36 HOURS
36 Hours in Seattle
By DAVID LASKIN
Published: March 24, 2011
SPRING comes early to Seattle and lasts long. By the end of February, the rains relent and pastel shades of plum and narcissus initiate a progression of color and scent that lasts months. But new flora is not the only thing popping out of the ground in Seattle these days. Seemingly overnight, whole swatches of downtown and close-in neighborhoods — notably South Lake Union and the Pike-Pine Corridor — have transformed themselves into vibrant enclaves of restaurants, bars and galleries. With so many converted and repurposed buildings, Seattle’s cityscape is starting to look as layered as the wardrobes of its inhabitants. The tarry pitch of the timber port never disappeared; it just got plastered over with grunge flannel, tech money, yuppie coffee, Pacific Rim flavors, and more recently the backyard chickens and chard of urban pioneers. Don’t let a passing shower keep you from entering the mix. This is one of the rare American cities where you can be outdoors year-round without either shivering or sweating.
Friday
4 p.m.
1) PARK TOWER VIEW
Volunteer Park (1247 15th Avenue East; 206-684-4075; www.seattle.gov/parks), a 10-minute cab or bus ride from downtown at the north end of Capitol Hill, has gardens designed a century ago by the Olmsted Brothers, a conservatory bursting with plants from regions around the world, and a squat brick water tower that you can ascend for terrific views of the city below and the mountains and water beyond. Rain or shine, it’s the ideal place for spring orientation. If hunger strikes, stroll a couple of blocks east through one of Seattle’s oldest and prettiest neighborhoods for a slice of lemon Bundt cake ($3) and a Stumptown coffee at the cozy, humming Volunteer Park Cafe (1501 17th Avenue East; 206-328-3155; alwaysfreshgoodness.com).
6 p.m.
2) COOLEST CORRIDOR
The Pike-Pine Corridor is Seattle’s happiest urban makeover: from a warren of shabby flats and greasy spoons to an arty but not oppressively gentrified hamlet just across the freeway from downtown. When the locally revered Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Avenue; 206-624-6600; elliottbaybook.com) abandoned Pioneer Square to relocate here last year, the literati gasped — but now it looks like a perfect neighborhood fit, what with the inviting communal tables at Oddfellows (1525 10th Avenue; 206-325-0807; oddfellowscafe.com) two doors down, and a full spectrum of restaurants, vintage clothing shops and home décor stores in the surrounding blocks. When it’s time for a predinner drink, amble over to Licorous (928 12th Avenue; 206-325-6947; licorous.com). Behind the shack-like facade is a soaring, spare, just dark and loud enough watering hole that serves creative cocktails (Bound for Glory, with Bacardi, allspice, lime juice and Jamaican bitters, $12) and bar snacks (salumi plate, $12).
7:30 p.m.
3) FRESH AND LOCAL
One of the most talked-about restaurants in town, Sitka & Spruce (1531 Melrose Avenue East; 206-324-0662; sitkaandspruce.com) looks like a classy college dining room with a long refectory table surrounded by a few smaller tables, concrete floors, exposed brick and duct work. But there’s nothing sophomoric about the food. The chef and owner, Matt Dillon, who moved the restaurant to the Pike-Pine Corridor last summer, follows his flawless intuition in transforming humble local ingredients (smelt, nettles, celery root, black trumpet mushrooms, turnips, pumpkin) into complexly layered, many-textured but never fussy creations like beer-fried smelt with aioli ($12), spiced pumpkin crepe with herbed labneh ($19) and salmon with stinging nettles ($23). Heed your server’s advice that entrees are meant to be shared — you will have just enough room for dessert (warm dates, pistachios and rose-water ice cream, $6.50), and you will be pleasantly surprised by the bill.
Saturday
9 a.m.
4) ART AND WATER
There used to be two complaints about downtown Seattle: it offered no inspiring parks and no waterfront access worthy of the scenery. The Olympic Sculpture Park (2901 Western Avenue; 206-654-3100; seattleartmuseum.org), opened four years ago by the Seattle Art Museum, took care of both problems in one stroke. Masterpieces in steel, granite, fiberglass and bronze by nationally renowned artists have wedded beautifully with maturing native trees, shrubs, ferns and wildflowers. Wander the zigzagging paths and ramps past the massive weathered steel hulls of Richard Serra’s “Wake” and Alexander Calder’s soaring painted steel “Eagle” until you reach the harborside promenade. From there continue north to a pocket beach and into the adjoining grassy fields of waterfront Myrtle Edwards Park. It’s all free.
10:30 a.m.
5) URBAN VILLAGE
The development of South Lake Union into a thriving urban village, brainchild of the Microsoft tycoon Paul Allen, is finally alive and kicking. This former industrial no man’s land now houses the city’s best galleries, an ever increasing collection of dining spots, some nifty shops and the spanking new Amazon campus. Use the South Lake Union Streetcar to hop from Gordon Woodside/John Braseth Gallery (2101 Ninth Avenue; 206-622-7243; woodsidebrasethgallery.com), which specializes in Northwest landscapes, to Honeychurch Antiques (411 Westlake Avenue North; 206-622-1225; honeychurch.com), with museum-quality Asian art and artifacts, and on to the Center for Wooden Boats (1010 Valley Street; 206-382-2628; cwb.org), where you can admire the old varnished beauties or rent a rowboat or sailboat for a spin around Seattle’s in-city lake. Need a (really rich) snack? The newly renamed Marie & Frères Chocolate (2122 Westlake Avenue; 206-859-3534; claudiocorallochocolate.com) has some of the most exquisite chocolate macaroons ever confected.
1 p.m.
6) LUNCH BESIDE THE CHIEF
Tilikum Place, with its imposing fountain statue of the city’s namesake, Chief Sealth, is Seattle’s closest thing to a piazza, and the Tilikum Place Café (407 Cedar Street; 206-282-4830) supplied the one missing element — a classy informal restaurant — when it opened two years ago. Understated elegance is the byword here, whether it’s the delicate purée of butternut squash soup with bits of tart apple ($4), the beet salad with arugula and blue cheese ($8) or the light and piquant mushroom and leek tart ($10).
4 p.m.
7) WALK ON WATER
You don’t have to leave the city limits to immerse yourself in the region’s stunning natural beauty. Drive or take a bus 15 minutes from downtown to the parking lot of the Museum of History and Industry (2700 24th Avenue East; 206-324-1126; seattlehistory.org) and pick up the milelong Arboretum Waterfront Trail. A network of well-maintained paths and boardwalks takes you through thickets of alder, willow and elderberry into marshy islands alive with the trills of red-winged blackbirds and marsh wrens, and over shallows where kayakers prowl amid the rushes and concrete pillars of the freeway overhead. If the sun is out, you’ll want to prolong the outing with a stroll through the flowering fruit trees in the adjoining arboretum.
8 p.m.
8) LA DOLCE VITA
Maybe it’s the stylish Italian vibe or the pretty people basking in the soft glow of dripping candles, or maybe it’s the sumptuous, creatively classic food — whatever the secret ingredient, Barolo Ristorante (1940 Westlake Avenue; 206-770-9000; baroloseattle.com) always feels like a party. The pastas would do a Roman mother proud — gnocchi sauced with braised pheasant ($19), leg of lamb ragù spooned over rigatoni ($18). The rack of lamb with Amarone-infused cherries ($36) is sinfully rich, and the seared branzino (sea bass) ($28) exhales the essence of the Mediterranean. Don’t leave without at least a nibble of cannoli or tiramisù ($7).
Midnight
9) THE BEAT GOES ON
At See Sound Lounge (115 Blanchard; 206-374-3733; seesoundlounge.com) young and not so young Seattle join forces to party to house music spun by a revolving cast of D.J.’s. There’s a small dance floor — but the compensation is lots of booths and sofas to crash on. The scene outside can get rowdy in the wee hours, but inside the beat and liquor flow smoothly.
Sunday
10:30 a.m.
10) BAYOU BRUNCH
Lake Pontchartrain meets Puget Sound at Toulouse Petit (601 Queen Anne Avenue North; 206-432-9069; toulousepetit.com), a funky bistro-style spot near the Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne. Grab a booth and settle in with a basket of hot, crispy beignets ($7.50 for the large); then indulge in something truly decadent like pork cheeks confit hash topped with a couple of fried eggs ($12) or eggs Benedict with crab and fines herbes ($16). You can cleanse your system afterward with a brisk walk up
the hill to Kerry Park (211 West Highland Drive) for a magnificent farewell view.
IF YOU GO
The best, cheapest way to get from the airport to downtown is the new Link Light Rail; $2.50 one way (soundtransit.org).
The two-year-old 346-room Hyatt at Olive 8 (1635 Eighth Avenue; 206-695-1234; hyatt.com) has hands-down the best fitness center and pool of any downtown hotel; most of the sleekly appointed guest rooms have city views. Doubles from $179 to $279.
Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle (2125 Terry Avenue; 206-264-8111; panpacific.com), which opened in 2006, is a light and airy perch above the evolving scene in South Lake Union, a 15-minute walk to downtown. Doubles from $200.
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