Seattle
Sure it’s easy and convenient to take out-of-towners to Pike Place Market and turn them loose. But what can be missed? Interaction with shop keepers, a ton of samples, the deep dark secrets and historical details us natives simply take for granted.
Geared up with Gortex (it was Spring) I took one of Savor Seattle’s Food Tours – the chocolate and coffee one. Angela Shen handed me an umbrella, a bottle of water and a clever personal audio device so I could hear every word that she did not have to shout.
What I learned was a ton of details about Seattle’s booming chocolate and coffee businesses:
- The real original Starbucks is NOT where the Pike Place store is now. A detail I missed in my memory bank from 1971.
- Elliott Bay fish are “caffeinated.” Run off from grounds?
- Even I can learn to do those fancy cappuccino designs, although it did look like a rabbit, not a flower
Definitely not details that are on my top of mind.
Starting at Oliver’s at the Mayflower Park Hotel with coffee and chocolate inspired cocktails, Angela’s tour took me to Caffé D’arte and Starbucks on the coffee side. Chocolate Box for the straight chocolate side. Then to The Confectional for Mochachino cheesecake, on the Monorail to The Cheese Cellar for coffee and chocolate infused and rubbed cheeses and up into the Needle to Sky City for Mocha-braised short ribs and a view….all with nibbles and chats with shopkeepers along with way.
Next relative escaping New York’s rain or Arizona’s heat….I’m hooking them up with Savor Seattle. If they don’t like chocolate and coffee (then why would they come to Seattle?) they can delve into Seattle’s artisan shops from Spanish to Swedish.
Savor Seattle Food Tours
888.98.SAVOR
