Sippin' in Seattle

I recently spent 2 weeks in the tasty city of Seattle. My first time there, in fact. And why is it that I have not been here before? Why have none of my foodie friends not scooped me up sooner and taken me to the Urban pathway of creative cafes, green landscapes, green buildings, green minds, cool kids, bike friendly roads, AND ....did you know that the coffee flows like wine here!? um.... I think I'm in love with you, Seattle.
No better way to play in a city that has my name ALL over it, then with one of the best tour guides in town! Charlie-Funday-Lane is someone that has been calling me up there for over a year now. With his sweet barista job at Stumptown, home kitchen equipped with all the fixens to tear it up and cook together, and the ability to geek out on a pizza menu or a photo shoot of a cappuccino with me. Our other CA friends joined us for a great weekend of gluttonous happiness in the rainy city. We ate dinner at this Vietnamese restaurant, that had me closing my eyes and sitting back down on a tiny plastic stool curbside in Hanoi from just 2 months back. Crispy Crepe Bliss! And sandwiches from here, I got down on the crabcake, bacon, romesco on brioche bit of happiness. The next day we grubbed on french dips and tuna tartines from this awesome spot, that was just speaking my language! And of course.... we stopped for a cup of coffee in between each meal... or more.

The best day in Seattle though had to be the day that we woke up to sunshine. We boarded our bikes and cruised through the city in lightweight jackets and sunglasses. We made it to Salumi in Pioneer square for a much anticipated lunch. Housemade lamb sausage sandwich, with roasted peppers, sweet onions on buttered ciabatta bread. I want their logo tattooed on my body....
We stopped for an Americano, road home just in time to change out for a yoga class, then went off to finally have dinner at Delancy. A caesar salad of grilled radicchio, preserved meyer lemon, shaved grana, garlic breadcrumbs, and plenty of anchovy goodness. Followed by wood-fired pizza topped with pepperoni and fennel, and a pint of local beer. Yeah, I was pretty damn happy.

But nothing makes a trip to a new city better than the beautiful gifts made by a great friend. This picture is from my first night in Seattle- 10 pm and I had just arrived from cooking in the Bahamas for 2 weeks. By 11 pm we were digging forkfuls of homemade pecan pie straight from the center, and drinking cups of warm black french pressed coffee. Now THAT is friendship! And a delicious one at that. I have missed Seattle since the day I left it, and I look forward to more recent trips of delicious dabbling, two wheeled lovin', blissful coffee drinking, and missed friends to come.