Eat and Run
By Kjersti Egerdahl
Get outside while it’s not raining and enjoy the street foods of Seattle.
Seattleites are notoriously outdoorsy (as in hiking boots at the opera), so it makes perfect sense that some of the best cheap food in the city can’t be contained in four walls. We need our elbow room out here, and we’d rather eat our wild salmon on the sidewalk, thanks. Now that it’s finally the time of year when it’s safe for everyone to put away the Gore-Tex (except for those die-hard kayakers), go find yourself someplace to snack in the sun.
Half Pint Ice Cream
Broadway Farmer’s Market, Capitol Hill
As soon as the sun comes out, Seattleites rush to collect all the accoutrements of summer, be it oversize hipster aviators, Tevas (without socks for once), or sugar cones. With flavors like Mexican chili chocolate, ginger, and Earl Grey chocolate, Half Pint already has a recipe for sold-out Sundays at the farmer’s market. But throw in extras like Seattle’s own Victrola Coffee beans in the mocha almond and fair-trade Theo Chocolate in the chocolate chip—not to mention all-organic milk—and it’s time to stockpile those pints. Clé Franklin, mastermind proprietor, has only been plying her trade for a few weeks, but she’s already drawing crowds: she sold out well before the market closed on her first two days. On one sunny afternoon recently, an elderly lady with jet-black hair and rhinestones on her fingernails was heard to remark, “I’ll take whatever you got!” With generous $3 scoops and $7 pints hand-packed before your eyes, you’ll be back next week to fill your freezer with whatever’s available.
Broadway Farmer’s Market, 10th Ave E. & E. Thomas St.
Hallava Falafel
Outside the 9 Lb. Hammer, Georgetown
Step up to the big yellow van parked under the freeway and make your choice: falafel or lamb-slash-beef shwarma (both $6.50). The falafel has moist vegetarian goodness going for it, plus spicy, crunchy pickles, and the shwarma…well, the shwarma has that slash. The lamb/beef matches up perfectly with curry sauce and beet salad, although it’s not clear why it’s in a bun and not a wrap like the falafel. The best part of each, though, is carrying them into the 9 Lb. Hammer and adding beer to the mix. At the moment, the falafel truck is roving for much of the week, but you can always find it outside the Hammer on Friday nights. Say hi to Rick for us.
9 Lb. Hammer, 6009 Airport Way S.
http://www.myspace.com/hallava
Pike Street Fish Fry
In the armpit of Neumo’s, Capitol Hill
Every brewpub, diner, and fine-dining temple in Seattle has its own take on fish and chips. We’ve even got Ivar’s and Skipper’s if you can’t wait more than 30 seconds. Pike Street Fish Fry, a self-proclaimed “street food” spot, opened this spring in a little storefront tucked into the same building as Neumo’s, the live-music hub of Capitol Hill. They serve several types of battered and deep-fried fish, some veggies, some grill items, and a great homemade tartar sauce. The bite-sized chunks of ling cod are peppery and not too greasy, and the hearty fries actually taste like potatoes. The tiny room has two tall bar tables to stand at (only one table), and it’s just a block away from the people-watching mecca that is Cal Anderson Park. So far, so good. But if you’re going to pay $7 for the fish—and an extra $4 for the chips—you might as well go to any of the sit-down places with a waterfront view. (It doesn’t help that this little place used to be the home of Frites, where you could get a paper cone of fries for $2.50 at all hours of the night.) Part owner Michael Hebberoy has made a name for himself with his rogue-foodie underground dinner party series, One Pot. In both cases, he’s claiming to bring great food to the masses, and in both cases, he’s pricing out most of them.
Pike Street Fish Fry, 925 E. Pike St.
Skillet
Roving through Capitol Hill, SODO, South Lake Union, and Fremont
It’s a silver Airstream trailer that serves seasonal, local bistro food to office drones all over the city. Wild salmon chowder, dandelion-greens salads, and homemade cakes and cupcakes for dessert…what’s not to love? If you had any second thoughts, chew on this: they have invented bacon jam. They spread it on all their $7 burgers, and they sell it on eBay for $8 a jar. Locals love it, and even Time is paying attention. In late June, they’re opening a stationary takeout window downtown: the Airstream is about to go mainstream.
http://www.skilletstreetfood.com
That hot dog stand you always make me stop at
In front of the Comet Tavern, Capitol Hill
I’m not even sure if the hot dog stands outside Chop Suey and the Comet Tavern are run by the same people, or even if they are one stand that just keeps moving between two locations, but I do know that when you put everything you can think of on a Polish sausage ($4), you will have a good time—tipsy or not. The base: a schmear of cream cheese on the bun and a flame-roasted hot dog split down the middle, topped with thin-sliced onions that have been steam-roasting in a metal pan on the grill all night. (Cream cheese was surprising to me, but I’m converted.) If you add a heap of sauerkraut, extra Dijon mustard, and thin twin lines of mayo and Sriracha chili sauce (the one with the rooster logo), you can walk and eat for miles. Stumbling and giggling and talking nonstop while eating only means that you get to lick your lips and fingers more often. Drunk-dialing at the same time is not recommended—unless you want an ear full of cream cheese.
Hot dog stand: Corner of E. 10th St. and E. Pike St.
Tacos El Asadero
Rainier Valley
I never knew what a mulita was before I climbed aboard this gutted white schoolbus, but once I had one in my mouth I knew I never wanted to go home. Two toasty tortillas, ground beef, special sauce, onions and a pile of white cheese…and some subtle, buttery avocado that even haters of slimy green food will fall in love with ($2). There’s a surprisingly extensive menu, but most people were eating tacos, sitting in the front half of the bus, where two rows of diner stools and a clean metal counter run down each side. The back half of the bus is the kitchen, and the nicely framed restaurant license hangs over the driver’s seat. Nobody was using the three picnic tables under the awning outside, but given the location (a cracked, deserted parking lot on a busy main road), only the lunchtime overflow probably sits there. The carnitas in the first taco was a little overdone, but I’m a sucker for slightly crunchy meat. And the asada in the second was ground beef, not chopped. But that’s a small price to pay—literally. Two tacos are $2.40. Get on board.
Tacos El Asadero, 3517 Rainier Ave S. at S. Estelle St.