1) Why am I the world's worst Puerto Rico player? Could it be because I lose all the time? Like, last place losing, with remarkable consistency. I realize that my argument is a bit circular, but there you have it. Next time I play, it will be opposite day. Then they'll see.
2) What is Seattle's one, true cuisine? If you count coffee, which I don't, then it's coffee. A decent cup can be had at many a venue, but the answer to my query is actually...there isn't one. There isn't a Seattle Dog, or a Seattle Chili, or Seattle Barbecue. No one flocks in to visit the world famous Seattle Deli, or to snap up loaves of that awesome Seattle bread. The famed Cascades and their namesake hops have not inspired much in the way of great beer, at least here in town. I haven't even had a decent cake donut since moving here, but I'm still searching.
One could argue that the fish market is a huge destination, so fish must be the answer. However, you can't pop into a little place in any given neighborhood and get an order of Seattle Fish. There's some good and some bad sushi restaurants. I'm sure that there's some world class seafood to be had downtown, but the same could be said for any number of cities NOT bordering a major port. People go to the market because of the entertainment value of people throwing large fish to one another, and to eat Chinese and Japanese food and buy cheese and souvenirs.
3) What's this about a new couch? Stay tuned.
(see what I did? that's a great example of a "teaser". you have to know what's the deal with the couch, and so you have to come back monday to find out. delicious...)
one could argue that the one true cuisine is 'pacific northwest seafood'. How to define it? Well, seafood. Oysters and salmon. There is also something about using local ingredients to create a fresh flavor, perhaps with an asian flare.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, you could stick to coffee. My biggest gripe with this isn't actually the coffee part, its that coffee shops rarely seem to have any actually good FOOD. You know, if you could raise the scone to a transcendent level, or if coffee shops around here specialized in some yumminess that complimented the coffee, i'd call it good.
Yeah, the seafood thing is so vague. If there were pushcarts downtown selling salmon-on-a-stick or oyster po'boys, or otherwise capitalizing on our proximity to the ocean, I might agree. It doesn't exactly permeate through all levels of wealth to help define our community.
ReplyDeleteTake the Chicago Dog, or Chicago pizza. Both are inextricably linked to the horrid state of cardiovascular health in the Windy City, and are a point of pride. Detroit has Greektown and donuts. San Francisco has Chinatown and Rice-a-Roni. We have coffeeshops and tattoo parlors.
It occurs to me that the Teriyaki places might qualify. They're ubiquitous, cheap, occasionally delicious, and, as far as I know, unique to this area. For the out-of-towners, Teriyaki places specialize in either Korean, Chinese, or Japanese entrees, depending on the owners. They're all called "something" Teriyaki (Toshi Teriyaki #7!)
but the teriyaki isn't particularly interesting, as far as i've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteThere is an awful lot of excellent thai food, and some world class sushi.
I welcome any recommendations about great Thai food and sushi places, and I'm sure Jill does, too!
ReplyDeleteStill, it's not really specific to Seattle, so I stand by my original thesis (sorry, dirty word).
Fortunately, Seattle has enough great things that ARE unique to this area to have a distinctive personality. I've lived in another city (Charlotte, NC) that really had none to speak of, unless you count traffic.