In this blog post, the Dineamic Duo catch a bug. No, no not that kind of bug… a travel bug! One thing you can say about this duo is that as much as we like to eat, we also like to travel! Well, I like it and Ian is a good enough boyfriend that he doesn’t put up a fight! Ask any of our friends, most weekends we are traveling somewhere or another. We rarely stay put (much to Ian’s dismay). Last week, we went on an amazing trip to the amazing state of Washington. More specifically, we spent a few days in Friday Harbor (on the San Juan Islands) and Seattle! You see, back in my college days I spent an amazing six weeks doing a wildlife rehabilitation internship on the San Juan Islands, and since then I have been desperate to go back! Ian helped me make my dream come true!

We had a great time in Friday Harbor checking out my old stomping grounds. We toured the Whale Museum, visited Lime Kiln State Park, checked out the McMillin Mausoleum, and did some eating! The serious eating began once we got to Seattle. From the get-go, we planned our Seattle activities around restaurants and spots recommended to us by friends, family, and instagram foodies. Think of it like a giant food tour of Seattle. So, we decided for this blog we would do a summary of some of our favorite places we tried!

5 POINT CAFE

This was our first stop in Seattle before we visited the MoPop Museum (aka the most incredible museum we have ever seen– the Marvel exhibit is life changing). My boss recommended it to me, so we decided to check it out. It’s a dark and dingy dive bar with an extensive brunch menu. The Bloody Mary’s were incredible! We started our meal with some fried cheese curds- and the food runner changed the course of our life. He put down a honey bottle next to the roasted garlic aioli. We were both hesitant, but I was brave and tried it out first. Oh my gosh, it was incredible. The sweet, stickiness from the honey melded with the creaminess of the cheese and aioli. It added an onion dip vibe. I could have eaten a whole barrel.

ELTANA

Eltana is a wood-fired bagel cafe with some Middle Eastern flare. For those of you who have not had wood-fired bagels, they are very unique. As Ian put it, “it’s like a pizza meets a bagel.” And no, we don’t mean Bagel Bites. It’s got a smokey char to it, with that slight chew you expect from a good bagel. Very good. I got the salt bagel (my favorite) and Ian got the everything. I tried something new and got Lox cream cheese spread. Surprisingly, I liked the Lox spread better than separate entities of Lox and cream cheese. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. It was a great way to start off our day of sightseeing and exploring.

GENERAL PORPOISE DONUTS

Duddeee. We like donuts. A lot. And we are spoiled by really, really good ones (looking at you Nomad). So when I saw these donuts on the IG, I had to try them. We were dumb and split one (shoulda split one dozen). They specialize in filled donuts. We got the lemon curd one, and it was THE BEST filled donut ever. Instead of powdered sugar on the outside, it had granular sugar. It added a nice crunch and texture to the donut. The lemon curd was tart and creamy. 10/10 rave reviews.

TOP POT DOUGHNUTS

Whoops, we got donuts twice this trip. Top Pot was recommended to us by Ian’s sister and brother-in-law (Hi Nicole and Justin!). The donuts were your typical classic donuts. I got the apple fritter, and Ian got a classic old-fashioned. They also had an extensive coffee list!

THE PINK DOOR

Another Bassett family recommendation. The Pink Door is a cool little hidden joint by Pike Place. You have to walk down an alley until you see a pink door! The inside is elegant and upscale. The main floor has acrobats and a burlesque show! The food is phenomenal. Classic Italian fare. We had arancini (to die for) and the best antipasto we have ever had. The white bean dip and the olive tapenade were incredible. Ian got the pappardelle with bolognese and I had the house lasagna. It was the most interesting lasagna I’ve ever had. Spinach noodles with pesto, marinara, and béchamel sauce. It’s like the Italian flag in a dish! We had the most beautiful view overlooking the water.

THE WANDERING GOOSE

So this was another place I was super excited to try. Biscuits and soul food? Right up my alley! You can take the girl out of the south, but you know how that goes. So Ian got a biscuit with peanut butter, bacon, bananas, and honey. It’s like he dreamt up that dish just for him! I got the fried chicken biscuit with honey and mustard. Very good biscuits, but the fried chicken was not quite up to this Southern gal’s standards. To be fair, I am not the biggest chicken thigh person though. However, the pimento mac and cheese was incredible!

BA BAR

Did we mention we jammed about two weeks worth of vacation into a 5 day trip? We were wiped our last night. We decided to be extremely lazy and walk 20 feet from our Air BnB to this little Vietnamese place called Ba Bar. It was the perfect easy dinner. I got the Pho- very homey, warm, and comforting. Ian got some wings (which were amazing. Crunchy, tangy, and slightly sweet all at the same time). He also got what he calls his new favorite Vietnamese dish- Xiu Mai, not to be confused with it’s similar sounding Chinese counterpart. Meatballs in a tomato sauce with jalapeños and a side of baguette. Very flavorful and melt in your mouth goodness.  Rich, brothy, meaty, tomato-y, it’s like an Italian soup meats asian flavors.

We had an incredible adventure of eating, drinking, and exploring. Seattle is a beautiful place to visit. Especially if you are keen on the food scene like us!