do in a city. Travel Channel 9 eastern on Monday. Love Anthony Bourdain...will definitely have to watch the show. They already have a list of the restaurants he visited online, but I haven't heard of any of them. Wife and her Mom went as tourists for a long weekend last fall. They really enjoyed this two hour guided walking tour of the market http://www.savorseattletours.com/ She said best resturant they went to was Palace Kitchen http://tomdouglas.co.../palace-kitchen They also enjoyed very much place called Barolo That tour of the market looks pretty cool...as long as my tour guide in not the guy in the video...lol. That guy looks like a real weenie. Thanks for the suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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