Disclaimer: Angela Shen, the owner of Savor Seattle, invited me to attend her tour – and kindly allowed me to bring my house guest.
I never get tired of the market. When I’m feeling down on Seattle, when it’s February and I wonder what the hell I was thinking moving to this rainy awful place, I head to the market. I eat fish and chips at Jack’s Fish Spot and then I walk down Steinbruck Park to look out over the sound towards Harbor Island. I might get a cappuccino and a treat at the French bakery and by the time I’m licking the foam off the edge of the cup, I am in love with Seattle again.
Because I have such an affection for the market, I was delighted when Angela Shen of Savor Seattle invited us to tag along on her Pike Place Market Tour. The tour is a learn and snack two hour stroll through the heart of the market with stops at some of the market’s cornerstone businesses. We learned the difference between high and low stalls, how to determine the sex of an eggplant, why the market Starbuck’s doesn’t sell treats, where the Japanese vendors went, oh, and a lot of other things about the market. We also tasted donuts, salmon (jerky and smoked), cherries (Bing, Rainier, and chocolate covered), honey, tea, spices, pie, wine…
The market is a tough place to run a tour through. It’s noisy and crowded and easy to get separated from your group. Angela solves this by using the old tour guide trick of holding up a pink umbrella and by using headsets. She’s got a microphone, you get an earpiece. It’s helpful – you can hear her over the ambient noise of the market and because you can always hear her, it’s hard to get lost. The downside of this is that it feels a bit like you’re on a recorded tour. There’s not much chatting with the other participants and the patter seems very well rehearsed. (The tours haven’t been running for long, I’m willing to bet that they’ll improve as the guides relax into their routine.) Angela (or your guide of the day) is out in front with her umbrella, and off you go, following her like a string of ducklings through the bustle of the market.
I’m not a guided tour kind of person, I’m not a follower or a joiner. And I’ve always found the market vendors willing to talk – rather a lot – about their goods. But cracking the market takes time and not everyone has the leisure to wander over to the market on a Tuesday morning in the middle of the off-season. Angela’s tour is like an instant decoder ring for the market. Visit a few well known vendors, try some iconic Seattle foods, learn some insider facts about market history…
Angela is a friendly and extremely knowledgeable guide with obvious enthusiasm for food and the market. The tour is fun and informative. Old hands in at the market might be surprised to learn a thing or two. I don’t know that I’d go back, but for foodie guests who like tours? Send them off. I had a good time, they will too.
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