It’s your Choice for Dine Around – Victoria or Seattle
Dine Around & Stay In Town Victoria
Now until March 7th, travel to Victoria for the capitol city’s mouth-watering dining event of the year. Dine Around & Stay in Town: Victoria boasts the second highest number of restaurants per capita in North America and you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect place to recharge with special offers from accommodation members. Dine Around Participating restaurants offer three-course menus for $20, $30 or $40 CDN per person and are all paired with BC VQA wine suggestions. View participating restaurants and menus here.
Dine Around Seattle
Dine Around Seattle is a fine-dining experience you don’t want to miss. Now in its eighth year, this bi-annual promotion has become so woven into the culinary culture of the area, that locals and visitors alike eagerly await its arrival.
Here’s how Dine Around Seattle works… Each March and November, Sundays through Thursdays, Seattle area’s finest restaurants offer 3-course dinners for a mere $30. This includes selections for appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Many of the restaurants also offer lunch for $15. Prices do not include beverage, tax and gratuity.
You can view the restaurants and menus here.
Looking for an Escape?
Less than 30 days to go to the Winter Games and many Vancouver and Whistler residents are planning to escape the Olympics. Our friends in Seattle have facilitated our escape plan with a special package .
All 3 of Seattle’s stunning Kimpton Hotels (Hotel Alexis, Hotel Vintage Park and Hotel Monaco) are offering an Escape the Olympics rate to all Canadians for the month of February. If you book online using the rate code OLY, you’ll receive 20.10% off your room rate!
So if you need a break from the hoardes, want to dine in relative peace, or ski without the masses, here’s your chance!
CLEAN, GREEN STYLE – AND CONSCIENCE – AT SEATTLE’S HYATT AT OLIVE 8
Don’t let the fact that there are very few Hyatt Hotels in Canada keep them from being top of mind on your next Seattle trip. I stayed at the stunning new Hyatt at Olive 8 a couple of weeks ago – and this uber-eco hotel makes the border line worth it!
The self-sustaining green roof
Perfectly situated in downtown Seattle (corner of Olive and 8th – a block from Pacific Place Centre and minutes’ walk to Pike Place Market), this 39 story hotel/condo has just received LEED Silver status from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a first for hotel/condominium buildings in the Seattle area and one of only 20 hotels in the US to be officially designated ‘green’. Achieving this lofty status meant rigorous certification standards were met and exceeded. We’re not just talking low-flow plumbing and recycling bins (though they certainly have those). Their green world stretches to every corner of the hotel. Think composting programs in the kitchen, eco-friendly cleaning supplies (and carts) for housekeepers, room lights that only work when your key card is inserted in the activation slot (no more lights on when you’re out), well placed and abundant A/V equipment in conference rooms to reduce the use of printed paper, reclaimed fallen timber in the restaurant, extensive glass in all public and private areas to reduce the need for artificial lighting… And that’s just the beginning.
Check out these impressive stats: Green by the Numbers
- 0 percent – no Seattle city water will be used for landscaping needs
- 2.4 million gallons of water will be saved each year by low-flow plumbing fixtures, a low-chemical mechanical water system and other LEED-driven efforts
- 20 percent less power will be used overall as compared to a non-LEED certified building of similar size and scope
- 20 percent of the building materials will be made of recycled content
- 29 percent less waste water will be used by the hotel’s dual flush toilets, as compared to traditional, single-flush toilets
- 32 percent less water will be used overall as compared to a non-LEED certified building of similar size and scope
- 75 percent of the building’s interior spaces will have access to daylight
- 95 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills
- 100 percent of the paint, solvent and carpeting will contain low- or no-VOC
- 100 percent of the hotel will be designated non-smoking
- 8,355 square foot green rooftop, will be one of the largest in downtown Seattle
And while the above is certainly very impressive, does it translate into a comfortable place to stay? Absolutely! Sleekly sophisticated architecture blends with calming natural elements. The rooms are a calming design of dark woods, earthy greens and large windows. And the plush beds give Westin’s Heavenly Beds a run for their money.
Add in thoughtful amenities like the 24-hour state of the art fitness centre, sunlit 65 foot saline pool and oversized jacuzzi, and the eco sanctuary spa Elaia, utilizing local organic ingredients (including the coffee grounds from the hotel’s kitchen) and it’s easy to find an excuse to stay in. Even for sustenance. Urbane restaurant sources the majority of ingredients for its seasonally-based menu within 200 miles. An impressive extensive and rotating selection of bitters and syrups are made in-house by Executive Chef Brent Martin and his team (don’t miss trying a taste at the lobby wine & coffee bar) and the wine list is overwhelmingly Washington. On the menu when I visited recently: Beecher’s Cheeses, Frog’s Song Farm produce, Uli’s Sausage, Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, Macrina Bakery muffins and La Panzanella Crackers.
Now it’s so easy to stay in Seattle in style – with a clean, green conscience – at Hyatt at Olive 8.
Hyatt at Olive 8
1635 8th Avenue, Seattle
Tel: 1 206 695 1234
rates from $149 USD
36 HOURS IN TACOMA
Seaside Chambers Bay Golf Course
Last weekend we spent a super quick 36 hours in Tacoma, Washington. If you’re like everyone I talk to who hasn’t been, you’ll be asking “why Tacoma?” Anyone who knows Tacoma, you’ll be asking “why so short?”
We make it down to Seattle a few times each year, and while I love the city, we were looking for something a little less city-ish. That, and the fact that it was Father’s Day weekend and rb booked a tee time at highly reputed and highly awarded Chambers Bay Golf Course, site of the 2010 US Amateur and 2015 US Open Championship.
an Arthur Erickson design
Chihuly's Bridge of Glass
Outside of top tier golf, Tacoma has another huge draw – ART. The recent passing of Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson initially spurred my decision for the trip – Erickson designed the stunning Museum of Glass, which is where I spent a great deal of time (I have an Art History degree). A piece of art in itself, the contemporary art museum focusses on many local glass artists, including the world’s most famous – Dale Chihuly . You can reach the waterfront museum by crossing Chihuly’s outdoor Bridge of Glass, a naturally lit tunnel full of brilliantly coloured glass art.
Once inside the Museum be sure to watch glass artists at work in the The Hot Shop and visit the gift shop to see everything from tiny baubles to pieces in the thousands of dollars - all supporting local glass artists.
Hotel Murano lobby
The MoG isn’t the only place to see some of the best glass art in the world – you don’t even have to leave your hotel to do that! Hotel Murano has quickly made a name for itself for not only its impressive glass collection (exhibits on every floor and throughout all public areas), but for the high level of service and amenities this boutique hotel provides. Sister property to my Seattle favourite, Hotel Max, as well as my Portland favourite, Hotel DeLuxe, I knew what to expect: soft, plush beds, high thread counts, subtly intuitive service, flat panel tv’s, Aveda toiletries, a dock for my iPod, and an amazingly high committment to showcasing artisic talent. A five minute walk to the Museum of Glass, and even less to the Tacoma Art Museum (my next visit) and the new Tacoma Conference Center, this absolutely merits a visit if you’re a hotel/art/design fan – and worth the extra 30 minute drive south from Seattle.
But what’s a trip – or an Amuse Bouche posting – without food and drink? Though we only had a short time in Tacoma, the easily accessible city allowed us to make the most of it – some highlights:
Bite – located in our hotel, we only managed to grab breakfast from here – but what a start to the day! Overlooking four floors of art, we enjoyed gingerbread french toast, apple smoked bacon and freshly squeezed orange-tangerine juice.
The Harmon Brewery - We popped into this brewpub for a refresher after a long day of golf/mueums. Located across from the museums and minutes from the University of Washington Tacoma campus, this lively hub is accessible to all – there’s even restaurant seating allowing us to bring my 1 year old inside. Point Defiance IPA and Puget Sound Porter certainly made our sore feet not so noticeable 
Primo Grill - Chef Charlie McManus was recently named best chef in Tacoma by the locals – a good sign! They know of what they’re talking – applewood roasted lasagna and flat bread pizzas plus grilled flat iron steak with pancetta-potato gratin fit the bill, with a well thought out wine list organized into categories like Fat & Sassy and Light & Bright.
Cutters Point Coffee - this chain has a couple dozen locations sprinkled throughout Washington and California. Their espresso was quite nice – and welcomed at 6am as we headed homeward north. Nice atmosphere and helpful staff.
pooped after a full day of art
As mentioned above, the museum district overlaps the university district, giving rise to numerous small eateries, cafes, galleries and funky shops. Restaurants here offer very good value – especially when compared to Seattle. Too much to see, and eat, on this quick trip – but I know where to go when I need to break out of the city and refuel with friendly fare and accessible art.
WINESPEAK: A WEE BREAK
I am on the road for the next couple of weeks, and I’m pretty sure there are no BC wines where I’m going, so WINESPEAK will be on hiatus until May 20th. Until then, happy sipping!!
Treve
Amuse Bouche Editor, EBC Sommelier
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