day 41- Travelogue – food in Seattle

Chef Tom Douglas is the Seattle star restaurateur and put this Northwestern city on the map for destination dining.  Courtesy of my hosts, I was treated to two desserts from his famous Dahlia Bakery, our last stop on the Chocolate Indulgence Walking Tour.  A signature cookie and brownie. Completely and utterly decadent, we strolled for hours, in and out of sweet shops, regaled by stories and the history of cacao.  Cutting edge earphones with volume control provided us all the chance to hear every nuance and question; an educational wealth of information was bestowed upon us as well as a gourmand treat.  See what I mean about my theory that the academics seem to have more value in colder climes?

Every bite, every calorie, every step in the freezing mist that hovered all day was worth it.  We ate an awful amount of sugar related product.  I highly recommend this tour to non-diabetics.  The sugar high alone kept me going for hours and good thing, because we had a musical to watch that evening that my son had also gifted us.  Wicked.

We had gourmet popcorn every which way, a combination of nuts, seeds, marshmallows, caramel, chocolate, etc. at KuKuRuZa.  Freshly made on the premises chocolate gelato and treats at Cupcake Royale, Obama’s favorite salted caramels at Fran’s Chocolates, chocolate tea at the Perennial Tea Room, homemade, thick delicious hot chocolate accompanied by home spun gingered marshmallows and whipped pumpkin flavored cream at The Chocolate Box and (drum roll) White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Tarts at The Confectional, fronting Pike Street Market where we had to ward off passerby’s asking for samples too.  “Sorry, only for us chocolate fanatics!  Cannot spare a single specimen.”  The Chocolate Indulgence tour of Seattle is a banquet of chocolate that pays homage to the coveted cacao bean and was a great kick-off to those 5-10 pounds I put on starting around Halloween!

On yet another outing, we had a lengthy stay at the Quintessential Gourmet Flavored Oils and Vinegar Storefront on the boardwalk boasting huge corner windows and stainless steel bins full of a wide range of delectable oils/vinegars.  Each vat has spouts and you pour the intoxicating liquids into teeny-waxed cups. Bits of bread are prepared on trays.   This was a delightful and filling field trip.  Dipping, saturating and tasting bread from countless combinations was not enough, we poured oils and vinegars and shook them up together and tossed back the mixtures like we were doing shots of tequila, albeit much healthier.

My favorite combination is the Blood Orange Olive Oil with Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar.  Exquisite. I ended up buying a lengthy list of oils and vinegars and having them shipped.

More feasting tales tomorrow…..

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