9 Bold Seattle Flavors You Shouldn’t Leave Without Trying
LEAVE IT TO SEATTLE to make you think, “Why haven’t I tried that yet?” The city’s cuisine showcases incredible flavors the rest of the US isn’t acquainted with. At the same time, it has an unparalleled ability to take the foods you thought you knew and twist them in new-yet-somehow-obvious ways. Once you taste them, you’ll be surprised they don’t exist everywhere.
1. Geoduck
Pronounced “gooey duck,” it is neither gooey, nor a duck, but is instead up to three feet and several pounds of one giant clam. They’re common in the beaches around the Pacific Northwest, are the biggest burrowing clams in the world, live up to 140 years, and are a classic local delicacy. When cooked, they taste like regular clams and pair well with garlic and butter — but the real way to experience geoduck is raw as sashimi (when its taste is a little closer to calamari).
Geoduck hits restaurants with greater frequency when it’s in season (spring and summer), but it’s available year-round in its frozen form. You can usually find it at
2. Ice cream (the Seattle way)
Photo courtesy of Parfait Ice Cream
When you come to Seattle, there’ll be a long list of things that will make you want to move here permanently — especially if you have a sweet tooth. The city’s indulgent side shines through in local ice cream spots like
3. Cream cheese hot dogs
Photo: Molly Casto for
When you ask a local what the quintessential “Seattle” flavor is, they’ll point you to the cream cheese hot dog. Most Seattle establishments that serve hot dogs offer this option, but it’s the food trucks around downtown like
The mix of hot and cold, rich meat and mild cream, the blend of textures — once you try one, it’ll seem like the most logical food combo ever dreamed up. And if you can score some hot-dog-cream-cheese-goodness topped with a bit of smoked salmon as well, then you’ve really struck gold.
4. Real coffee…
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Seattle is full of small, local roasters — mostly because a good cup of java is what really gets us fired up. If all you’ve been drinking is whatever comes out of your Keurig, you’ll want to try some of Seattle’s “real” coffee, just to experience the full spectrum.
For a flavor that’s as far as possible from what you’re used to experiencing, try
5. …and real fish
All of Washington’s pristine natural beauty isn’t just for looks — our rivers and oceans are healthy and wildly nutrient-rich. For you, this means the stuff coming out of that water is cry-yourself-into-a-food-coma delicious. Comparing the fish here to fish elsewhere (even fresh) is like comparing butter and margarine.
We’re famous for our salmon, which you can buy from
6. Ginger beer
Photo: Kyle Johnson for
Though it isn’t a ginger beer in the traditional sense (you don’t have to be of age to drink it), Rachel’s is a solid cupful of flavor that can’t be missed. And don’t expect the only aspect of that flavor to be ginger. You’ll find combos like blood orange, cucumber-tarragon, and caramelized pineapple. It’s especially enjoyable on a hot summer day, while you watch the ferries pass back and forth over Elliott Bay from nearby Victor Steinbrueck Park.
7. Rainier cherries
How is cherry a bold flavor? Try one and you’ll understand. Named for our neighboring active-yet-dormant volcano, these beautiful little pink and yellow fruits have a taste that’s wholly different from any cherry you’ve ever had. Imagine this: A super sweet strawberry and a black cherry get really drunk on champagne and make a baby. That is a Rainier cherry. Find some at Pike Place Market or any grocery store when they’re in season and eat them straight from the bag (or pair with Rachel’s Ginger Beer).
8. The Asian infusion
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Seattle’s population of Asian immigrants — 14% of Seattleites have Asian heritage — and a tendency towards cultural blending means a perfect storm of Asian-fusion cuisine all over the city, the most common being Japanese- and Korean-based mashups.
Hit up the food truck
And don’t forget
9. Fresh-off-the-farm everything
This is the best way to describe the real theme of Seattle cuisine — the food culture here is all about grabbing what’s fresh and on hand, which means a huge emphasis on organic, local, and seasonal ingredients. Many restaurants in the region make an effort to some degree, so it’s not hard to find.
For a quick lunchtime experience, try
Washington is home to a lot of unique farmland, so keep an eye out for ingredients you won’t see very often elsewhere, like gooseberries, currant, and Walla Walla onions. You can even take part yourself: Come at the right time of year and you’ll find tons of pick-your-own berry farms (think raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries) all over the area. You get food so fresh in and around Seattle, sometimes it doesn’t even make it onto a plate.
