Living in Seattle

First off, Seattle’s geographic location is a highlight in its own right. Happily stuck between the Cascade and Olympic Mountain ranges, the views on a clear day are humbling and uplifting. And if you’re in the right place at the right time, the mountains are framed by the beautiful waters of Seattle’s other great asset: the Puget Sound. The Puget Sound also provides a pleasant alternative way to travel and you can venture out to Bainbridge Island, Vancouver Island on the Victoria Clipper, not to mention Alaska if you fancy a cruise in the Summer.

Pike Place Market is an obvious choice and without it Seattle would be soulless. The market is the hub of great food shopping, home to fresh fish, fruit and vegetable stalls, many with produce so vivid in colour and large in size you’ll wonder if it’s not been genetically modified (I don’t think it has though!) The market is also home to some of the oldest and best fast-food restaurants in town and there are also plenty of souvenir stalls and shops to keep the tourists happy.

Personal favourite destinations of mine are the new Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront as well as the beautiful and peaceful Discovery Park. I also love taking the ferry over to Bainbridge Island for a great brunch at Café Nola and a walk through the marina.

For eating out, Harvest Vine is hard to beat although there are many excellent restaurants downtown, some of which I’ve tried to highlight. If you’re looking for cocktails you have to go to Chapel on Capital Hill. This fantastic bar was at one time a chapel, and a mortuary, and does a fine job of making you feel quite spiritual.

Quick Tips:

On the first Thursday of every month there is a free art walk in Pioneer Square and entrance to the Seattle Art Museum is free all day.

If you get tired with all the walking, you can ride the buses downtown for free – ask the driver where to get off before they get into the pay zone. There’s also a free bus that’s running from Pioneer Square down Alaskan Way to the Olympic Sculpture Park whilst the tram is out of commission.

If you’re interested in checking out some local theatre, go to the cheap theatre ticket booth at Pike Place Market for "day of" tickets. It’s located on 1st and Pike.

Do NOT go to the Seattle Space Needle restaurant. Yes you get a wonderful view over the city and yes it’s mildly fun to be in a restaurant that revolves but the food is not only terrible, it’s also grossly overpriced. Given the number of wonderful places to eat in Seattle I would implore anyone who visits not to waste any time and money there.

Best Way To Get Around:

The downtown and the waterfront areas (if you block out the hideous viaduct overhead) are great to explore on foot. The Seattle Center and Space Needle is also easy to reach on foot although Seattle does have what could be the world’s shortest monorail line (1 mile) that runs between The Seattle Center and Westlake Center Mall, at Fifth and Pine if you need a break.

Taxis can be a bit spendy so you may want to hire a car if you’re planning any trips further afield. Please note that Seattle has terrible rush hour traffic and you want to avoid traveling at peak times if possible.

As it stands Seattle’s public transport is quite poor overall but come 2009 it’ll have a light rail connecting the downtown to the airport, which is very exciting.

I’ve only been to the Pike Place Bar and Grill twice, both times for breakfast, which they serve until 2pm - a godsend if you have a hangover and can’t drag yourself out of bed before noon. To be honest, I’ve heard bad things about Pike Place Bar: that the service is slow and the food isn’t very good. Howeve,r both times I’ve been there, the service has been friendly and efficient and whilst the food may not be gourmet, it’s comfort food at its best and is served in generous portions.

The Pike Place Bar has an impressive list of egg breakfasts: scrambled, fried, steak and eggs, omelette, frittata, benedict. But what draws us back is the Belgian Waffle Bar, where you can indulge in "all-you-can-eat waffles" – plain, pecan, or with strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. On a rainy Saturday morning, and feeling a little under the weather myself, we ordered the raspberry waffle breakfast, a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich on toasted sourdough bread), two fresh fruit juices and black coffee (with free refills, all of which came to $22.43.) Our food arrived within 5-10 minutes, the yummy BLAT sandwich accompanied by a fresh Greek salad and the raspberry Belgian waffle crowned with whipped cream and served with a side of maple syrup.

The restaurant is popular with everyone, especially families. It has the feel of an old roadside café, where you imagine the same people have been stopping by for years. It’s also the sort of place where I’d bet customers lament the smoking ban, especially the ones drinking beer at 9.30am, which I’ve seen in the bar area at the far end of the restaurant. Despite the fact that the windows are a bit misty and the carpet is worn, the Pike Place Bar & Grill has a large amount of window seats, which look out directly onto the market and offer a great vantage point for people-watching.

On both visits we’ve stopped short of completing a second serving of Belgian waffles. To be honest, any more than two plates and I’d definitely start to feel a bit queasy but it’s good to indulge in coffee and waffles every once in a while. I do wonder what the record is though.

Harvest Vine is a small restaurant set in Madison Valley. It’s worth every bite for the short drive out of the city center because there’s nowhere else quite like it in Seattle. Open for almost ten years, Harvest Vine’s menu focuses on Basque cuisine. Reservations are recommended as it fills up every night of the week and whilst the food here comes highly recommended by me, vegan or vegetarian options are slightly limited as the real delights here are animal-derived. That said, on my third visit to Harvest Vine, we were with a vegetarian couple and they did OK.

We were seated downstairs, which is possibly preferable to the area upstairs which often seems a bit cramped, except at the bar where you get to see the chefs in action in the kitchen. Downstairs it’s a little less frenetic and you can sit back and enjoy your food at a more leisurely pace. However Harvest Vine is planning a remodel in June/July 2007 so by the time you visit, things could be different!

To start, we ordered a plate of mixed, marinated olives, some asparagus, and a delicious beet salad, drizzled with garlic, sherry vinegar, and lagrima olive oil. We also tried a cheese plate, with a selection of goat, sheep, and cow cheese. Having just returned from a trip to Galicia, we ordered a bottle of Laxas, a crisp white wine from the Rias Baixas region. It was a perfect compliment to the cheeses and to the tender clams we ordered next, along with a plate of chorizo. The meat and seafood at Harvest Vine is flawless and is just as good as, if not better than tapas dishes I’ve had in Spain. Also, the cellar-like atmosphere at the back of the restaurant gives the room more of a Spanish tavern flavor. There’s a small bar at the base of the stairs and almost every other wall is stacked to the ceiling with wine bottles, which explains how their vast collection numbers over 300 Spanish and Basque wines.

For dessert, we indulged ourselves and ordered a flan and the tarta de chocolate. The desserts are exquisite and it should be compulsory for every customer to try at least one dessert on their menu. It’s not surprising that the food here is celebrated not just in Seattle, but also in wider circles. Chef Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez has had a long and illustrious career, including a stint working for the Spanish government. His wife, Carolin, is a pastry chef, which explains the divine desserts. For customers of Harvest Vine, it’s certainly been a very happy and fruitful marriage.

Apart from the fantastic food, I love Harvest Vine because it’s fun. Tapas dining gives you the option of ordering various dishes and sharing them with your fellow diners and whilst the food is definitely on the more expensive side, for a special occasion it’s worth every penny.

www.harvestvine.com

I love Mama’s. It’s one of the last surviving neighborhood haunts in Belltown and I really hope that city planners don’t push it out of its corner on Second and Bell as it really would mark the end of an era. Mama’s is a small, funky labyrinth of booths, decorated by an historian, a kitsch fanatic, and a wild-west enthusiast. I made up the story about the decorators but it would be nice if it had happened that way. I can’t describe the interior and do it any sort of justice, you just have to see it for yourself. But I will mention that they have an "Elvis Room" (available for reservations) which was apparently inspired by a meeting between the real "Mama" (who you can read about on the back of their menu) and the real "Elvis". I think part of me loves Mama’s because I’m a sucker for nostalgia and this place makes me feel like a poor university student again as it’s just the type of place I would have also loved as a student. Mama’s also has a great outdoor patio, perfect for summertime Mexican beer drinking.

Open since 1974, Mama serves big meals, so big that if you share one plate between two, you’ll still feel full by the end. Chips and salsa are served up first and are complimentary. The drinks list comprises most Mexican beers and a few cool margarita options, which are a great deal during their happy hour from 4pm to 6:30.

We usually split the Chicken Fajitas which show up to your table still sizzling away on a hot dish surrounded by bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions. If you are sharing, request extra tortillas otherwise you’ll be stuck after your first wrap.

The staff at Mama’s are fast and furious and don’t suffer fools. I admire their honesty though, which is a refreshing change from the cooker-cutter "have a nice day" restaurant experience. I don’t mean to imply that they’re not polite, because they are; the rules are just more relaxed (e.g. there’s no dress code) and they will definitely help you out if you get stuck with the menu and they’re happy to dispense interesting information. Last time we were there, our server told us that when you reach a point where you sigh during a meal, that’s an indication that you’ve eaten enough and should stop. She passed this on to another person at our table who was deliberating whether to continue plowing through his beef burrito.

I’ll admit that the food at Mama’s isn’t the best in town and certainly doesn’t put Mexican cuisine on the map but if you split a dish, it’s great value for money and the turnaround is extremely fast. Unless you go on the weekend, you can be in and out in less than an hour if you need to. On the way out, pick up some peppermints at the cash register but remember to use the spoon.


www.mamas.com

I’d driven past the Ezell’s in Seattle’s Central District a few times before a colleague mentioned to me that their chicken is so good, Oprah has it flown cross-country. I’m not a big fast food fan but when I do get that rare craving it’s usually for KFC and even then I’m left with a somewhat sick, gross, guilty feeling that fast food has a habit of leaving me with.

So I decided that next time I had a craving, I’d try Ezell’s Famous Chicken. Ezell’s has been open since 1984 and has recently expanded beyond its original store on 23rd and E. Jefferson and now boasts six stores in the Puget Sound area.

Open seven days a week from 10am to 10pm, the original Ezell’s is compact. I was disappointed that there was no seating area (it’s take-out only), as I wanted to sample their fried chicken on the premises. In the middle of a Sunday afternoon, Ezell’s was doing swift business with a queue of people almost to their door. We took a minute to check out the menu, which fortunately is very uncomplicated. The options are very basic and you can choose between a regular batter, and a spicy batter where they marinate the chicken for 24 hours in a New Orleans-style seasoning which definitely adds a kick to your chicken.

We placed an order of one two piece (dark meat) and one three piece (mixed meat) meal and a small order of fries. I could only see a handful of staff behind the counter but the service seemed extremely laid-back as well as efficient and within 3-4 minutes of paying, our food was packed and ready to go.

In spite of our 15-20 minute drive, the chicken was fine when we got it home. I was a little unimpressed with their fries, which seemed a bit on the soggy side. The chicken, however, is definitely deserving of its reputation. Each box came with at least one leg and one breast piece. I know it was the less healthy option but I was glad I opted for the dark meat selection. The chicken was tender and cooked perfectly and the batter was crunchy and not at all oily or heavy. At last! I’ve found fried chicken that doesn’t make me feel queasy and full of regret afterwards. The boxes also came with a roll, which I thought was going to be a piece of fairly bland bread but turned out to be a deliciously light and fluffy muffin-shaped sweet roll, similar to brioche.

The only drawback about Ezell’s is getting out there, especially if you’re based in the downtown area. I’m personally relieved that I don’t live too close by as it provides less of a temptation but if you have access to a car I would definitely recommend visiting Ezell’s. If you do you’ll understand why Oprah has it delivered.

La Carta de Oaxaca is what I’d call a boutique Mexican cantina. It has class in its food and in its interior design. Located in the heart of old Ballard, this place would be easy to miss if it weren’t for the queues of people waiting out the door. The wait can be a drawback but if you time it right then your patience will be duly rewarded.

Oaxaca has only been open for a couple of years and the bright interior and light wooden furniture still has an air of newness to it. The walls are covered in beautiful Mexicana photography, some of which is backlit. I always want to study them more closely but Oaxaca is a busy place and there’s no room to stand and stare, only to sit and eat or to sidle up to their self-serve salsa bar.

I admittedly have a couple of personal problems with Oaxaca because I’m allergic to nuts and cannot stomach very spicy foods. Oaxacan cuisine is generally quite spicy and the signature Mole sauce contains nuts. On previous visits I hadn’t fared too well but my husband had a craving for their Mole so I figured that I should give Oaxaca another chance.

We got there at 6.30pm, which is probably the latest time to arrive if you want to get a table right away. Their seating is very limited and although the turnaround is fast, you don’t want to end up too far down their waiting list. If do have to wait they have a diminutive bar at the back which isn’t a bad way to pass the time.

We started off with fresh guacamole and chips that were light, crispy, and hot out of the oven. My husband ordered his favourite Mole’Negro Oaxaqueno with chicken. He said that it’s the best Mole he’s ever tasted, as it’s very sweet but very light. It’s made with chocolate and true to the name it’s almost black in colour and looks like it has the consistency of good quality melted chocolate. I opted for the Halibut tortillas. They were almost too spicy for me but I managed to wash them down with a Negro Modelo and to be fair, they were delicious. The halibut tasted freshly barbequed and came dressed with crunchy vegetables and a spicy, creamy sauce.

The staff at Oaxaca is divided up between the floor, which is the men’s domain, and the kitchen, which is the women’s. The balance seems to work well. Even if the guys lack the happy, smiley American service style, they’re efficient and take their work very seriously. Meanwhile the kitchen staff are equally efficient and busy, turning out dish after delicious dish.

The portions at Oaxaca are not your usual mammoth Mexican plates that can leave you feeling over-inflated and under whelmed but each dish is good to share and is priced at $10 or less. Also note that reservations are only accepted for parties of 10-15.

If you’re researching Pacific Northwest restaurants, it probably won’t be too long before you come across the name of Tom Douglas. Douglas and his wife Jackie Cross are responsible for five prominent downtown restaurants in Seattle: Palace Kitchen, Dahlia Lounge, Lola, Serious Pie, and Etta’s.

Etta’s was the last on my "to do" list of Douglas restaurants and with the exception of Lola, where the food is uninspiring and grossly overpriced I can recommend them all. With all the other restaurants clustered around the Fourth and Virginia area, Etta’s stands alone at the end of Pike Place Market, directly opposite the worthy competition of Cutter’s restaurant. I have yet to sample their infamous weekend brunch but I was excited to try it out for a week day lunch.

Our group of three arrived just before noon, hoping to beat the mid-week tourist traffic. We were surprised therefore that the place was fairly empty. We were seated right away and the pace had picked up by the time we left around 1pm.

Apart from Douglas’ newest venture Serious Pie, the interior of most of his other restaurants bear some resemblance to one another. There are fish motives scattered around and you get the feeling that he’s trying to appeal to a more corporate or conservative crowd. That’s not to say it’s completely dull or dowdy but in Etta’s case it feels like the place could do with a slight artistic makeover.

Etta’s has a great lunch menu with a wonderful selection of soups and salads. It’s definitely more upmarket and expensive than many of its market neighbours but if you’re looking for quality then I can strongly recommend it.

I ordered the Dungeness crab and butter lettuce salad, which was one of the more expensive dishes at $18. The salad was colossal framed by thick chunks of avocado, pink grapefruit segments and some toasted crackers. My only minor criticism was the shortage of watercress. The lime vinaigrette was delicious and I was happy to notice that the chef hadn’t drowned the greens in the dressing as so many Seattle salad makers seem predisposed to doing.

The other dishes ordered by our table were the special: Sezchuan Beef with fried rice which came with a cup of clam chowder, and the Gulf prawns and charred jalapeno tacos. All three plates were completely clean by the end of the meal giving an idea of how we all rated the food. I tried some of the clam chowder and found that it was lighter than most chowder I’ve tried in the past and not as thick or creamy. It made a nice change and somehow made it seem healthier although I don’t know that it was.

The staff were extremely efficient, friendly, and helpful, making it an easy and relaxed lunch outing for all of us. When we asked for recommendations they suggested (amongst other dishes) the Sezchuan Beef special and the crab salad, so they know their food well too.

There’s a multitude of dinner and drinking places along First Avenue with the busier weekend places concentrated mostly between Virginia and Vine. If you’re looking for drinks and action, you’ll probably be attracted to Amber, The Apartment, Tia Lou’s and Del Rey. If you’re looking for gourmet food then Flying Fish and Cascadia will be more your style. But if you’re looking for a quiet, decent quality, reasonably priced meal then I can definitely recommend Marco’s Supperclub on First between Wall and Vine Street.

Set back just slightly from the street, Marco’s is a deep, dark restaurant that glows in candle and fairy lights. The tall host kindly took our umbrellas and showed us to a table in the middle of the room. Our party of five was surrounded by a couple of birthday parties and a handful of couples who were enjoying some alone time in window seats.

The menu at Marco’s wasn’t huge but covered all diets: fish, pork, chicken, kobe beef, duck, and tofu. There were also a few specials, one of which was seared halibut, which was a big hit with a couple of people at our table. We started off with one of their specials for an appetizer, a small group of vegetable dippers, which were very thin and similar to potstickers. In addition to this, the staff kept up with a regular flow of complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

They only have a few wines by the glass and the Malbec I ordered was so incredibly smooth that I ordered two during the course of my meal. My husband ordered a Mojito, which was a little more disappointing as they overloaded it with ice.

For the main course I ordered the Sesame Crusted Tuna, two generous slabs of tuna alongside a mild and colourful tomato-miso vinaigrette. This was served with thin green and yellow Chinese beans and some very flavourful lime leaf rice. The beans were buttery and delicious and the rice was tangy but not too overpowering and went perfectly with the fish, which was light and tender. Besides the halibut, other dishes ordered at our table were the Kobe Beef and Garlic Crusted Chicken, which were also enthusiastically received.

Whilst we desperately wanted to try something from their dessert menu, we were all full up and didn’t want to ruin the experience. I do plan to go back one night though and get a seat at the bar (which was full that night) for wine and dessert. The tiramisu, crème caramel and promise of home baked cookies sound too tempting to pass over for too long a time.

We reluctantly left the shelter of Marco’s and ventured out into the rain. The great food, understated service and mellow atmosphere had made me feel at once at home and far removed from the usual weekend craziness in Belltown.

If you have the time, I’d urge you to check out the neighbourhoods of Capital Hill, Ballard, and Fremont. These small enclaves all have something different to offer and all three are great for boutique shopping and neighbourhood dining.

A friend who lives in Fremont took us to the Fremont Classic Pizzeria on a Monday night. We all had a hankering for pasta and he recommended it not only for good value Italian food but also for the courtyard, which was just what we needed on a warm July evening.

From the outside the pizzeria looks like it could be somebody’s home. The interior is also fairly sparse but you can’t help thinking that the lack of costly decoration means customers can continue enjoying inexpensive Italian food.

We arrived late, around 8.45am and luckily the place was pretty quiet, with one vacant table outside with our name on it. I later found out that they offer a family happy hour between 5.30pm-6.30pm when children under the age of five eat free so I’m guessing that any stampede probably happens then.

We ordered a pitcher of beer, which came out with some bread and butter although there was also olive oil and balsamic vinegar on each table. We skipped the appetizers and salads and went straight for the main course. Had I not had pizza for lunch I would have definitely tried one of theirs. They have six main pizza options in addition to a basic pizza, to which you can add your own toppings. Our friend made up his own with sopressetta and oregano and we opted for the Penne Rapini and Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce. The list of pasta dishes was fairly impressive overall with a wide selection of chicken, fish, and vegetarian dishes. My Bolognese sauce tasted of fresh tomatoes and herbs and contained thick chunks of tender beef as opposed to minced beef, which is what I’ve been used to in traditional Bolognese sauces.

As the sun disappeared, we noticed that all the other customers had also cleared out and inside the restaurant chairs had been stacked on top of tables. We hadn’t realized that the pizzeria closes at 9.30pm, which seemed unseasonably early. They stay open for an extra half hour at the weekends but it was still an odd feeling, especially when we saw a few couples trying unsuccessfully to open the front door.

Even though the place was now deserted, we didn’t feel rushed out and finished off our pasta and beer before getting the bill. Most of the entrées are priced around the $15 mark and the portions are perfectly measured, so you feel like you’ve enjoyed a decent Italian meal and not piled on too many pounds in the process. It definitely seems like they could afford to be open later though, especially during the summer months when heat-deprived Seattleites clamour for any corner with outdoor seating.

The Seattle International Film Festival, or SIFF as it’s known locally, is now in it’s 33rd year. Every year, from the last week of May through to the second week of June, the longest film festival in North America bursts quietly onto the Seattle cultural scene, playing across six screens.

The problem with SIFF is that it’s too eager to please too many people. Whilst it celebrates its lengthy three-week run, quality suffers under quantity and it’s scheduled just after, and therefore in the shadow of, the Cannes Film Festival. Finally, what should draw crowds to the core of Seattle is now so spread out geographically (playing in the University District, Capital Hill, and Bellevue) that the festival may as well be replaced with token indie film screenings at random cinemas across King County. SIFF has somewhat taken this to heart by setting up year-round screenings at the new SIFF Cinema at the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall (near the Space Needle).

That said, if you happen to be in Seattle at festival time, it’s worth looking up the schedule in case Hollywood blockbusters aren’t your thing. Tickets are sold online as well as at a booth in the Pacific Place shopping center downtown at Sixth and Pine.

SIFF usually drags in a couple of crowd-pleasers although the festival is very far from a star-studded event. This year Sir Anthony Hopkins is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Q&A sessions are set up with other well-known filmmakers, composers, and writers.

If you want to check out Washington State talent, check out the Fly Filmmaking challenge section, which is a series of 3 x 10-minute films all directed by local filmmakers. The challenge is that they have five days to shoot, five days to edit, and ten minutes of screen time. Whether you love them or hate them, the Fly Films are always interesting to see as an experiment in disciplined filmmaking and to see some Pacific Northwest scenery on screen.

Take note that diehard SIFF fans will start queuing up for a film an hour or more in advance of the advertised show time so don’t expect good seats if you show up late or even right on time. I have personally witnessed professional front-of-queue people with their own picnic chairs and travel Scrabble to pass the waiting time.

www.seattlefilm.org

In southeast Seattle, Seward Park occupies a small peninsula of land which overlooks Lake Washington and Mercer Island. The park itself is 300 acres and offers biking and walking trails, picnic and barbeque areas as well as a small amphitheater that is used for concerts and events year round.

We usually enjoy walking the perimeter of the park but on a sunny Sunday in June, there was a "Furry Fun Run" in progress. It wasn’t a Big Foot marathon, it was a charity run where athletes could bring their dogs along. We decided to avoid the center of Seward Park as it’s difficult to find a parking space there even in the absence of a special event and instead parked along Lake Washington Boulevard South, opposite the west side of the park. We headed north towards Leschi Park. We didn’t know at the time that we were going to walk that far but after a mile or two, the sudden desperation of needing a toilet gave us a strong sense of purpose.

The walk between Seward and Leschi Park may be long (about four miles) but it’s flat and picturesque. It’s also extremely well-suited to cyclists and probably rollerbladers. The path follows the west shoreline of Lake Washington, which is a wonderful place for water activities such as jet skiing, in the summer. It also borders the Mt. Baker neighborhood which, judging by the waterfront beautiful homes is likely one of the wealthiest in Seattle.

The path continues north and under the I-90 floating bridge. Leschi is about five minutes' walk north of the bridge and we found a great resting spot at Pert’s Deli at 120 Lakeside Ave., just opposite the Starbucks shop. I loved Pert’s, not just because we could order a crunchy BLT sandwich and a much-needed Vitamin Water, but because of the anti-Starbucks literature on the counter, asking people to support local, non-corporate enterprises. Unfortunately, the large group of cyclists sitting over the road obviously hadn’t taken much heed.

We returned along the same path. Large men fished from a couple of small piers and the water was very calm and quiet, which was surprising given the number of small vessels anchored along the way. Joggers brushed past us from time to time and smiling old ladies walked their dogs, enjoying the fresh air and quiet.

Although I’d normally recommend visiting the center of Seward Park, walking up to Leschi is definitely a nice alternative if, for some reason, you want to stay on a paved path and fancy admiring upper-class homes and gardens on one side, and Lake Washington on the other.

www.seattle.gov/Parks/environment/seward.htm

Now is the time for art lovers to visit Seattle. Not only has the Olympic Sculpture Park opened this year but, in addition, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), having undergone a considerable extension, has recently re-opened for business. Now spanning the entire block between Union and University, the SAM has grown for the better. The building’s exterior may not be too inspiring but inside, the space has been opened up beautifully so you can wander around in a well-lit environment and admire pieces from near and far.

The first installation which cannot be ignored is Cai Guo-Qiang’s Inopportune: Stage One, an explosion of cars across the second floor ceiling and best viewed at night for the firework-colored tubes impaled in each vehicle.

On the upper floors there’s an interesting mixture of young and old, American and international. Warhol gives way to Asian art and Native American art. There are many beautiful examples of Native American masks, baskets, headdresses, as well as more modern designs in other media, such as glass. The fourth floor offers African, European, and Islamic pieces, including an authentic 17th century Italian wood-paneled room, which visitors can walk around and observe close up.

Back on the ground floor, the museum renovation has also allowed for a sizable extension to their shop and restaurant. The shop is very bright (almost too bright) but carries a wide selection of books, toys, and other mementos. I haven’t eaten in the restaurant next door but it certainly looks a lot classier than the previous museum café.

Obviously, one of the best times to visit the museum is on the first Thursday of the month, when it’s open to visitors for free all day. There’s also a small artisan market down in Pioneer Square on the same day, which makes for a nice walk and post-museum visit. Otherwise the museum entrance fee is $13 for adults. This includes an audio guide to carry around on your tour and access to various computer stations along the way that provide additional information given by artists, scholars and cultural leaders to over 100 works of art.

www.seattleartmuseum.org

When Black Bottle first opened two short years ago I had high hopes of it becoming our new local hangout and, until everyone else in town found out about it, we went there almost weekly. On the corner of First and Vine, Black Bottle is dressed for success. Unlike some of the other cheesier crowd-pleasers along First Avenue, Black Bottle has managed to preserve some dignity that’s sadly lacking between Lenora and Vine.

If you manage to get there before 5pm, you can enjoy the last rays of the afternoon sun that stream through the large windows at the far end of the bar. Where the windows run out halfway down the bar it’s noticeably darker but dangling light bulbs and bountiful candlelight help illuminate the tall exposed brick walls. After 6pm, Black Bottle jumps into action and gets very busy. Reservations are accepted and are probably advisable if you plan to arrive after 6pm.

Apart from the tasteful décor, the other defining feature of Black Bottle is their menu. Gone is the traditional pub fare and in place is a tapas-style menu with numerous small dishes, all of which are perfect to share.

They also have a great bar, although wines by the glass only are somewhat limited. We ordered the MacMurray Pinot Noir and Donna Paul Shiraz Malbec, both of which were very rich and smooth.

For our party of three, we ordered five dishes. We could probably have managed with four but it’s difficult to be frugal when you’re presented with their menu.

The waitress kindly staggered our order. First came the seven spice shrimp, which isn’t at all spicy but is juicy and crunchy. They also fry up the heads and serve them in a pile in the middle. Don’t let this put you off. If you’ve never tried them they’re quite harmless and taste almost like French fries to me. Next out was the smoked chicken and sun-dried cherries flatbread. They have a few different flatbreads to choose from and all are served in elongated, crimped metal dishes and sliced into six. The chicken and cherry is a great combination of sweet and savory, draped with sweet onions and melted cheese. We worked our way through the bread whilst sampling the grilled portobello and butter bean salad. These had been grilled with garlic and rosemary and were very succulent. Finally came the Links and Rocket and the pomodoro risotto cakes. Three types of sausage dipped in wholegrain mustard were served alongside a fresh rocket salad topped with candied walnuts and three mounds of risotto were drenched in a thick tomato and basil sauce.

All the food is delicious and feels like good value for money at $8-$9 a dish. The only low points are the fact that it does get extremely busy and noisy but if you’re looking for a place to socialize after work or impress a date with some fun inexpensive food, Black Bottle caters to almost anyone.

www.blackbottleseattle.com

Discovery Park is possibly one of Seattle best kept secrets, and to be honest I hope it stays that way. You need to take the bus (#33 towards Magnolia from 4th and Pike/Pine) or to drive out to Magnolia Bluff where there are at least three, free car parks available to the public. Be sure not to drive down private access roads in Discovery Park though, as military housing is still in use within the 534-acre park.

As described on the City of Seattle website, "the site is one of breathtaking majesty. Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular view of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges." If you’re fortunate enough to visit the park on a clear day, you will understand that the statement is no understatement and even if you can’t see the mountains, the views through the forests and over Puget Sound are worth going for alone.

We parked in the North parking lot, close to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, which is home to an art gallery. From here, you have a choice of trails to follow. All are well marked and most markers also indicate distances. We followed the trail to North Beach on Shilshole Bay. At 1pm on a Saturday the tide was out but on the turn. We watched people on sailboats out enjoying the sun, dragging their feet in the water. A large heron stood in the waves, no doubt taking advantage of the abundance of seafood. We saw multitudes of clams spurting water out of the sand and many discarded shells. Clam digging and other fishing activities are prohibited in this park so the beach is obviously a prime spot for herons.

We walked up towards the small lighthouse where North Beach meets South Beach. In the instant that we turned the corner, the noise from the boats in Shilshole Bay dissipated and the beach widened, Rocks and pebbles give way to smooth sand and a scattering of families who made the trek down were picnicking with young children. It’s from here, looking roughly southeast on a clear day that you get an incredible view of Mt. Rainier. It would very easy to loiter on South Beach. Even on a sunny day, foot traffic is fairly light and the beach is quiet and serene. The road that comes close to South Beach is for authorised vehicles only which helps keep out the crowds.

From the beach we picked up the South Beach Trail. All paths are well maintained, with wooden stairways for the steep cliffs that lead down to North Beach and up from South Beach. There were a fair number of joggers and dog walkers on the route and if you’re planning to hike for a while, it’s worth taking a bottle of water and a snack along. At the top of the South Beach Trail in an overgrown meadow we joined the Loop Trail and headed north back to our car. There are a few fields in the park and most are left to their own devices, giving Discovery Park a wonderful air of being abandoned so that you do often feel like you’re on a journey of discovery.

The Loop Trail took us past some of the military housing and through a cluster of woods and brush before we rejoined the paved road back down to the parking lot. For any visitors to Seattle who don’t have the time to visit the mountains or the San Juan Islands, Discovery Park is definitely not a bad substitute. Here you experience magnificent mountain views, get close to the glacial waters of Puget Sound, and all in a location that feels much further than a 15-minute drive from downtown Seattle.

Discovery Park
3801 W Government Way, Seattle, WA 98199

In January 2007, one of the most exciting projects to happen in a long time in downtown finally opened to the public after eight years in the making. Posters for the Olympic Sculpture Park had given anxious downtown residents more lead time than a Michael Bay film. I say anxious because if you visit the city of Seattle, you may notice the distinct lack of green spaces. I live in Belltown so the idea of having a large park within walking distance was a very exciting prospect!

The Seattle Art Museum and the Trust for Public Land purchased the land between Western Avenue, Alaskan Way, and Broad Street in 1999 for a modest $16.5 million. That same year, Microsoft alum Jon Shirley and his wife, Mary, pledged to fund operations so that the park could remain free to public visitors. Two years later, Weiss/Manfredi Architects in New York were commissioned as lead designers and the park you can see now is the result of these collaborative efforts.

The park spans a road and a railway line, drawing your eye from Western Avenue to the waterfront view, which on a clear day allows you to see the magnificent Olympic mountain range. On your first visit I would definitely recommend entering the park from Western Avenue entrance and walking down towards the waterfront as opposed to starting on Alaskan Way.

Being as new as it is, most of the vegetation in the park is still young so you have to see the potential. Fortunately, Seattle is blessed with plenty of sun and rain so it shouldn’t take too long for shrubs and grasses to settle in.

Probably the most striking sculpture at the park is Eagle, by Alexander Calder. It has pride of place in the park and is visible from almost any angle. The PACCAR Pavilion at the top of the park is worth a look to start your tour. You can stop in for a coffee and check out two installations by Pedro Reyes. Next on the trail is Richard Serra’s Wake, which seem totally at home in a setting where you can look out at the Puget Sound and see huge cargo ships running in and out of the Port of Seattle.

There are 21 pieces currently at the park, some I think are wonderful and others not so much. But part of the fun of the park is walking the zig-zag path and considering the different sculptures on the way. On the corner of Broad and Elliott is the Neukom Vivarium by Mark Dion. It’s essentially a 60ft fallen tree that’s been laid to rest in a greenhouse environment and visitors are allowed to observe the different life forms now living off the tree. As you might expect of a greenhouse, it’s a very warm and damp environment. The only element that seems to be missing is a scattering of exotic butterflies.

If you follow the diagonal paths all the way down, you’ll pass Love & Loss by Roy McMakin. It takes a few seconds to put together the pieces of the puzzle but if you stand at the correct angle, you’ll be able to make out the different letters subtly painted onto trees, benches, a table and what has now become a wishing well of sorts.

The Olympic Sculpture Park eventually joins up with Myrtle Edwards Park, where you can continue walking along the waterfront for another mile or so. On a warm summer’s evening, taking in the two parks is an uplifting experience even if it does get busy with joggers and bikers (fortunately there is a separate bike lane.) The two parks are also very popular with dog-walkers and young families, understandable with the many well-paved paths connecting Western Avenue with the waterfront.

If you want to round off the evening in style, I’d suggest ducking into the bar at the Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70 (2801 Alaskan Way) to watch the sun set. Try one of their mojitos, they’re delicious and you can’t beat the Puget Sound and mountain views although at $11 each, the pleasure comes at a price.

The Olympic Sculpture Park is open and free to the public 365 days a year.
May 1-Sept 30: 6am-9pm daily
October 1-April 30: 7am-6pm daily

Olympic Sculpture Park
2901 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Tel:
www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/OSP/default.asp

Pike Place Market is the heart, soul, and stomach of downtown Seattle. Without it, Seattle would probably be just another built-up city with the usual cluster of big name clothing stores. I find it a bit frightening that this wonderful site was almost sold off for commercial development in the 1970s.

Like any self-respecting market should be, Pike Place is the place to come to experience food at its best, particularly Pacific Northwest produce. In the summer, tourists swarm to the market, marveling at the throwing skills of the fishmongers at the corner of Pike Street and Pike Place, or shuffling along from stall to stall to admire the elephant garlic and Bing cherries. Having lived in Seattle for the past four years, and worked just behind the market for two, I have a few great lunch spot recommendations although it’s hard to keep the list to just ten!

1) MARKET GRILL. 1509 Pike Pl #3. Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
One of my very favorite spots is Market Grill. The menu choice is a fillet of salmon, halibut, shrimp or chicken, grilled in Cajun seasoning and served in a crusty baguette with onions and tomatoes or with a side of green salad and brown rice. They also serve what I believe to be the best clam chowder in the market, and a side of what may also be the best coleslaw I’ve ever tasted! Sandwiches and salads run at around $6, making a great value meal. You can take out, or if you’re lucky, grab one of the very few bar stools available at their counter. Here you can watch the staff cook fish and shrimp on the grill while you wait and listen to your neighbor's conversations or admire the many wall posters, including a lovely portrait photo of Ronald Reagan.

2) ULI’S FAMOUS SAUSAGE. 1511 Pike Place Market. Seattle, WA 98101
Tel: 206.839.11000
Directly opposite Market Grill, you will find the sausage emporium of Seattle. Uli is a German Master Butcher who somehow ended up in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually seen him behind the counter although I have seen photos of him and his splendid mustache in the shop window. You can buy different varieties of lamb, chicken, and pork sausages to take home or pick one out and they’ll cook it on the spot. There are maybe two or three seats beside the service counter but given that they’re right on the busy market thoroughfare, you’re better off eating it on the hoof, even if it does mean spilling onions and mustard as you go. The sausages are hot and juicy and Uli’s supplies to an impressive list of Seattle restaurants in case my recommendation isn’t convincing enough.

3) SABRA MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH. 1916 Pike Pl #14. Seattle, WA 98101
Tel
Sabra, and the nearby Saigon are little oases of peace. They both serve exotic comfort food and they’re both set back from the main market street. They’re a bit tricky to find but I’d advise asking for directions to the Starbucks store and then look up at all the shop signs until you find Sabra’s mixed in there somewhere. The lady who runs Sabra must be the warmest and calmest person in the market, which immediately puts you at ease. I usually order the lamb shawarma sandwich. The pita bread is warm and fluffy and the meat is tender and flavorful with tzatziki sauce, which usually drips all over my hands.

4) SAIGON. 916 Pike Place #17, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
Almost opposite Sabra is the delightful Saigon. The kitchen counter is tiny but Saigon has a lot of seating available. On a colder day, I’d recommend a big bowl of Chicken Pho soup. It’s heart- and tummy-warming, served up with plenty of noodles, bean sprouts, thick chunks of chicken, slices of onion, a sprinkling of coriander leaves, and a wedge of lime and a small pot of mixed spicy and plum sauce on the side. Great to share are the fresh rolls, which come with tofu or shrimp. Note that Saigon doesn’t accept debit/credit cards so be sure to take cash.

5) LE PANIER. 1902 Pike Place, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
Le Panier on the corner of Stewart Street and Pike Place is always busy. Touting itself as "a very French bakery", Le Panier delivers. Flaky croissants come plain or filled with raspberry and baguette sandwiches are ready to go. If the choice seems limited, I’ve never found this to be a problem. My favorites are ham and butter, crudités, turkey and Brie. About once a year I’ll treat myself to their "Napoleon" mille-feuille. You really have to eat this dessert in the privacy of your own home or hotel room as the second you bite into it, cream and custard shoots out at all angles and a lot of it ends up around, rather than in your mouth. There’s a very small amount of seating available at Le Panier so you can wait for a stool or take out and eat in the small outdoor plaza behind Sabra, if the weather’s good.

6) THREE GIRLS BAKERY. 514 Pike Place #1, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
Three Girls Bakery (not to be confused with Three Sisters in Post Alley) is run by Groucho Marx and a group of hip, young students. OK, so it’s not really, but if you eat there you’ll see where I’m coming from. Working in a kitchen the size of Luxembourg, the staff serve up sandwiches the height of the Space Needle. Sandwiches are made to order and there’s usually a healthy soup selection, all of which are excellent, although I really recommend their mushroom barley soup. There’s a small bar at the back with seating and the turnaround is usually fairly fast so it’s worth waiting. I’d also suggest trying one of their cookies and a pain au chocolat, although possibly not all in one sitting.

7) JAPANESE GOURMET. 82 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
Half way up the hill to First Avenue, you’ll find the energetic Japanese Gourmet. Don’t be put off by their window display, the food served inside is real and fresh. The lunch menu offers great deals such as a big daily bento box and five- and eight-piece sushi plates. The edamame is a favorite of mine and on a good day it comes with a generous sprinkling of salt crystals. I also really enjoy the tempura: squash, potato, asparagus, shrimp, and sometimes other unidentifiable vegetables that are equally tasty. The sushi is fairly standard but after having tried sashimi at Tsukiji Fish Market, I’m not sure anything quite compares but it definitely satisfies a craving for Japanese food.

8) FALAFEL KING. 1509 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
For anyone planning an evening date, I would not recommend lunch at Falafel King. This is because garlic is the friend of Falafel King. If fresh breath isn’t an issue then I would definitely urge you to try their menu because it’s all fantastic. The chicken shawarma sandwich (which also comes as a plate), the hummus, the baba ghanouj, and the lentil soup that I’ve tried here have all been outstanding. The sandwich is thick, garlicky (of course), filled with juicy chicken and crunchy red cabbage, and necessitates a two-hour nap after consumption. Seating at Falafel King is almost non-existent but, again, I could recommend the courtyard behind Sabra if you get stuck.

9) BACCO CAFÉ & BISTRO. 86 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
Bacco’s been going through some changes recently. The lunch menu, unfortunately has lost a little of its appeal (I’m lamenting the loss of their Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad) but I have to give Bacco some kudos. This personable café is split between two levels and offers an impressive and imaginative list of fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies. For lunch, I can recommend the Caesar salad with crab. I also enjoy their creamy tomato-basil soup, which is often on their menu. As mentioned, my favorite salad is now no longer available but they have a decent list of alternative salads and panini, wrap, and regular sandwiches.

10) SESTOS. 1518 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Tel:
I want to give a mention to Sestos because if I don’t, you’ll visit the market without even knowing it’s there. Below the market is Western Avenue, which you can access by walking to Victor Steinbrueck Park and then continuing downhill towards the waterfront, or by taking the hidden elevator close to Market Grill. It’s a small, bright café with friendly staff, who take pride in offering specialty Louisiana fare, such as daily gumbos and chilis, along with a great selection of hot and cold sandwiches. If you’re around in the wintertime, ask if they’ve made clam chowder, as it’s the only one I know that rivals Market Grill. My favorite sandwich is the chicken salad sandwich and they produce amazing bagels, which come with a luxurious cream cheese whipped with honey.

www.pikeplacemarket.org

Taking a 30-minute ferry ride to Bainbridge Island is a perfect half-day trip if you don’t have the time to venture out to the San Juan Islands, and if you’re happier being a pedestrian during your stay. Along Alaskan Way at Pier 52, ferries leave for Bainbridge Island every hour and for a foot passenger, the cost is only $6.70 (less for under 18 yrs and seniors). The ride out to Bainbridge will give you not only the best views of the Seattle skyline, it will also give you a taste of the Puget Sound air, which gets noticeably fresher the closer you get to the islands.

The ferries that shuttle between Seattle and Bainbridge are fairly large, carrying cars, bikes (another option if you want to explore further afield), and foot passengers. There’s an on board café although I’d strongly recommend saving your appetite for one of the many quaint cafes on the other side. There are also a couple of decks where you can get the perfect tourist snap of you and your loved ones outside with panoramic views behind. Be sure to take a warm jacket and hold onto your caps though as even on the calmest of summer days, the sea breeze can catch you unawares.

Once at Bainbridge, it’s a very short walk from the terminal to the center of town. Turning left at the first set of traffic lights, you can walk down Winslow Way East, where you’ll find the Blackbird Bakery at 210 (great for quality coffee and cake) and opposite, my favorite place for brunch, Café Nola (www.cafenola.com) It’s name has gathered popularity so I’d strongly recommend making a reservation in advance, otherwise you can expect a one to two-hour wait!

After a pig out, we usually walk around the small outdoor shopping mall on the corner of Madison Ave N. and Winslow Way W. where they have an interesting mixture of shops selling trinkets, baby clothes, shoes, and another bakery! Then we head down Madison Avenue S. to the waterfront where there’s a very quiet and deserted marina and you can hear the small waves lapping on the shingles. There’s a small boardwalk, which you can follow along the shoreline, or you can head back along Bjune Drive SE, which rejoins Winslow Way East and the road back to the ferry terminal.

Bainbridge is a very soporific place. I know because I usually feel like nodding off on the return ferry journey. If you’re lucky enough to travel on a clear day, stay awake and keep an eye out for outstanding views of Mt. Rainier as the ferry passes West Seattle on the way back.

I’d not been to a baseball game since moving here and to be honest, the people I’ve met haven’t given me much incentive to go. Coming from the UK, the only sports I could liken it to were rounders, which I played as a child, or cricket, which is even slower and duller than baseball sounded.

But when we were offered a couple of free tickets, I thought it would be worth checking out. I’d already been a season ticket holder for the beleaguered Seattle Supersonics basketball team and had been to more than my fair share of Seattle Seahawks American football games. I could appreciate basketball for the fast and furious action. American football I’m not sure I’ll ever understand (what kind of sport has the players stop and chat every 30 seconds?)

The Mariner’s play at Safeco Field, a 19.59-acre outdoor park with real grass and a retractable roof. It’s also right next door to Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks. If you want to get the full game experience, you should arrive at 7:05pm for the national anthem. If you don’t, you can show up at 7:15pm, which is when the game really starts.

The rules of baseball seemed fairly straightforward although a friend and I got some pointers from people in front of us. We had great seats; about 28 rows back from the home plate. Ticket prices range from $7 to $55 for a single game and obviously the cheaper the ticket, the higher up and farther away you are.

Safeco Field is a great stadium to see a sporting event, especially on a summer’s day where you can bask in the sun for a while. As far as the facilities go, it’s a haven for fast food and beer-lovers. Beer and soda is available everywhere you look and the food choices are pretty much limited to pizza, burgers, and hot dogs, although there is a nod to Mariner’s player Ichiro Suzuki with a sushi bar. We grabbed a couple of lukewarm hotdogs and a soda, which set us back $13. Fast food definitely does not come cheap at game time and a pint of beer costs $8.

Bad food aside, the true point of going to any match is to experience the spirit of the crowd and even with the Mariner’s losing 3-5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, people were waving complimentary t-shirts in the air before the final inning in the hopes that it would pull another home run out of their team. The game attracts all types of families and friends of all ages and sizes. Some dress up and dance in the hopes of being captured on the large screen beside the scoreboard.

One guy in our group was lucky enough to catch a foul ball hit by Mariner Richie Sexson. I ducked for cover (I swear it flew higher than the stadium) as our friend jostled to grab it. He got away relatively unhurt although I think most fans who catch a foul ball end up with a bruised hand at the very least.

Many people leave the stadium after the seventh inning to avoid the end game traffic congestion. We left after the eighth, which was just as well as there was no scoring in the final inning, and by that time it was 10:15pm. With a running time of 3.5+ hours I can see why a lot of people think that baseball games go on a bit long, especially given that there are 162 games to get though in just one season.

seattle.mariners.mlb.com

If you’re enjoying the view of the Puget Sound from Victor Steinbrueck Park at the end of Pike Place Market then chances are at some point you’ll be looking directly toward Alki Beach in West Seattle. On a map, West Seattle is an arm of land that juts out into the Sound, accessible most directly by the dramatically arched West Seattle Bridge. Thankfully the perimeter of West Seattle has preserved a small scattering of public parks and beaches, most of them blessed with stunning views of the Sound and the Olympic Mountain range.

Alki Beach is the most accessible of all the parks, especially if you’re without your own transport. A few bus routes (including the number 37) run from downtown Seattle to Alki but from late April through to the end of September, the Elliott Bay Water Taxi offers a more sedate and direct way of getting there. The boat service operates seven days a week, leaving from Pier 55 at the end of Spring Street along Alaskan Way. For $3 (cash-only for a one-way adult ticket) you can be at Seacrest dock in West Seattle in less than 15 minutes.

There is some history to the beach, although it’s hardly well advertised. In November 1851, Chief Seattle and his tribe welcomed the first white settlers to the shores of the city that would become the Chief’s namesake. Most of the group decamped to the other, more sheltered side of Elliott Bay (now downtown Seattle) within a few months but one family hung on and laid claim to the geographically-challenged West Seattle. Slowly but surely, development gained momentum and now West Seattle is a sought-after residential area.

At first, Alki might look like a laid back beach suburbia, where inspired hippie shacks are giving way to the spread of condo monstrosities designed by a pervasive group of talentless Seattle architects. This is truer on winter days but in the summer, Alki is a thriving community of divers, kayakers, volleyball players, ice-cream lovers, and beach bums. A far cry from the world of Chief Seattle.

Disembarking the water taxi at Seacrest Park, turn right and walk along Alki Avenue SW, and follow the waterfront north. After a short distance the road veers left and you gradually lose sight of the Seattle skyline. The air smells saltier, the water becomes calmer and Alki Beach beckons. Cycle and pedestrian lanes run side-by-side, home to dog walkers, roller bladders, cyclists and joggers. If you want to join in, rollerblades, bikes and kayaks can be rented from Seacrest Boathouse where the water taxi pulls in.

In about 20-30 minutes you’ll reach the 2.5 mile strip of Alki Beach. In the summer, part of the beach is given over to volleyball courts for some beach volleyball action. Further down the way, families gather for birthday barbecues and picnics and it can get very crowded. I almost enjoy Alki more on a clear and quiet winter’s day but there’s something to be said for the happiness and activity that a hot summer’s day brings to the beach. On occasion carefree motorcyclists parade up and down Alki Avenue, as do young and irritating drivers of tricked-out cars, but it all adds colour to the neighbourhood.

Alki isn’t really a place you’d expect, or plan to shop but there’s one place worth visiting at 2532 Alki Ave SW and that’s Coastal, a surf boutique shop selling clothing and accessories for men and women. Despite its size, Coastal has a great selection of beach as well as winter wear and carries some interesting lines by local designers such as Casual Industrees.

The restaurants along Alki aren’t much to write home about but during the high season they tend to fill up fast. The main eateries offer fish and chips, chowder, and burgers but there are a couple of substantial options such as the Alki Homestead Restaurant a block back from Alki on 61st Ave SW and Cactus at 2820 Alki Ave SW.

If we go to Alki during the day we usually stop at Homefront Smoothies and Espresso. They have a long list of smoothies and a decent selection of ice cream. I’m not sure why but we also get some amusement from their monumentally slow service. The smoothies are mediocre but it makes a refreshing turnaround point before we head back to Seacrest Park. Unfortunately the only other obvious refreshment options are Starbucks and Tully’s. I have an apocalyptic vision that one day Alki Avenue will be a line of 12-storey cookie-cutter condominiums, interspersed with Starbucks, Tully’s, KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King. I hope that my pessimistic imagination is just working overtime and that Alki will retain some of the Bohemian charm that you can see in a few remaining dwellings along the way.

Since 1962, Tillicum Village on Blake Island has played host to millions of guests in search of Native American Indian-style dining and cultural entertainment. With boats leaving twice daily through the summer from Pier 55 on the Seattle waterfront, access to Blake Island is made easy on this four-hour tour.

We decided to join the tourists and try this experience for our wedding anniversary. We signed up for the 4.30pm departure (there’s also a lunch tour leaving at 11.30am) and about 40 minutes later we arrived at Blake Island, but not before slowing down to photograph a couple of sea lions sunbathing on a yellow buoy. There’s a bar on board the boat so we were able to enjoy a bottle of Mexican beer although others opted for cocktails as well as ice cream and popcorn snacks, which were popular with the children.

On a sunny August evening, Blake Island is without a doubt, a beautiful place to be. As the boat pulls in to Tillicum Village, the painted longhouse with its winding, clam shell white path and green lawns comes into view. We disembarked and formed a trail up the footpath to the lodge. En route, we were served small cups of fresh clams, steamed in a refreshing butter-onion broth. Visitors are encouraged to dump out the clam shells on the ground where the shards are bleached by the sun and help regenerate the footpath.

The group quickly moved into the longhouse, where an orderly queue is formed for the salmon dinner buffet. The dinner highlight is the salmon. Baked around alder wood fires and held vertically on four-foot cedar stakes, the salmon is prepared according to ancient Indian custom. The fish is cooked around fires inside the lodge although they’re located rather awkwardly behind the serving tables, which means they are somewhat obscured from the queues of diners and by the time we had a chance to pass by the fire pits again, all the salmon and cedar stakes had long since been cleared away.

The salmon and dark bread were delicious but the offerings of red potatoes, wild rice, and salad were a bit uninspiring (the salad looked like it was bought in bulk from Costco). Each person was handed a fish-shaped serving plate ahead of the buffet and the lines certainly moved very quickly so that within minutes, we were seated at one of the dining tables in the long house. At one end of the hall is the stage where the performance takes place and the rest of the space is taken up with dining tables set on raked levels. We were shown to our seats and started to tuck into our meal. Lemonade and water jugs are pre-set on every table but you can order other drinks, including wine and beer, from harried servers running from table to table. When the lady came to our table she immediately overlooked us after the group of four, two seats away from us confirmed that they were OK with lemonade and then she looked a little put out when we caught her attention to ask if we could order a drink. A glass of Cabernet-Merlot is $7 a glass and I must admit that considering the $79 adult ticket price I was a little surprised that they couldn’t provide at least one complimentary drink per person.

Oil lamps decorated the long tables adding a pretty glow to the windowless hall, which is constructed entirely of wood with tall walls painted with giant Indian murals. Each place was set with a jumping salmon-shaped chocolate, which turned out to be the meager dessert offering.

Second helpings at the buffet table were available so we went back for a little more salad and bread by which time almost all the salmon was gone. Shortly after, an emcee announced that the dance presentation would begin shortly so we finished up our food and waited for the lights to dim.

The presentation that followed was a series of dances and reenactments, all set to music and a pre-recorded voiceover. The stage was outfitted as a clearing beside a rock face in the midst of a forest. A statue deer and eagle looked on as the show opened with a kayak being pulled across the stage. Two actors sat in the canoe, pretending to row as the voice of God began the narration. Other attempts at stage mechanics included an opening and closing cave door, a (fake) smoking wood fire centre stage, a rain shower and thunderstorm, and a giant wooden mask, which was lowered from the ceiling at the end of the show and opened up to reveal an inner mask. The show was extremely colourful and illustrated the beauty of various Indian stories, such as the raven who created the sun, moon and stars by dispersing a sacred light source when fleeing from an eagle.

The striking costumes, masks, and props were all impressive but I got the impression that at times, the young actors weren’t taking the show seriously. Many of their actions seemed half-hearted and at the beginning of the show I saw one actor grinning at another, as if he was trying to get a reaction. The presentation was more of a tourist sound and light spectacle and it felt like it was a far cry from any traditional Native American Indian gathering. I’m sure that the simplistic, dynamic presentation has greater tourist and kid appeal but for anyone hoping to see something raw or with real cultural integrity, it was a disappointment. I noticed one spectator had written in big letters in the guest book that it was superficial and I sadly had to agree.

By the time the show ended, our group had only half an hour before the boat was scheduled to leave for the return journey back to Seattle. I was surprised at how fast the time had passed by and disappointed that we had such a short amount of time to explore any of the island trails. We snapped photos of the totem poles and of the hazy view of Mt. Rainier and took a short walk north of Tillicum Village. All too soon the boat was sounding its horn, calling all passengers back to the dock.

The ride back was significantly cooler so we took shelter at the back of the boat. This time the bar was offering Peppermint Patties with schnapps and other tempting nightcaps but we managed to hold back. We were back in town by 8.30pm and as I walked home, I was already planning my next trip to Blake Island. The next time though I hope to make an independent trip with plenty of time to hike around the island and enjoy all that it has to offer. It seems a shame that in a place of such natural beauty and cultural importance that for the most part the Tillicum Village tour has turned into an enclosed experience of artifice and tourist cliché.

When friends or family come to stay and ask for recommendations on what to see or where to go, possibly the last place you’re going to send them is to one of the more unattractive parts of town. The Duwamish River runs close to the heart of the City of Seattle. You can even see its beginnings from across the Puget Sound at Pike Place Market, yet you’ll hear few residents talking about it. During the summer months, the Duwamish River is the last place you’d take your kids for a day out or meet your friends for a picnic. Having said all of this, I can’t recommend the Duwamish River Clean-up Coalition Cruise enough.

The two-hour tour talks you through the history and the demise of the river and by the end of it you’ll be wondering if Seattle’s title of "Emerald City" is quite so deserved. Leaving from Gate C on Harbour Island on a showery Saturday afternoon, our guide talked knowledgeably about the many changes that have contributed to the pollution and alteration of the river. Human interference is evident from the outset. At the mouth of the river sits Harbour Island, which is itself a manmade entity. It is the largest manmade island outside of Kobe, Japan, and was born out of the heaps of dirt dug up during the Denny regrade project and the leveling of the Seattle hills.

Immediately after, you learn about the dramatic re-shaping of the Duwamish. Over the past 100 years the river morphed from a winding wetland oasis into a straight waterway, ideal for shipping and industry. Now flanked by concrete factories, the Duwamish has the dubious honour of being a Superfund site. There’s nothing super about it. The Superfund law was created to protect people and communities from heavily contaminated toxic waste sites. The contaminants in the Duwamish include PCBs, PAHs, mercury and phthalates. I didn’t know what most of these were before I went on the tour but when you learn that no fish or salmon in the Duwamish or even in the Puget Sound is considered safe to eat now you know it’s not good.

Heavy industry along the river has polluted the mud to depths of 12ft and is polluting the air too. Smoke stacks from the cement companies emit toxic odours, which have caused headaches and sickness to local school children to the point where the school has had to send them home for the day. Cleanup efforts are in place but its obvious that much more work is needed and it’s an ongoing battle of politics, as agencies contracted for the cleanup operations tend to be the cheapest and not necessarily the best qualified for the job. In addition there’s the tough question of where to transfer the polluted materials to once they’ve been extracted from the river.

A more encouraging part of the trip talks about Kellogg Island, which is the only remaining natural part of the waterway. From the boat you can catch a glimpse of what the Duwamish used to look like as it winds its way around the steep, grassy banks of the island. It’s illegal to land a boat here as the island has protected status as a nature reserve providing a small haven to nesting eagles and ospreys. Across from Kellogg Island, the Duwamish Indian tribe purchased land back from the city (the land here originally belonged to them) and they’re in the process of building a centre for environmental education on the site of the tribe’s original log house.

The boat continues down under South Park Bridge, which everyone on board was horrified to learn is in a worse condition than Seattle’s earthquake-damaged viaduct. There’s an ongoing argument between King County and Tukwila as to who will bear the cost of replacing the bridge and if a resolution isn’t reached in the next two years the bridge will be closed.

The Duwamish River Clean-up Coalition Cruise certainly isn’t an activity with much of a feel-good factor but it’s one way to get to know a very real if unfortunate side of Seattle. It’s all the more shocking because the Duwamish River runs through the heart of a city that prides itself on its proximity to nature and all things green.

The cruise boat holds 40 people and up to 60 people outside if both front and back decks are used. The tour itself is free of charge and as the boat pulls back into dock at Harbour Island, there’s a friendly request for donations for what is clearly a very worthwhile and deserving cause.

www.duwamishcleanup.org

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