When family and friends come to town I become an unofficial tour guide for my great city. I have six different tours I take them on...but my favorite is Tour No. 4 - it's all about Pike Place Market - and therefore all about food! Here's a quick peek at some of the highlights, featuring my niece Vanna White Callie:
Uli's Sausage. I've mentioned Uli's before and it's the ONLY place I buy sausage...don't let the fact that the people who work there don't wear gloves so they pick up sausages bare-handed, then take your money, then grab more sausages...I'm assured whatever germs they pass around get cooked to smithereens as the sausage is cooked...and I'm still alive so there's your proof! Besides, it's worth the risk because it's dang good stuff!
Pike Place Bakery is just down from Uli's and they make the best sugar cookies outside of my kitchen. I claim the Best Sugar Cookie Maker Title because the boy bestowed it upon me when he was all of 6 years old...right after he told me I made the best Macaroni and Cheese...from the little blue box.
Market Spice...no market tour would be complete without a stop here. I purchase colored sugars for baking and their "7th Wonder" spice packet is TO-DIE-FOR. If you're a tea drinker, you'll love this place - an entire wall of interesting teas!
The Mini-Donut Shop. Around the corner from Pike Place Bakery and just down from Market Spice you'll find the tastiest little donuts EVER. Buy yourself a little bag and eat them while they're hot...before you notice the amount of grease in the bottom of the bag! Powdered-sugar donuts are the best!
While you're munching on the donuts, take the stairs by DeLaurentis' Italian Market down to see Sasquatch...Callie used to love hearing the stories of Sasquatch when she was little - but now she doesn't believe me when I tell her he's real and he and his family live in the forest and they are Animal Doctors...when a deer is hit by a car, or a rabbit is hurt in a trap, the Sasquatch dash to the rescue - careful to not be seen - they help the wounded animals to safety and then nurse them back to health. It's all documented. I have it written down. It's true.
Back up the stairs, head into DeLaurentis' Market and buy yourself some of their fabulous olives, or bread or proscuitto or any of their cheeses...when you get home, tired from schlepping your purchases around Seattle, you can make yourself a bit of antipasto, put your feet up, turn on Sinatra and relax...it's what I live for!
Next stop is Pike Place Nuts - located next door to DeLaurentis' Market. I always purchase the cinnamon/sugared almonds...but everything is good, no make that great!
Across from the main market are where my favorite spots are located...Le Panier, the French Bakery and Piroshky's, the Russian Bakery. It's worth it to stand in line for the chocolate eclairs and palmiers at Le Panier and you simply cannot go home with buying the onion cheese rolls at Piroshky's! It's mandatory...buy two, one to eat immediately and one to eat later...you'll be SO happy!
The Chocolate Market, located near Kells Pub in Post Alley, is fairly new, and definitely worth the trip...delicious, mouth-watering chocolates...I only wish I'd bought MORE! My niece, who had her pick of anything she wanted in the shop chose the wax-bottles with the fake juice inside!!
I love to stop in Lungu Gifts, near Mercado Latino, where I buy my vanilla. Lungu has all kinds of Indian/Asian clothing and interesting things...things I need...and incense, which the mister hates but oh well, like that matters! One more tip...unless you're desperate for a special kind of fruit, DON'T buy it at the market...you can find everything there but their prices are HIGH...and your local grocery store will carry it for much less...if you really want to buy fruit, head to Sosio's Fruit...they are the best and the most friendly, plus you can taste before you buy - always a good thing.
Beechers Handmade Cheese is a fun place to visit - you can watch them make their cheese du jour - and then buy some to take home. Beechers is just down the block from Sur La Table, another mandatory stop because they just might have a gadget I don't own - something totally impractical but fun - something that screams my name - those kind of things are my favorite!
The last stop at the market has got to be the Gum Wall...it's infamous. Make sure you are chewing gum before you head down the stairs (by the Spice Market) to the Gum Wall...you'll want to add yours to the every growing/changing wall of Art/Gum...
That's it...Tour No. 4. If you come to town and want a tour guide, give me a call...my rates are reasonable and a good time is practically guaranteed.