Seattle Reviews

University District

Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe 

This is a big, bright, open cafe with lots of seating. They are very green with recycled and recyclable goods everywhere. I had the pesto melt sandwich. The pesto had a lot of coriander, which was a bit of a surprise, that gave it a fresh taste which was great alongside the creamy vegan cheese they include on the sandwich. I almost couldn't finish it; it felt like it was bursting with flavour. It was ~$US9 including tax. I haven't worked out the tipping in the cafes where you order and pay first so I've been skipping out without paying the tip.

Capitol Hill District

Plum Bistro
I think this place is also owned by Hillside Quickie's (see below). It's a great restaurant, though. Excellent service. I had to have the Mac 'n' Yease and I also got the stuffed mushroom. It was fantastically delicious. The only thing I get a bit worried about is the amount of fat/oil that's left on the plate afterwards.



Sage Cafe (Hillside Quickie's)
I went here for lunch after a bit of a walk around Prospect park. I was quite hungry but running out of money. I ordered the Northwest Portobello Crepe because it was only $US9 and the burgers on the menu were $US11. But I was not disappointed! The mushrooms and seitan had a delicious smoked flavour and were both warm and juicy. The crepes were sweet which gave a pleasant contrast to the heartiness of the filling. The mushrooms and seitan were topped with a creamy in-house vegan mayonnaise. Everything they serve is vegan. Some cons included very limited seating and my meal took a little longer than I would have liked although not too long and the chef served me and apologised for the wait. Would definitely go back.

Remedy Teas
After my delicious crepe I pop across the street to this delightful little cafe. They have lots of vegan goodies for sale (I had the raspberry and coconut muffin which was deliciously moist and soft) and over a hundred different teas for you to choose from. I had the Digestion tea (as was recommended to me) which had mint and vanilla flavours. They give it to you in a self-brewing cup with a timer and instructions. It was delicious and the service was great. For a muffin and the tea it cost me $US5.65 including tax. Far better and cheaper than Starbucks!

Fremont

Flying Apron Bakery

This is a cute little bakery in north Seattle in the lovliest area. I ordered the Apple Pear Gallette and took it through the Fremont Sunday markets to sit by the river to eat it. It wasn't fantastic, the cake was a bit fluffy and insubstantial. The topping was moist and I enjoyed the white glaze but it wasn't as delicious as it looked. But everything looked really good so I would be willing to go back and give it another try.

Downtown

Noodle Ranch 
The only reason I decided to go into this place was that it was right across the road from the hostel and I had just arrived and was starving. Also, pan-asian normally guarantees something vegan. I probably should have kept walking. I ordered the green curry which I thought would be some sort of Thai concoction but it looked and tasted more like a spicy, thick white sauce. I was so hungry that I ate it all but it made me quite ill afterwards. It also contained only potato, broccoli and some silken tofu. It was very spicy but bland. I wasn't impressed. And it cost me $US12 after tip and tax.

Whole Foods Market
I love Whole Foods. Delicious fresh baked vegan goods every morning and lots of vegan sections. If you feel like just grabbing a quick plate instead of eating at a restaurant you need to go here. It's also great for groceries although a bit pricey.

More Seattle goodies

I made it to Whole Foods this afternoon (after I woke up). I missed the free breakfast here (by 4 hours) so had to eat somewhere. I bought lentil and vegetable soup with a crusty rosemary bread bun. I also treated myself to a Vegan Thumbprint (which is a Jam Drop, pictured) and a piece of vegan cheesecake. I just ate the Thumbprint (with my super secret garlic-ginger-lemon-honey tea that I drink to get over colds) and it was delicious. I will devour the cheesecake tonight.

I stopped in to MarketSpice on the way to Vital T-Leaf. Lots of tea. I also spotted vegan marzipan chocolates, vegan chocolate covered Oreos (pictured) and vegan chocolate covered pretzels (also pictured) at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. All in good time, my pretties.

I will get very fat before I return home.

Vegfest 2010

YAY!

P.S. I'm sick so I walked down to the Pike Street Market to get some teas to placebo myself into getting better and it snowed. SNOWED! Clearly, Seattle, our definitions of Spring are hemispheres apart.

Seattle: My vegan adventure plan interrupted

I am so jetlagged. I went to sleep at 7pm and woke back up at 12am. Which is equivalent to going to sleep at 12pm in Australia and waking up at 5pm. It makes no sense in either time zone.

To try to combat falling asleep at 5pm I decided to take a rather freezing walk to Whole Foods Westlake. I didn't make it. I made it exactly half a block when I saw a coffee house called Bedlam who advertised that they had Mighty O's vegan donuts inside. So I bought coffee and an orange glazed donut and came back to my room. I drank the coffee by six and fell asleep by seven. The coffee was very good but pointless. There is no such thing as a pointless vegan donut.

 They are doing road works or something nearby and I can hear everything. Luckily I'm awake at midnight. I will have to buy earplugs, though, for the next few nights.

It was 8 degrees C today. And raining. I got Brisbane's weather in my iGoogle and was very jealous of the little cloud and 24 degrees. I'm going to miss the sunshine. But I have donuts so it's all okay.

Seattle: My Vegan Adventure Plan

I'd really like to visit at least some of these places in Seattle while I'm here:

Flying Apron Bakery

Plum Bistro

In The Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro

Pizza Pi

Silent Heart Nest Vegetarian Restaurant

Pan Africa Restaurant & Bar

Remedy Teas

Hillside Quickie

Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe

Vegan Donuts!

I kind of miss Seattle. It's funny how some cities don't really have anything interesting but you still enjoy them more than anywhere else. And when you leave they pull you back with small memories twinged with tastes, smells and sounds.

I stayed at the Green Tortoise Hostel on Pike Street which I would highly recommend to anyone. They have free breakfast (and this isn't just one bagel... cough... HI Fort Mason... cough) you can make pancakes and eggs... or if you are vegan eat toast and fruit. They have great organised tours and free dinners on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. And the tacos were vegan friendly! Yum! And the chef was more than happy to answer any questions about what was in them right down to the oil they used.

Directly underneath the hostel is a cosy coffee shop called Seattle Coffee Works. They roast their coffee on site (I can't vouch for the coffee since I was on a caffeine-free binge in the world's coffee capital; ironic, I know.), had soy milk readily available and serve their hot drinks up in bowl like cups. But the most important part is... the vegan donuts!


The are supplied my Mighty O Donuts (http://www.mightyo.com/) and are delicious. I was never a donut person. The melt in your mouth taste of hot cinnamon donuts was always ruined by the foreseeable cold, greasy lump of dough they'd be the next day. But these donuts are fantastic. I had the lemon and poppy seed as recommended by the fellow vegan barista behind the counter. It was excellent cold.

The United States became a lot more vegan friendly in the last four years since I was last here. And the result is that I'll be coming back to Australia heavier once again. And thank goodness! Otherwise I'd have to think of a new blog title.