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PAX Prime 2015 Food and Drink
seventyx7x
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Registered User regular
Let's discuss all things food related at PAX Prime!
Where have you eaten in Seattle before? Where have you heard is good and want to try this year?
I know we have a google Doc with places to eat somewhere around here.
Last year I had Lil' Woodies which was a pretty good burger place up the hill with average prices and a small seating area.
I also tried Dick's Burgers in Queen Ann. Very cheap and very good with an retro feel (cash only.)
Where have you eaten in Seattle before? Where have you heard is good and want to try this year?
I know we have a google Doc with places to eat somewhere around here.
Last year I had Lil' Woodies which was a pretty good burger place up the hill with average prices and a small seating area.
I also tried Dick's Burgers in Queen Ann. Very cheap and very good with an retro feel (cash only.)
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As for the Google doc and the food thread from last year:
That Google Doc is here. The thread is here.
Attending: PAX Prime 2016
Twitter @Pogoplay
I don't mean to quibble, but that's not two words. It's one word twice.
Always tasty selections there!
By the way, has anyone been to to Sutra Restaurant before? I want to take my mom out to celebrate her first year of retirement and she is 100% vegetarian.
I went there twice in 2013 the line was always really long but the wait wasn't. The staff there are pros.
I was curious if anybody knows of any places nearby that have vegan options. One of my group is vegan and it would suck to make him go eat alone.
Only a few of those are fully vegetarian even, but Veggie Grill and In the Bowl seem to be.
PAX Prime Attendee: '10, '12, '13, '14
Prime 2015 Cosplay: Hilda, Female Sunset City Hero, Squirtle Squad url="http://www.facebook.com/steleus"]X[/url
Five blocks down pike is a stand called Japan Dogs that has real good hot dogs with weird combinations like yakisoba on a hot dog. Real good.
those are the two places I always have to hit at least once while at PAX.
Pho Cyclo: Multiple locations: Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, Downtown Seattle (Downtown Seattle location only open for lunch Mon - Fri).
Long Provincial From the people who run Tamarind Tree in the International District. Pho + multiple other options.
Green Leaf: Locations in the International District, Belltown. Good Pho, but I love the duck noodle soup and the Banh Xeo appetizer.
Ba Bar: Capitol Hill. Upscale, most expensive, but very good. $11 - $13 for a bowl.
Veggie Grill is a little "chain-y" but still good. I'm not vegan / vegetarian but I like going there.
Wild Ginger has a vegan menu. More upscale Asian, but a lot of good options.
Portage Bay Cafe in South Lake Union has vegan options for breakfast.
Many of the restaurants in the area are pretty accommodating for vegan / vegetarian eating. Tom Douglas spots will work to come up with vegan options (they had a series on their blog about going vegan at the various restaurants). Loulay has been helpful in making vegan dishes for those in our group as well.
Breakfast:
La Paneir has the most amazing breakfast pastries (and also eclairs) you will ever eat. The crumpet shop is a hearty, real British crumpet. You can get a different savory version with egg/toppings/etc or they do a sweet version with homemade preserves. Also a really amazing cup of tea and coffee.
Lunch:
Juicy Cafe in the WSCC has some of the most amazing tasting food and it's overall very healthy. Great options if you eat meat or if you don't. Very quick and has a changing menu each day. Mod Pizza is quick, not to expensive and is fairly good (for thin crust pizza).
Dinner:
These are out top four dinner places. Pretty much our must goes tos when we come to Seattle. Long Provincial has some of the best Asian food we have had in a long time. Everything we have tried has been amazing. Palace Kitchen is wonderful. If you don't do dinner there at least do dessert. Their food is great but their desserts to die for. Momiji is my fav sushi place. Similar menu to a lot of the local sushi places but the building/atmosphere puts it above the rest for me. Mezcaleria Oaxaca is authentic Mexican food and some of the best we have ever had. You really can't go wrong with any of these four places.
Somewhere that we thought was a bit over rated was (don't stone me!) Top Pot Doughnuts. We have some really killer mom and pop doughnut places here in Michigan and Top Pot didn't even come close to quality or taste. If all you have are chain doughnut stores then this would be a step up but didn't really meet the hype that we kept hearing.
I like you more every year. So many better donuts here - if that place put 10% the money into recipe development that they put into marketing, it would be nearly as good as the local Westernco.
And I'm completely serious here, but if you want good donuts, go either to a fancy sit down restaurant that cooks them to order (like Revel) or go to one of the defunct 80's franchise stores. Seriously - many of the franchise spots like Winchells and Westernco have been purchased by Vietnamese immigrant families who bring their amazing baking traditions to a donut shop. It's not unusual to get the best donuts of your life at one of these places, along with a selection of scrumptious Vietnamese (Asian-French fusion) specialties like custard filled beignets or deep fried rice cookies.
There are so many that it's impossible to list them all here. What are you in to? Sports bars? Gaming Bars? Craft Cocktails? Extensive tap lists? Cheap food? Fancy food? Ethnic food? Nightlife scene? Quiet? Rowdy?
Probably something that's more on the quieter, chill side. Got a couple of beer drinkers in my group (not me, I like whiskey) but everyone agrees on keeping it on the cheap when possible.
We definitely don't fit well in the club scene lol, which was a bummer during PAX South because we could only find dance clubs instead of regular bars. Gaming bar could work too but I'm just thinking a fairly quiet place to grab some drinks and regale each other with PAX tales.
EDIT: Hmm, looks like they are renovating right now, so it should be interesting to see what it's like this year.
So does anyone eat at these three ever or regularly and if so which one did you like best? I'm pretty sure I liked either alberona or romeos so I may just order both one day and see which I like better for my weekend. But if someone can give a good recommendation on any of them might save myself some trouble and money.
We have Elephant and Castle in Chicago as well and I will say their poutine is Canadian approved
Another really great chain is Specialty's. We have a couple in Chicago and their turkey pesto sandwich makes me cry with joy. Great salads too and you can order ahead online for a specific time and just run in and pick it up, if you're running between panels or need to swing it by your room. It looks like it's only a block from the center!
They also have warm, fresh cookies and alert you online when they are coming out of the oven. Just sayin'
Right next to the convention center is a vegetarian restaurant where you can turn any of their dishes into vegan, called Cyber Dogs! http://www.cyber-dogs.com/ One of my friends I went with last year was vegan, and we kept eating there for lunch. It's really good.
There's also Cafe Yumm, which has vegan and vegetarian dishes as well as non-vegetarian. http://www.cafeyumm.com/7th-Pine
Here's an entire list of vegan/vegetarian locations in Seattle, if you're interested. Some are closer to the convention center than others.
Brunch at Lola - This was an amazing meal, probably some of the best eggs benedict I've had in a while. They also have some small fresh donuts that you can get with a plum sauce and I think mascarpone for dipping. I'm going back this year for sure.
Dinner at Miller's Guild - This is a pricey restaurant, but I love the interior with the giant hearth. The food was pretty good but didn't blow me away. I haven't decided if I'm going to return this year or not.
As far as old favorites go, my wife and I hit up Specialty's for lunch nearly every day. The sandwiches are all fantastic and the wheat germ chocolate chip cookies can't be beat.
We also make sure to hit up Le Pichet because it's just really good country French cooking.
If you're a foody and you can afford something other than Subway every day, definitely get out away from the WSCC for some meals. Seattle is such a great restaurant scene and is one of the primary reasons why I prefer Prime to the other PAX venues.
Can you recommend a Vietnamese bakery near the WSCC? I just googled Westernco and it said permanently closed.
Really enjoyed the sushi nearby at Japonessa; basically, sushi latin fusion-light on the latin.
If you're up for a slightly longer than short walk (4/5th of a mile), Portage Bay Cafe is pretty good for breakfast. I generally roll my eyes at buzzwords like "local, organic, sustainable", but I genuinely enjoyed their food and wasn't snarky at all while we ate there.
We also went for breakfast (well, it was like 3 am on a very late day...) at Beth's, which appeared to be a prominent spot on many PAXers' eating lists based off the sheer number of people in cosplay that were there + the number of nerdy subjects people had done drawings of and plastered on the walls.
There's a gazillion breweries/pubs and we did a lot of drinking, but the cream ale at Hale's Brewery was something that really stood out as something I wished I could get back home.
Also, I became a fan of those Seattle dogs (hotdog + cream cheese) I'd pick up from random food carts to munch on at nights when we'd be walking from point A to Z.
I know there are some down in the ID, on Boren & Jackson, but don't know of any downtown if the Westernco is closed. Maybe Cap Hill?
So this may be a little hipper than you're looking for, but it's quiet and chill and has a solid, affordable selection of beers and whiskeys. http://seattlealibi.com/...
Otherwise, the Athenian is always a good standby. A little touristy but still a local favorite. http://www.athenianinn.com/
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Awesome! Thanks so much for the suggestions, we'll definitely be hitting some of these places up!
Wasn't it called la creperie or something like that?
You can order your piroshkys in advance online and just pick them up.
And if you order $20 or more you get a free tote bag.
Also try my favorite bar to wind up in at the end of the night, St. John's. Nerd friendly, and no matter how busy it is it's pretty tiny. Good beer selection, and a nice line up of whiskeys as well to help you out. I cannot sing this bar's praises enough, you'd be remiss not to give it a visit.
There is a Piroshky on 3rd now too. I've not been, but even though it further from the convention center, I bet the line is a shorter.