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AUGUST 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
THREE PERFECT DAYS
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SEATTLE
the Carpenter
, where you team up with
another lone diner andorder a loadof stuff
to share: Olympia oysters, grilled sardines,
smoked trout and ample amounts of pinot
grigio. You amble out into themild evening
caught between a “yum” and a yawn.
Hankering for a nightcap, you head to
Rob Roy
, a low-lit throwback with a hi-fi
in the rear and dudes at the bar having
a philosophical discussion about Samuel
L. Jackson. You sidle along the bar and
enjoy a perfect Blood and Sand—Islay
scotch, sweet vermouth, cherry brandy
and orange juice—then retire to your
hotel, where Kurt awaits.
DAY TWO
| Your morning begins with a
le over blueberrymuffin and a cup of cof-
fee in theMonaco’s art deco–flavored lobby.
Youmake a short trek to Pier 52 and you’re
on a ferry to
Bainbridge Island
, the endpoint
of a 30-minute cruise that provides crack-
ing views of Seattle and the Olympic
Mountains. Bainbridge has everything
a small island should: great bookstore
(Eagle Harbor), superb café (Blackbird
Bakery) and addictive ice cream (Mora Iced
with its portraits of scary Gothic children and
splashy Sea le cityscapes. A few steps away is
Melrose Market
, a neatly arrayed assembly of
stalls offering everything from recycled-glass
terrariums (Bu er Home) to classes in cleaver
cra (Rain ShadowMeats).
Fromhere, it’s a short hike to themonorail that
zips above the city and stops within earshot of
EMP
(formerly the ExperienceMusic Project), the
undulating, shimmeringmuseumbuilt by Frank
Gehry and bankrolled by Microso ’s Paul Allen.
Thehighlight is a surveyofNirvana: KurtCobain’s
raggedy cardigans, ba ered guitars and artfully
scrawled flyers for shows at ra y li le clubs.
Humming “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” you cab it
to the waterfront, which is do ed with seafood
joints ju ing into Puget Sound. You se le on the
shack-like
Ivar’s
on Pier 54, a bit of a tourist trap
but also one of the oldest eateries in town. A er
a cup of creamy seafood chowder and a couple of
crab cakes (with a heavy emphasis on the crab),
consumed at a tablewith a sweeping viewof the
sound, you know you made the right call.
Fortified, youhotfoot it to the
OlympicSculpture
Park
, a waterfront space that is home to a bunch
of oversize objets d’art. You plant yourself on one
of the eye-shaped benches and contemplate life,
the universe and your nextmeal. Before dinner, you’ll double back to theMonaco
for an anti-preen. You will, a er all, be venturing into the Ballard district, which
boasts one of the highest piercings-per-eyebrow ratios in the world.
But there’s more to Ballard than ear ta oos and outré facial hair. The area
is known for stripped-down eateries serving excellent food, like
TheWalrus and
INGOOD TASTE
Left, the mod and mood-lit
foyer at Hotel 1000; above, the fabulous foie
gras terrine at downtown gastropub Spur