Our Seattle Restaurant Crawl

Last weekend while up in Seattle attending the Blogher Food '12 conference we decided to do a restaurant crawl of sorts.

We always have what seems like a running list of 10 Seattle restaurants that we want to try and never have time to do so. So we decided let's start with a few happy hour spots and share a dish at each place and see how far we get. Our idea of fun!

So our crawl began. This is the kind of thing G & his buddy Frost have come to love to do together.

We started off in Capitol Hill at Tavern Law. Evidently voted one of the best 25 bars by GQ magazine. We arrived early, only just a few folks there. A quiet Friday evidently. It had a very English pub kind of feel. It additionally had an amazing drink list.

Smoked Fingerling Potatoes with Serrano Fondue

Sadly the female bartender got a bit hostile when G asked for "a something different kind of drink." I mean I get hearing that question while people are looking at a menu of what feels like 100's of choices might get old. But this is a service oriented environment and getting "cranky" with a customer who is just trying to find out what's good when it's not even close to busy wasn't called for. I was so turned off I initially was ready to bail. But G kept cool and she read our reaction and obviously became aware just how hostile she was coming off and changed her approach a bit. We each ordered a tasty "different kind of cocktail" and ordered these scrumptious smoked fingerling potatoes with serrano fondue. They were a wonderful start to our crawl.

Once the bartender's "edge" wore off she interacted a bit more with us and recommended we try Canon  down the street for our next stop.

Canon was a tiny place totally packed. The hostess actually seats you to stand against the wall. They definitely work every inch of their space.

Cocktails @ Canon

We had some incredibly strong whiskey cocktails that reinforced that I'm not really a whiskey fan after all.

Snack mix @ Canon

For food we had their popcorn snack of popcorn, pretzels and cashews that was both sweet and spicy.

Braised pork cheeks- Fabulous @ Canon

We additionally ordered the braised pork cheeks over polenta that was fantastic.

Next we hopped in a cab and headed down by the market to try one of Tom Douglas' 10 Seattle restaurants; Seatown Seabar. We've now tried 8 of his restaurants.

Seatown felt a bit touristy for a Tom Douglas place but given it's location I suppose it makes sense.

We sat at the bar as now it was getting closer to Friday night dinner time and things were getting a bit busy. And here we were greeted with the friendliness and enthusiasm I would hope every waiter or waitress would extend to a customer.

Steamers at Seatown Seabar

Here we shared a bowl of succulent steamers with a bottle of Boomtown Chardonnay.

Crab BLT @ Seatown Seabar

And a very tasty crab blt. It was all great; the service, the food, the vibe, the wine. Tom knows how to do a restaurant right.

To be honest by this point I was stuffed, my feet were aching and I was ready to call it a night. But G was determined we were going to the Steelhead Diner to have poutine. So I went with it.

Poutine @ Steelhead Diner

We do love the Steelhead Diner. Always have had a good meal there. And they do have some good poutine.

A few bites in I said to G, "I can't eat another bite can we please go back to the hotel now?" His response, "After I have some dessert."

We compromised he got dessert to go and he actually ate it for breakfast the next morning.

We loved our Seattle restaurant crawl. What a great way to get to experience several good restaurants in one evening.

Can't wait to our next one.