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While the 100-year-old Pike Place Market is justifiably famed, few Seattlites, except those who live or work downtown, regularly visit it. Instead, they go to their own open-air neighborhood markets, which operate on weekends. The Ballard Sunday Market in North Seattle is a fine example, open Sundays in summer 1000 – 1500, reduced hours in winter.
The Sunday market focuses on individual small local growers, organic foods, specialty baked items (photo #2), boutique cheeses (photo #3), and the freshest of locally farm-grown produce, premium cured meats, and “wild” fish and shellfish. The resident Hmong community, formerly of Laos, sells exotic locally-grown flowers.
Some products are very esoteric, and many vendors have strong followings of local folks. Zane & Zach’s World Famous Honey Company, of nearby Renton, combines honeys with various hot sauces, bottled in jars that are carried around the world by aficionados – and they've got photos on-the-spot to prove it, with Z&Z-carrying travelers posing with the jars in Kyoto, the Arabian Sea, on the Matterhorn, and with Michelangelo’s David in Florence. Foraged & Found Edibles has baskets of succulent wild morels and unidentifiable greens that are guaranteed safe to eat. Captain “Oyster Bill” of Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton offers his fine-quality Pacific oysters – on ice and ready to slurp.
This is a good spot to pick up a loaf of bread, some specialty goat cheeses, berries hot off the bush, and a bottle of wine or hard cider, before walking a few blocks to the free Sunday summer concert at 1400 at the Ballard Locks (Tip to come). Or, as you walk the market, snack on a delicious hot fresh crepe (photo #4). Or, have a casual outdoor lunch here, with good people-watching, at the popular sandwich bar, The Other Coast (photo #5).
The market is located on Ballard Ave. NW and 22nd Ave. NW. Park for free on nearby Shilshole Ave. NW. Bus #18 takes 20 minutes from downtown. Other neighborhood markets can be found on the website below.
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While most people associate Starbucks with Seattle's coffee culture, the true coffee culture is found in local shops. We are spoiled by these awesome beverages, prepared by skilled barristas (vs. the automatic espresso machines used in many Starbucks locations these days).
If you're staying downtown, try Cafe Ladro and Top Pot Doughnuts.
In Belltown - Macrina Bakery has great espresso drinks. Uptown Espresso on 4th and Vine is awesome. And Bellino on 2nd uses the creamy-delicious Vivace method of making their drinks : )
These are just a FEW of the many fine local shops.
If you MUST go to Starbucks, go to the one across from Pike Place Market - The Original, which opened in 1971. Leave a Comment
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There are hundreds of sunday and farmers markets in Seattle in the summer and I'm going to share a few of the best and most worthy with you all hope you enjoy.
BALLARD SUNDAY MARKET
5300 block of Ballard
Sunday from 10-4pm April-Nov
11-3pm December-March
Amazing fresh fruit and vegetables that last for weeks at a time, something your not use to with store bought veggies and fruit. Check out the great wines sold by market vendors as well.
FREMONT SUNDAY MARKET
Year round Sunday 10-5pm
This is more of a european flea market rather then a farmers market. There is more then 150 booths to browse from and tons of locally made handbags, jewelry, soap, candles, vintage clothes, leather and even those "water pipes" for you stoners out there.
There are also markets in the University district, Lake City, Magnolia, west Seattle, and Columbia City. If you have additional questions about those feel free to email me. Leave a Comment
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In Seattle, home of the $4 buzz, there are premium coffee outlets everywhere from Starbucks to Seattle's Best.
This place, "Zeitgeist Coffee" is my favorite. I think it has the best coffee, ambience, location, staff, mood, etc.
They post and display art from local artists in an intimate & tasteful way.
Located at 171 S. Jackson St. downtown, about 2nd & Jackson, near Pioneer Square. A street or 2 north from Seahawks football stadium and a couple streets west of Salumis, the best sandwiches in the city.
Excellent vibes, staff is very knowledgeable and friendly as opposed to the callow baristas of Starbucks.
Check out their website Zeitgeist Coffee and you'll see right away why it is special & imho superior to most of the other coffee places in Seattle. Leave a Comment
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If you're wandering in downtown Seattle around lunchtime in the summer, here's a pleasant opportunity that locals know about, but tourists sometimes do not: Free Out-To-Lunch Concerts, from 1200-1330.
These are scheduled in July and August, nearly every day, but check the schedule. The artists are mostly local/regional, and include musicians in jazz, rock, pop, reggae, opera, R&B, blues, and country, depending on the day. These are fun low-key events in local outdoor parks downtown, suitable also for kids -- bring your sandwich or takeaway from any number of fine nearby restaurants. Hopefully the weather is good, so maybe some sunscreen is required, and hopefully no Gortex!
There's a handy map you can pick up from local merchants (see photo), or the website has schedule information.
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Oh I'm so excited to go see this new library, it just opened downtown 2 days ago (5/23/04). With 11 floors, 320 public use computers, 362,987 sq. feet and 49,000 sq. feet of parking you can't miss this!! I will be sure to update this when I visit it this weekend. Check out my travelouges for more pics. Leave a Comment
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Couldn't decide whether to put this in the tourist trap or local customs I decided to put it here because I think it's mostly crowded with locals rather then tourists nevertheless this place has grown with leaps and bounds in the last decade. When I was young all there was in U-Village as we call it was a lamonst, QFC, Ernest and a bowling alley. Now you can find every fancy pants shop you can name along with 3 starbucks which is absolutely ridiculous if you knew how big this place is. If you want to do some shopping and downtown just isn't the place for you then give the village a try, they have a ton of great restaurants and they actually just built a big parking garage which I think you'll soon have to pay for once this strip of new stores opens its doors this summer. Leave a Comment
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Like any American city, Seattle has some nicely clipped lawns with trimmed hedges. But what sets Seattle apart is the number of homeowners that have ripped sod out of their yards and gotten creative. Some are successes and others apparent failures but everyone seems to be following their own path. Luckily, there is beauty in chaos. Leave a Comment
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Over the years lots of my friends and co-workers in the Seattle area have acquired their own boats, and could you think of a better place to do that, with so much water and beautiful scenery?
You haven't lived until you peek out a high floor window over the sound on a sunny afternoon and watch all the locals sailing, boating, and even paragliding in and over Elliott Bay.
In the picture at left is a little boat that went chugging quietly past me, headed west on Elliott Bay across Puget Sound to Eagle Harbor & Bainbridge Island, with the Olympic range in the far background. Leave a Comment
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Sure it rains in Pacific Northwest, but over the years I have come to the conclusion that local residents play it up when you ask about it, so that it sounds like the sun never shines.
I suspect it is because the Pacific NorthWest and Seattle especially have become so crowded and bogged down with traffic, locals will do anything to discourage any more people from moving there..
My hat is off to them (fibbing Seattle locals), and I hope the truth never gets out. Leave a Comment
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- Howard Johnson Express Plaza
2500 Aurora Ave. N (formerly Howard Johnson), Seattle, WA - Best Western Pioneer Square
77 Yesler Way, Seattle, WA - Extendedstay Seattle Northgate
13300 Stone Ave N, Seattle, WA - Marriott Sea Tac Airport
3201 S 176th Street, Seattle, WA - Aurora Seafair Inn
9100 Aurora Ave. N, Seattle, WA - Marqueen Hotel (600 Queen Anne Avenue North )
600 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA - Red Lion Hotel Seattle South (11244 Pacific Highway South Seattle.)
11244 Tukwila International Boulevard, Seattle, WA - Coast Gateway Hotel (18415 International Blvd..)
18415 International Boulevard, Seattle, WA - The Roosevelt, a Coast Hotel
1531 7th Avenue, Seattle, WA - Travelodge Seattle City Center
2213 8th Avenue, Seattle, WA - Mediterranean Inn
425 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, WA - Pan Pacific Seattle
750 Wells Fargo Lane, Seattle, WA - Motel 6 Seattle Sea-Tac Airport South
18900 47th Ave S, Seattle, WA - Moore Hotel
1926 2nd Ave., Seattle, WA - Pike Street Cafe
1400 6th Ave., Seattle, WA
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on June 25, 2007
on June 18, 2004
on May 26, 2004
on April 13, 2005
on September 20, 2003
