DebitNM

Heading to Seattle next month. Looking for a nice, foodie worthy place for our anniversary dinner; a nice Sunday brunch spot; and other foodie worthy places for dinner with emphasis on fish.

We had a nice brunch at Salty's on Alki Beach when we were here on our honeymoon and enjoyed it. Is it still good? The ride over on the ferry was fun bonus.

Wanting to take do a whale watch - any companies that are recommended?

We didn't get up to Mt Ranier last time; how can we get there - do we need to rent a car? We weren't planning on doing so, but will for a day if that is the only way to get there.

Also would like to go over to Bainbridge Island - suggestions on what to do/see there?

Thanks~~

enzian

Hi DebitNM--I just returned from a trip and saw your post. I need a bit of time to gather my wits and respond, but I will start by saying that early August may be prime time in the Paradise flower fields on Rainier, so definitely worth a visit. Renting a car for the day is the best way to go. There are numerous rental places --Hertz, Enterprise, Avis--downtown. For that matter, if I am around when you are here I'll drive you. I need to get up there this summer. John Muir described the Paradise flower fields as one of the most extravagant displays of wildflowers he had ever encountered. That is saying a lot, but I agree!

I am not up to date on the best and newest places in Seattle to dine, as we don't do that much. I would just have to read and vet the reviews! But I can help with Bainbridge Island suggestions, as I used to live there and still have a sense of the community.

Are you staying downtown?

DebitNM

Enzian! How wonderful to see you; it's been to long! We are staying downtown, not too far from the market. 8/8 - 8/13. Will await your further reply.

spirobulldog

I'm pretty sure the Sunday Brunch at Mt. Rainier might be good. I have not been to it though. We loved Mt. Rainer. And yes, flowers were awesome last year in August.

Might check out any Tom Douglas Restaurant.

Our very favorite meal was oddly enough at the airport at Anthony's. Daughter had halibut with Washington Peaches. It had two sauces on it. Fantastic

spirobulldog

www.tomdouglas.com We went to Dahlia Bakery twice for breakfast/snack and liked it. Enjoyed a meal at Seatown too.

aliced

Ferrying over to Bainbridge was a favorite of our 4 days there, just walk from the terminal into town -- lunch, shopping-- there's a nice bookstore and good travel store (always looking for lighter & better pieces!). We had lunch somewhere on the water at a pub type place which food was very, very good. We enjoyed dinner at the bistro LeZinc (we stayed at Harbor Steps) which was very good and an easy, safe walk after dark.

enzian

Darn! We will be away then, at our timeshare in the Wasatch Mountains (wildflowers are pretty nice there too). We don't get back until the 15th.

But your timing should be perfect for the wildflowers at Paradise. It is definitely worth renting a car for the day to get up there. Spend a couple of hours wandering the trails at Paradise---some are quite steep in parts, but then level out. Others traverse the slopes, passing a waterfall and going into Edith Creek basin. It's all good. The restaurant in the Paradis Inn in "just OK" and I wouldn't spend any of my mountain time dining inside. You can get picnic food at the deli and take it on the trail, or sit on the porch for a view. The place is sometimes packed with tour groups. The visitor center at Paradise is new and very good.

If you have a full day you can continue on around the Mountain counter-clockwise, with stops at Reflection Lakes and Box Canyon (just a quick look there). The road up to Sunrise is steep but gets you to another high point (like Paradise) and a completely different view of Rainier. This is the "dry side" of the mountain so the flowers are not as prolific. The day lodge at Sunrise has snack food but I can't vouch for its quality. We susally leave Sunrise around 4:00 and stop in Greenwater at Wapato Willie's for an ice cream or coffee drink before heading back to Seattle. If the traffic isn't bad it is about 75 minutes from there. We take Hwy 169 from Enumclaw back to Seattle (via Balck Diamond and Maple Valley) to avoid late-day traffic. Hwy. 164 will put you right in the thick of it.

The Bainbridge pub aliced describes would be the Harbour House and I would recommend it too. Lovely deck right on the water, where you can hear the soothing clank of sailboat fittings hit the masts. Nice selection of microbrews as well as wines from Bainbridge's own winery. This place was a "must" when I lived on Bainbridge. Great for either lunch or a casual dinner.

Seattle restaurants: now it gets tough. Hopefully Gardyloo will weigh in as I know Tom Douglas is not a favorite there. I have a mixed opinion. We like Etta's for seafood and take guests there. Lola's is a favorite with lots of friends but I think it is too expensive for what you get. Maybe I just don't appreciate Greek food. The bakery stuff (from the bakery right next to Dahlia Lounge), expecially the coconut cream pie, is fantastic, but how much of that can one eat? Tom Douglas did win the Beard "Outstanding Restauranteur" award in 2012 so that's nothing to sneeze at.

One up-and-coming chef here is Ethan Stowell. His restaurants include How to Cook a Wolf (pretentious name?), Anchovies and Olives, and Tavolata. The only one of these downtown is Tavolate. We ate there a year or so ago for my husband's birthday and I didn't find it all that great---too buzzy and noisy for us. The menu is focused on pasta which is not a favorite so that didn't help.

The chef I do like is Matt Dillon. He won the 2012 "Best Northwest Chef" Beard award. We have not dined at his flagship reataurant Sitka and Spruce, but we did attend a birthday party at The Corson Building and it was very nice. Very good preparation of local and organic foods (some from his own garden). I liked it a lot. But I wouldn't pay for a meal there--that one is prix fixe and very pricey. And I see Sitka and Spruce gets mixed reviews, some finding the service snooty. Sigh. I know you can't please everyone.

Places that come highly recommended by friends, and which consistently get good reviews but are not quite as new and trendy as the above would be Spinasse, Matt's in the Market, Steelhead Diner (also in/near the Market), and the Pink Door (same). Spinasse is up on Capitol Hill on 14th so not as close.

For Asian food I really like Long Provincial at 2d and Stewart. It Vietnamese but nothing like your typical pho joint--very nice decor, upscale, fresh and interesting food. I always get the crepe, but maybe one of these days I'll branch out and try something else.

Whale watching tours: I can't recommend any particular one but as far as I know they are all up in the San Juan Islands, which is where the orcas hang out in July. I received a coupon from AA for one that departs from Bellingham--that is 90 minutes north of Seattle. Another one I know of departs from Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula:

http://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/

They do a 10 am and a 2:30 pm tour. You could make the 2:30 from Seattle by taking the Bainbridge ferry in the morning---Port Townsend is a bit over an hour from Bainbridge. But you'd have to rent a car again and pay to put it on the ferry (and return the same way).

So maybe the simplest is the Clipper tour with a Seattle departure:

http://www.clippervacations.com/mult...ale_watching75

It is an all-day tour that takes you from Seattle up to Friday Harbor on the Victoria Clipper (hydrofoil). Then you transfer to the whale-watching boat for about 2 hours, returning to Friday Harbor for 2 hours on your own before taking the clipper back to Seattle.

spirobulldog

James Maya Whale Watch tour

spirobulldog

I thought the flowers on Sunrise were equal to those at Paradise. The food is a notch above what I would call snacking.

enzian

Yes that whale watch tour looks great, but it leaves from San Juan Island. Mmthey would have to get up there from Seattle somehow, in time tomcatchnthe tour at its Snug Harbor departure point.

Glad to hear they have real food as Sunrise now. They were renovating the day lodge building for a few years, and the last time I was up there as a Meadow Rover it was completely closed. But according to the Nps/mora website they are back to serving food, so apparently I was wrong to describe it as "snacks".

Sunrise is beautiful but it is more barren and rocky than Paradise. In many visits hiking and camping there I have never seen anything like the lush green "extravagantly beautiful" display (to use John Muir's words)mthat Paradise puts on. But there are lots of flowers at Sunrise too; many are different from what you will see at Paradise ( more tough little arctic-alpine types at Sunrise due to the harsher conditions). Both places are amazing which is why I recommend visiting both if one has time.

spirobulldog

Picture 201 thru 205 are wildflowers at Sunrise.

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/re...0IatW7FqybsWeV

spirobulldog

Debit,
My parents ate at Salty's recently and said they really enjoyed it.

DebitNM

Great info everyone! enzian, was hoping we'd meet...

YIKES! I just looked at car rentals. Looking it is going to cost in range of $100 for the day! I never even thought to book a car months ago. Dumb rookie mistake and I am no rookie!

DebitNM

where were the pictures 180's and 190's taken? So pretty!

enzian

Yes, I was hoping we would meet too! My offer to drive you to Rainier was genuine, as I would love to meet you in person. But I cannot change our plans.

But coincidentally, I got a call today from my Rainier hiking companion; she is back from a year of caring for her mother and is eager to get back up to Rainier. We used to a " girlfriend trip" in July or August, but have missed a couple of years. So now we are going up the weekend after I return from Utah, and Lso after you leave.

SpiroBulldog's photos are excellent. The 180's and 190's all appear to be Paradise, including a photo of the resident marmot and two of the Paradise Inn. You can get an idea of the glorious flower fields there.
Starting at 201 they are at Sunrise. No. 204 is very typical of the Surrise terrain and grasslands. It looks like a park, and indeed the areas around there have the names of " park" attached, such as Grand Park, Berkeley Park, etc. These are beautjiful places in their own right, and you will have more solitude there than at Paradise if you walk far enough. If you do go as far as Berkeley Park you may find flower fields comparable to Paradise, but without the view of Rainier to frame it. Like Paradise, it is dominated at peak season by paintbrush and lupine. If the avalanche lilies are still around it is incredible. Look for them where the snow patches have just melted off.

They did some restoration and planted wildflowers nearer the parking area and paths; that may be what is shown in 202 and 203.

Did you check Enterprise? They are generally lower than others.

spirobulldog

I don't know what/where 202 and 203 is other than sunrise area. HA. Yes, pics180/190s are from Paradise. Most of those are headed up the mountain from Paradise. I have no idea why I didn't take some farther up the mountain.

Gardyloo

Anniversary dinner, some focus on fish/seafood: A number of great places have already been mentioned, but I'll throw in a couple of maybe obvious additional choices, convenient to downtown. (It's worth noting that IMO increasingly the good new places are in Seattle's neighborhoods rather than downtown. If you are happy taking a cab or having a car available, the options grow significantly.)

Anyway the two I'd mention are both on the waterfront, sunset-walkable from the Pike market area. First is Six-Seven, the restaurant in the venerable Edgewater Hotel. In addition to an unbeatable (over-water) view, they're turning out some pretty doggone good food. Not just fish, but all good. Note they also do a brunch that gets rave reviews. http://www.edgewaterhotel.com/seattl...estaurant.aspx

Or, our favorite place (despite its location in the middle of the tourist schlunk at the foot of the Pike Hillclimb) Elliott's Oyster House. They really do fish, and everything else is tops too. http://www.elliottsoysterhouse.com/

Brunch: Salty's is still good but can be hugely crowded and a bit touristy. (We went there for lunch on a weekday last week and the prices have also been "updated." Ouch.)

Still our drop-dead bestest favest place for breakfast (weekends good, weekdays spectacular) remains Toulouse Petit in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood. http://toulousepetit.com/ Noisy, yes, have to wait, probably, but... OMG. WORTH the cab ride or bus schlep from downtown.

Another possibility, B & B - brunch and Bainbridge. Walk off the ferry and up into town to the Streamliner Diner - http://streamlinerdiner.com/

Or another boat-based (casual, like everywhere) option (which if I were visiting downtown would probably choose) is Marination Ma Kai, a land-based branch of one of Seattle's best food truck operations, Marination Nation, featuring a Hawaiian-Korean-Mexican-Breakfast fusion sort of some kind of menu. (Clear?) It's on the dock where the West Seattle Water Taxi pulls up (a couple hundred yards from Salty's) on Elliott Bay facing the downtown skyline. Take the water taxi - http://www.kingcounty.gov/transporta...ttleRoute.aspx - and get the same view as Salty's with money in your pocket and kimchee or fish tacos in your belly. Heaven. http://marinationmobile.com/ma-kai

Only comment on Mount Rainier is that Paradise is easier to reach, hence will be more crowded, but that doesn't take anything away from the wildflowers, walks, and views. Don't miss the view from Louise Lake, just past the Paradise complex on the Stevens Canyon Road - http://gardyloo.us/20120903_677s.JPG

DebitNM

Again, I am indebted to all of this wonderful replies! Still working on the details. Will be back, I'm sure.

enzian

I'm so glad to see Gardyloo's comments. They dine out around Seattle more than we do and always have great suggestions.

suze

Going to Bainbridge Island is more about the ferry ride than what you do once you get there. You walk on from the waterfront (behind the Pioneer Square area) in Seattle. On the other side it's a 5-10 mins. walk up to a cute "main street" area with a few shops and restaurants. But again, more about the ferry ride and the views.

I'd go to Dahlia Lounge for the anniversary dinner. And Steelhead Diner, Anthony's, Cutter's, or Etta's for seafood. Brunch at Cafe Campagne.