Tracy Iseminger
I recently attended the Taste Washington 2013 event in Seattle, Washington and had the opportunity to taste from over 65 of the Northwest best restaurants. Needless to say, in 4 hours time, with the over 225 wineries also attending, I did not get through everything. I did however manage to make it to many and made my notes to share with you too!
RN74 on 4th Ave. – I watched the pastry chef Kim Maher do a live cooking demo and had a chance to taste the very special custard cornbread. It was unbelievable and she did a wonderful job at the demonstration. I can not wait to visit this restaurant downtown.
Trace at W Hotel – They were serving up Smoked Octopus. Upon looking at it, I didn’t want to eat it, but with a lot of encouragement, I did it. WOW! It was amazing. Who knew I would like octopus! The smoked flavor was superb and sold me on trying more.
Palomino on 5th Ave – The Palomino was serving up Rigatoni Bolognese. For a spaghetti girl, this was phenomenal. Just the right amount of spice and it paired perfectly with the Syrah I happened to have in hand.
Sullivans Steak House on Union –
The Melting Pot on Mercer St. – A fun experience of fondue. I sampled the desserts – brownies, marshmallows and cheesecake dipped in chocolate. Seriously can’t go wrong there.
Cutters Crabhouse on Western Ave – Here I sampled steamed mussels with bleu cheese, bacon and green onions. The only problem was I didn’t get enough to sample. Simply delicious.
Dragon Fish Asian Cafe at 8th and Pine – A chocolate chili cupcake with passionfruit buttercream. The flavors melded together so nicely and would end any meal nicely.
Relish Burger Bistro at the Westin Hotel on 5th – I sampled a bread pudding here and fell in love. I didn’t get a chance to try the burger, but I will return to the restaurant for more.!
Seattle Salads – Easy healthy salads delivered to your doorstep. Choose from a premade salad or build your own, then have it delivered. The salads I sampled were awesome and would be great for Vegetarians. Vegan options also available.
Racha Noodles Thai Cuisine – Here I tasted Massaman curry with beef. The flavor of the curry was wonderful. I love curries and this one lived up to my expectations.
Sky City at the Space Needle – Nettle Soup with Smoked Salmon. I didn’t actually get to taste it while I was at Taste Washington but have eaten here before and really enjoyed the experience. You can’t beat the top of the Space Needle for scenery.
Manhattan Capitol Hill Steakhouse
Tulalip Casino – host to 4 restaurants: Blackfish, Cedars Cafe, Tulalip Bay and Tulalip Resort Sweet Endings. Nothing short of extrordinary.
El Gaucho – Chef Matt also did a cooking demo and it was wonderful as well. Learned a lot about beef and the Tenderloin Diablo was fabulous. I wish I had more time to visit the restaurant while I was in town.
These are just a handful of the restaurants I sampled and there were so many more that I missed. If you go to Taste Washington, I highly suggest downloading the brochure ahead of time and marking the restaurants you would like to sample and plan ahead. I missed some great Vegetarian and Vegan options which I myself prefer. Next year – I will have a plan!
In addition to the restaurants, as I said, there were over 225 wineries as well, ciders and ales too. You could also find specialty foods such as cheese, crackers, chocolates and gourmet salts.
If you have the chance, I highly recommend heading to Taste Washington and/or any one of the fine local restaurants listed above.
