Vacation on the Other Coast Part Deux

I just returned from vacation. Vacations are always pretty awesome, but I have to say this one topped most of mine (if you don't count my semester abroad). I started out in Seattle and blogged about my awesome restaurant experience there last week. Then I moved on to the rural Pacific Northwest. There was a ton of seafood that I didn't eat, but it seemed to be mostly halibut and salmon. I'm not huge on seafood, but my friend Julia seemed a little disappointed. We learned that the best seafood according to the Canadians that we met came from the east coast in Nova Scotia.

When I was in Vancouver I checked out a bar called Six Acres. It was recommended by a friend of mine. It was a great gastropub with small southern inspired plates and TONS of beer. Apparently the whole southern food thing is new and trendy in Vancouver. Everyone seemed to have it on the menu. Also, the microbrew scene is pretty great. I tried Red Racer, Granville Island Lager, and Piper's Pale Ale. All were light and delicious. I liked Six Acres a lot because of the patio. It was absolutely stunning weather (mid-70s) and surprisingly there were few places with outdoor seating. It made all the difference. Below is a picture of the place.

Next week I will be back in New York with a local blog post. Get ready!

from sixacres.ca

Seattle, Restaurant Zoe, & Vegetarianism

I am on vacation right now so I have perfect inspiration for food. There’s nothing like freeing yourself from your daily routine to get inspired by what you eat. My friend, Julia, and I decided it was time to take a trip together before she started grad school in the Fall and fell off the face of the universe. We decided on a Pacific Northwest trip featuring Seattle, Vancouver Island and Vancouver. I should mention that she lives in Boston and I’m obviously in New York so we rarely see each other anymore. It is pretty amazing that we have managed to stay as close as we have over the past 2.5 years. And yet, maybe it isn’t. She is the perfect bubbly to my overt cynicism and she puts everyone in a good mood. But enough about friendship. Let’s talk food!
 

First our trip took us first to Seattle (where I am now). I was searching the web for weeks trying to find the perfect restaurant there and the problem mostly had to do with narrowing down all of my options. I have been fairly strict with my vegetarianism for EXACTLY one year to date, but lately have been finding myself questioning the decision. I should mention that I was a vegetarian for two years in high school basically because it was cool. This time around there really was a reason. I found myself intrigued by the whole local food movement. I have been a locally grown, organic person for years now, but once I saw Food, Inc (YES, I am one of those!) I realized that I had to try and make a difference, too. So I took meat off the possible choices of food. However, now I think I need to go back to the meat. At least a few times a year.
 

Why, you might ask? Well, not all meat, I will respond. Just meat from locally focused restaurants. Or, local meat that I buy from the farmers market. Meat that meets my high expectations (hah!). We will see how this goes. The truth is I never ate much of it to begin with so I don’t think it will be too hard. And my beliefs about local food are still just as strong as they were a year ago.

So, what does this have to do with vacation, you might ask? Well, everything that I just explained to you was circling through my mind as I looked for restaurants in Seattle. My searches always led me back to one place: Restaurant Zoe.This was a restaurant a friend of mine recommended to me for obvious reasons: our shared name. It turns out that it fits right in with my beliefs, too. Locally grown food. Although a little on the pricey side comparitively, Julia and I set out for an adventure in Belltown.

Restaurant Zoe was downright amazing. Our waitress was awesome and even gave us some live music recommendations for later. The fig sauce that was on my crispy chicken dinner was delicious. It made me realize how long it had been since I had a REALLY good meal. There were amuse bouches between each course and we started with excellent cocktails. I had a twist on a mimosa, but instead of orange juice it had pomegranate juice. Julia branched out a little more with a delicious gin based drink. If anyone is in the Seattle area check this place out.