SeaPort 2013: Day 3 - Seattle

We began our day with a walking tour of Pike Place Market with Seattle Free Walking Tours. We received great insights into the market and learned about its history from our tour guide, and company founder, Josh. Highlights included visiting the famous "flying fish guys," the oldest Starbucks (actually not the original as we learned it had fire damage back in the day), and several beautiful displays of fresh produce and other artisan goods. The tour also led us to the most disgusting site of the "gum wall."  It is literally what it sounds like- thousands of chewed pieces of gum stuck on a wall. Yucko. After the tour we decided to go out a little more in the market on our own and stopped at Beecher's for some famous mac n cheese, got pastries from Piroshky Piroshky, homemade beef jerky, some bags of dried fruits and vegetables (including this amazing snack, dried okra - so crunchy and delicious) from Simply The Best, and a decorative art piece from Seattle Metal Craft.

After the market we decided to check out another "market" called Melrose Market near the First Hill neighborhood. We popped into Taylor Shellfish Farms for some geoduck chowder, geoduck sashimi, and some more oysters (since I'm now a fan). It turns out this place supplies the oysters for Walrus and the Carpenter from last night and basically every other restaurant we went to, are going to, or have heard of in the Seattle area. Pretty cool!

On another recommendation from our waitress yesterday, we decided to take a long walk into the Capitol Hill area. Honestly, really not too much going on and my feet were starting to give out so we headed back to the hotel. After a much needed nap, Jeremy found our dinner spot - Spinasse, sort of back in the area we were before. This place was delicious! We started next door at Artusi for a glass of wine while we waited (it's connected and co-owned) and then moved on to enjoy our three course meal. A rabbit pâté with balsamic glaze on a crostini was brought to our table as amuse-bouche. Yum. We then ordered a cauliflower and ricotta appetizer, followed by a pheasant house made ravioli, finishing with a foie gras and pork shoulder capunet rolled in swiss chard. The cauliflower ricotta dish was an unexpected combination, however creamy and a nice starter. The ravioli was made with sugo d’arrosto and marjoram, which provided a wonderful flavor. Jeremy considers this one of the best ravioli dishes he has ever had. Now I found the capunet most interesting. It was stuffed with pork shoulder, foie gras and potato and served with caramelized honey sauce. You all know I love a good sweet and salty combo, and this really hit the mark. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and would recommend it to anyone in the Seattle area!