restaurants

Great places to eat in Seattle

 in Travel  tagged city guide / restaurants / seattle / travel tips by

mcmenamins queen anne pub

We just returned from a really fun family vacation to Seattle, WA. While we were there, we ate out at several restaurants. Some of the restaurants were really yummy, while others, made you want to beg for your money back; no joke. So, to help you make the right dining decisions next time you travel to Seattle, and not repeat our mistakes, here are a few of the restaurants we ate at; these are the ones we loved!

All of these restaurants had great kids menu’s too, so these are both adult and kid approved places to eat! Love that!

McMenamin’s Queen Anne Pub

mcmenamins queen anne pub mcmenamins queen anne pub

McMenamin’s Queen Anne pub was our favorite place to eat during our vacation; we ate there twice! The photo at the top of this article is a Gardenburger with cheese and tater tots. The tater tots are soooo good! I highly recommend getting them instead of the fries with your sandwich or burger. So good!

The second meal pictured is a Queen Anne sandwich with tater tots. It has roasted mozzarella, tomato, and pesto. It’s SO GOOD! I also has a cup of clam chowder; it was equally delicious!

My kids enjoyed mini corn dogs and chicken from the kids menu. Parents and children approved!

If you like craft beer, they have really good beer. I highly recommend sipping one during your meal, they are quite good!

Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, this restaurant also has incredible decor. Each ceiling light fixture had a really cool, painted design around it. Don’t you just love it!

McMenemin’s Queen Anne is located at 200 Roy Street, walking distance from the Space Needle.

Shawn O’Donnell’s Grill and Pub

shawn odonnells grill irish pub

This was a delicious Irish Pub we stumbled upon while touring Pioneer Square in Seattle. Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub had a great selection of comfort and pub food. They also had a delicious kids menu! I had a chicken pot pie which was to-die-for! I highly recommend popping in for some cozy food when you are near Pioneer Square in Seattle!

Ten Sushi Seattle

ten sushi seattle

We cannot go anywhere without eating at least one sushi meal! We stopped into Ten Sushi on our first day in Seattle. It was located just steps away from the Space Needle. It was a little bit difficult to find the front door; you have to enter into a supermarket and go up to a mezzanine to find the front door. Once we found it, we were happy!

The food was delicious and they have very inexpensive lunch deals each day. My kids enjoyed the food, and we loved the prices of the lunch specials! If you love sushi and are visiting Seattle near the Space Needle, be sure to pop in for a bite!

Citizen Coffee

citizen seattle

We found the cutest little coffee shop at 706 Taylor Ave. N in Seattle. They have a delicious menu filled with brunch items and sandwiches; in addition to a coffee menu. The restaurant has a super cute outdoor area filled with picnic tables and a fir-pit. The decor is adorable and the food is yummy! I enjoyed egg and mushroom tacos, which were super yummy! If you are near the Space Needle, be sure to pop in to Citizen Coffee for brunch or happy hour!

Strawberry Shortcake Booth City Center

strawberry shortcake seattle city center

If you wander around the city center in Seattle, you will notice food booths. The Strawberry Shortcake food booth is SO GOOD! If you love strawberries, and you love dessert, this is your booth! It is a cup full of juicy strawberries, cream, cake, and pure heaven. Love!

Of course, if you are a huge Starbuck’s fan, be sure to stop in at the “Original” Starbucks located at pike Place Market. It’s isn’t technically the first Starbuck’s, that one closed in the 1970s, but I understand it is the oldest location still open with original signage. The line was crazy long, so I did not go inside. If you want to grab a snack or coffee from this location, be sure to arrive early while wearing your standing shoes!

If you have any favorite restaurants in Seattle, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. I would love to learn about them!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

original starbucks seattle

Summer Kick-Off Poptail party at Hotel Valencia

 in Events  tagged hotel valencia / kendra scott / restaurants / santana row / summer 2016 by

santana row and hotel valencia summer kickoff poptail party

From top: Rita, Laura (Have Need Want), and me / Patriotic Poptail / Group of Patriotic Poptails / Pink on the Cheek won a Kendra Scott necklace in the raffle!

Last week Hotel Valencia at Santana Row hosted a Summer Kickoff party featuring a fun, summer drink named a “Poptail.” The Poptails featured a Popsicle and small amount of alcohol. There was also a mock Poptail offered, which Laura enjoyed, that featured a Popsicle and sparkling water. These drinks will be offered throughout the summer season at Hotel Valencia. The Popsicle was very refreshing!

The party attracted a very large crowd, which included some of my friends! It was fun to be able to run into some of my friends, and fellow local bloggers, at the event. Kendra Scott had a table at the Poptail party which gave guests details about their upcoming store opening. They also hosted a raffle where several guests were able to win beautiful jewels by Kendra Scott! You can read about the new store opening online here.

After the party, Laura and I enjoyed a yummy dinner at Pizza Antica. We sat outside, which was perfect since it was still around eighty degrees outside at 7:30pm. It was such a fun evening!

You can learn more about Hotel Valencia online here.

New York Fashion Week travel guide

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged city guide / instagram / lifestyle / restaurants by

restaurants near skylight clarkson

New York Fashion Week has come to an end. In addition to seeing all the new collections on the runways for next season, attending New York Fashion Week also means travel for those of us who are not from New York. This means rushing from show to show, stopping for a bite to eat at a restaurant, and having fun! So I decided to make a little New York Fashion Week travel guide for you!

One of my favorite things about traveling, is having an excuse to eat out! Although some moments during fashion week mean eating snacks instead of a full meal, or grabbing something fast to-go, there are moments when I can indulge in a sit down meal at a fabulous restaurant. I have four favorite restaurants to eat at while in New York for fashion week. Pictured above, are the meals I enjoyed at each of them over the past week.

From top left:

  1. Trattoria Bianca: They have the best Italian food! I ate there in September, and again last week. The ravioli is to-die-for, and so is the soup!
  2. Lauduree Paris: I always wanted to try Laduree, so when my friend Laura from Have Need Want suggested we enjoy brunch at Laduree, I was game! I had a fabulous mushroom crepe, which I highly recommend, green tea, and a yummy dessert. Of course, I also left with a gift box of macarons. Highly recommend!
  3. Sushi Samba: This place is amazing! They serve, get this, Peruvian, Brazilian, and Japanese fusion! The result is amazing flavor, and an unique dining experience. You must try it! I’m thrilled my friend Rita suggested we eat there, it was perfection.
  4. Westville Hudson: This restaurant was really close to the Skylight Clarkson, and our hotel. They serve fabulous farm to table food. We ending up eating dinner there twice! My apologies for the poor photo quality, the lighting wasn’t iPhone friendly 😉 This is a great spot for vegetarian, and vegan options. I loved every meal I ate there. I highly recommend the grilled salmon, and the pesto mashed potatoes. Yummy!

These are a few moments during fashion week which were especially memorable. From top right:

  1. Vivienne Hu’s after-party. Vivienne Hu is one of my favorite designer collections shown during New York Fashion Week. Her fall 2016 collection was especially amazing. It was an honor to be invited to her after-party, and to have the chance to speak with her about her collection, and the new “see it on the runway, buy it now,” concept which is starting to emerge at fashion week. This photo of myself, Laura, and Vivienne Hu reminds me of this special event.
  2. Monique Lhuilier’s collection was dreamy, nostalgic, and beautiful. I intended to post this photo on Instagram while I was waiting at my seat for everyone to enter the room and sit down, but I never did. This is what my lap usually looks like before a show. I read the run of show materials placed at my seat in order to get a sense of the designers inspiration of the season, observe the crowd, and wait patiently for the show to begin.
  3. A cronut! I never had a cronut before. My fabulous friend Rita and her husband picked one up for me and brought it to my hotel room knowing I had a full schedule. It was such a special treat, and a big help in getting some breakfast inside of my tummy! Ha! This moment also reminds me what a beautiful friend I have in Rita.
  4. This is the outfit I wore on day four of New York Fashion Week. Laura and I did not have a chance to snap our outfit photos that day. We were too busy attending shows, meetings, and working. We tried to take a few pictures in our hotel lobby, but the lighting was not my friend. My coat is by Rebecca Taylor, and it is sold out; but you can find  more fabulous coats by her online here.

If you are traveling to New York Fashion Week in September, or just want to stay in the area, I can recommend three moderately priced hotels which are modern inside, offer great service, and are walkable to the shows!

If you would like to stay on 33rd street by the Skylight Moynihan, I highly recommend the Marriot Fairfield. It is right across the street, and offers free breakfast. They do not have a restaurant onsite, but it is walkable to Hell’s Kitchen, and several yummy places to eat; including Trattoria Bianca mentioned above.

If the Skylight Clarkson is the location you would like to walk to, then there are two choices; which are both considerably less expensive then the Fairfield. The Courtyard by Marriott SOHO and the Four Points Sheraton SOHO are both an easy walk to the Skylight Clarkson. The Four Points Sheraton has a restaurant onsite too which is handy.

You can find great deals on hotels online here.

I understand boutique hotels might be preferable when traveling to New York, but fashion week is a full week, which means several nights in a hotel. This can mean a large hotel bill. The chain hotels I recommend are easy on the wallet, by New York standards, they are clean, offer great service, and hey, you might even be able to use your points and/or earn points! Love that!

Stay tuned! I have more coverage from New York Fashion Week coming up this week.