I woke up last Sunday morning with a food hangover. Have you ever had one of those? It’s not quite the same as the kind caused by alcohol, but it a good indication that you had an enjoyable dinner the night before.
Sleepy and sluggish, I had yet to engage in a workout since I got to Seattle so I made myself get up and run. It was more of a run/walk as I tried to navigate where I was going, but then something awesome happened.
It began to rain.
And I began to bound. Well, I’m sure it didn’t look like bounding to the street-side spectators. Given all the food I’d consumed in the past 48 hours it was probably a heavy shuffle, but it felt like bounding in my mind and spirit. I stopped just short of running down the middle of the street waving my arms in celebration. RAIN.
If you ask me what I miss most after moving to California, the answer is rain. I don’t miss dangerous storms, but I do miss long, gloomy days filled with pouring rain. I was thankful Seattle pulled through for me.
After closing out a great conference, I still had one more food (and drink) adventure before my flight – Storyville Coffee. I’d learned by word of mouth (more like word of Facebook) that this was a new coffee shop opening in Pike Place Market. The official opening day is October 1, but throughout September anyone can visit by emailing for a reservation.
The big surprise is that it is not just a visit. It’s an incredible friendly greeting at check in followed by an invitation to order any drink and pastry you want, all on the house. I ordered a delicious cappuccino and a salted caramel roll that was outstanding.
As I sat in their ultra-cool loft-style space with a cozy fireplace burning up front and gazed out the window at Pike Place Market below, I thought, who does this?! Free coffee? (And excellent coffee, by the way.) Free food? All month before a grand opening? Available to anyone?
Well, Storyville does and it was pretty awesome. I’m so happy I had the opportunity to go during my visit to Seattle. I can already predict that it is going to be the best place to escape from the craziness of the market. And I mean that in the best possible way, but wow, does Pike Place get crazy with tourists.
When I finally made my way through the long, slow security line at the airport, I was greeted with one of the friendliest TSA agents I’ve encountered yet. Through overhearing his conversations with others, I learned he was from California. He looked at my license, looked back up at me and said, “Did you miss the sunshine?” I said, “No, I actually really miss the rain. I loved it here.” He smiled and said, “Me too. That’s exactly why I moved up here.”
So it turns out not everyone dislikes the weather in Seattle and as you can tell the city can certainly hold its own when it comes to amazing food.
The International Food Bloggers Conference is in Seattle again, by the way. Same weekend, but with a larger group (up to 500), they are moving it to the Westin. Registration is up now for any bloggers who might be reading this.
Disclosure: I was required to write 3 posts about my experiences at IFBC in order to receive a discounted registration fee. This is email 3 of 3. The weekend involved many free products and foods from companies and restaurants that I may or may not write about. Thoughts are my own. I am not required to write about these foods or companies and will receive no compensation for doing so.
