Postcard From Seattle

Bagels Better Than NYC?

I was excited to visit Seattle, a city new to me, somewhere I could explore with fresh eyes, and a renewed hunger for baked goods. What surprised me was just how big the city is. The city is very spread out but also feels a little disconnected, at least to a tourist like me. I have been spoiled by cities with great mass transit systems like in London and NYC but Seattle is a city of buses, which can be both useful and frustrating in equal measure; cheap and easy to use but also slow and limited in routes. I found myself having to use far more, relatively expensive, Ubers than I was expecting and in the end I chose to stay close to my hotel, in the beautiful neighbourhood of Ballard. This was partially a choice of expense and also a choice to enjoy a slower handful of days before the tour became even more rapid paced.

Ballard is an old maritime community, originally settled by Norwegian, Swedish and Danish immigrants in the 1800’s. To this day it has retained its old world charm, full of small town USA vibes. If Schitt’s Creek had been set in the US, instead of Canada, you could very easily imagine it being set on the main street of Ballard. The small town has a really vibrant atmosphere, a real mix of old and new. The main drag of Ballard Ave, filled with restaurants and shops, is just moments from the commercial fishing operations that still exist in the town. Whilst it isn’t the closest neighbourhood, should you be planning to spend a lot of time in downtown Seattle, I found my time in the area much more enjoyable than my visits to the city proper. The area is full of great dining options, great shops and even a botanical garden and a beach. Since I spent a lot more time in this neighbourhood my two recommendations are also in the same area.

Rachels Bagels

Before I had even heard of Ballard I had read all about this Seattle bagel and burrito shop. A restaurant turned bagel shop (a pandemic switcheroo), the bagels this bakery turns out are regarded highly enough that it was in my top three places I wanted to check out during my visit. As luck would have it my hotel was just around the corner, perfectly placed for multiple breakfast bagels should I end up liking the place. As luck would also have it, the reputation is well deserved. I type this with some trepidation, with some fear of backlash, but…the bagels were better than anything I had in NYC. Well maybe except Bo’s which I would put on a par with Rachels. I had The Bobby D’s Bagel, filled with a baked egg, bacon and a gooey scallion cheddar sauce. The egg element is very different to most breakfast bagels, in that it was a square of softly cooked egg like a steamed omelette. These bagels alone are reason enough to base yourself in Ballard, one visit may not be enough. If you do happen to be visiting its also worth noting Rachels do an excellent biscuit. Fluffy and buttery you can have the biscuit made into a breakfast sandwich but also served simply with jam or spicy garlic honey and butter.

Sea Wolf Bakery

This was another surprise, having totally forgot that this place was even in Seattle, never mind that it was pretty close to my hotel (I told you it was a tasty neighbourhood). Located in Fremont, the town adjacent to Ballard and also the home of the excellent cookbook store The Book Larder, this bakery is a huge operation with a massive production kitchen and with wholesale orders leaving for deliveries seemingly every couple of minutes whilst I was sat in the patio, enjoying my breakfast. Primarily a bread bakery they also do a great range of other baked goods. From the expected buttery croissants and indulgent pain au chocolat to a hearty date loaf cake, chocolate oatmeal cookies as big as your head and a few variations of their ‘lye buns’ a pretzel roll by another name. I sampled the cheddar lye bun and the oat chocolate chunk cookie and both were truly excellent. The bun had that classic pretzel flavour from a brief bath in lye before baking, it was also coated in a layer of cheddar that had melted and in some spots caramelised around the edges giving the bun a crispy cheese skirt. The cookie was, as mentioned, absolutely massive but also a cookie that demanded constant nibbling, the type of cookie you don’t think you’ll finish but are then surprised at when its all gone. As much as I planned on ‘just giving it a little try’ I kept going back for just one more bite. I put that down to the perfect balance of sweet and salty, a great texture from the oats and a delicious chocolate.