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Restaurants and Things in Seattle
Alex_Digital_Cowboy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
As a Brit, visiting the city with my best friends for the first time, we'd like to get an insider view on the best stuff to do in the city when we're not actually attending PAX. We're there from the third to the seventh and for a couple of us this is our first time in the USA. We want to make sure we eat like kings. Fat ones.
So does the city have any of these, and if so, are they worth checking out?
Tony Romas
P.F. Changs
Hooters
Applebees
Chilli's (If only for the Office connection)
A cereal bar (Kind of like an ice cream parlor but with breakfast cereal. Giant Bomb mentioned one in L.A.)
A Toys R Us
A really good comic store
A great pancake house
Macys and Bloomingdales (For the lady of the party)
Er... Taco Bell (I know)
A decent, surviving video arcade
Also, is GameWorks any good?
Now's the time to mention other places of interest too. And of course list your favorite bar or club.
Cheers
Alex
So does the city have any of these, and if so, are they worth checking out?
Tony Romas
P.F. Changs
Hooters
Applebees
Chilli's (If only for the Office connection)
A cereal bar (Kind of like an ice cream parlor but with breakfast cereal. Giant Bomb mentioned one in L.A.)
A Toys R Us
A really good comic store
A great pancake house
Macys and Bloomingdales (For the lady of the party)
Er... Taco Bell (I know)
A decent, surviving video arcade
Also, is GameWorks any good?
Now's the time to mention other places of interest too. And of course list your favorite bar or club.
Cheers
Alex
Alex_Digital_Cowboy on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Tony Romas
P.F. Changs YES
Hooters
Applebees
Chilli's (If only for the Office connection)
A cereal bar (Kind of like an ice cream parlor but with breakfast cereal. Giant Bomb mentioned one in L.A.)
A Toys R Us
A really good comic store YES
A great pancake house YES
Macys and Bloomingdales (For the lady of the party)
Er... Taco Bell (I know)
A decent, surviving video arcade
Also, is GameWorks any good? YES
After using the Internet:
Tony Romas YES (Several miles North)
Hooters YES
Applebees YES (Several miles to the East)
Chilli's (If only for the Office connection)
Applebees YES (Several miles to the East)
A cereal bar (Kind of like an ice cream parlor but with breakfast cereal. Giant Bomb mentioned one in L.A.)
A Toys R Us YES (Several miles North)
Macys and Bloomingdales (For the lady of the party) Macy's YES Bloomingdales NO
Er... Taco Bell (I know) YES (Several miles North, there is a good taco place at PAX)
A decent, surviving video arcade
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There's a Toys r us up at northgate (same mall as the ebgames sometimes featured in PA), and Macy's bought one of the seattle landmark department stores (bon marche) some years back, so there's a Macy's pretty close to the convention center.
never heard of a cereal bar, and I haven't actually been in gameworks since it first opened doors.
Gameworks is ok, but the best thing about it is its proximity to PAX-central. Also, DO NOT eat at the restaurant there, unless you want to spend 3 hours waiting for your food/bill while sadly watching people playing games all around you.
I'm not much of a shopper, but I don't think there's a Bloomingdales around here. Macys is great though, and Nordstrom might be similar.
Also, I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't suggest you check out this thread: Magical Mystery Tour!!
As for the other things on your list, some of them do exist around Seattle (or in Bellevue) but unless you are just *dying* to see these places, I recommend looking into local Seattle restaurants (which are probably much more unique and awesome.) Yelp.com is usually a good place to start..
P.F. Changs - At Westlake Center on 4th and Pine very near the convention center. Haven't eaten at this one personally, but it's a fun experience.
Hooters - In South Lake Union, you can take the SLUT (South Lake Union Trolley... I mean Streetcar) from Westlake Center directly to Hooters.
Applebees - Not sure that there is one in the city limits, these tend to populate the suburbs.
Chilli's (If only for the Office connection) - There is an express version in SeaTac Airport, otherwise the only ones in Washington are in Spokane.
A cereal bar (Kind of like an ice cream parlor but with breakfast cereal. Giant Bomb mentioned one in L.A.) - No idea... University of Washington has one at McMahon 8 one of the dorm dining halls but you'd be better off at the grocery store.
A Toys R Us - At Northgate Mall, take bus #41 north from the convention center tunnel station, get off at Northgate Transit center and cross the street.
A really good comic store - I defer to others on this, but there are plenty around.
A great pancake house - You have to go to an Ihop, there is still one on Aurora Ave and 100th St.
Macys and Bloomingdales (For the lady of the party) - Macy's in the Pacific Northwest used to be The Bon Marche and it's former flagship store (now Macy's) is located on Pine between 3rd and 4th Avenues. No Bloomingdales north of California on the West coast.
Er... Taco Bell (I know) - There's one in Ballard and one on Aurora Ave near 85th that I know of. Personally I'd recommend Chipotle or Taco Del Mar (conveniently located in the convention center and Westlake Center).
There are lots of great restaurants in downtown Seattle that aren't chains that I would highly recommend. Especially since you sound like you'd like to splurge a little. First and foremost I'd recommend Ivar's on the waterfront. You can either get fish and chips from the outside window, or go inside for a delicious sit down seafood dinner. Ivar is a Seattle legend. Other favorites when work is paying, Purple Cafe and Wine Bar and Wild Ginger. These are located closer to the Central Business District.
I would also recommend browsing the Seattle page of yelp.com. Take things with a grain of salt there because I hear that some of the reviews are sponsored now.
Lola Website
It's not going to be as "American" as Chipotle or PF Chang's (both you have to go to, of course), but you're going to need something light after a few days of our finest edible selections. Good selection of Seattle wines by the glass, too.
I know of some cereal bars here in my native Phoenix, AZ, but I didn't see one in Seattle. Try to find a Jamba Juice for tasty smoothies.
The peanut butter one is great...as long as you don't get salmonella.
Anthony's is also a pretty good seafood place.
I'm guessing because they're coming from england, and some if not all of those chains don't operate there? I could be way off base but that was my assumption.
YES chains aren't going to be as good as local speciality places but NO we don't have the places I mentioned in the UK. We have McDonals, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King. The best import is TGI Fridays (I worked there for four years).
So we've never sampled the classic American chains like Red Lobster and the Olive Garden. We have to make do with English food. Boiled Pizza and cereal with no marshmallows. It's hard being so bland all the time. We crave flavour.
We weren't going to go to all these places, just the ones that were easily accessible.
My co-host Tony has always fancied trying Taco Bell (even though we know it's rubbish)
I personally like the idea of taking the SLUT to Hooters.
Ideally we'd like to try one or two of the chains we don't have, but spend the rest of our meals in the places you guys with experience suggest. Lola for example looks nice. What's their specialty AltDelete?
Alex
It's like the first time I flew into the Midwest and tracked down the nearest White Castle burger stand I could find. Sure, they're nothing new to people who have them, but to an out-of-towner they're new and exciting.
If you want an honest pub, hit Kell's. I haven't been to the one in Seattle, but the original in Portland (represent!) is outstanding and I hear good things about it's northern cousin.
Twitter - @papapwnsPAX
Alex_Digital_Cowboy: Downtown Seattle, where PAX is held, is a dense urban area. You can have an amazing weekend on foot. As far as shopping for the lady, both Westlake Center and Pacific Place are just a few blocks away.
For food you could eat every meal at Pike Place Market and eat like kings (check out the variety of establishments listed on their site). But it's worth checking out the nearby international district, Electric Turtle organized a Dim Sum breakfast there and it was fantastic. I'm sure ET will eventually post some of his recommendations for authentic Seattle establishments. I had an excellent meal at The Taphouse last year. I'm at work now, I'll post some reviews later this evening.
Are you looking for an American food experience or an American chain experience? If it's food you're after, there are restaurants that do the same kinds of food you'd get at a Red Lobster or Olive Garden, just without the stomach ache afterward.
Twitter - @papapwnsPAX
Be sure to get the tshirt. http://www.ridetheslut.com/
I suppose you're right about chains too Seraphex. Why would we avoid real food to chase processed rubbish?
...Oh and thank GOD Pike Place has a "Crumpet Shop". We'd grow faint if we couldn't have one of them, dipped in a nice cup of milky tea.
thanks
oops, just noticed trickys post about Ivars...any other suggestions would be great too
Definitely good burgers, also:
Pike's Place is where you can go to see salmon thrown around (it is hilarious how many people crowd around to see that you can't even walk the crowd will get so thick)
Oh and BTW since you mentioned it Alex, the Crumpet Shop is indeed awesome. However my experiences with their teas always seem underwhelming. If you're going to Pike Place be sure to get a tea sample from Market Spice. Though we tend to like it so strong I've seen a few Europeans act like taking a sip of it was equivalent to being roundhoused in the face by Chuck Norris. (I suppose in light of that maybe the Crumpet Shop's tea is just authentically weaksauce.)
For a descent restaurant, you could always check out the one on the top of the Space Needle (which revolves), so you could visit a pretty cool tourist attraction AND eat some pretty good food at the same time!
If you want something a little more casual (and American?) with kind of a 1950's theme, try Johnny Rocket's in Pacific Place, just a block or two from the convention center (somebody correct me if I got the location wrong). Me and a few friends ate there during PAX last year and it was a pretty awesome experience, which we owe to our waitress. It's still a cool place though.
Somebody should put all this info together and get that guide going me thinks. :P
To continue the good food places in Seattle, I would suggest Lark, which is a mile or so walk, but you can take a bus there. I had a great meal there last PAX, the best thing being the sweetbreads.
really long wait, bad food, but great service and nice atmosphere.... mexico in pacific place was nice, the food was good, the mojito's were great, service was good, reasonably pricec and nice, relaxed atmosphere...
pike place clam chowder in pacific place WAS GREAT!! i love that place and of course, good chowder.
Also, I second going down to the Oriental District for good Asian food. I rate P.F. Changs as 6 out of 10. (Not bad, but nothing special.)
And don't forget the local brews! The Pacific North West has tons of local beers and wines to try! Taphouse has a huge selection but can be really busy during PAX. Most places have a decent selection on tap though...
http://www.jasmineseattle.com/home.html
It's a more moderate priced place, but still has a very nice dining room
I host a podcast about movies.
Here are my list of must-visits so far
Pike Place Market has so damn many places to eat I don't know where to start. Reccomendations for Pike place in terms of having a full, sit-down meal then?
And I don't know if somebody mentioned this already, but if you go to Taco Del Mar during PAX hours, expect a line. I'm not even a big fan of Mexican food, but it's still worth it.
I'm also clueless when it comes to Pikeplace Market, which is kinda sad...
For dinner I could recommend the Pink Door. I had some gnocchi there that was better than sex. Just don't have the veal (looks like they took it off the menu anyway). Kells has already been recommended, but considering you're from the British Isles, it'd probably be redundant, like me going to Europe and looking for an analogue to Beth's.
Don't eat at the 'Japanese Gourmet Restaurant' at 82 Stewart St. Their sushi isn't fresh and their service is bad. Other people on the interwebs have said similar things to our own experience.
The Pike Street Bar and Grill is also one to avoid. Food is mediocre and my wife swears she saw waitstaff pouring half-imbibed waters back into the pitcher. Ew. Tonight's special: hepatitis!
In general, I rarely go to Pike Place Market to eat anything more than a quick lunch at the Crumpet Shop or Mr. D's. For something sit-down I'd go to Belltown, the ID, Capitol Hill, or the U District.
Anyway PAX is too hectic to get bogged down in hunting for restaurants sadly. That's my opinion anyway.
(From my side of the booth on Thursday morning. Took me a while to realize the clock actually worked, which doesn't happen often with clocks like that in Savannah.