I started adding photos to this page, but it turns out that Blogspot is actually really bad when it comes to photos UNLESS you have a layout that is conducive to photo adding. I don't want to change the layout of my entire blog, because it works well for long text posts so I made a new blog just to store my photos. Introducing the sister publication to Javan Samp: Javan Samp Photos. If you follow this link it will take you directly to my Seattle Photo Journal through VS Co. I will also use VS Co. for all other photos as well, it organizes them better than Blogspot. You will now only see quality photos, for everything else you'll have to consult my Facebook page.
Since I won't be adding photos, I also won't duplicate posts on this page. For detailed posts about my daily adventures, please refer to the Home page tab. Instead, this page will serve as a wonderful summary of the places, events, restaurants, bars, quotes, and highlights of my times spent in Seattle, WA, much like the post I had about my Spring Break trip.
Restaurants:
- Anthony's Fish Bar - Decent fast seafood but overpriced.
- The Rock: Woodfire Pizza and Spirits - Pretty cool place with an overkill of rock n'roll themes memorabilia. Good American food and pizza. They are a brewery too! (see below).
- Blackbird Bakery - On Bainbridge Island, just a short ferry ride away. This small-town bakery is cozy and offers delicious treats and coffee.
- The Pike Brewing Company - For beer and brewery info, see below. The food offered here is a wonderful combination of American comfort food and seafood. I greatly enjoyed the Dungeness crab chowder.
- Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts - As a fan of blacksmithing as a hobby, this doughnut shop is pretty dope. They have many flavors of fresh doughnuts to choose from. I'll be sure to make it a regular doughnut stop shop.
- Il Fornaio - A medium-priced Italian joint that is really top notch and has a very classy feel. They serve delicious bread as a starter and have massive calzones, as well as a full dinner and lunch menu. I'll likely go back there again.
- Cactus - A mid-priced and delicious chain of Mexican restaurants in the Seattle area. I went to the one in Alki Beach and it was very nice. The food is excellent and they have a full tequila menu I think. I'd go back there again!
- Cask and Trotter - This place is my new "Black Dog." Located just off of South Lake Union Park, Cask and Trotter serves up delicious BBQ sliders. You can order by slider, which are decently-sized. They have a fair number of craft brews on tap (as does every place in Seattle) and the sides are great too. Get the mac n'cheese.
- Quinn's Pub - I heard about Quinn's through someone (forgot who) at UIUC who had been out to Seattle. They suggested to get the Sloppy Joe w/fried duck egg, so I did. It was delicious and I suggest you try it because it's their specialty item. Also, they have beer, great place.
- Japonessa - So this place is interesting. When I first went I thought it was just a Japanese place, but apparently there's also a heavy Latino vibe to it. They serve great sushi mainly but have other stuff too. I would suggest going during happy hour (Open-6:30) because everything is HALF PRICE. Because of this, it actually becomes a rather affordable lunch option for some great quality sushi. You can get Miso Soup or a cup of rice for only $1/each...crazy
- 8 Oz. Burger and Company - The greatest burgers you will ever have in your entire life. Seriously though, I like to consider myself a burger man, and I was blown away by how delicious these burgers are. I would suggest you start with their signature: the "8 Oz." (All of the burgers are actually 8 ounces, but that's just the name of this one.) This burger comes topped with: arugala, balsamic onions, Hill's bacon, Beecher's cheddar, and truffle aioli. 8 Oz B&Co. uses only the best top-quality and local ingredients. The beef is all grass-fed and
delicious (you can really taste the difference). The burgers are served on delicious artisan buns and topped with some crazy delicious things from local places (btw, Beecher's Handmade Cheese will hopefully soon have it's own post)....just delicious. Eat there everyday if you can afford it.
The 8 Oz. - Mediterranean Avenue - So I thought I may as well add this in here. This is a small Greek place in a food court, but it's actually pretty good. It was in my building that I worked at and turned out to be the healthiest place there. They give you huge portions of salad and hummus and have gyros and chicken too. All in all it's a decent alternative to greasy food court food and pretty good.
- Lunchbox Laboratory - Now this place was really cool. They experiment with two of the best foods on earth: burgers and mac n' cheese. There's always a unique burger to try out and they also have some pretty awesome boozy milkshakes. It's a fun take on the retro-diner type style.
- Lil' Woody's - This burger joint in Ballard serves up unique burgers for a fair price. It's fast and delicious so you may as well try it out.
- Skillet - Hipster versions of classic American food. They are a bit overpriced but taste good. I've only had a sample of theirs at Bite of Seattle as well as a food truck version.
- Kickin' Boot - Really good BBQ that's fairly priced during happy hour. I would suggest getting the fried Mac n'Cheese bites as an appetizer...so tasty.
- Palermo Pizza and Pasta - Delicious and fairly inexpensive Italian food, as it should be. The quantities are fair and they serve up a side of garlic bread with pasta, as it should be.
- Hole in the Wall BBQ - This place is literally a hole in the wall but it may be the best BBQ in Seattle. Thinking about it makes me want to go there for lunch tomorrow...I think I will...
- Madison's Diner - A classic American diner, literally. the "streamliner" type building was disassembled in Pennsylvania and shipped across the country to be rebuilt on Bainbridge Island. Another great thing about them is that they are inexpensive and like the only place on Bainbridge that serves food after seven.
- Serious Pie
- Rubbed with Love
Bars/Breweries:
Ahhhhh beer, what a beautiful thing. Thankfully, Seattle is one of the two big hotspots for beer activity in the country (up there with Wisconsin). Nearly all of the bars in Seattle carry a fresh supply of fresh fresh brews from local microbreweries and macrobreweries alike. To take a look at the actual beers I've drank here, I would suggest you check out my profile on Untappd, which is a great App for cataloging beer activities. Below is a comprehensive list of the bars/breweries I visited in Seattle.
Ahhhhh beer, what a beautiful thing. Thankfully, Seattle is one of the two big hotspots for beer activity in the country (up there with Wisconsin). Nearly all of the bars in Seattle carry a fresh supply of fresh fresh brews from local microbreweries and macrobreweries alike. To take a look at the actual beers I've drank here, I would suggest you check out my profile on Untappd, which is a great App for cataloging beer activities. Below is a comprehensive list of the bars/breweries I visited in Seattle.
- The Rock: Woodfire Pizza and Spirits - Good American food and beers. The "Suicide Blonde" was a tasty blonde ale that I would order again. The "Rock Steady Red" was my favorite, a delicious red with sweet caramel tones. The "Wild Thing" was decent but was ruined by a lemon wedge, making it taste like an ordinary shandy. The "Jumping Jack Black" is an English Ale with chocolatey tones. It was decent. "Lite my Fire" was a lighter beer that wasn't too significant. "Sledge Hammer" was a good hoppy beer.
- The Pike Brewing Company - A "museum to beer" that is pretty awesome and a definite stop for anyone who likes good beer and good food. I've had the "Pike's Space Needle" so far but intend to try all they have to offer. It's just a short walk from Pike Place Market. Here is a list of their beers and stats sheet in this handy Beer Chart.
- Owl and Thistle Irish Pub - This is a good 'ole Irish pub that would be a great place to watch a soccer game. It's kind of a dive, but the live music doesn't get any rawer. It's situated in an alley that seems sketchy but is well-lit. Stop in and grab a Guinness and listen to some music.
Owl and Thistle - Fado Irish Pub - This Irish pub was a fancy bar just around the corner from Owl and Thistle. When I went the music was great because it was an Irish musician singing Irish folk songs. The beers here were fairly typical except they had a specialty in which they mix Guinness with other beers. I ordered a Guinness with Smithwick's that was delicious.
- The Triple Door - This is a jazzy club that many famous musicians stop and play at. Big music happens here. I had the Triple Door Backstage Ale, which was a good regular ale but overpriced.
- The Whiskey Bar - The name is as it implies, whiskey. Now, though I am an avid lover of whiskey, I actually didn't get any here haha. I came for a happy hour the first week of work with some coworkers and we got beer, oops. They do have a rather large and expensive selection of whiskey that I should maybe check out....
- Rhein Haus - Now this is an awesome German brewhaus that boasts three things: Bocce, Brats, Biergarten. Yeah, they have four bocceball courts (lanes?) inside the place. The style is like a classic German brew house, and they serve solid 1-litre biers. I think I'll make this place a regular stop, because it's actually pretty close to my place.
- Rock Bottom Brewery - Now Rock Bottom is technically a chain, but I think there are only a few of them around. I've been to one in Milwaukee before. Rock Bottom is the location where my company hosts "Fun Fridays" once a month, which basically means free craft beer and appetizers. It's all quality stuff, good times.
- Redhook Brewery - Really cool place that has a bar/restaurant attached. I would definitely suggest doing the $5 tour because you get like two beers and a logo glass.
- Chateau Ste. Michele Winery - A lovely place just outside the city for a fun (and romantic) day trip. Do the free wine tasting and tour!
Chateau Ste. Michele Winery - Tap House Grill - This place is downtown, stopped here for a happy hour after work once. It's not the cheapest but it's cool because they have 160+ beers on tap. That's right, all draft.
- Spitfire - A cool "sports bar" that didn't really feel like a sports bar, I went here for a happy hour with some friends once. (work people do happy hour a lot haha) The bartender and I talked about beer for a solid hour, he's planning on opening up a microbrewery...
- Frolik - This is a swanky bar located on the roof of a hotel downtown. We stopped by here after work with some people for a happy hour. It's cool,
modern, etc and has some ping pong tables.
Stoup Brewery - Stoup Brewing - Probably my favorite beer in Seattle, Stoup is located in the Ballard/Fremont area near Green Lake. They serve up a wide variety of beers that are all unique and tasty.
- Reuben's Brews
- Woodsky's
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| The Rock flight |
Attractions/Parks/Neighborhoods:
- The Space Needle - A classic in Seattle. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, it's a must-see!
- Pike Place Market - Central hub of tourism in Seattle. A market for fresh produce is a great way to centralize things. They throw the fish here and you can find the Gum Wall, Piroshky Piroshky's, the Original Starbucks, The Pike Brewing Company, and tons of local farmers stands. It is also home to the famous "Gum Wall," I stopped by here a few times to bring home fresh fruits and veggies. It is just down the street from work!
- Bainbridge Island - This island is just a ferry-ride away from Seattle. It is home to many little shops and has a very small-town feel. We walked to the ferry and around the southern portion of the island but I suggest that you take a car so you can see all of it. At the north it connects to a peninsula that eventually leads to the great Olympic National Rainforest.
- Folklife Festival - This donation-funded festival is held once a year and features a ton of great live music, food and gift vendors, and wandering street perfomances. It's worth checking out or at least walking through (it's free of charge!). I took this photo at Seattle Center where it is held:
- Seattle Monorail - The monorail, also built for the World's Fair in '62, is actually centered at the building I'm working in. It only goes two places, my building (the downtown center) and the Space Needle. It cost $2.25 only but I'll probably never really use it again.
- Alki Beach
- Lake Union Park - I frequented Lake Union Park to read and hammock. It is a nice little park where water airplanes take off and land for air tours. There is also a Museum of History and Industry there that is very maritime.
- Ballard - Seattle's hipster neighborhood is known for it's hipsterness. It's actually a very nice area and there's a metric ton of craft microbreweries to go to here. There's also a lot of cool shops and things on Market St. to see.
- Fremont - Fremont is another hip neighborhood in Seattle that is full of cool shops and restaurants, not to mention even more breweries. It is also home to a large statue of Vladimir Lenin which somehow made it to the area from the Ukraine.
- Discovery Park - One of my favorite parks in Seattle, Discovery offers hiking/running through the woods and a quiet and clean beach to visit. There is also a lighthouse and a secret military base and water treatment plant hidden within.
- Capitol Hill - Capitol Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle that offers a wide variety of bars and restaurants to visit. This neighborhood has a young crowd and the night scene is hoppin.
- Volunteer Park - This little park in Capitol Hill is a nice place to take a walk. It has a cool water tower that was built a long long time ago.
Volunteer Park Water Tower - Bruce Lee's Tombstone - Located in a cemetery close to Volunteer Park you can find the final resting place of the badass karate master, Bruce Lee.
- Olympic National Park - The Olympic National Park contains the Olympic Mountains and National Rainforest. This is an amazing and massive park full of mountains, rivers, rainforest and wildlife all contained on a peninsula that sticks out into the Pacific Ocean. Definitely recommended if you're in the area.
- Mt. Rainier National Park - Mt. Rainier is an icon in Seattle because it stands as a silent sentinel over the city. It can be seen from many places in the city and is always breathtaking. If you're in the area you should definitely try to visit Mt. Rainier. There are many things to do there and the hiking is excellent.
- Bearhead Mountain - This is an excellent mountain next to Mt. Rainier that offers breathtaking views of the great mountain. The hiking is pretty relaxed and a great way to spend a day.
- Bite of Seattle - Bite of Seattle was pretty cool because it allowed my to get a taste of many of the restaurants in Seattle that I probably wasn't going to visit directly. This festival is accompanied by music and a large number of food stands.
- Seafoodfest/Nordic Heritage Festival - Don't go to this expecting to find a great variety of seafood, because there isn't much. They should really change the name, all the seafood they had was salmon burgers, that's it.
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