- Seattle-style hot dog – a hot dog topped with cream cheese and sautéed onions. I know this sounds weird, which was also my first thought but trust me on this one. Something about the cream cheese with the snap of the hot dog was just something amazing. We originally wanted to check out Monster Dogs but that didn’t open until 9:30 pm. That’s right – 9:30 pm at NIGHT. Seems like they cater to the younger crowds who go out at night into the wee hours of the morning. But if you’re like me, you know you’re 30+ when you think 9:30 is late. So we ended up going to Dog in the Park instead, and it did not disappoint
2. Dick’s Drive-In – since I’m from the east coast, whenever I travel to the west coast, I always do a quick search to see if there’s an In-N-Out in that city. Unfortunately, Washington doesn’t have any, but something called Dick’s Drive-In popped up. Apparently, a Seattle thing, which opened back in 1954. It’s your typical, cheap, fast food burger ,but definitely nowhere near as good as In-N-Out, or even McDonald’s in opinion. It was a little too greasy for me but I’m still glad I tried it
1/4 pounder 
Strawberry shake
3. Curry beef hom bao – it’s like a chinese bakery bun with curry beef filling inside. Mee Sum Pastry is definitely the most popular option but I don’t think it was worth its price tag. The curry beef was really good though
4. Seafood – you can’t go wrong with seafood here since Seattle is right next to the water. Chowders, salmon, crab legs, sushi, whatever. We wanted to try Sushi Kashiba but couldn’t get reservations. Even tried waiting on line before it opened, but that didn’t work either. If this happens to you, Shiro’s and Aburiya Bento House are some other options
Tuna at Shiro’s 
White fish/Shrimp at Shiro’s 
Salmon at Shiro’s
Tekka Box at Aburiya Bento House 
Seared toro with uni at Aburiya Bento House 
Sake Box at Aburiya Bento House
5. Chowder – speaking of chowder, the most popular option is probably Pike Place Chowder. I thought it was a little too salty but if you’re a tourist and have never tried it before, do as the tourists do
6. Dim sum – although this is not specific to Seattle, whenever I visit other cities, I always try to make it a point to stop by that city’s Chinatown and either try the dim sum or other Chinese food. We found Harbor City Restaurant and loved the food, especially the ha gow. In fact, we came here twice within the four days we spent in Seattle
Shumai at Harbor City Restaurant 
Beef churng fun at Harbor City Restaurant 
Don tot at Harbor City Restaurant 
Ha gow, pork ribs, and naw mai gai at Harbor City Restaurant 
HUGE portion of rice noodles for the flight back at Harbor City Restaurant
7. Pho – there’s a large Vietnamese population in Seattle, so you shouldn’t find a shortage of good pho places. We went to Thanh Vi in the University District and the beef combo pho really hit the spot on a cold February day
Banh mi combo, cha gio, beef combo pho from Thanh Vi
8. Starbuck’s – you either hate Starbuck’s or you love Starbuck’s. But you’re in Seattle, where it originated so you might as well check out the Reserve Roastery. When we went in February 2020, they had this whiskey cold brew, which was AMAZING
Nitro cold brew float (left) and whiskey cold brew (right) at Starbuck’s Reserve Roastery
9. Top Pot Doughnuts – there are quite a few locations in Seattle but there was one right by our hotel, so we decided to bring some home. They had some unique flavors and the doughnuts weren’t overly sweet
10. Nana’s Green Tea – this is actually a Japanese chain that serves matcha drinks and desserts. I didn’t get to try it out when I went to Japan in 2019 but I did try the Honolulu location later that year. It’s a nice taste of Japan if you like matcha. Plus they don’t have these on the east coast
how to be a tourist 