More Local than Starbucks

Nick Cave is weird

Seattle, WA - home of Starbucks, Microsoft, and Boeing. I'm sorry, what was that about Boeing? Oh, just as well given current events.

In the four days of our trip we learned that it does not rain all the time in Seattle, they do have a lot of coffee, and the rumors of craft brew heaven appear to be true. We also learned that there was a dry spell during the filming of Sleepless in Seattle so all the rain scenes are fake and we found where the boats from Deadliest Catch dock in the offseason.

Our plane landed this past Monday at 2p, fully in tact, and by 4p we were bellied up to the Pike Pub & Brewery. Located in the Pike Place Market, the pub boasts no less than 6 brews made on site along with several guest brews on draft. There's a myriad of bottles to choose from as well. We decided to play it close to the vest and drink only the brews made on site. The Double IPA was good but not as good as the Kilt Lifter or the Stout. The Trusty Assistant strongly recommends the XXXXX Stout and the Monk's Uncle, an abbey style ale.

Beer

We followed our trip to the brewpub with a stop at the Seattle Police Museum. It was not raining at the time but it was cool (several locals commented on the abnormally warm weather) so we stopped for a spring jacket along the way; highlighting our pathetic weather softness. The museum has pretty much everything you would expect to find in a police museum - guns, badges, handcuffs, and billy clubs. I swear it was a museum and not a kinky strip club. After trying on several police caps and gun belts we noted a cool display on prohibition and the capture of many famous gangsters. We also found an early breathalyser machine (perhaps the museum could raise funds by selling it to MPD).

Dork

On Wednesday it rained so we dined at the Elysian Brewing Company. Elysian is a bit more professional than Pike, which is not necessarily better or worse just different. We enjoyed the Dragonstooth Stout and the Mens Room Ale - it's a beer; no seriously. We enjoyed the Mens Room more than any other mens room we've tried. It was so good we decided to try Mens room in other parts of the city. Somewhere, Chuck Berry is giggling.

We can sum up Seattle in one brief line uttered to the hotel bartender. Thursday was the three-hour boat tour in the rain. In fact, it rained all day Thursday and into the evening. The tour was great but the weather sucked so we finished the trip by watching NHL playoffs at the hotel bar. A gentleman sits next to the trusty assistant and asks the barkeep about brews on tap. After hearing the rundown the gentleman complains that he can't get a regular beer on draft (we assume he meant national brew like Budweiser or Coors Light). That got us thinking...

The Northwestern, we promise

Every pub and restaurant we visited was dominated by pacific northwest brews on the tap. We mentioned  guest brews at the brewpubs. The boat tour had a bar with five local brews on tap. The hotel bar was four locals and one national. Again, the hotel bar had four locals on tap. The Irish pub was a push. The big names were available but primarily in the bottle.

The same can be said for coffee. Yes, Starbucks dominates the market but it is still local. However, we found several local chains and what appeared to be several local one offs that reminded us of our own Qualia Coffee.

Obviously, this was not a scientific study but it was scientific observation (prove it wasn't). At the end of the day we were pleased with the easy access to local fare. It doesn't hurt that the locals were very friendly and the vibe of the city is everything we remember from Singles. OK, we haven't seen Singles since we were in high school and wearing Docs but nostalgia counts for something and perception is reality; so we've been told.  So, thank you Seattle. We look forward to our next visit.

One last thing - Check out the Seattle Art Museum if you're in town. You will not be disappointed.