Whistlestop Seattle
First time in the city? Get the most out of AirTran Airways’ newest destination with our savvy Seattle guide.
Words by Catherine Arnold
Summer in Seattle has two predominant features: light and water. Saturating light spills from the sky to make up for the rest of the year, and there’s abundant waterfront along the Puget Sound and the Union and Washington freshwater lakes.
Summers in this northwest city may feel endless but perhaps you don’t have all the time in the world. If you’re just passing through, choose carefully which spots to hit. This whistlestop tour will point you in the right direction…
On the downtown waterfront, Pike Place Market’s farmers, fishmongers, bakers and performers attract locals as well as visitors. After strolling the aisles of flowers, produce and fish vendors, zero in on area favorites such as The Crumpet Shop, where you can settle in with a cup of tea and pastries like honey-ricotta topped crumpets. Across the street from the market, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese serves not only produce crafted on site, but out-of-this-world macaroni made with their handmade Jack and signature Flagship cheeses.
For something more substantial, Cutters Bayhouse has everything from filet mignon to seafood. Located next to the market, the Bayhouse’s large windows face the Olympic mountains across the Sound, and offer views of ferries crossing the water to and from Bainbridge and Vashon islands.
On a very clear day, check out the view of Mount Rainier’s majestic and not-quite-real-looking cone from the waterfront park behind Pike Place Market. Taking the 30-minute ferry trip from downtown to Bainbridge Island is another good way to see Rainier—as well as great expanses of the Puget Sound and islands bristling with evergreens.
Back on the mainland, just up First Hill from downtown is the Frye Art Museum, which has recently broken out of its tradition of showing mostly 19th-century art. Summer exhibits include “Modern Nature,” collages and textiles by Amy Helfand, based on garden imagery from New York’s Wave Hill park, on display until July 30.
On Seattle’s north side, learn more about the city’s interaction with its waterfront at the Hiram M Chittenden Locks, known locally as the Ballard Locks. Here, boats and yachts make the journey between fresh water Lake Washington and the Puget Sound’s salt water; and migrating salmon muscle their way up a series of man-made ladders from May to October. Visitors can watch through a viewing window as the silvery fish slither way along one extended step. Outside the grounds, the Lockspot Cafe is renowned for its kitschy 1950s neon sign and meat ’n’ potatoes atmosphere, as well as clam chowder, burgers, and fish and chips.
Half a mile walk south is downtown Ballard, a former town settled by Scandinavians, which still has a thriving shipping industry. The downtown streets are chockablock with cafés and shops. To sate your hunger, try Chinook’s, the Shilshole Bay-facing location of popular area seafood chain Anthony’s Homeport; Volterra, for upscale Mediterranean food; and Cupcake Royale, for thick-frosted cupcakes, good coffee and sandwiches. Locals also hang out at the sidewalk tables of Mr Spot’s Chai House, a tea and coffee house known for its distinctive chai blend.
Ballard night spots include the Tractor Tavern, which features blues, folk, jazz, country, rock and rockabilly acts from around the United States and beyond; and the Lock and Keel, a low-key neighborhood bar where “live-aboards”—residents of houseboats anchored in Shilshole Bay—sometimes gather to get (or lose) their land legs.
Waterfront is hardly limited to the north side. South of downtown, the peninsula known as West Seattle has Alki Beach, which faces Puget Sound and its islands. Alki has all the qualities of a classic waterside settlement: a pebbled beach crescent, volleyball nets, shops and cafés, wooded islands and the Olympic mountains. The strip offers low-key Alki Bakery’s sidewalk tables; Spud’s, a favorite since 1935 for fast-food fried fish/french fry plates and clam chowder; and the Celtic Swell, an Irish pub and restaurant known for shepherd’s pie and soda bread.
For vibrant street life, check out Capitol Hill, east of downtown with several main corridors: Broadway, and parallel Pike and Pine streets. Bauhaus Books & Coffee is a good place to people-watch at sidewalk tables, or converted school desks upstairs in a former auto sales showroom with windows that face views of the Space Needle and downtown. Around the corner is the funky, distinctly un-chain restaurant Six Arms, serving their own brews and wines.
On Broadway, don’t miss Dilettante Chocolates, which features fine truffles, along with sandwiches and soda fountain offerings that include port and merlot milk shakes. A few blocks east, Coastal Kitchen has a base of Southern meals alongside a rotating menu that focuses on a different country every three months: Greece is this summer’s theme.
Several blocks north of Coastal Kitchen is Volunteer Park, which began as Seattle’s cemetery and is now a grassy oasis with tall cedars, a Victorian conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The museum houses one of the finest collections outside Asia, with holdings from ancient to contemporary Chinese, Japanese and Korean art. A program of exhibits titled “A Northwest Summer” will run May 4 to October 15.
This will include shows from the Seattle Art Museum while its downtown building is closed for remodeling up until spring 2007.
For nightlife in Capitol Hill, The Hopvine is a classy local watering hole that features Northwest brews, sandwiches, pizza redolent of garlic and pine nuts, and live folk, jazz and other music some nights. Down the block, Canterbury Ale & Eats is a casual, lightly hipster tavern with a friendly feel, shuffleboard games and Medieval-style coats of armor. Where better, after all, to end a day of light that finishes at 10 p.m., than in a neighborhood establishment with doors open to the night?
| Savvy Seattle | |
| Alki Bakery 2738 Alki Avenue S.W. 206-935-1352 |
Hopvine Pub 507 15th Avenue East 206-328-3120 |
| Bainbridge Island Ferry 801 Alaskan Way Pier 52 Colman Ferry Dock www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries |
Lock and Keel 5144 Ballard Avenue N.W. 206-781-8023 www.lockandkeel.com |
| Bauhaus Books and Coffee 301 E. Pine Street 206-625-1600 |
Lockspot Cafe 3005 N.W. 54th Street 206-789-4865 |
| Beecher’s Handmade Cheese 1600 Pike Place 206-956-1964 www.beechershandmadecheese.com |
Mr Spot’s Chai House 5463 Leary Avenue N.W. 206-297-2424 |
| Canterbury Ale & Eats 534 15th Avenue East 206-322-3130 |
Pike Place Market Market’s public parking at: 1531 Western Avenue www.pikeplacemarket.org |
| Celtic Swell 2722 Alki Avenue 206-932-7935 |
Seattle Asian Art Museum 1400 E. Prospect Street 206-654-3100 www.seattleartmuseum.org |
| Chinook’s 1900 West Nickerson Street 206-283-4665 www.anthonys.com |
Six Arms Brewery 300 E. Pike Street 206-223-1698 |
| Coastal Kitchen 429 15th Avenue East 206-322-1145 www.chowfoods.com |
Space Needle 400 Broad Street 206-905-2100 www.spaceneedle.com |
| Cupcake Royale 2052 N.W. Market Streeet 206-782-9557 |
Spud’s Fish & Chips 600 5th Avenue South 206-624-6248 |
| Cutters Bayhouse 2001 Western Avenue 206-448-4884 www.cuttersbayhouse.com |
Tractor Tavern 5213 Ballard Avenue N.W. 206-789-3599 |
| Dilettante Chocolates 416 Broadway East 206-329-6463 www.dilettante.com |
The Crumpet Shop Pike Place Market 206-682-1598 |
| Frye Art Museum 704 Terry Avenue 206-622-9250 www.fryeart.org |
Volterra 5411 Ballard Avenue N.W. 206-789-5100 www.chefdon.org |
Loved by locals
Century Ballroom
A highly diverse crowd, largely in their 30s and 40s, takes salsa and swing lessons in a 19th-century building with high ceilings, chandeliers and a 2,000-square foot polished wood dance floor. The Century Ballroom Restaurant has a view of the dance floor from the balcony. 915 E. Pine Street, 206-324-7263, www.centuryballroom.com
Archie McPhee
A junk shop in Ballard, open for 25 years, that incites wild loyalty locally. On its website, Archie’s urges, “escape the soulless junk offered in shopping malls,” and suggests alternatives such as the Deluxe Librarian action figure, bacon strip bandages, and a corn dog air freshener. Always good for a rummage. 2428 NW Market Street, 425-349-3009, www.mcphee.com
Fremont Sunday market
Year round, the Fremont Market has 150 vendors and was inspired by British markets like Portobello Road. West end: Phinney Avenue at W. 34th Street, 206-781-6776, www.fremontmarket.com