The sky is often grey, the residents tend to be muted (except when cheering their teams), calm waters lap the green cityscape, but beneath its mild exterior, Seattle has always careened wildly between boom and bust. For better or worse, boom is the mode of the day. Though the tunnel project designed to give the waterfront a highway-free makeover is currently stalled, the rest of downtown is roaring with new construction and high-end repurposing of historic buildings. The food has never been better, and the traffic never worse. Autumn days can be wet, but, as any photographer will tell you, the city is at its loveliest when slicked with rain.
Friday 3pm
1 A spin in the Great Wheel The Seattle Great Wheel, open since 2012, looks like a carnival ride that washed up at the end of a pier in Elliott Bay, but the view from the 175-foot-high Ferris wheel of water, city and, if you're lucky, the Olympic Mountains, more than compensates for the corniness. Gondolas ($13 plus tax; $8.50 for ages 4 to 11) are fully enclosed so you can ride the wheel in comfort, rain or shine.
4.30pm
2 New life in old haunts For decades, the stately old brick and granite blocks around Pioneer Square have given off a creepy, neglected vibe. No more. The award-winning local restaurateur Matt Dillon took a gamble recently by opening three new restaurants here on the same block: the creative small-plate Bar Sajor and two different establishments, which Dillon owns with Katherine Anderson, called London Plane (a soaring wine bar at one end of the block and a bouncy, bright restaurant at the other end).
Dillon’s bet paid off. Trendy shops are springing up beside venerable neighbourhood institutions such as Glasshouse Studio (affordable glass jewellery, vases and lighting pendants) and Stonington Gallery (Northwest native artists and artisans). Check out the skulls, taxidermy, antiques and Victorian mourning pieces (like wreaths made of human hair) at the aptly named Belfry Oddities & Collectables. If you’re flagging, grab a table at Zeitgeist Coffee and settle in for a macchiato ($2.50) and ginger molasses cookie ($1.80) while you peruse arts and events listings in the rack of local weeklies and magazines.
6pm
3 Liquid Sunshine Given Seattle's soggy reputation, Damn the Weather, another Pioneer Square newcomer, may just be the best-named bar in town. The decor is an urban-rustic patchwork of wood and brick, and the price is right for draught beer (Oregon's 1811 Lager for $5.50), French cider (Pacory, $7.50) or Spanish sherry (La Garrocha amontillado $5). Or you can spring for one of the celebrated bartender Bryn Lumsden's fancifully named cocktails (Waltzing Matilda, with gin, fruit juices and cava, $11). If you'd rather toke up than tank up, take a 15-minute bus ride south of Pioneer Square to Cannabis City – the first legal pot shop in downtown Seattle.
8:30pm
4 Dîner, s'il vous plait If you're thinking that celebrity French chef plus chain hotel location equals pretentious, overpriced food, you'll be thinking again after a night at Loulay. Thierry Rautureau ("the chef in the hat") gives traditional French brasserie dishes a fresh twist by using locally sourced produce and shellfish. The mussels with merguez sausage and garlic frites ($16) are a delicious duet performed by fat Penn Cove mussels and crispy fries soaked in garlic and oil. Crab beignet ($10) is like a fancy lobster roll with crab fritters and harissa aioli substituting for lobster and mayo. Open just a year, Loulay manages to be at once theatrical, soothing and reasonably priced.
Saturday 9 am
5 Grab and go, or linger Assembly Hall, the new outpost in the empire of the Seattle restaurant czar Tom Douglas, has you covered no matter what your breakfast fancy. If you're rushed, head to the take-out counter for a pretzel bagel ($2.50) and smoothie ($6 for a pineapple lassi) and then perch and munch in the foyer. If you care to linger, settle in for a leisurely Asian-themed brunch (kimchi pancakes, $13; vegetable frittata, $14) at Tanaka San, the adjoining sit-down restaurant. After breakfast, play shuffleboard upstairs or gaze at Amazon's new headquarters going up across the street.
11am
6 Good-looking glass Opened two years ago on the grounds of the Seattle Center, Chihuly Garden and Glass showcases the prodigious talent of the Northwest glass artist Dale Chihuly with a series of jaw-dropping indoor and open-air installations. Each room is like a stage set in which shimmering cones, spears, coils, discs and snaky Medusa heads of multicoloured glass explode like frozen fireworks. The show continues outdoors in a sprawling, witty garden design where plants and glass pieces tangle, embrace, compete with and complement one another.
1pm
7 Lunch aloha Board the West Seattle water taxi at Pier 50, and $8 and 15 minutes later disembark in Hawaii. Or at least Seattle's take on a laid-back island dining spot. Marination Ma Kai, at the West Seattle ferry landing, recently graduated from roving food truck to waterfront restaurant with a killer view and inspired Hawaiian-Korean fusion cuisine. The miso-sake marinated fish tacos ($3) are delectable but tiny; order four, add kimchi fried rice with spicy pork ($7.50) and you'll have an ample, piquant lunch for two.
3pm
8 Rain or shine Seattleites never break for rain, so even if the weather is drippy, why not join the locals for a post-lunch stroll through Seward Park (20 minutes from downtown by car). This 300-acre peninsula jutting into Lake Washington preserves some of the last old-growth conifer forest inside the city limits. Alternatively, hoof (or cab) it a few blocks from Pier 50 to the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, in a circa 1910 building in the International District. This Smithsonian-affiliated museum explores the rich past and present of the region's Asian populations through multimedia exhibits, costumes, oral histories, folk art and historic structures, as well as neighbourhood walking tours.
7pm
9 Boat to dinner The food is classy and creative, the décor has a jaunty nautical lilt, and the setting on Lake Union, with a private dock and fire-pit, is unbeatable – if only Westward took reservations or answered its phone, all would be peachy with the city's hottest new dining spot. Still, it's worth the wait to join techies tucking into Zoi Antonitsas's smoked manila clam dip ($11), wild salmon gravlax with triple-thickened Greek yogurt ($14) and quail with fregola sarda (a nutty pearl-like Sardinian pasta), chard and onions ($29). The wood-oven roasted marble potatoes ($9) and a jar of house pickles (ever had pickled cherries or grapes?) are a must. 10pm
10 Song and dance options Capitol Hill, which on Saturday night seems to have more bars than parking spots, is nightlife central – and Havana Social Club is at the throbbing epicentre. With its swaying palms and gold pressed-tin ceiling, the place feels like a quaint old tropical hotel, but instead of foxtrotting, linen-clad ex-pats you'll find mostly young, pierced folks throwing back tequila and gyrating to soul, rap and indie hits. For a more intimate (and live) musical experience, check out Seattle Living Room Shows – pop concerts held in private homes (book well ahead; $16.).
Sunday 11 am
11 Brunch in Bollard Ballard, a residential neighbourhood northwest of downtown, has undergone a swift transition from Scandinavian suburb to happening haunt with great shops and restaurants. Stoneburner, on a pretty street lined with inviting shops (Lucca for candles and diaries; Re-soul for cool wallets and pointy shoes), perfectly captures the spirit of the new Ballard with its cheery tile and wood dining-room and local farmers' market produce. Brunch options range from the traditional (biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs, $12) to the hearty (meatballs with polenta grits, fried egg and braising greens, $13) to the hyper-healthy (raw kale with spicy breadcrumbs and pecorino, $9).
12:30 pm 12 The Frye Heats Up Locals overlook the Frye Art Museum because of its dowdy permanent collection, but the place has an edgy new air these days, with offbeat exhibits (a crowd-curated show called #SocialMedium is on display through Jan 4th, 2015) and a good cafe (sandwiches, salads, Caffe Vita coffee). Parking and admission are both free, and the gift shop is a good place to get that last-minute present: stylish contemporary scarves, tableware, jewellery and pottery.
© 2014 The New York Times. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate
