Tuesday at the Table

Over the weekend, hubby and I had a fun morning at our local Pike Place Market that was worth documenting. We went on a Seattle Bites Food Tour, which was a wonderful way to get out and about and meet our step goals for the day, visit some market stands both familiar and new to us, and of course eat some tasty food. We've done food tours in Portland, Oregon and McKinney, Texas, but never in our own city. It was time.



Here's a listing of places we visited and what we ate!

Crepe de France - banana nutella crepe

Corner Produce - fresh Washington grown honeycrisp apple, nectarine, pluot
This stall has been open since 1957! There are actually 20 varieties of nectarines grown in Washington state, but I forget which we tasted.

Pike Place Chowder - New England clam chowder and vegetarian Lime & Coconut Chowder
Their backstory is a good one.

Pike's Pit BBQ - BBQ Bowl
Our guide called this a 'walkabout'.... basically a layering of beans, brisket, and slaw.

Uli's Famous Sausage - Italian chicken sausage
This is one stand we've visited and purchased from many times before.

Pure Food Fish Market - alderwood smoked salmon
Goodness this was good!



Ellenos Real Greek yogurt - honey yogurt with marionberry sause
Oh yum! I'll be looking for this in my local grocery store.

Mariscos Mexico - cod fish tacos
This was so good, we went back after the tour and had a full order. We'll be back!

As a postscript, our tour actually began inside the Seattle Art Museum, which is very near the market, and on our way out we stopped in the lobby to see and hear about a current exhibit, John Grades's Middle Fork, which "echoes the contours of a 140-year-old western hemlock tree located in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle." Get a glimpse, and if you want to know more, there's even a video. It was truly awe-inspiring.

Tuesday at the Table

Ok, I know I'm sharing today's post mostly for me, but I want to be able to look back and remember. So.... while we were in McKinney, Texas last week, hubby and I took a food walking tour. We find it a great way to learn about a new place, and have done similar a couple of times. We joined Food Walks of Texas for a three-hour 'tour' of downtown McKinney, stopping and sampling at five different shops. We learned alot of history along the way, but forgive me if I only share about the food. ;-)

Cadillac Pizza was our first stop. What we learned right off from our guide, is that he tasted pretty much the whole menu before selecting the item to include in the tasting tour. And as our pizza was served, he wondered aloud if we'd be as big of fans as he was. Oh yes. The Local Goat & Fig was right up our alley. (Think crispy pancetta, local goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, dried figs, balsamic drizzle, and fresh basil. Yum.)





Next up was The Pantry, nestled in a historic building right off the town square. Apparently the Chocolate Cream Pie has a bit of a history too. Back in the day, the bakers ran out of Hershey chocolate and with none to be found in town, made a substitution. Customers complained, so a posse was sent to neighboring towns to purchase the 'right' chocolate, and that mistake was not made again. Also, this delicious pie had a 'secret' ingredient, which I correctly guessed as a layer of cream cheese atop the crust. Delish.



When all was said and done and we were asked what was the best thing we tasted in Texas, both hubby and I agreed it was the Club Sandwich we ate at Butcher Board. It looks innocent enough in my photo, but I was sad when mine was gone. Oh yeah, and a taster of Tupps brew. Win-win.





Next up was Goodies, and it was just that. Family-owned and run, we got to sample the truffles, which were as beautiful as they were tasty.



The tour finished at Hugs Cafe (oops, no photos), a really special place that strives to enhance the lives of adults with special needs through training and employment. Plus, they make really delicious cookies.

So that was fun in more ways than one. Thanks for joining me on the mini tour!