Traveling – Seattle, Washington – Ivar’s Salmon House

The day after our anniversary, we met our son and his wife at their apartment in North Seattle so we could go out to lunch together.  Our son mentioned that while out riding his bicycle around Lake Union in Seattle, he could smell alder smoke and figured out it came from an Ivar’s restaurant situated on the edge of the lake.

If you live in the Seattle area, you have probably heard of Ivar’s seafood restaurants.  Ivar’s has been a Seattle landmark for many years offering tasty fish and chips from stands along the various waterfronts.  I can still sing part of the Ivar’s song from when I lived in the Seattle area in the 1970’s, and the Ivar’s catch phrase: “Keep Clam”.

We drove to the restaurant, found a place to park and went in, I was surprised to see that it was Ivar’s Salmon house.  I had never been there before because I felt that it would be too expensive, but this was still our anniversary trip, so what the heck.

Ivar’s Salmon House is decorated like a West Coast Native American long house.  Everything is cedar planking with large Indian graphics painted on the walls.  The seating looks out over Lake Union towards the downtown Seattle skyline and the Seattle Space Needle.

I was surprised that the lunch menu was actually reasonably priced and the entrees were comparable to other restaurant chains.  Both my wife and I decide to order the Coho salmon with Portobello mushrooms and asparagus.  Our son and his wife had fish and chips and a bowl of the house salmon chowder.

When our lunch arrived, I quickly took some photos and then started eating.  The salmon had been cooked over the alder flame, so it had a nice alder flavor added to the fish.  There was light sauce on the asparagus and mushrooms that had a smoky flavor with limejuice and a little sweetener to round out the flavor.

The entire meal was very refreshing and enjoyable.  Good food, great company and a wonderful view, what more could I ask for.  Keep Clam!

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell

Traveling – Seattle, Washington – Crab Pot

This week my wife and I celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary and we decided to take two days and travel to Seattle to celebrate.  Along the way, we stopped in Tacoma, Washington and toured the Museum of Glass.  Unless you want to see the process of glass blowing, I don’t recommend paying to go in the museum, but park nearby and walk over the bridge that features glass work by Dale Chihuly.  Then walk across the bridge to the US Court House (former Union Station) and see several glass installations by Chihuly.

After our visit to the museum, we drove another forty minutes North to Pier 57 in Seattle for dinner at the Crab Pot.  I had seen a segment about the Crab Pot on the cable TV show “Man v. Food” and I decided that we should have dinner there on a special occasion.  A thirty-year anniversary seemed like a special occasion so we planned on dinner.  I had called about reservations, but the restaurant does not accept reservations and we were prepared to wait for a table.

We arrived in the area of the restaurant about five minutes to six o’clock and once we found a parking place in city parking about three blocks away, we were very pleased to see that city parking is free after six pm.  We had a great stroll down the waterfront to the restaurant where we place our name in the queue and waited for about thirty minutes for a table.

We decided to order “The Westport” feast from our excellent waiter: Damon.  This is a meal for two or more people that contains: Dungeness crab, snow crab, shrimp, mussels, steamed clams, anduoille sausage, red potatoes, and corn on the cob.  The fun thing about ordering the feast is each diner is provided a nice bib to keep clean, a small fork, and a mallet for cracking the crab.

The tables are covered with several layers of white butcher paper and the meal is ceremoniously dumped from a large metal bowl into the middle of the table.  We enjoyed all the different items.  I would recommend eating the shrimp first, because when they cooled, the texture seemed to become soft and they were not quite a good as when they were warm.  We were surprised because it is not corn season, but the corn was very sweet and delicious.  All I can say about the crab is that we wished there was more.  As we ate, all the shells and scraps were tossed into the metal serving bowl that was placed on the ground at our feet.

I had told Damon that this was our wedding anniversary in case the cooks wanted to throw in some of the Alaskan King crab legs that are served in “The Alaskan” feast.  He was unable to get us the King crab, but he did bring us a wonderful rhubarb and strawberry “Cake in a Pan” that is one of the Crab Pot’s signature desserts.  This cake was accompanied by a large bowl of vanilla ice cream and it was delicious.

We left the Crab Pot very full and extremely satisfied with our dinner, the service, and the restaurant.  I hope we don’t have to wait another thirty years to go back.

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell