We're leaving the PNW now (don't worry, more adventures are coming), so we had to get a quick drink at the airport. 

The Mountain Room Bar provided a place for us to hang out and get a drink - all while charging our phones!

One of their signature cocktails is this pineapple concoction that worked for me! It was convenient to our gate and did the trick.




Grade: B

We're wrapping up my Seattle trip. I know you're all really sad. But, I thought I'd end on my most extravagant meal there - maybe ever.

We went to Sushi Kashiba. Sushi Kashiba is the most recent restaurant from Shiro Kashiba - a legend in Seattle.

To Chef Shiro Kashiba, it feels like it was just yesterday. But in 1970, Chef Shiro introduced the city of Seattle to sushi when he convinced his bosses at Maneki restaurant to build Seattle’s first sushi bar. Chef Shiro had just completed years of grueling apprenticeships at Yoshino Sushi in the Ginza district of Tokyo, training hard alongside his senior supervisor, the world renowned (and now cinematically famous) sushi maestro, Jiro Ono. But unlike his contemporaries, Chef Shiro had his eyes on America. Chef Shiro was convinced that he could import the Edo-mae style and “shun” philosophy of Tokyo to the extraordinary variety and delectable seafood offerings of the Pacific Northwest. He was right. After working at Maneki, Chef Shiro opened his first restaurant, Nikko, in the International District. In 1992, he sold Nikko to the Westin hotel chain and opened the new Nikko at the downtown hotel location. For Westin, Chef Shiro served as Executive Chef and helped open several properties throughout the Americas. After his first “retirement," Chef Shiro opened Shiro’s in Belltown in 1994. Shiro’s became a smash success and was one of the pioneering restaurants to usher in Belltown’s revival as a hot dining spot in downtown Seattle. In 2014, Chef Shiro sold his remaining stake of Shiro’s to the I Love Sushi group which operates it to this day. Nominated twice for the James Beard Award, Chef Shiro has cooked for Japanese Prime Ministers, masters of the arts, star athletes, industry tycoons, and has shared his knowledge and experience with local colleges and universities. Chef Shiro’s dishes have also been served in the First Class cabins of Japan Airlines and United Airlines. But what Chef Shiro enjoys most is preparing and explaining the intricacies and detail of the delicious item he has just served to the customer seated in front of him at the sushi bar.

For the first time in my life, I splurged on the Omakase, which consists of many courses at the chef's choosing. It's expensive - into triple figures - but a memory in the making.

Omakase menus change daily based on what's in season, what's available, or maybe even who happens to be sitting next to you at dinner. As in life, every day is different, and no meal is exactly the same. An omakase dinner is expensive, but here, as it progresses, its value becomes incalculable. Several courses featured different varieties of the same fish, some from different parts of the world, all served next to each other on the same wooden board. Eating them in progression allows you to experience the range of flavors and possibilities that reside within a single family of fish (The Stranger).

The hard part is, I cannot tell you everything we ate. I know we had white tuna, blue fin, fatty tuna, scallops, prawns and a host of other things. Here's someone far better at sushi than I am. We started with that triple-item dish that had oyster and fish and a jelly thing.

Then, we moved to that hand roll, which I had never had before.

Then, a beautiful spectrum of nigiri. This was delicious and fresh.



Then, this bowl of egg custard.

Then, even more sushi and look at that prawn!

And, oh my god more.

Plus this little cake thing that was vaguely sweet to end on.



This was so fun, so cool to experience and sooo much food.

Not sure I'll ever be able to afford this again, but it was cool to try all the different items, eat fish as fresh as it can be and learn what I liked and what I don't.

For the most part, I liked everything. Some of the roe or sea urchin or things I haven't experienced quite as much took some time to get used to the texture.

But, overall, a very cool experience well worth it to expand your boundaries.




Grade: A

Lava cake is never my first choice on a dessert menu. I think it's overdone, nothin special - and above all - I simply don't love chocolate cake. Just not my thing.

So, I didn't have high expectations for Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery. But I had friends who recommended it, so I thought I'd check it out.

This. Was. Life-Changing.

Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery crafts organic, classic American comfort desserts and other original and innovative confections. We were founded in 2008 by Autumn Martin with the dessert that gave us our name: Take-n-Bake Molten Chocolate Cake in a Mason Jar. The idea for the “take n bake molten chocolate cakes” came from a dessert Autumn created for a charity dinner. The cakes were so well-received, the guests practically fell out of their chairs and the orders started rolling in. Autumn was working as Head Chocolatier of Theo Chocolate at the time, but decided it would be fun to start a little side business. And so Hot Cakes was born. Autumn left her much-loved job at Theo Chocolate in 2009 and headed to Spain for a 4-month stint of organic farming and rock climbing. Upon her return home in 2010, she focused 100% of energy on slowly building up the Hot Cakes brand which is built on supporting local and organic farming through the creation of fine, innovative desserts.

We walked in, saw the super cute rustic-chic space and I looked over the menu. I actually looked at some of the other desserts - like a creme brulee or vanilla rhubarb bread pudding or a nutella brown butter milkshake (my gahhh). But, I was determined to try a molten chocolate cake.

The S'mores stuck out to me - smoked chocolate cake, campfire caramel, homemade 'mallow and graham, vanilla ice cream. The woman working the counter made sure to warn me the cake is smokey and even gave me a chocolate morsel to try before I committed. It was excellent - and smoky sweet - so we continued on.

After about 20 minutes (they take a little extra to bake), I was delivered this plank of wood with three perfect elements - the ice cream with graham cracker sitting in a pool of caramel, a whole graham cracker, and this smoky lava cake with homemade marshmallow on top.

This is out of this world. The cake is smoky and just a bit sweet, the homemade mallow is beyond good, the ice cream and homemade caramel are just phenomenal. The combination of sweet and smokey and creamy and crunchy - it was just magnificent. This is one of my favorite desserts I have ever eaten.

My only complaint is that the photo booth inside ate my money and didn't give us photos :(



Grade: A

You're probably familiar with the West Virginia dog (chili, slaw, mustard and onions) or the Chicago dog (poppyseed bun, mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, sport peppers, celery salt).

But did you know that Seattle has its own hot dog? It's true, and it includes cream cheese and grilled onions.

The only place in the market to get your daily dog, not to mention the go-to place for Seattle Dogs heaped with airy cream cheese and grilled onions. Grab one and hang out in the park under the totem pole across the street, taking in the local flavor Seattle style (EATER). 

Before I left town, I had to try one. So, I went to Taxi Dogs to get my fix. Taxi Dogs is near where we were staying, so it was my best bet.

All I got was a bratwurst with cream cheese and grilled onions to get the full effect. And, ya know, it's alright. I'm a pretty big cream cheese fan, but in this case, just not sure it added much. Plus, I'm not super into grilled onions. I actually think maybe fresh diced onions would hit the spot. Either way, cool to see a regional dog and mark that off my bucket list before I left!



Grade: B

There are plenty of great views in Seattle - and a lunch spot overlooking Pike Place Market is certainly one of them.

Matt's in the Market has a prime location - right across from the market sign. And, right across from the freshest produce you can imagine.

Being located in the Market is like having the best vegetable garden, the best fruit orchard, the best flower garden, and the best purveyors of fish, meat, cheese, and dairy at your door. Executive Chef Jason McClure creates menus based on the best ingredients the Market currently has to offer, selectively augmented by the choicest fare from around the Pacific Northwest and the world, with unswerving dedication to deliver unforgettable culinary pleasures every time.

We came here for lunch right before our flight, and they accommodated our baggage, as well as a beautiful bunch of flowers Kristen was carrying around. If you've ever been to Pike Place Market, you know those incredible bouquets? Kristen decided she needed one on our last day. Can't blame her.

We started off with a drink - I went with the Pimm's Cup, which had Pimm's, ginger ale, and lemonade and it may be my new favorite drink in the world. Seriously.

Although the restaurant seems to have been part of the market forever, Matt's in the Market was founded it in 1996. The tiny (then only 23 seats), primitively equipped restaurant attracted a fiercely loyal clientele, drawn by imaginative cuisine that changed constantly based on what was available from the stalls downstairs. 

After eleven years as a fishmonger at Pike Place Fish Market, Dan Bugge realized a lifelong dream, and became the owner. Dan and his staff have made major upgrades throughout the restaurant including a new kitchen, seamlessly expanding both in size and seating capacity, and adding a sparkling bar that is astonishingly well-stocked. 

With our unflagging passion to create a memorable culinary experience for every diner, our daily celebration of the Market as the prime source of both inspiration and ingredients, our lasting respect for the traditions of the Market is guaranteed to continue (ABOUT).

For my entree, I went with the pan-fried cornmeal crusted catfish, which was serve with sambal mayonnaise, shredded romaine on potato bread.

This is supposed to be one of their specialties, but I simply wasn't blown away. If anything, it was a touch boring for me. A spicier mayo or maybe some other veggies on the sandwich would have helped. As it was, it was OK.

For my side, I got the yukon gold potato salad, which was fine.

Even though the food didn't especially wow me, the drink was delicious, the view is incomparable and the service was fantastic.

Maybe I just didn't choose the best, but I had a nice time regardless.

Grade: B

The amount of great eateries in Pike Place Market is unreal. But, I didn't want to leave without trying Lowell's - which is three floors of waterfront views and boasts the slogan "Almost Classy since 1957."


Since my time was winding down, I left early in the morning to grab some breakfast.

Lowell’s Restaurant & Bar has been serving the public for close to 100 years. In the early 1900′s Lowell’s was a combination coffee roaster, peanut roaster and cafeteria that served the citizens of the Seattle when they visited the “Public Market” to purchase fresh farm produce, seafood and dairy goods. The “flagship” Manning’s Cafeteria, then became Lowell’s in 1957, and has remained so ever since. 

From the front entrance in the main arcade of Pike Place Market, it is unlikely that most visitors realize Lowell’s actually has three floors of seating—all offering world class views of the Olympic Mountains, the ferries crossing Puget Sound and a seagull’s view of the Port of Seattle. 

On the first and third floors, you order first with the cashier/barista and then find a view seat and your food will follow you shortly. The second floor “View Lounge” offers traditional “sit down” table service as well as a full bar selection of unique handmade cocktails, microbrews, and wine. It is here on the second floor guests may choose from either the above mentioned view of the waterfront seating or a booth overlooking the parade of people shopping below that is acknowledged as the best “people watching spot in Seattle.” 

We are proud to be the destination meeting spot of locals gathering to go out elsewhere, business travelers needing a casual centrally located lunch location, multi-generational families and couples gathering for their weekly week-end breakfasts as well as “The Living Room” of the Pike Place Market that all of our neighbors frequent after a hard days work in the vegetable stalls, fish markets, craft stalls and street singing and painting (OUR STORY).

The thing that struck me on the menu was the bagel & lox: "Fresh Wild King salmon that we house cure with a dill brine wrapped and weighted for a week then sliced thin and served with a toasted bagel, house-pickled red onions, cream cheese and capers on the side."

Possibly the most expensive bagel & lox ($18), but it was very tasty. I love the pickled onions - even if they might not necessarily be traditional. The lox was good - if not a bit gummy in places. Regardless, very good.



Grade: A