Tag Archives: Seattle

Whole lotta seafood @ Ivar’s Salmon House

Now, you can’t go to Seattle and not eat seafood. That would be like going to Texas and not eating BBQ, or going to Nashville and not eating hot chicken. So we’re hanging out at Ivar’s Salmon House, this funky little seafood joint that’s right on the water — not the Pacific, but Lake Union…which does flow into the Pacific, though.

Now, this place is an offshoot of famous local chain Ivar’s House of Clams, so you KNOW we gotta start off with a bowl of clam chowder, bro! This creamy, New England-style soup has some nice little pieces of potatoes, but when you get a chunk of those chewy clams, that right there is the ticket!!!

But now it’s time for the main event! This Taste of the Northwest platter combines salmon, halibut and scallops for a triple threat in Flavourtown…

We’re starting off with salmon, which was nice n juicy, with a hint of lemon at the end.

Cod was so tender you could cut it with a fork… a nice, flaky piece of fish.

But the scallops are the star of the show. Super soft and tender, they melt in your mouth like butter! I would totally polish off a whole plate of these bad boys!!!!!

And their beer selection is just as fresh and local as the seafood. This here’s a Scuttlebutt Hefeweizen, brewed in nearby Everett, Washington. Nice and smooth with a slight citrusy aftertaste — reminds me of Big Rock Grasshopper, the brew I was raised on (which you can’t find in Toronto anymore, but that’s another story…)

But now we’re kicking it up a couple notches with Bad Jimmy’s Habanero Amber. This rich, red beer has a nice flavour profile — but I can’t really taste the habanero though. It’s definitely not spicy, bro, maybe just a bit of an aftertaste when you drink it on its own.

Now while that seafood trio was pretty tasty, it wasn’t a particularly large portion — so you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert. We’re talking house-made key lime pie, nice and tart with a crunchy graham cracker crust and a bit of whipped cream on top. Again, it was pretty tasty, but a little on the small side. I *might* hafta stop for pizza on the way home…

A Canadian-themed hockey bar in Seattle!? Take off, eh!!!

Now, hockey season might not start until October, but when I heard about The Angry Beaver, this Canadian-themed hockey bar on Greenwood Ave in Seattle, you KNOW I had to check it out! This place is serving up all the Canadian classics like peameal bacon, Nanaimo bars and six different kinds of poutine — now that’s my kinda place!

Dude, this is body by back bacon, so you know we gotta go with a PLT. You’ve got peameal bacon on sourdough bread, with lettuce, tomato and a garlic donkey sauce. Bacon has a nice chew, that garlic sauce packs a punch, but what makes it is that fresh sourdough, bro!!!

Of course, I had to go with a side of poutine, and we funked it up a notch with their beer cheese sauce with bacon and scallions. They still put cheese curds on here, but the beer cheese is definitely the star of the show.

While they do have lots of local craft beers on tap, you can also get a few bottles and cans from north of the border like Molson Canadian, Labatt Blue and Moosehead. I went for a glacier-fresh tasting Kokanee. It’s the beer out here, bro!!!!!

Football by the lake @ The Dock

Not only can you eat seafood by the seashore in Seattle, but you can also drink beers and watch football, bro! We’re hanging out at The Dock Sports Bar and Grill, this funky joint by the lake, that’s got all the games on flat screen TVs, with plenty of local craft beers on tap (along with lots of, uh, Bud Light…)

And since the early games start at 10 am on the West Coast, we start drinking at 9:30 — I think I could get used to this, bro!

We’re starting off with an Elysian Dank Dust IPA, and the name is no joke — this beer smells like weed, bro! But once you get past the odour of marijuana, it’s a pretty tasty, hoppy IPA.

Now, maybe there’s no weed in this beer, but I’m definitely getting the munchies over here. So let’s see what they’ve got to eat…

These Ultimate Cheese Curds are the perfect game day snack. Deep fried balls of cheese that go great with ranch — not so sure about the strawberry sauce though.

On the other hand, these Dock Totchos sound better than they taste. On paper, there’s nothing wrong with tater tots topped with cheese, ground beef, sour cream, jalapeños, onions, beans and tomatoes — but the tots get soggy pretty quickly, so instead of being the main vessel, they become just another bit player in the mix.

From there, we switched to Elysian Space Dust, their signature IPA. Not as heavy or as hoppy, but it gets the job done.

This Fremont Brewing Sky Kraken might be the best beer I’ve had so far. Hazy, slightly hoppy, but still very crushable. I think I’ll have a couple more of these.

Dude, these Buffalo wings are outta bounds, bro! Beyond the buttery heat, they’ve also got a lemon peppery kick. And the meat is super-tender — I don’t think I’ve had a chicken wing that melts in my mouth before!!!!

On the other hand, while the parmesan fries were hot and crispy, the hardened layer of cheese on top doesn’t really add much. You’d be better off with the plain fries.

Post-game victory burger at Dick’s Drive-In

Man, after the Seahawks’ big win over the Broncos, sending Russell Wilson back to Denver a big loooooser, you KNOW we painted the town green and blue, bro! But after pounding enough Rainiers to make a beer snake about as tall as the Space Needle, we’ve got one last stop before calling it a night.

Dick’s Drive-In is a local legend, serving up super-legit burgers and fries since the 50’s. And while their prices have gone up a bit since then, they’re still fairly reasonable — all the food you see here will only set ya back $12.25!

Ok, so what we’ve got is a Dick’s Deluxe double cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate shake. There’s no Biggie sizes, either — what you see here is what you get.

Burger is pretty tasty. Patties are thin, but nicely grilled, and you get a nice tang from the mayo and relish. Definitely hits the spot at 2 am, son!

Fries are thin, but crispy and just a little salty. I could easily eat three times as many.

But the chocolate shake is what makes it! Nice and creamy, with a rich chocolatey taste. It takes McDonalds and sacks it for a six yard loss, son!!!!!!

Going on a Seattle pub crawl (cuz Russell Wilson sucks balls!)

^^(This was never supposed to happen…)

Now, we’re longtime Seahawks fans right here on Triple B, so when Russell Wilson whined his way outta town, got traded to Denver, and then was scheduled to play the Hawks on Monday Night Football to start the season, you KNOW we had to be there, bro! And suffice to say this is not a game we wanna watch while sober. So before the game started, we made our way down the Link light rail line, grabbing a couple drinks at each stop along the way…

This craft beer pub is Big Time, unlike the Broncos!

We’re starting off at Big Time Brewery & Alehouse, Seattle’s OG brewpub, brewing it up and pouring it fresh in the U District since 1988. This place only has its own beers on tap, and with 13 to choose from, I could be here all day — if it wasn’t so far away from the stadium.

But we’re starting off with an Irish breakfast smoothie in the form of their Coal Creek Porter. A nice, chocolatey beer checking in at 5.5%. Nothing wrong with that at all. (It’s probably a safer bet for breakfast than the 8.5% S’moredor Imperial Stout.)

But alas, one can not drink all these beers on an empty stomach, so I’m going to town on these pork verde tacos, bro! Pork is braised in porter (not the one I just drank), and they put so much meat on here that you need two tortillas to handle it. You’ve also got some salsa verde, onions and Mexican cheese — but the pork is definitely the star of the show.

From there we’re going for something summery and fruity — Passionfruit Blondeshell Ale. Believe or not, but I’ve had a few passionfruit beers before…and this one comes the closest to capturing that passionfruity flavour, bro!!!

Lovin’ me some lamb @ Americana

So, we headed a couple stops down the line to Capitol Hill to check out this funky little brunch spot called Americana Restaurant. (It looked like the only place in the area that served beer and was open around lunchtime.) Cuz with all the drinking I’m about to do, I figured I could use a second breakfast, bro.

Now, while they had Elysian Space Dust IPA on tap, the tap wasn’t working that day or something, so that’s why I ended up drinking a Blue Moon. Hey, it’s not bad for a brunch beer — it basically tastes like orange juice, bro.

But the main reason we’re here is for the lamb burger. A nice, thick, juicy patty, served simply with tomato and arugula. It comes with tzatziki on the side, but you’re gonna wanna put it on top of the burger. Man, this stuff even tastes good on sweet potato fries — which automatically come with the burger.

If this place is a chain, it’s the chain I wanna see!!!

We’re hanging out at The Yard House, this funky joint across the street from the Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle. Apparently, this place is a chain with locations across the country…but with 130 beers on tap and classic rock all night long, I’m not opposed to checking this chain out. Man, I was only here for about an hour, but I heard them play Africa by Toto twice…

We’re starting out with a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA — one of those legendary American craft beers that you can never find up here in Canada. Nice, crisp and only slightly hoppy, it’s super-crushable at 6%.

Wasn’t planning on getting food, but when I saw the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel on the menu, you KNOW I needed one of these in my life, bro! This bad boy was coming in so hot, I couldn’t even touch it, but once I finally ripped in, it was worth the burn. Comes with a whole buncha beer cheese and just a bit of Dijon mustard — I’d say the cheese to mustard ratio was about right.

Here’s another beer you won’t find north of the border — Rogue’s Nitro Chocolate Stout. Smooth and creamy like a Guinness, but with a richer, more chocolatey taste — and noticeably stronger at 5.8%.

One last stop before the stadium…

At this point, it’s about 90 minutes till kickoff. We’re getting off at Pioneer Square, where all the bars are pretty packed. So we stopped into a place called Shawn O’Donnell’s, where the bar was standing room only.

Didn’t feel like Guinness after that Nitro Chocolate Stout, so I went with a Drubru Peach Sour. Light, tangy and fruity…this should tide me over until kickoff.

Crushing a couple craft beers at the ballgame…

Ya gotta love that there’s a beer named after the old stadium on sale at Lumen Field. This Kingdome Kolsch goes down smoothly like an implosion, with a nice, malty finish. Now how bout them Hawks????

Manny’s Pale Ale is a Seattle classic. Pretty sure I had one of these at a bar after the Seahawks season opener in 2010 — you couldn’t get craft beer at the stadium in those days. This one’s more like an English pale ale than an American IPA… not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Now, never in my wildest dreams did I actually expect Seattle to win this game. I was just hoping they could keep it close, so I could keep booing Russell Wilson until the end. But with the Hawks up 17-13 at the half, I started thinking they might have a chance. And with the two teams combining for just 3 points in the second, 17-13 turned into a 17-16 win. Uglier than this Tim Tebow tattoo, but we’ll take it!

(This sign is both mathematically and metaphorically accurate. Better luck in 2026, Russ!!!)

Top 5 Food Cities: 1. Seattle

Not only is Seattle home to my favourite NFL football team (Go Hawks!), but it’s also got some of my fav food joints, as well. Sure, there’s Pike Place Fish Market and some of the freshest clam chowder, calamari and fish ‘n chips you’ll find all over this country. But you can also get all kinds of good stuff here, from deep-fried candied bacon, to a breakfast burrito served Christmas style, to a chicken-fried steak as big as your head. (I actually finished it, too, but that joint was too dark for me to take a picture, bro!) If I had a green card, I would totally move to Belltown, get Seahawks season tickets and eat my weight in seafood every month… Hey, a food dude can dream, can’t he?

Ivar’s Fish ‘n Chips is the real deal. Right on the waterfront, they’re serving up some righteous clam chowder and out-of-bounds fish ‘n chips for Happy Hour!

Not to be outdone, these Pacific King Salmon tacos at Pike Place were one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had.

Just a Russell Wilson spiral away from the stadium, the Pyramid Alehouse serves up some killer calamari and righteous fish burgers in its own right.

So, this funky southern-style breakfast joint just opened up in Belltown about a year ago. They call this the Smokin’ Hot Bitch: Biscuit and Gravy smothered in cheese and topped with a grilled Louisiana Hot Link & jalapenos. I call it magically delicious!

See, I wasn’t kiddin’ about the breakfast burrito, bro!

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