Whether you ’ve been in Seattle since kindergarten , or you moved here last year for a job with Amazon , the fast track to being consider a local does n’t have to do with how many beach on Lake Washington you may name ( or if you knowwhere to find the best toilet in the metropolis ): it ’s about what you ’ve eaten . Our little corner in the upper - left wing of the country puts out not only a vast array of lifelike specialties – mollusk , veggie , and yield – but a few queerly proficient restaurant concoctions of our own creation . Here , we tell you the 20 foods you have to eat before you may recite " the mountain is out " three times , pronounce " Sequim " properly , and get your " True Seattleite " license .
Dick’s Deluxe
Saying " it ’s not even that good " proves that you ’ve wholly miss the point . Dick ’s effort - In is not about have a nifty burger , it ’s about a moment in clip : it needs to be eaten stand up , leaning against a cable car , between the hour of midnight and 2 am … perhaps after indulging in a few deglutition or a strain of local sound pot .
Pot treats
talk of that legal green goddess , Seattle ’s edible game is on power point . Caramels , cookies , gummies , or soda pop : your local pot workshop has something to feed you that will both try and feel expectant .
Cream cheese hot dog
The origins of Seattle ’s unique recent - nighttime hot dog topping are a bit murky , but that ’s half the prayer . The other half ? Oh , it ’s just the mode cream cheese melts into the roll , smearing around with grill onions and a hit of hot sauce that become out to be the most perfect full complement to incased essence . Any late - night cart on a quoin in Capitol Hill or Pioneer Square will do justice to this local strength .
Chicken teriyaki
An immigrant culinary art transubstantiate by the availability of ingredients in a new home is the beginning of many classical and affordable stunner ( New York pizza , General Tso ’s crybaby ) , but Seattle ’s own marque is teriyaki chicken – and now there are Seattle - flair teriyaki restaurant open up around the country . Not certain where to try?We’ve get down a guide for that .
Northwest IPA
Washington develop the hop used in almost every beer made in the country . So while craft beer rule local rap , the star of the show is always the hop - heavy Northwest variation of the IPA . If you need a suggestion on where to seek one … we’ve absolutely got a few .
Ellenos yogurt
display with the beauty of jewels in a chicken feed case , and scooped to order like meth cream , Ellenos ' Greek yoghurt is so good that lump it in with the supermarket brands that arrogate to be the same is like equalize grandma ’s seven - hour Sunday gravy and a jar of Prego . Thick and racy , like crème fraîche , this yoghurt ’s signature nip comes from the local Milk River that goes into it , combined with the slow and inefficient method used to produce it . you may find it in supermarkets around the city , but it ’s best served at the flagship fix in Pike Place Market .
Beecher’s cheese curds
Wisconsinthinksit has laid claim to the curd . But these nubbins of tasty squeak are all Northwest , all the time . Made right in Seattle ’s most iconic emplacement ( Pike Place Market ) , the curd get local and tourists fight for a spot in front of the window , where you may watch them get made . Luckily , you do n’t have to fight for a spot in melodic phrase , since you’re able to also blame them up at market stores around town , and even at the Beecher ’s fix in Sea - Tac drome .
Oysters
The top side to the fact that Puget Sound is way too cold to drown in year - round is that it is cold enough to keep our oyster amazing for the same 12 calendar month a class . The nerveless , brackish , clean flavor of a Northwest oyster can kick back a miry Gulf huitre or flabby East Coast specimen in the nard from across the country . Find ‘ em all over the urban center – you really ca n’t go wrong .
Dungeness crab
Another food that multitude in other parts of the country mistakenly think they get good edition of is crab louse . Until you ’ve rip into 3lbs of gratifying , tender crustacean chassis wholly unadorned , then woken up with feverishness dream in a stilt of Cancer shells , you do n’t know Dungeness . cogent evidence : you do n’t even need so much as draw butter with these crabs , so leave your frying and your Old Bay at home . Taylor Oyster Bar on Capitol Hill will sell you one to eat at the bar with none of the frill – and all of the cracking done for you .
Geoduck
There ’s no better symbolisation for the Northwest than this giant clam that hold up deep under the wet sand at the water ’s bound . It would be nice if it were n’t extremely priapic , but you ca n’t win ‘em all . At least it tastes swell with its snappy , crisp sea nip . Most sushi restaurant do wonders with it , but a favorite is the version at Mashiko in West Seattle . Oh , andhere ’s a videoof a bunch of masses trying it for the first time having no idea what it is .
Pour over coffee
It is slightly strange just how intimately burnt umber is tie to Seattle , considering that it ’s not grown here . But a combination of coping mechanism through the dreary wintertime and obsessive personalities at work guy the perfect bean have contribute Seattle to be the coffee capital of the US . These days , hand - poured visage of fresh roasted beans show off the subtle flavors substantially . Slate ’s three position are champions of the music genre .
Rainier cherries
In Japan , these super - angelic , thin - skinned cherry tree have been bonk to go for more than a clam per . But around here , the mint - monikered fruits are pretty low-cost – and can be found at every Farmer marketplace in town .
Washington apples
No , not the beautiful but flat Red Delicious varieties that descend in every school day kid ’s lunch in the ' 90s . We ’re utter the heirloom orchard specimen and groundbreaking , spirit - forward crosses that develop in orchards all over the land . These wo n’t be on your cafeteria tray , but you’re able to find them at the husbandman market … or just head up out of the metropolis to pick them yourself .
Salumi salami
The heat labor of retired Boeing engineer Armandino Batali ( yes , father of celebrity chef Mario ) has since been passed on to the next coevals , but the mystery to great meat were distinctly pass on as well : mostly just time and saltiness , judiciously applied .
Penn Cove mussels
Puget Sound ’s salty secret formula for phenomenal seafood hit again , this meter on Whidbey Island , where the world ’s near mussel grow . plop and perfect , they need only a bit of heat and a bath in snowy wine to finish their journey to your paunch . In Seattle , Maximilien does a killer glad hour version of them – with a great persuasion of the water .
Walla Walla sweet onions
The downcast - sulphur diverseness of onions make for gentle eating when they ’re in season – and they ’re the prescribed res publica veggie !
Pho
Seattle ’s huge Vietnamese population , combined with gloomy winters , have made this chintzy , ubiquitous noodle soup / cure - all the go - to comfort food for the city . Than Brothers are omnipresent , Pho Bac claims to have been the first , but thebestpho comes fromBa Bar .
Ethiopian combo platter
Immigrant chefs from East Africa have found a welcoming audience for their plenteous lentil stews , soft injera bread , and sizzle lamb tibs dishes in Seattle . The declamatory and well - established Ethiopian and Eritrean communities indorse dozens of restaurants that process up colored combination plate , swosh up by hipsters , kin , and their own community likewise . Jebena Cafe , by Northgate , makes one of the in force in townsfolk .
The Last Word
This is an former swallow revitalized by erstwhile ( and possibly still , if anyone knows where he ’s working at any given time ) World ’s Best Bartender Murray Stenson during his stint at Zig Zag . Stenson , Zig Zag , and the Last Word all climb to fame together , profit renown for the man , the bar , and the Paris green - and - gin cocktail .
Salmon
It ’s cliché , but sometimes clichés are there for a grounds . And that rationality is delicious . Seattleites are obsess with their local culinary mascot , whether its smoked , salted , seared , or served as sashimi . And as with oysters , you almost ca n’t miss when looking for a brisk filet .
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