Home to the world famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie, Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Bakery offers artisan breads, handmade pastries, and cakes which are baked daily in small batches. Breakfast and lunch options created by the Dahlia chef team, start at breakfast with bacon and organic eggs and finish the day with a quart of Tom's Tasty Tomato soup and a loaf of fresh baked bread. 

So, the coconut pie is really what this place is famous for. So, I took a trip over to the nearest location one morning to make it my breakfast - along with a coffee, of course.

TOM'S FAMOUS TRIPLE COCONUT CREAM PIE 

coconut crust . shredded coconut cream filling . swirls of fresh whipped cream . toasted coconut . white chocolate shavings

There was a small line, but nothing too bad. The counter has the pies in whole form, in slice form, or in mini bite-sized form. I got a slice and a cold brew from Stumptown Coffee.

The coconut cream pie is quite good. It's way more fresh and light than I've ever had. It's not an artificial sweet either - it's great.

And, I don't think I've been a huge fan of coconut cream pie. Until now.

Plus, the nice, deep roasty flavor of the coffee just pulled it all together for me.

Grade: A

Listen, I only went to so many breweries in Seattle for ~research~. It's good to see how other places are doing things so I can see how West Virginia fits in. 

We stopped at Old Stove Brewing Co. for a drink.

Usually, I go for a sampler, but I had already made up my mind here.

The Saison de Poele is a flavorful Belgian farmhouse style beer, brewed with white wheat and oats and a sour mash. Cloudy and gold in color, and hopped with Centennial and Sorachi Ace. 

Like the Pike Place Market we call home, Old Stove Brewing is all about local flavor and dedication to the craft. We are Seattle’s newest brewery, even if our old stove is from 1905 –as old as the Market itself. Queen Anne resident Chris Moore grew up chopping Michigan hardwoods and stoking the family Kalamazoo stove to keep the house warm. His love affair with the warmth-giving pieces of functional art has been glowing ever since. So when Co-Founders Chris and Brian decided to open a brewery, they knew they had to bring in their friendly old partner. A Kalamazoo stove occupies a place of honor in the corner and on the mural that brings the early days of the Market to life. This may be your grandfather’s heater, but this is not your grandfather’s beer. We piped steam into our brewery – not an easy task, but a good one for brewing beer and sustainable fuels. We scour the Pacific Northwest for the best hops and grains. We treat the water differently for each style of beer. We make sure ingredients are fresh, temperatures are precise and lines are clean. We welcome young ones, too. Kids will marvel at the mural and its hidden treasures while you sample one of our highly drinkable beverages – no iPad needed. “If you came in and, God forbid, you order an iced tea instead of a beer with a sandwich,’’ Brian says, “you’re still going to love that sandwich and the environment.’’ But go ahead and order a beer and savor the spirit of the Market. And cozy up to our old Kalamazoo stove – it’ll feel like an old friend.

This beer was good. I like a just slightly sour beer, so this is up my alley. I only wish it was even more so. Not bad, though.

Grade: B

Chowder in Seattle? It's not just for New England, apparently.

Pike Place Chowder had a line wrapping around the market, so I decided to follow my nose and try some for myself. It's not surprising that in a city so wet and sometimes dreary that chowder is a perfect comfort food.

In 2003, Founder and Owner Larry Mellum opened his first chowder house in Pike Place Market, located in a small, charming hole-in-the-wall that angled off the cobblestone alley. He perfected small batches of fresh, briny comfort food that his customers couldn’t resist. With big wins at the Great Chowder Cook-Off in Rhode Island, for the Traditional Clam Chowder and Seafood Bisque, Larry decided to create a variety of the best chowders he could dream up. Smoked Salmon, because he loves Lox & Bagels. Seared Scallop because…why not? Crab & Oyster, with Chorizo. And, with the amazing produce at Pike Place Market, his ingredients always include the freshest vegetables, spices, and herbs – no compromises, ever. 

When I got up to the counter, I saw they offer a chowder sampler. Perfect. I got bowls of smoked salmon chowder, seafood bisque, New England clam chowder and crab & Oyster chowder. I really liked a few of these - ones that were more tomato based, rather than just cream. My favorite was the seafood bisque. Mmm mmm. The sampler isn't cheap, but it's a nice way to get an idea of what you like. Plus, some bread to soak it all up!

Grade: B

Seattle, the birthplace of the hipster, is known for its teriyaki.

FOR NEW TRANSPLANTS, THE SIMPLE DISH DOESN'T FIT THE NARRATIVE OF THE SHINY, NEW CITY (THRILLIST).

It's a bit ironic that something as simple and Americanized as teriyaki was so prominent in a city now known for its super hip, urban eats. And, the hipster attitude in Seattle has crowded out lowbrow places such as teriyaki joints - but nonetheless, it's still part of Seattle's fabric.

Sweet and sticky with sauce, all Seattle-style teriyaki stems from the basic formula Toshihiro Kasahara developed when he opened his first shop, Toshi’s Teriyaki, in 1976. The meat, traditionally chicken thighs slippery and brown from marinade, gets slapped on a hot grill. The high heat caramelizes the sugars, crisping the meat and leaving it with a crunch of barely burnt soy on the outside. Sliced into bite-size pieces, it’s served fanned out across a molded mound of white-as-snow rice, the sauce seeping down between the grains. The salad, like the meat, is sweet and crunchy, the iceberg lettuce and slivers of carrot and cabbage reminiscent of coleslaw, with only the rice vinaigrette separating it from old-school American picnic fare.

Nonetheless, I did a quick search to find a decent remaining teriyaki shop - they're like fast food in Seattle - and Kyoto Teriyaki was the closest. I ordered my chicken teriyaki, plus an egg roll. It comes with white rice and slaw salad. There was a giant bottle of teriyaki at the table that I slathered on, and I thought it was great! It's not a complex meal, but the chicken was moist, slightly crisp on the outside, and the teriyaki was sweet. If teriyaki joints were as plentiful here as they are in Seattle, I'd be in trouble.

Grade: A

Starbucks is a big deal in the PNW, since it was started here. We went to the original location, but then we stumbled upon the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room.

On Friday, December 5, 2014, Starbucks opened the doors to an all-new coffee experience: The Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. You'll find it at 1124 Pike Street, in Seattle, Washington. It is a place where you can experience coffee from the unroasted bean to your cup of coffee. You can watch it being roasted. You'll see the burlap sacks it comes in. You can watch it being loaded into the green coffee loading pit. You can buy it scooped at the coffee scoop bar. You can experience your coffee as a pour over, Siphon brewed, Clover-brewed, a shot of espresso, espresso beverages, and more (SOURCE).

How cool is it to go to the place where the beans are roasted? Plus, you get to try new, artisan drinks in this beautiful space.

The menu features coffee beans from all over, awesome concoctions and a beautiful show, too. I ordered a "barrel aged con crema," which had whiskey barrel-aged Sulawesi brewed hot as a pour-over with barrel-aged vanilla syrup and a cascara-sugar cold-foam topping.

It was fantastic! We sipped while walking around to see the baristas putting on displays and the coffee beans roasting. I bought a pour over cone so I can make more at home.

Just a very cool experience to stumble upon. Definitely cooler than the original Starbucks, in my opinion.


Grade: A

We've had fancy high-end dinners, and now it's time for a good, old-fashioned burger in Seattle.

Dick's Drive-In is an institution in the city serving up no-frills burgers that are not customizable. That's right, not.

Our business model is based on instant service rather than custom orders. To achieve that speed of service, all our burgers are made the same way. We make them shortly before you order them, so your server can take your order and serve your burger, fries and shake immediately. Many people really enjoy our burgers and we encourage all our customers to try the way we make them at least once. We have a satisfaction guarantee, so please return your burger for a full refund if you are not completely satisfied (SOURCE).

The menu has a few burgers that basically vary in terms of weight, addition of cheese or pickle relish. According to the website, all burgers are made with 100% real beef, delivered fresh and never frozen. The buns are locally made and delivered fresh each day.

After looking over the menu, I went with the "deluxe," which is two 1/8 lb. grilled patties with melted cheese, lettuce, mayo and pickle relish. I also got a side of fries, which they say are hand-cut daily.

There's no place to sit, so we took our food and stood over near a counter. The burger was OK. The addition of the relish made it a little oddly sweet. Otherwise, pretty average. Same could be said for the fries - plus you have to pay for ketchup. Odd.

In sum, it's fine. I don't think it'd be on my short list if I visit Seattle again, but it's one of those local places that folks tend to have an attachment to.

Grade: B

The more ice cream, the better. That's my life motto. And, there's plenty of ice cream to find in Seattle. One place that kept popping up, though, was Molly Moon's.

from kitchen to cone, every scoop is the result of hard working, happy staff, strong local partnerships, sustainable practices, and of course, the finest ingredients we can source.

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream is a very happy, cheery place even when it's pouring rain outside. They are very into promoting their community - using local ingredients, donating for nonprofits, contributing to food banks and making everything in the shop compostable.

Our mission is to make the world better, one scoop at a time as a multigenerational gathering place with sustainability and happiness at the core of all we do. The world is a big place, made smaller, we believe, by the act of sharing a sweet treat with someone you love. Our team works hard to create deliciousness by partnering with local farmers and producers — from jam-makers and beekeepers to strawberry farmers and coffee roasters — to turn the best, freshest, most creative local flavors into truly outstanding ice cream. And there are lots of other ways we can make the world better! We strive to be the raddest employer in our industry by providing free health care, paid family leave, sick leave and living wages. These benefits, along with our efforts to provide a sustainable, enjoyable workplace with opportunities to gain new skills, and advance personal as well as professional goals creates a healthier, more robust work force. We are out to prove that a financially, environmentally, and socially responsible business can be profitable and continue to grow! Our values are not only shown through who we choose as our local farm partners and how we treat our employees, but also in our giving program and social justice work. We give 1% of our sales each year to non-profits in our community and work hard to fight local hunger through food bank giving and our Anna Banana Milk Fund. We focus on partnering with women and artists and chefs of color in our collaborations. And we've worked hard to build relationships with and to support the organizations in our community that are doing great equity and social justice work! Molly Moon's was founded with five values at its core—we continue to live these values everyday in the work that we do, in the people we partner with, in what we give and in the ice cream we make! (ABOUT)

Grade: A

With a name like Biscuit Bitch, how could I not want to visit this breakfast spot.

This crowded breakfast lunch counter claims it's from "trailer park to table."

A note from the Head Bitch in Charge, Kimmie Spice: We have great food. It’s not fancy, but it’s homemade, filling and well-priced. It’s food for everyday people. But I don’t think that’s the biggest reason for our success. When I bought the caffé I vowed that no customer would ever enter my business and feel the “Seattle Freeze” like I did when I first moved here. Any business that is as close to Pike Place Market as us is sure to have a flood of tourists in the summertime. I want to make sure those tourists remember their incredible experience, tell their friends about us, like us on Facebook, Tweet, Instagram and Yelp about us- then come back to see us again on their next trip to Seattle. I also want to be sure we build real relationships with our locals, that we know more about them than just their order. That they feel this is their place and they are cherished here.
I recreated that feeling of southern hospitality by showing my staff how good it feels to treat all our guests as if they are family. A place where locals mingle with tourists and nobody feels uncomfortable asking for directions to the Space Needle. A place where you can get a kick-ass local espresso and order a comforting meal while getting to say the word “bitch” over and over... and over. Don’t worry if your face turns red, we might tease you a bit, but we’ll laugh with you! Our music will be upbeat and usually oldies, motown or southern rock because we’re a little bit trailer trash too. But even if there’s a long line you can watch our staff dance to the beat in our tiny kitchen all the while flipping your eggs and calling out the orders. The ambiance is kitschy- the energy palpable. This is a place to put a smile on your face, because even if it’s not, it feels like it could easily be home. This is Biscuit Bitch. Y’all come on by and see for yourself.

The menu features biscuits and gravy, bitchwiches and other sides. I opted for the Bitchwich - a biscuit sandwich with egg, cheddar and bacon (or spam or sausage).

Overall, not bad. I have pretty strong feelings about biscuits considering I have grown up on them, and this one was very crumbly. But, food flavors overall and definitely fun to say the word "bitch" as part of my order.

Grade: B