Foodies who come to Seattle should be familiar with at least two names: Tom Douglas and Ethan Stowell. These two talents hang their toques all over town, and their well-fed fans happily flock to each chef’s respective establishments with loyalty and dedication.
Douglas is a James Beard Award-winning chef who was also named “Iron Chef” on the Food Network show in 2005. While many of his restaurants are concentrated downtown (Lola, Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery and Serious Pie, to name a few), another cluster of eateries thrives over in the bustling South Lake Union neighborhood. Here, Amazon employees and other professionals enjoy hopping spots like Brave Horse Tavern and Cuoco.
Pizza at Serious Pie — Photo courtesy of Serious Pie
The Ethan Stowell restaurant group claims to be “about keeping it simple, using fresh ingredients and allowing the food to do the talking.” Among favorite dishes at these famed eateries are “freshly-made pasta, locally foraged mushrooms, delicately prepared fish, a T-bone for two and maybe a few animal innards.”
In Queen Anne, How to Cook a Wolf is one of the city’s most coveted restaurants, and Anchovies & Olives exists as “an adventure in seafood, where geoduck is rarely off the menu." In Stowell's beautiful dishes, Northwest shellfish often take center stage.
Inside How to Cook a Wolf — Photo courtesy of How to Cook a Wolf
So, how to pass a day sampling these two talents’ work and then some?
Begin the day in South Lake Union, where Tom Douglas’s Serious Biscuit provides the perfect start to your culinary adventure.
If you’re up for some steep strolling, next work off some calories with a walk up to Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market. (Otherwise, hop on a bus or take a quick cab ride.) In this friendly, open-space market, find local vendors like Rain Shadow Meats and Taylor Shellfish Farms selling their goods, Homegrown preparing healthy and fresh sandwiches to eat on-site and, in the back corner, Sitka and Spruce turning dining into a full-blown experience (Curious diners watch chefs work at the open-air prep table.).
Next, head to to Pike Place Market, where not-to-be-missed food stops range from Beecher's Cheese to Piroshky Piroshky. Either explore the stalls yourself, or follow a knowledgeable guide with Savor Seattle Food Tours.
If you somehow still have room for dinner after all this tasty adventuring, then consider heading to Belltown to Stowell’s Tavolata, where house-made pasta and an industrial-chic ambiance wows, or, if you really want to splurge, then hop in a cab to Seattle’s culinary piece de la resistance - Canlis.
Happy eating!
