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Where to stay when attending PNB performances


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If you like Thai food, you're in luck: there are at least four really good Thai places between a two- and a ten-block walk. There's also vegetarian Chinese food that's quite good and a wonderful Vietnamese pho+ restuarant also about 10 blocks away, and for an extra four blocks, you can have wonderful crepes at Citizen. There's a pricey but excellent sushi restaurant called Shiki about two or three blocks away. One Queen Anne Avenue a couple of blocks away there's a solid Greek restaurant that makes a fantastic spicy cheese appetizer next to a good Indian restaurant where we just ate tonight, which I think is called Roti across from Uptown, a great place to get coffee.

I loved the food at Petit Toulouse -- it is small plates -- but weekend brunch tends to be reserved out months in advance. Your PNB ticket envelope should have a 20% off voucher on the back flap for Ten Mercer, if you want to splurge before or after the performance: they server food seven days a week from 4:30pm-10:30. Doug Fullington gives a pre-performance lecture which starts an hour before the performance, and if you can catch one, you won't be disappointed. There's also a Q&A after each performance with at least one dancer, and then tend to run about 40-50 minutes after the performance ends, so you'd have time to get a drink and at least a snack at Ten Mercer before or after one of these. This is the grown-up restaurant in the area, and it's very close to the hotel.

Next weekend is the closing weekend of the Seattle International Film Festival, and three of the screens are a few blocks away from the hotel. Restaurants closer to Queen Anne Avenue tend to be fuller during the Festival than those down Roy closer to McCaw Hall, but there are so many of them, and many serious movie goers rarely have time for a slice of pizza between their 73rd and 74th movie.

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FYI if you're staying at the MarQueen, you are right next door to a bus stop for the RapidRide bus. It costs $2.25 - 2.50 each ride, and takes you directly downtown with fewer stops than regular buses. The line that goes from downtown Seattle through Queen Anne and on to Ballard is called the "D" line. During the day it runs every 10-20 minutes. Save a little money and use it on a nice restaurant. smile.png

Most of the restaurants are pretty good in Lower Queen Anne, but there are a couple to avoid. I'll make a list for you tomorrow when I have a little more time.

Thank you, Jayne - I'll definitely take your advice regarding the RapidRide bus.

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If you like Thai food, you're in luck: there are at least four really good Thai places between a two- and a ten-block walk. There's also vegetarian Chinese food that's quite good and a wonderful Vietnamese pho+ restuarant also about 10 blocks away, and for an extra four blocks, you can have wonderful crepes at Citizen. There's a pricey but excellent sushi restaurant called Shiki about two or three blocks away. One Queen Anne Avenue a couple of blocks away there's a solid Greek restaurant that makes a fantastic spicy cheese appetizer next to a good Indian restaurant where we just ate tonight, which I think is called Roti across from Uptown, a great place to get coffee.

I loved the food at Petit Toulouse -- it is small plates -- but weekend brunch tends to be reserved out months in advance. Your PNB ticket envelope should have a 20% off voucher on the back flap for Ten Mercer, if you want to splurge before or after the performance: they server food seven days a week from 4:30pm-10:30. Doug Fullington gives a pre-performance lecture which starts an hour before the performance, and if you can catch one, you won't be disappointed. There's also a Q&A after each performance with at least one dancer, and then tend to run about 40-50 minutes after the performance ends, so you'd have time to get a drink and at least a snack at Ten Mercer before or after one of these. This is the grown-up restaurant in the area, and it's very close to the hotel.

Next weekend is the closing weekend of the Seattle International Film Festival, and three of the screens are a few blocks away from the hotel. Restaurants closer to Queen Anne Avenue tend to be fuller during the Festival than those down Roy closer to McCaw Hall, but there are so many of them, and many serious movie goers rarely have time for a slice of pizza between their 73rd and 74th movie.

And thanks to you, Helene, for the restaurant suggestions. I was already thinking about trying Shiki, and possibly Ten Mercer (especially if I go to the pre-performance talk). I'll just have to play things by ear though.

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Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I don't know how adventurous I can be this trip, as my funds are limited, and I'll be spending a couple of days in Victoria B.C. where I'll have to eat restaurant food the entire time. I'll have use of a fridge and microwave at the hotel in Seattle, so Metropolitan Market may be my good friend. ;)

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The Met Market is expensive - but Safeway is just 2 blocks away from you and much, much more affordable. You'll have partial sun next weekend, and full Sun on Sunday, which should help. Be prepared for the VAT in Canada. When crossing the border in Blaine there is a sign that says "Welcome to Super Natural British Columbia". My friends used to joke the the real message is "Welcome to Super Taxable British Columbia"

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The Met Market is expensive - but Safeway is just 2 blocks away from you and much, much more affordable. You'll have partial sun next weekend, and full Sun on Sunday, which should help. Be prepared for the VAT in Canada. When crossing the border in Blaine there is a sign that says "Welcome to Super Natural British Columbia". My friends used to joke the the real message is "Welcome to Super Taxable British Columbia"

Yes I fully expect my 2 days in B.C. to be pricey, but that's to be expected. As you say, it looks like I will luck out with the weather at least.

Hopefully there will be no problems and everything goes swimmingly. And I'll add my impressions of the performance to the group...

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You can eat well in Viictoria on a budget. If you like fish and chips and/or fish tacos and don't mind waiting outside on line, go to Red Fish Blue Fish. The fish is amazing. The cod's as good as most haddock.

I would also look up the site for the TV show "You Gotta Eat Here" for suggestions on where the locals eat.

You can take a city bus to and from Buchart Gardens, and they have afternoon tea. The Fairmont afternoon tea is overpriced and the room is huge and loud; it's fine corporate tea. There's another place that's a bit of a walk from downtown -- I'm not sure about public transport or the route -- that might be worth the cab or the walk. I'll try to remember the name and come back to post it.

It's the White Heather Tea Room. Check for current hours and reservation info.

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You can eat well in Viictoria on a budget. If you like fish and chips and/or fish tacos and don't mind waiting outside on line, go to Red Fish Blue Fish. The fish is amazing. The cod's as good as most haddock.

I would also look up the site for the TV show "You Gotta Eat Here" for suggestions on where the locals eat.

You can take a city bus to and from Buchart Gardens, and they have afternoon tea. The Fairmont afternoon tea is overpriced and the room is huge and loud; it's fine corporate tea. There's another place that's a bit of a walk from downtown -- I'm not sure about public transport or the route -- that might be worth the cab or the walk. I'll try to remember the name and come back to post it.

It's the White Heather Tea Room. Check for current hours and reservation info.

Both Red Fish Blue Fish and White Heather Tea Room have their appeal - I do like fish, and I want to have some decent fresh fish while I'm in "fish central".

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One more Victoria suggestion, the James Bay Tearoom. I don't know where you're staying, but it's an easy walk from the Inner Harbor and all the hotels down by Parliament. We often eat breakfast there, and don't need anything else until dinner.

Excellent! Thanks Sandik, that looks like a good choice for breakfast.

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Thanks to everyone for their input - it really helped me out in organizing my time. I ended up staying at the MarQueen Hotel for 3 nights, the Oswego Hotel in Victoria for most of 3 days, and then the Mediterranean Inn for the last night in Seattle.

For future lookers, here are my rambling comments -

I can recommend any of these hotels for location, and each has some form of kitchen to work with for those of us who like to prepare our own meals, or heat leftovers. The MarQueen rooms are large by the usual standards (with really high ceilings), and an 'antique' look to the rooms. They have their own separate kitchen rooms with breakfast nook, which was 'just fabulous'. The fixtures are older and rather worn, but not dirty, and overall seemed a good value. And it's hard to beat the MarQueen's location - on the other side of the block (about a 1 minute walk) is the Metropolitan Market and Bartell Drugs, both open 24 hours. So there's no problem getting supplies. And there are so many little restaurants in that area of Queen Anne that it's just a matter of coming to a decision about buying groceries VS dining out. McCaw Hall was maybe a 5 minute walk down Mercer, so a very good location for Ballet-goers.

The Mediterranean Inn is only a couple of blocks down Queen Anne from the MarQueen, so basically all the same benefits of location apply. The Med has a very different setup in its rooms though - the standard is quite small, but cozy - looks to be oriented toward techie commuters. Very small refrigerator and microwave in the rooms. All the usual amenities are there, but compressed into a quite small space. A bit on the claustrophobic side in the standard room. One big plus is the rooftop observation deck which has a fantastic view of the city, including the Space Needle just across the way. This made up for the fact that I didn't want to pay the 30 freakin' dollars to ride the elevator up to the top of the Needle.

I bought a package deal through Victoria Clipper for the stay at Oswego in Victoria and that was a pleasant surprise. An excellent hotel for the money. I had a "small suite". The little kitchen was to die for: marble counter, refrigerator, microwave and DISH WASHER (not that I needed to ever use it). They are definitely set up for longer stays. Lots of nice kitchen implements: toaster, blender, good quality pans, etc. Ultra modern "european" styling, very clean (the hotel is fairly new as well). And tremendous views from both the bedside sliding glass door/windows and the huge bathroom windows on the other side of the suite. Since Victoria harbor is something of a fairytale setting, it's awfully pleasant to watch the long slow sunset from your suite in the Oswego. And then the parliament building's lights come on as the cherry atop the sundae.

I ate the big breakfast at the Oswego which lasted me until dinner and then trundled over to Red Fish Blue Fish on the wharf, or Sam's Deli (which has the only cheap but tasty eats in the area). Red Fish was what some would call "hella good". The lines are ridiculous though. On my last day I went to the end of the line and waited for almost 7 minutes for an elderly couple at the front to order. Then the next person took at least 4 minutes. That may not seem like a big deal, but when there are 15 to 20 people ahead of you, you could expect to wait an average of 60 minutes at 4 minutes a person. So I gave up on that last day and went over to Sam's Deli and then consoled myself with a large sundae at the Soda Shoppe on the corner. My greatest worry in Victoria was whether or not I was going to be able to get fresh salmon for dinner. Life can be so difficult. Victoria has to be the most pleasant place on this side of the planet. Simply nothing bad going on anywhere. Oh, and besides walking about the harbor district I also took a couple double-decker bus tours to see more of the area - a must do.

McCaw Hall and the PNB Ballet building next door looked really impressive - they are definitely setup well to maintain the company into the future. I think there must be some really envious regional companies, wishing they had something, anything, like the PNB's setup.

And now for some REALLY BAD cell phone 'pics' ( definitely can't call them images) -

Oswego kitchen images:
oswego_kitchen_1.jpeg
oswego_kitchen_2.jpeg
oswego_kitchen_3.jpeg
oswego_kitchen_4.jpeg
oswego_dining_1.jpeg

Salmon!!!

oswego_salmon.jpeg

Glimpse of the bathroom (also good-sized) with granite tiles and big picture window:
oswego_bathroom_1.jpeg

I'm not sure if it's OK to quote the price, but the Victoria Clipper/Oswego Hotel package (2 nights) was $355. The round-trip on the Clipper was about $109, so Oswego was $123 a night, in JUNE. Nice.

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That is an incredible price for a centrally located hotel at the beginning of high season with that decor! The salmon looks lovely, too smile.png

Mmmmmmm, Saaaallllmooonnn. The crabcake salad was good too. I'm guessing it's a good thing to purchase the package in wintertime - I would expect the good offers disappear soon.

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I should have mentioned this before, but for anyone coming to Seattle: The ride to the top of the Space Needle is ***only*** worthwhile on a completely clear day, when you can see all the mountain ranges.

Otherwise your $30 is much better spent having a nice meal.

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One last thing: I hadn't been in Seattle in many years, and I was very impressed by how good looking much of the central city is, and culturally and architecturally eclectic, and CLEAN. I think the constant rain must have something to do with that. I also think the rains are what keep the city from over-expanding into an out-of-control megalopolis. I could live there, if it weren't for the weather.

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Part of the price differential in Victoria has to do with whether Parliament is in session -- most the hotels in the Inner Harbour area serve the members during the session (one of the reasons so many of them have ensuite kitchens)

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I could live there, if it weren't for the weather.

Ah, the weather is one of the reasons I stay!

It's a perfect fit for you then. It's much the same thing in Alaska - some people really don't mind being cut off from civilization for much of the year - that's the point. I assume Seattle people really don't mind the wet and cold. I like a certain amount of actual seasons (which is why I so miss Northern Cal), but I couldn't deal with 7 month winters.

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Well, it's more like fall weather 7 months of the year - we really don't get much true mid-west style winter here. But if you don't mind, please keep spreading your perspective about Seattle around - we want people to visit and then go home. The prices are already out of control. tiphat.gif

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Well, it's more like fall weather 7 months of the year - we really don't get much true mid-west style winter here. But if you don't mind, please keep spreading your perspective about Seattle around - we want people to visit and then go home. The prices are already out of control. tiphat.gif

Absolutely -- we prefer that people think it rains all the time here. And that if you stand still too long, the moss grows on your north side.

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Well, it's more like fall weather 7 months of the year - we really don't get much true mid-west style winter here. But if you don't mind, please keep spreading your perspective about Seattle around - we want people to visit and then go home. The prices are already out of control. tiphat.gif

Absolutely -- we prefer that people think it rains all the time here. And that if you stand still too long, the moss grows on your north side.

I've already got that problem with the moss growing, so in the sun I shall stay. ;)

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Where can I get a quiet room? Price matters, of course, but view doesn't. A window on an inner court, as long as that court doesn't harbor noisy machinery, often ensures that this light sleeper gets his rest in The City That Never Sleeps, on the other coast. Good heavy windows can help a lot too, though I wonder whether this is as popular an idea in the Pacific Northwest, with its temperate temperatures, as it is in New York. I've found that if you can see it - a congested street, or overnight truck traffic, or motorcycles - you can probably hear it loud and clear. "Thick" walls between the rooms don't hurt, either, of course.

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