The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

Chocked full of sci-fi memorabilia and spouting more trivia than any geek could sneeze at, the Sci-Fi Museum was a fun place to be. We saw weapons, costumes, miniatures, and props from many different sci-fi television shows and films. I was especially excited to see the actual captain's chair from the original Star Trek...it looks pretty shabby these days but was a thrill to see nonetheless.

My favorite thing about the Sci-Fi Museum was the randomly overheard geek chatter. Ty, Matt and I consider ourselves geeks. We play Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and watch Sci-Fi films, but walking through this museum we felt like the coolest people in the whole world. The people there were geekier than we had ever thought of being. It was cool.

The Experience Music Project

The Frank O. Gehry-designed Experience Music Project museum is the first thing we saw when we approached the Seattle Center. I don't know quite how to describe the building as it looks ridiculous/amazing. Regardless it was definitely worth seeing.

We got into the museum and picked up our Seattle City Passes from the ticket counter there. The EMP is cool with lots of music trivia and memorabilia on a wide range of recording artists. As the museum began with founder Paul Allen's personal collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia there is a lot of space dedicated to him and his music. I had very little knowledge of Hendrix previously and was able to learn a lot.

In the lobby between the Experience Music Project and the adjoining Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame there is an awesome sculpture built out of different working instruments. Watching the sculpture play itself was the highlight of the EMP for me.

Upstairs at EMP are a group of recording booths where you can sign up to lay your own tracks. It was very cool, but the wait was horrendous so we didn't stay to try it out for ourselves.

The EMP was very hip, and I enjoyed myself, but I have the feeling that if I would have been a Hendrix fan I would have been in pure heaven!

Restaurant #11-Kell's Irish Restaurant and Pub

Around eleven o'clock on our third and last night in Seattle I realized that I had not yet been to the one other place that I'd been dying to go to in Seattle: Kell's Irish Restaurant and Pub. Having been to Ireland and loved it I'm a sucker for Irish pubs and this one in particular had received high marks from all of the guidebooks I read. I was promised authentic Irish pub food, a delightful atmosphere and live music every night. How could I resist?

Ty had a full day of driving ahead of him since we were going all the way back to Great Falls in one day. He was really tired so Matt and I let him sleep, hailed a cab, and headed off to Post Alley to check out Kell's.

There are two sides to Kell's, a bar side and a restaurant side. We unknowingly walked into the restaurant side and were the only ones there. Music coming from an adjacent room clued us in to that being the place to be.

We were seated by a lovely barmaid who, when we asked if they were still serving food at all, said, "No, we've only got..." and then rattled off four different types of stew. Stew sounded perfect so Matt and I each ordered a bowl of the Beef and Barley. The stew was amazing, served in a good-sized bowl, and accompanied by slices of Irish brown bread and butter. Tasty! I really can't say enough good things about it. As it was only $4.50 a bowl it was probably the best and least expensive food I had during the entire trip.

Matt and I both started off with coffee with Baileys followed by two gigantic bottles of hard cider whose name I can't recall, but it was good enough that I'm willing to hunt to the ends of the earth to try it.

The atmosphere at Kell's was awesome. Lit by candlelight and with a lived-in, but classy feel it was easy to feel at home right away. The live music that night was by a Kell's regular Liam Gallagher who sang a blend of delightful classic Irish folk songs and equally delightful ones that he had penned himself. He had two CDs available and I purchased and am enjoying both.

Matt and I had a great time and felt extra cool after our little adventure. Great Falls doesn't have much to offer in the way of awesome bars so we spent a lot of the ride home wishing there was a Kell's we could go to regularly.

Restaurant #10-The Pike Place Brewing Company

Having packed the entire Woodland Park Zoo, a mis-directional adventure, and a sushi stop for Ty it was around three o'clock when we sat down to eat at the Pike Place Brewing Company. This was one of the Seattle restaurants that I was really excited about. I'd read great things in numerous guidebooks about their tasty on-site brews and down-to-earth American pub food. Since I hadn't eaten yet that day I was even more excited to get down to business.

Ty and Matt ordered the Dungeness Crab and Artichoke Dip as an appetizer and bothered me about trying it the whole time we were waiting for it to arrive to our table. When it finally got there I had a little taste and would have liked the dip just fine had the creamy cheesiness not degenerated into a fish taste. High marks from the guys, but as I've said numerous times, fish is just not for me.

For his meal Ty ordered the Son of Reuben sandwich, which claimed to be a half of their regular Reuben but came out being the biggest Reuben sandwich I had ever seen! It was served with organic potato chips and a pickle. Matt and I had the Cheddar Bacon Burger which might sound like standard fare, but was in fact juicy, delicious and hit the spot!

The thing that I was most excited about trying at the Pike Place Brewing Company was the Pike Sampler. The Pike Sampler is six, four ounce samples of their different brews. They come with a beer list that tells a little about each brew and gives a recommended tasting order. I'd read about this and I was thrilled. I ordered one the minute we got there, assuming that, because Matt hates beer as much as I hate fish, Ty and I would just share it. Then I heard Ty say, "That sounds great. I'll have one also." I shrugged to myself, it wouldn't matter, there definitely was not enough alcohol there to get me tipsy.

What I hadn't been considering was that I hadn't eaten yet at all that day, and as my alcohol arrived before my food I was drinking on a completely empty stomach. By the end of the meal, when I went to stand up, I realized that I had gone way beyond tipsy and entered the completely smashed zone. Our next stop was the Seattle Art Museum to see an exhibit on Roman art on loan from the Louvre. How I held it all together there is actually a quite comedic story, which I'll post later.

More about the Pike Sampler. There are the brews and their descriptions in the recommended tasting order:

Pike Naughty Nellie-Golden artisan ale
This was probably my favorite of all the brews we tasted at the Pike Brewing Company. It was light, had a good flavor and went down really smooth. If only I could find it here in Great Falls I would drink it all the time!!

Pike Pale Ale-Classic full-bodied ale with copper color and nutty malt flavor
The Pale Ale was also really good. The nutty flavor was really a good touch.

Pike IPA-Deep golden amber color with an assertive hops character and a delicate floral bouquet
I'd never had any kind of IPA, so this was an unexpected hit with me. This ties with the Naughty Nellie for being my favorite beer on the sampler. It was easy to drink and I could actually taste the "floral bouquet". I don't know, there's just something awesome about having your beer taste like flowers!!

Pike Kilt Lifter-Scotch style ruby ale, medium hopped with a powerful, sweet malt character
The Kilt Lifter was one of Ty's favorite beers on the sampler. I had had the Kilt Lifter previously at a restaurant in Bozeman, Montana. It's good, but it wasn't my favorite and I probably wouldn't drink it all the time.

Pike XXXXX Stout-Gorgeous reddish-black color, great head, a deep dark-roasted flavor with tones of chocolate, coffee and a satisfying aftertaste
Their description really says it all. The Pike XXXXX was great.

Pike Tandem-Dark brown ale brewed with barley and 10% wheat plus candy sugar for a complex rich flavor and a finish of tobacco and molasses
The Pike Tandem was another of Ty's favorites. It was really quite tasty and kind of tasted like what might happen if they sweetened Guinness a bit.

We all had such an amazing time at the Pike Place Brewing Company. It was good service, great food, awesome beer and tons of good times!

Restaurant #9-Sushi Kyo

On our third and final day in Seattle we decided to skip breakfast and head straight for the zoo. After the zoo we go back on the bus to go downtown, but got off at the wrong stop. I got turned around and we walked about eight blocks or so in the totally wrong direction. This would have been a complete tragedy had Ty not spotted this cute little sushi restaurant.

Ty is the sushi man in our group. I don't like seafood and Matt is just a little on the fence when it comes to sushi. So Matt and I had a soda and sat this one out while Ty enjoyed a Scorpion Roll. According to him it was some of the best sushi he'd ever had. This made me happy as it distracted everyone from realizing that we were about to have to turn around and walk a good long way to Pike Place Market!

With great, polite service and tasty sushi, Sushi Kyo was one of Ty's favorite food stops on our Seattle trip.

Restaurant #8-Milano Pizza and Pasta

After another busy day exploring Seattle and the Progressive Nation concert that lasted until almost midnight we were back at our hotel, famished again. This time we decided to order from another late night delivery Italian restaurant, Milano.

I ordered one of their pasta dishes, Tortellini Cream. This was cheese-filled tortellini in a garlic cream sauce served with garlic bread and Italian Turkey Noodle soup. The garlic bread was bit dry and overly-seasoned, but the pasta and the soup were some of the best food that I ate while I was in Seattle. Matt was pleased with his calzone, but Ty was a little underwhelmed with his Greek Gyro.

The delivery from Milano took a considerable amount of time longer to arrive than our food from Padrino's, so our food was a little on the room-temperature side. With not as great service I wouldn't recommend this restaurant as highly as Padrino's unless you're planning to order the Tortellini Cream which was amazing!!

Restaurant #7-Ivar's

Ivar's has been a Pier 54 tradition since it opened in 1938. Mentioned in just about every Seattle guidebook you just can't leave Seattle without stopping at Ivar's. Because I don't care for seafood I sat this one out. Ty, who had the Fried Haddock and Chip, and Matt, who had the Clam Chowder in a bread bowl, throughly enjoyed themselves. Though we had just enough time for them to stop and eat at the Pier 54 restaurant, Matt and Ty are looking forward to a nice sit-down dinner at one of Ivar's other more formal locations the next time we're in Seattle.

Restaurant #6-Lowell's

Situated in Pike Place Market is the three-story local favorite Lowell's. For years Lowell's has been voted the Best Breakfast in Seattle by Citysearch's Best Of and the New York Times. We arrived just after they'd finished serving breakfast so we seated ourselves in the full-service bar and prepared for a delightful lunch with beautiful views of the waterfront.

We were in a bar, so with a sly "when in Rome..." attitude Ty and I ordered a couple of Wyder's Hard Pear Ciders. We were unfamiliar with the brand, but very pleased with the taste. After a little research I later found out that Wyder's makes Raspberry, Peach and Apple hard ciders as well and I'm looking forward to trying them out at some point if I can find them here in Montana. Incidentally, Matt ordered a Washington Red Apple that was made so well that he was actually a little bit tipsy when we left!

Because we still had a lot of the market to explore and we were planning to eat a little here and there along the way we all ordered an appetizer for our lunch at Lowell's. Ty had the Dungeness Crab Cocktail and really enjoyed it. Matt, having recently been introduced to calamari by Ty, chose the Calamari Steak Strips. He and Ty both raved about them. I had regular old chicken tenders and fries, but they were delicious and hit the spot!

One of the most memorable things about our lunch at Lowell's was the group of gentlemen behind us who were stereotypically and relentlessly trying to pick up the waitress. It was pretty humorous until one of the guy's wives decided to join them. All in all some great fun. Nice service, tasty food, and great people-watching entertainment.

Restaurant #5-Le Panier Very French Bakery

On our second day in Seattle we decided to explore Pike Place Market. We'd planned to wait to eat until we found a sit-down restaurant in the market that struck our fancy, but the glorious scent wafting out of Le Panier found us and it was clear we would have to have something.

Ty saw brioche and that was that. We walked out munching on a couple of deliciously rich and buttery rolls.

Not only were the baked goods to die for, but the service was pleasant in this classy little bakery. The girl at the counter, recognizing that we weren't from around there, asked where we were visiting from. She turned out to be from Red Lodge, Montana which is just about four hours from Great Falls. What a small world!

Restaurant #4-Padrino's Pizza and Pasta

In Great Falls, Montana you only have a handful of choices for food after midnight. We've got our standard Burger King and Hardee's, both open 24 hours, a couple of gross run-down diners, and a truck stop restaurant by the airport. We understand how pathetic our lack of choices in after-hours dining is, but being in Seattle, with all their late night food choices, was like rubbing salt into a wound.

After spending the entire day going to museums and exploring downtown Seattle we dragged ourselves back to the hotel to take advantage of the glorious indoor pool and hot tub. When we were finished swimming we were starving. Where to eat? We had to look no further than the front desk of our hotel where we found leaflet after leaflet advertising free late night delivery of a variety of tasty-looking foods.

In the end we chose Padrino's Pizza and Pasta. I was dying to eat the Spinach Stromboli which was spinach, feta, cottage and ricotta cheese baked in dough similar to a calzone. Ty ordered the Salmon Fettuccine with mushrooms, capers, and basil in a white garlic sauce. Matt went for a classic Italian Meatball sandwich made with homemade meatballs, Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce.

The food we ordered arrived quickly and was still piping hot when it got to us. The Spinach Stromboli was great. I was glad we had the mini-fridge in our hotel room because it was way too huge to eat all in one sitting. Matt was a fan of his meatball sandwich, but Ty said that while his pasta was good, it just didn't kick his socks off.

All in all we were quite pleased with Padrino's food and speedy service. Not only would we have their food again, but we'd recommend it to anyone with a case of the late-night munchies!!