That beautiful skyline you see above is Seattle, Washington, site of the MLS season opener between the New York Red Bulls and the expansion Seattle Sounders. I am heading to Seattle today ahead of the season opener and will be anchoring ESPN.com's coverage as well as SBI's coverage of what should be an unforgettable night.
As is the custom on SBI road trips, I want to hear from you, the SBI Mafia, about what the best things to do and places to go in Seattle. Know some good sight-seeing spots? Know a good bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Have a recommendation on places for lunch and dinner?
Plenty of soccer people from all over the country will be converging on the city of coffee, rain and Grey's Anatomy and will greatly appreciate any advice you may have. I know I will.
Feel free to share your best Seattle tips, and stories, in the comments section below.
Ahhh, yes. Portland. Otherwise known as “Baja Seattle”. When the best just won’t do, try a reasonable facsimile a little farther south.
Try the Bookstore Bar at the Alexis Hotel on First and Madison. Great Happy Hour from 3-6pm-a good selection of imported beers and more than 60 types of scotch-
Great menu too! And on the way to the Qwest Field-
Also check out Sazerac Restaurant-amazing $2 happy hour menu!
Ives, check out Maggie Bluff’s for some good food on the pier.
Hi Ives,
Being a naive Seattleite and a foodie, I’ll give a few recommendations. Near the stadium you can opt for the crowded FX McCrory’s Steak and Oyster House. This is a favorite hangout for Seahawk fans. There’s also the Pyramid Brewery too! My friend has an excellent Seattle food blog:
http://belltowngirl.wordpress.com/
Here are some other recommendations: If you’re into authentic Spanish food (i.e. Spain, not other places), then Seattle will treat you well as it is home to the best Spanish restaurant on the West Coast, Taberna del Alabardero:
http://www.alabardero.com/seattle/
Really though, you should go to Seattle for the seafood and coffee. In terms of coffee, I would stick to independent coffee houses, such as Espresso Vivace:
http://www.espressovivace.com/
In terms of Fish, Duke’s is overrated. Anthony’s is OK. I would recommend three places. 1) Go where Ichiro goes. Shiro is Seattle’s master sushi chef:
http://www.shiros.com/
Seattle has many other great Sushi restaurants as well. 2) Or for cooked fish, just go to Ray’s Boathouse:
http://www.rays.com/new/
For the ONLY authentic Danish pastries on the West Coast, go to Larsen’s:
http://www.larsensbakery.com/
Seattle’s an excellent food city but there’s not much good pizza. Pagliaci’s is overrated to me. Then again, if you’re one of those misguided souls who consider New York pizza to actually be good, I suppose you might appreciate Seattle pizza.
If you’re going to the George and Dragon, make sure you see the Lenin statue. That’s right, a statue of Lenin. It’s impressively strange and strangely impressive.
I think you better get your tail out of Seattle as fast as possible in order to make the biggest event of the week – the Portland MLS announcement Friday morning!
Ives,
You’ve gotta go to Pike Place Chowder–best chowder I’ve ever had by a mile! There’s a location at Pike Place Market, but it closes early; there’s another location just a few blocks up. Seriously, try it–you’ll never have chowder this good!
Also, head down to Ballard if you want some funky bars and nightlife. Really cool.
Loretta’s in South Park.
Canlis – it cannot be topped.
The Wagyu Tenderloin is beyond words. Don’t wear denim though.
http://www.canlis.com/
Wait… “Anchoring” as in on TV or “anchoring” as in being the senior writer?
Hey Ives you need a place to crash? we can talk about girls and play video games and make popcorn and drink hot chocolate and stay up all night and then we can go to the game and SSFC will win and I will make fun of your crappy energy drinks and we will be best friends forever. sound good?
Comon’ RED BULLS !! Comon’ RED BULLS!! Comon’ RED BULLS !!
3-0 RBNY. And I should know, I’m Sir Alex!
Ives, go to McCormicks on Lake Union for a great view and tasty happy hour. Might try the Crab dip at Chandlers close by. Kells in the market area for Irish Pub, than George & Dragon in Freemont, for EPL games.
Oh, and I can’t stress this enough: if you like hiking or the outdoors in general, stop by Mount Rainier! You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t!
hope to see you in the south end at the game Ives!
Nobody’s mentioned Dicks!
There’s four or five Dick’s Hamburger joints around. If you like a greasy burger than nobody does it better. Dick’s Deluxe is I think about $2 now and they charce an extra five cents for onions.
I would hit up UMI Sake House on 1st. It is like 4 blocks north of the market and has great sushi and an impressive sake menu.
Ives, You havto go to the Buenos Aires Grill on viginia bwt 1st and 2nd.
Curious to see if you are coming down to the Timbers-Red Bull game on Friday?
I owe you a beer, remember Ives?
Ives try the Crab Pot, it is on the waterfront, an easy walk to Qwest Field
First off… Greys anatomy is filmed in Vancouver,.. they steal the Seattle skyline and package it into a TV show that has nothing to do with here. Nor does any movie filmed about Seattle.. they make them in Canaduh.
WE’ve got some killer beers around these parts.. No you won’t find any of that Brooklyn Lager.
The best drinking is at the GnD or the Comet tavern on Pike….. stay away from Belltown unless you wanna get shot. We got loads of good weed here too. Just hire a cab to get you to point b.
All the trannies working Pike st. are from Portland.
Ososrio will need those tapes..
3-1 sounders
Also, cheap and awesome lunches can be found at Uwajimaya, in the International District about 1/2 mile east of Qwest. It’s an Asian supermarket with a food court to end all food courts.
If the weather picks up (it won’t), check out Golden Gardens Park in Ballard. It’s a short bus ride or taxi from downtown with a beach and lots of people having bonfires in the evening if it’s nice out. Ballard’s also a good neighborhood just for killing time for a few hours to people-watch, and the Ballard Locks are a good outdoor alternative to the beach.
Pyramid Brewery, across 4th Ave S from Safeco Field, has FANTASTIC beer, decent food, and offers tours.
To get the maritime perspective for cheaper than a cruise, try taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island and back. The terminal is on the waterfront near the stadia. Eat at Steamer’s or Elliot’s and check out the Olympic Sculpture Park while you’re near the waterfront.
Kells on Post Alley is the place for St. Paddy’s Day. It’s about a block from Pike Place Market. It’s probably already packed.
agree on ElGaucho-the Portland location was the best steakhouse I have ever been to (and I do a lot of expense account dining for a living)…bring money-but I think you get what you pay for.
The one in Portland was cigar-friendly, BTW (not the case in Seattle from what I understand)
George and Dragon is soccer hot spot. But the food is crap, as somebody mentioned. Whatever. The beer is decent, and the crowds are fun.
A ferry ride to Bainbridge Island and back is a good way for a quick (an hour or so) trip on the water, with good views of the mountains, and a stunning approach into Seattle’s skyline.
If you don’t count coffee, seafood is our speciality, but that can get pricey. Look up Ivar’s (on the waterfront, Pier 54) or Duke’s (Green Lake, or Alki) for solid, cheaper fare.
Ives, my man. You probably won’t go to the following restaurant but Wild Ginger, an Asian restaurant on Union (just east of 2nd Ave.) downtown, is one of the best places I’ve ever eaten at.
Heh. Someone said Portland was a ‘real city’. It’s a real something, that much is sure.
Ives, Kells is the best Irish bar in Seattle probably, but it has a $20 cover charge and huge crowd today.
I’d reccomend the Elysian in Capital Hill, very chill crowd, usually free wi-fi in the area. 12th and Pike St.
Piecora’s Pizza does a pretty good job, lots of good Northwest beers on tap. 14th and Madison
Capital Hill is a good spot to chill out because its only about a 15 minute walk from downtown.
overrated city. Pretty if the weather is nice, a big if there and the nightlife is substandard.
Seattle is easily the most beautiful city I’ve been to. The O-Deck at the Space Needle has a great view of the city, Puget Sound and Mount Rainier in the distance. If you have a few hours, definitely go there.
Say hi to the Bachelor for me.
The G&D is a must see for a real football fan, but don’t bother unless it’s a Saturday or Sunday morning. It’s the only place in town packed to the gills for EPL matches.
Kells will be FAR TO PACKED tonight, St. Paddy’s Day….trust me. You’re better off visiting the Sounders’ post-match pub, FX McRory’s right next to Qwest. They feature a huge scotch selection (if you’re into that), and a decent local beer selection. If beer is your thing, as someone else said, visit the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill, or Elysian Fields right next to Qwest. Great stuff.
All the “typical” Seattle tourist activities are good too, of course: Pike Place, a ferry ride, Alki Beach, Golden Gardens park at sunset, etc. Have a pint at Ray’s Boathouse at sunset; that alone will bring you back to Seattle (assuming it’s not raining at the time).
Have fun, and come on SSFC!
Another beer recommendation in Fremont Neighborhood: Brouwers Cafe (good Belgian beer selection) http://www.brouwerscafe.com/bier.html
Seafood recommendations: Coastal Kitchen (in Capital Hill) http://www.chowfoods.com/coastal/index.aspx or Ray’s (in Ballard) http://www.rays.com/new/
Mexican: la Carte de Oaxaca (in Ballard) http://www.lacartadeoaxaca.com/
Vietnamese: Tamarind Tree (in International District) http://www.tamarindtreerestaurant.com/
Ives you’ll love Seattle. The air is so fresh and fun. And they have a great football culture. They are a welcome addition to the league in the sense that they will have more fans at this game than the Bulls will have in their first five home matches. However, with that said, vamanos toros del rojos!