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Sleepless in Seattle, 24 hours of eating and drinking

September 15, 2014 2 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

pike place market,seattle
Seattle is known for being the home of grunge music (above all, the band Nirvana), the coffee conglomerate Starbucks and the rain-streaked backdrop to the American version of The Killing. You could say that the Pacific North-West, Seattle and Portland, created the 90s – the music, the look, the nascent foodie culture. Seattle lies next to Puget Sound, the name of this body of water reflecting its proximity to the great Northern seas of Alaska and the Arctic. It’s here you can dig up the science fiction giant clams Geoducks. I only spent 24 hours there, en route to Portland from Alaska, but ran around in the drizzle, trying to see and taste everything. 
I stayed in the area called Fremont, at a trendy ‘hostel’, which felt like a rip-off at over 100 bucks a night. It seems nowadays that if you paint the room black and add a bit of Ikea furniture, you can call your establishment ’boutique’. They didn’t even put the sheets on the bed for me: a couple of sheets, a pillowcase, a thin pillow and a cheap ‘duvet’ with no cover were stacked on top of the mattress. You had to pay an extra 2 bucks for a towel. The staff were very nice, however, which made up slightly for the meanness of the accommodation, a triumph of cool over content. Fremont used to be cheap and bohemian but is now gentrified  hipster ground zero with some good places to eat. I ate giant fairy-tale slices of cake, white chocolate with strawberries, at Simply Desserts, tried the gelato at Sirena and scoffed a good tofu bahn-mi sandwich at Lucky’s Pho. Walking around the leafy neighbourhood I spotted a cookbook shop, The Book Larder, which has authors from all over the world doing demonstrations and talks, a cannabis camper van (it’s been legalised in Washington), public -spirited initiatives such as bird feeder style tables with book cases propped on top, outside private houses, anyone can take a book, replace it with another, and portaloos euphemistically christened ‘honey buckets’. 
I spent the morning at Pike Place Market in the centre of town. This is where the original Starbucks was born and there were queues around the block, with tourists snapping selfies outside against the logo. Do people really like Starbucks? For my uneducated coffee palate, it serves overpriced bitter weak coffee. I can only imagine that Starbucks coffee at Pike Place is a damn sight better than it is elsewhere. 
As this was a rainy Saturday morning, visiting the market verged on the unpleasant, it was so crowded with bustling shoppers. Or, rather, non-shoppers. One of the attractions of the fish stall at Pike Place is that the staff or crew do a sort of rolling sea shanty chant every half hour and rather than walk from the front of the icy rows of gawping bug-eyed seafood to the back, a good three metres, they throw the fish to the back. You see the silvery arc of an arms-length salmon being tossed to the guy with the scale, next to the cash register. Hundreds of tourists stand watching them, waiting expectantly for the spectacle to begin, blocking the way of any actual buyer. Every so often a crew member would forlornly ask, “Anyone want to buy fish, anyone? Anyone at all?”. I heard complaints from locals on the tram, when crossing town to get there, that Pike Place market has become a tourist trap (like Borough market in London) rather than a genuine farmer’s market. Nonetheless, it is worth the visit, but, again like Borough Market in London, try to avoid the weekends.
I liked the ubiquity of neon signage, it gave a Hopper-like ambiance, a retro glamour to the sprawling walkways of food stalls and restaurants. Inside the market you could buy ingredients and ready-made food if you wanted something to eat. Some of the more established suppliers were in permanent shops around the perimeter of the market.  There was a smoked salmon shop, the five types of Pacific salmon sold in wooden cigar-like boxes. You could also buy salmon jerky and the intriguing salmon candy, which I brought home but have yet to try.
Beecher’s cheese shop had a window where you could watch the cheese being made, the curds being formed in a large metal container while next to it you could order wedges of cheese to take home and hot food such as mac n cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches to eat right there. There were lines around the block and I joined them, ordering a rectangle of two toasted sourdough triangles which, when separated, formed stretchy lines of cheese. The sign of a good grilled cheese.
I ate cherries, chocolate covered and dried; of differing levels of sour to sweet, trying Rainier, Golden and Black varietals. At one stall, you could taste chilli jams, Scoville levels 1 to 7, I stopped at 5. One guy sold his homemade smoked paprika seasonings, smoked on alder wood, wish I’d bought some. A girl handed out short lengths of dried chocolate pasta for us to taste. A colourful spice shop located on the inside of the market, staffed by dreadlocked, pierced and tattooed  youngsters, sold loose powders, dried leaves, teas and ground desiccated berries.
Beecher's Handmade cheese shop, pike place market,seattle
Beecher's handmade cheese shop, grilled cheese, pike place market,seattle
fish monger, pike place market,seattlesalmon on a stick, pike place market,seattle
Those who know me know I like food on a stick.
Fish throwing at pike place market,seattle
Throwing the salmon
Meat shop, pike place market,seattle
The butchers counter; try the ‘working man special’.
Neon signs at pike place market,seattle
Neon signs everywhere
pike place market,seattle
Market characters like this guy and another guy, not pictured, who swept past me before I could lift my camera, with a dead racoon Davy Crockett style hat and a live cat curled around his neck like a scarf. There are street buskers to liven up the atmosphere, the white-haired man with no trousers playing a street piano, a jazzy band with double bass outside Starbucks. 
Chinese food stall, pike place market,seattle
Colourful stand for Chinese food
Fresh produce, pike place market,seattle
Lobster mushrooms, cherries, berries and huckleberries.
pike place market,seattle

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Comments

  1. caramelnibbles

    September 19, 2014 at 9:11 pm

    I totally love smoked salmon on a stick. And I really want mac n cheese now, yum.
    I can imagine that Seattle is reminiscent of Twin Peaks and particularly Lynch-esque at night.

    Reply
    • theundergroundrestaurant

      September 19, 2014 at 9:15 pm

      Mac n cheese there was great, soft, cheesy and creamy. Seattle was very friendly, a nice city, cultured, not too big. Never seen Twin Peaks but I believe it was set in Washington State.

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, s My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, spinach, cheddar. I used crème fraiche and blind baked puff pastry shells. I was up at 11 last night making these for todays street party, which featured in the mail, telegraph, mirror, metro courtesy of photographer Gavin Rodgers @asproider
Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-ba More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-based version of the original. Beautifully constructed, designed and written by @nikisegnit it’s vegetarian rather than vegan but recommended for both. She widens the sensory vocabulary around plant flavours in this book- encouraging new delicious sounding combinations. Now she includes new categories such as flower & meadow, caramel roasted, zesty roost- just the words make me salivate. #foodbooks #bookstagram #newbooks
Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
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I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @bre Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @brentcouncil Willesden library. I’ve been doing this a few times a year for the last few years. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a kitchen set up permanently. Libraries are community centres and could be used to teach how to cook from scratch.
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