98121 Travel Guide
Tags: Top Chef Travel / Top Chef / Food Travel / Restaurant Travel / Seattle Travel / → All Tags
Robin Leventhal of 'Top Chef' Pushes Truffled Popcorn In Seattle
Even when the grand prize eludes them, Top Chef alums often find a way to get the maximum mileage out of their fifteen minutes. Take, for example, Robin Leventhal, who didn't earn many popularity points with her fellow cast mates, but did manage to land an Executive Chef gig at Seattle's See Sound Lounge in early October. A simple panna cotta proved to be Leventhal's Achilles' heel on the show, so it's a good thing that there aren't many desserts on See Sound's menu, aside from a couple ice cream sandwiches and the silly inclusion of candied orange peel.
See Sound talks up their new chef's pseudo-celebrity stature on their website, declaring with pride, "The show is extremely popular. Take heed, watching it makes you hungry!" However, it's going to take more than a paltry self-endorsement to convince us of the restaurant's culinary cred. In our experience, the focus of restaurant/lounges tend to be promoting a cool, sexy atmosphere, not quality dishes. Pre-judging? Maybe, but let's take a closer look at what's on the menu for more.
Tags: Recession Restaurants / Recession-Restaurants-Map / Restaurants / → All Tags
Wann Izakaya
One of the latest food trends to take over the West Coast is the emergence of Japanese izakayas, which have been spreading like wildfire from Vancouver Island to Venice Beach.
Izakayas are often referred to as Japanese tapas bars because they serve the same function in Japan as tapas bars do in Spain--providing a cheap, no-frills space for diners to hop in, grab a few small plates of snacks and hop out. Also just like tapas, izakayas are coming to America in the form of much fancier, much more expensive eateries--and the dishes aren't get any bigger.
But there are a few genuine (and cheap) izakayas if you know where to look. One of Seattle's best is Wann, which is actually an offshoot of a Japanese chain. The menu here ranges from traditional Japanese favorites like Kobe beef tongue and dried squid tempura, to off-the-wall comfort creations like a Kurobuta sausage corn dog and brie cheese tempura.
But despite their venture into fusion-y, trendy fare, Wann keeps it real with the small plate prices, which start as low as four bucks and don't venture into double digits.
Related Stories:
· Wann Izakaya [Official Site]
· Foodiest Food Truck Ever: Skillet Street Food [Jaunted]
· Recession Restaurants Map [Jaunted]
[Photo: Wann]
Tags: Airports / SeaTac Airport / Christmas / Holiday Travel / → All Tags
SeaTac: Not Bringing Back the Trees
Arborial encore? Not this year...
After making headlines for all the wrong reasons, SeaTac Airport has already released its plans for the upcoming holiday season: They're nothin' but secular. Seems a little early to announce the plans, until you remember last year's dust up.
Upon seeing a bunch of Christmas trees last December, a rabbi asked that a menorah be included in the display. Rather than face legal wrangling or deal with requests to add nods to other religions, SeaTac scrapped its whole "holiday tree" display. Everyone chimed in on the debate, which continued over a long weekend before the airport decided it would bring the trees back.
This time around, it should be pretty hard for anyone to get offended. Plans call for artificial birch trees, synthetic snow, images of Mount Rainier and the San Juan Islands. Actually, that kind of offends us, but not because it's without religious iconography. The whole thing just sounds so boring and ugly--spice it up SeaTac!
Related Stories:
· Holidays May Bring Harmony at SeaTac [USA Today]
· Trees Return to Seattle Airport [Jaunted]
· Seattle Airport Takes Down Trees [Jaunted]
[Photo: josiehen]
Tags: Seattle-Music-Venues / Live Music / Music Travel / Music Venues / → All Tags
Seattle Music Venues: Crocodile Cafe
The Crocodile Café, better known as "The Croc" in downtown Seattle, serves our three favorite things: good live music, cheap and satisfying food and strong Bloody Marys.
The stage follows a formula. Three bands perform each night. The Croc hosts mostly unknown acts, with the occasional Pixies cover band in the mix, and usually charges between $10 and $20 for a three-group show. Many consider The Croc the best place to see the Northwest's up-and-coming talent. It fits about 500 people in the open room behind the diner. And yes, Kurt Cobain played there, but only once, says The Washington Post:
The Croc, a club-restaurant-bar, has a reputation as the CBGB of grunge, though no single club really qualifies as the musical movement's launch pad. The club, which opened about five months before the September 1991 release of Nirvana's breakthrough blockbuster, "Nevermind," is often erroneously perceived as the center of Nirvana-mania, even though the band played the club only once - as an unannounced opening act for Mudhoney on Oct. 4, 1992.
Related Stories:
· The Crocodile Cafe [Official Site]
· Live Music coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: simulated dreams]
Tags: Eat-n-Sleep / Ace Hotel / Sushi / Belltown / → All Tags
Eat 'n Sleep in Seattle :: Wasabi and Ace
Our Eat 'n Sleep feature profiles a restaurant in a random city and a hotel nearby. It's kinda like that old show "Dinner and a Movie" but you know, with restaurant and hotels. And better jokes.
As much as we all love to dodge predictability on the road, there's something so wonderfully cozy about being design-savvy, pampered and well fed. Just being in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood will get you close. But to really get hip and sexy, grab some top notch sushi, thoroughly explore the bar and sleep it off in an artistically attuned hotel.
Tags: seattle / food / sake / travel / → All Tags
Booze From Asia is Classier, More Efficient
Belltown is officially the hottest, sexiest neighborhood in Seattle, yet somehow the vibe is that of a college town where every single student is celebrating their 21st birthday. if you've ever been to Santa Barbara on a Thursday night, you can visualize this.
Amid this sea of hormones and smeared makeup, there's an oasis in the form of Umi Sake House, a relatively quiet, elegant lounge. There's a sushi bar and full kitchen, but the emphasis is on the many different types of sake available by the bottle.
The slightly calmer crowd within is probably due to the prices: The cheapest bottle is $35--and the nectar therein is pretty gross. True tastiness comes with a $150 price tag. The space is nice as well, white and bright inside with a more demure "patio" out back. We use that term liberally, as it's a Seattle-style patio: a room, with skylights. There's also a DJ, but he's spinning backgroundy music, not encouraging people to get up on the floor.
Related:
Umi Sake House [Citysearch]
Sake to Me [Jaunted]
Tags: Hotels / → All Tags
Starwood's Secret: Sixth Avenue Inn
Frommer's lets us all in on a little secret. Before Starwood became the hotel giant it is, it started by buying up tons of smaller properties to convert. One of these was Seattle's Sixth Avenue Inn, a cozy inn in a great location. Yes, the Inn is owned by Starwood, but would you know it if you went there? Not at all. They've managed to keep it independent and avoid marketing it with the rest of the brands, but still give it Starwood service and accountability.
The price is less then Starwood's usual--you can get a room for as little as $72 and there's a bar and grill, exercise room and full staff. It's reportedly quite safe and clean. And the mattresses are castoffs from other Starwood hotels so you just might get to sleep in that Heavenly Bed for about a third of the price. It's also just a quick walk to Pike Place Market and other attractions.
Related Stories:
· Chain Links: Starwood and Starbucks in Seattle [Frommers]
