WEATHER: RAIN, SOMETIMES CLOUDY
DELICIOUS BRUNCH AT AMERICANA RESTAURANT
One of my main purposes in Seattle was to enjoy the local foods there. Media reported about original and unique local foods in Pacific Northwest on these days, and I wanted to enjoy it. I definitely wanted to enjoy the first brunch in Seattle at a good restaurant.
My host suggested me Glo’s in Capital Hill, but the store told me it would be 1.5 hours waiting time when I went there. So I decided to just walk around the area and find a restaurant with moderate line and crowds. Fortunately, I didn’t take long to find an ideal restaurant while walking on Broadway, one of the main street in Capital Heights. The restaurant was called “Americana”. There was a waiting line in the outside but it wasn’t that long. The restaurant was crowded, but the restaurant told me waiting time would be only 15-20 minutes. The menu seemed good, too. I decided to take brunch there.
Oh my god, I still remember the taste of meal and coffee. I ate “Chicken Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy”. It might be a typical brunch menu, but their “Chicken Fried Steak” was gorgeous taste and sparkling with their hand made gravy in my mouth. The meat had nice seasoning, too. And their original roasted coffee…it was definitely one of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. I went to many coffee shops in Seattle, and theirs was definitely the best for me. It was a rare occasion to drink coffee made me feel relaxed like tea. I was instantly addicted to their coffee and kept drinking like 4 cups. My waitress, Carolyn, was just so down to earth with amazing service and suggestion. And the woody interior was warm and comfortable. My first restaurant choice was a good hit, and it was good enough to grow my expectation about my stay in Seattle.
AMERICANA: http://www.americanaseattle.com
ADDRESS: 219 Broadway East, Seattle, WA 98102
TEL: 206-328-4604
SIGHTSEEING
Being on a very good mood, I decided to walk down Pike Street toward downtown for sightseeing. The weather was sometimes lightly raining, but it didn’t destroy my good mood. There were many beautiful houses with pastel colors in the Capital Hill. Light blue, yellow…those houses reminded me of San Francisco. But the atmosphere of Seattle was very different with San Francisco. Some of my friends told me Seattle was like Frisco, but I didn’t agree. What was it?…I was thinking while walking. My impression of Seattle was like “Boston meets East Village in New York City”. The city has classy and sophisticated parts like Boston, but also edgy part like East Village, both were my favorite places. I was feeling good. Somehow “One Way Ticket” by Cass Elliot was played on my brain while walking. The cheerful melody matched with the city atmosphere and my mood, but also the lyric. I was happy to be in a different place greener than my resident place, taken by ticket. Well, my ticket was round-trip and I flew to westbound from New York City, neither northbound nor southbound. But I think you can find the similarity with the lyric. At least, I didn’t feel grunge while walking on the street even under the doomy sky.
SWEET CASS ELLIOT INCLUDING “ONE WAY TICKET”
I passed vibrant downtown, unlike last night. Because of my last night experience, I was a quite surprised to see many shoppers walking in downtown. Downtown actually have big shopping centers, like Westlake Center, Nordstrom (the headquarter is located in Seattle downtown), Macy’s, and Target.
I reached at the end of Pike Street, where famous Pike Street Market and the first Starbucks were located. I wasn’t tired of walking yet, but I decided to take a little break at the first Starbucks…I thought, located on 102 Pike Street at the corner of 1st Avenue. But the later day I found out that first Starbucks was actually located on 1912 Pike Place, a few feet away. Somehow website search didn’t come correctly. Also, this Starbuck’s website (http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/1st-and-pike) made me believe the first location was 102 Pike Street. It was confusing. I’m sure I walked in front of correct address twice, but I didn’t notice. As I saw the photo on TripAdvisor, I think there were some people took the same mistake. Well, next time!
102 Pike St. store was a little larger than typical Starbucks in New York City and had many more seats were available. It was a nice store setting, but I didn’t feel anything special with others.
STARBUCKS: http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/1st-and-pike
I walked to Pike Street Market after a brief break. The market was fun! I saw famous flying salmon at a fish store soon after entering the market. Because it was too fast, I couldn’t capture in a photo, unfortunately. The store also had a “Hello, I’m a Monkish”. Be careful, the mouth could suddenly move without notice! The store staffs moved string connecting with a mouth from behind and scared the visitors or customers randomly. Yes, I was scared, too! It was funny and entertaining “customer service”.
As located on the seaside, the market had many fish stores, especially on street level (the market had 2 more levels in below). I’m sure the market targeted tourists but also for local people, too. It was favorable that prices weren’t many tourists prices, and fishes were visibly fresh. People could bring food to the seating area with ocean view located on downstairs, and restroom were conveniently located throughout the market. The market was better than my expectation. I enjoyed the view at the seating area while rain was pouring down.
PIKE STREET MARKET: http://pikeplacemarket.org
ADDRESS: 85 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101
I walked around Belltown area at the evening next. Belltown seemed like there would be interesting restaurants, but nothing special for me. I dined Hamburger at “The 5 Point Cafe”.
(READ MORE)
- PROLOGUE: LONG WAY TO SEATTLE
- SEATTLE, DAY 1: OCT 30, 2015 (FRI). Arrival
- SEATTLE, DAY 3: NOV 1, 2015 (SUN). University District/Ballard/Space Needle/Ayron Jones & The Way
- SEATTLE, DAY 4: NOV 2, 2015 (MON). Jimi Hendrix Memorial and Vintage Clothes
- SEATTLE, DAY 5: NOV 3, 2015 (TUE). Boeing Factory Tour (Future of Flight)
- SEATTLE, DAY 6: NOV 4, 2015 (WED). Cycling in Seattle
- SEATTLE, DAY 7: NOV 5, 2015 (THU). Museums Thursday
- SEATTLE, DAY 8: NOV 6, 2015 (FRI). Departure To Portland
- SEATTLE AGAIN: NOV 9, 2015 (SUN)
- SEATTLE NIGHTLIFE. Another “Sleepless In Seattle”
- PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SEATTLE AREA
