SEATTLE’S PIKE PLACE MARKET
Welcome to Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
If you caught my last travel post you know that we stayed at the Inn at the Market in a room with a view of this historic foodtopia. Honestly, it made me hungry just looking out the window!
Located right on the busy waterfront, Seattle’s Pike Place Market is the place to go for fresh local produce, specialty foods, seafood, fresh flowers and much more.
Established in 1907 to connect citizens with their local farmers, this is a year-round market of owner-operated produce vendors, of whom there are many.
In the early 20th century when Seattle’s population boomed, the demand for fresh food also grew exponentially. But farmers sold their produce to wholesalers who inflated the prices charged to the consumer. After a public outcry, it was proposed that a public market be established where citizens could buy directly from the farmer.
In 1907 Seattle’s Pike Place Market was born and the first farmers sold all of their produce within minutes.
It’s fairly obvious that the produce being sold today is being supplied by a wide variety of suppliers and is not farmer direct. The selection is too varied for that to be the case.
However, it seemed to me that the prices were reasonable and the quality was outstanding. If I lived there I would surely make Seattle’s Pike Place Market my go-to shopping spot. Isn’t nature’s bounty beautiful?
In addition to produce of every description there are also flower vendors.
I was so surprised to see our state flower, the California Poppy, being sold at one of the stalls. I had no idea poppies were being grown for commercial distribution, as I’ve only ever seen them growing wild. If I weren’t about to set sail on a cruise, where I didn’t have a flower vase, I would have purchased several bunches of these pretty poppies.
There are also butchers & bakers and over 200 craftsmen offering a wide range of unique products & services in this 9 acre historic location. But what truly made Seattle’s Pike Place Market famous are its fishmongers…
including the establishment world famous for throwing its catch.
The way it works is like this: Customers select what they wish to purchase from the large, varied display of fresh fish. This young fellow then throws it to his colleagues inside the stall, where it is weighed and wrapped. If you aren’t careful a fish might be thrown at you as well, so be ready!
They make a big, loud show of this as tourists flock around the stall, waiting for the fishmonger to perform. It was quite the spectacle as you can see from this video…
The fresh fish on display was awesome. Oh how I wish I had a market like this to shop at in my neighborhood, as fresh fish is rare on my mountain top, although I don’t think Monkfish would be on my shopping list.
But crab would be high on my list…
as would shrimp and other shellfish.
In addition to all kinds of delicious looking food, there are various and sundry street performers vying for your attention and a tip. This fellow solved a Rubik’s Cube as he balanced a guitar on his nose while hula-hooping. As my husband said, “What a way to make a living!” Who would even think of such a thing?
Just across the street from Pike Place Market is the first ever Starbucks location, at least that’s what people think. However, our taxi driver told us that the original Starbucks was actually down the street. It supposedly burned down and was replaced by this Starbucks, location #2. Don’t tell that to the throngs of folks waiting in a very long line, just clamoring to purchase a coffee there. Really??!!
Just up the street from the market we found a much better place to have a hot beverage and a snack, at The Crumpet Shop!
Breakfast was not included with our room at the Inn at the Market so we decided to return the following morning and have crumpets for breakfast! YUM!
I’ve never really known how crumpets are made, but I saw the process in action while we enjoyed our delicious breakfast from a table overlooking the glass-walled kitchen. I ordered a buttered crumpet, spread with fresh ricotta cheese and bathed in really delicious strawberry jam.
Brad had his crumpet with cream cheese and smoked salmon topped with an egg and tomato slice. It was so good we both wished we had ordered 2!
So, as it turns out crumpets are made by pouring a pancake-like batter into metal rings that have been lined up on a hot griddle.
They get flipped like a pancake, cooked on both sides and then removed from their rings. I then watched a guy use scissors to meticulously cut the drips off of each one. When asked why, he informed us that the little drippy edges burn in the toaster so they are removed. Now that’s labor intensive!
Our visit to Seattle’s Pike Place Market was a lot of fun. Don’t miss it if you are ever in the area. And don’t miss a visit to The Crumpet Shop either!!
So there you have it: SEATTLE’S PIKE PLACE MARKET
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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise credited, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
