Seattle ladies - recommendations for a day?

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I'm going to be in Seattle for a day, and I was wondering what I absolutely must do while I'm there. Food and sightseeing recs greatly appreciated.

One other thing - my BFF whom I'm visiting needs to do some ring browsing (yay!) and she loves antique styles. Any recommendations for antique jewelry stores to go to? I think we'll be near the Queen Anne neighborhood but well probably venture all over if we're doing touristy things.

Thanks!

 

[cygnet]

Isadora's is about a block away from Pike Place Market, and some of the jewelry there is really fun (http://isadoras.com/). Turgeon Raine is in downtown Seattle and most of the jewelry is modern, though there are a few incredible antique pieces there. It's definitely worth a look (though one of the saleswomen there is a dream, and the other is an absolute jerk). They have a 4ct OEC in a ruby halo that's definitely worth trying on.... swoon.

I used to live in Seattle but I rarely ate out because I was a broke college student when I lived there. So I can't really think of any awesome food recs off the top of my head right now. I'll think about it. I know there's plenty of amazing food in Seattle but I'm drawing a blank right now.

 

[TooPatient]

Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue! It is amazing. Delicious (we have VERY high standards), decent (even over generous) portions, and inexpensive. One of those little hole in the wall places you'd miss if you weren't looking. LOVE this place!
20 min or so from Seattle with lots of other shopping and stuff in the area including art museum and more.

 

[TravelingGal]

I go to Seattle frequently on business. Pike Place market is cool.

Some cool restaurants:

Book Bindery
Dahlia's Lounge
Barolo

There is a cool vintage jewelry place and I mentioned it somewhere on PS, but I can't remember the name. Will try to look it up later. It's downtown.

 

[SMC]

Hi, I live in Seattle!

If you're staying in the Queen Anne area, I recommend How to Cook a Wolf. It's one of Ethan Stowell's restaurants and it's amazing. I also recommend Matt's in the Market in Pike Place. I think I had the best halibut in my life there. Also, I don't know when you're going to be here, but Seattle Restaurant Week is going on from Apr 7-11 and Apr 14-18 and you can get $14 lunches and $28 dollar dinners at a lot of Seattle's top restaurants. Make reservations on OpenTable here: http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=236&m=2.. I think Dahlia Lounge and How to Cook a Wolf are participating in Restaurant Week.

i've read the Isadora's is good. Alana Jewelry (in Northgate Mall) is also having their semi-annual or annual sale right now (until April 7). You can get pretty good deals when their stuff is on clearance. They have lots of antique jewelry. I've been warned to stay away from their diamonds though. I don't think they carry old cut diamonds anyway (I've never seen them there).

Another thing that I recommend for tourists is the Seattle Underground Tour. It sounds kind of hokey but it's actually really cool. Downtown Seattle is actually built on top of itself, and the tour takes you underground to show you parts of old Seattle. I liked the history that they explain to you too.

Finally, if you're into desserts, I have two recs for you: Molly Moon's salted caramel ice cream and Simply Desserts' cakes!

 

[TooPatient]

For ring browsing, you have to visit Marci Jewelers in Bellevue! They don't do much with antique stuff, though. Beautiful selection of nice quality. If you are in the area it is worth stopping.

You should also look at Argosy Cruises. They've got all sorts of lunch & dinner things and even some great tours of the area. I've only been on one (and that was awhile ago) but it was great fun. They've got all sorts of different things ranging from an hour or so to several hours.

 

[Octavia]

Not too far from Isadora's is Alexandra Rossoff (4th Ave and University St). I went to both of those places with some PS ladies during a GTG and both have droolworthy pieces! Fox Gems at 5th and Union has some fun colored stones, too. You can easily walk between all those places. If you want to hit up a "big box" type store, Tiffany is in the Pacific Place mall at 6th and Pine, right next to Barney's and less than a block from the Nordstrom flagship store. These places are all a 5-10 minute drive/half-hour walk from Queen Anne (depending on what part of QA you'll be in, it's a pretty big place).

The new Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in South Lake Union is supposed to be awesome, I went to the old location but haven't been there since the big move. Very near there are some good restaurants, particularly Shanik which is owned by the same people that own Vij's in Vancouver. It's not quite as epic as the original but is still great Indian food. For great scenery, go to Kinnear Park on Queen Anne, you get a great view of the Space Needle from there. For cheap eats, the most amazing Cuban sandwiches are at Paseo (one location in Fremont, another in Ballard near the marina). #2 sandwich is HIGHLY recommended. So much depends on the weather, though -- if it's sunny and nice, it's great to be outside but if it's miserable, you might not want to go far...

Oh, and you should stay more than a day so we could try for a GTG while you are in town!!! That's my very best advice, haha