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Tourists don’t come to Greenwood. It’s not on all those lists of places you have to visit when you come to Seattle, it doesn’t have the name recognition of nabes like the University District, Fremont, Georgetown, or Ballard. Heck, Eater Seattle doesn’t even have a neighborhood guide to Greenwood. That makes it the perfect subject for the inaugural Eater Seattle Food Crawl.
A food crawl is like a bar crawl only easier on the liver (and harder on the stomach). It’s an extended hang in a particular area, or a tour of one particular local speciality. For the Greenwood edition, we’re going to give you a sample itinerary of a day spent on Greenwood Avenue between 83rd Street and 87th Street — an incredibly rich culinary micro-neighborhood.
9 a.m. Pastry
Start your day at Coyle’s Bakeshop, an unassuming bakery making some of the most delicate and sophisticated pastries and cakes in the city (that’s them in the above photo). You’ll want to get at least two things but remember that the key to a food crawl is to pace yourself — if we had to pick just one item here we’d go for one of the scones, which are crumbly and buttery and addictive. The only downside to Coyle’s (other than the lines it draws on weekends) is that the seating is limited. So let’s go to...
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9:30 a.m. Coffee
Coffeeholic House’s Greenwood location, just up the street, exemplifies the recent wave of Vietnamese coffee shops. If you want something for your Instagram you can grab one of their purple ube drinks, but the Coffeeholic Dream is our personal favorite: phin-brewed coffee, condensed milk, hazelnut syrup, and cheese foam on the top. Sweet and loaded with caffeine, it will keep you buzzing all day. There’s spacious seating and power outlets if you want to park your laptop to get some work done. Once you’ve got an appetite it’s time for...
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12 p.m. Lunch
When you step into North Star Diner for the first time you’ll be a little overwhelmed. The furniture is bright and retro, there’s a mural of stars on one wall and a grid of astronaut portraits on the other wall, the center of the ceiling is covered in Chinese-style tiles, the two TVs above the bar are playing cartoons and ASMR-esque art videos, and the soundtrack is impeccable classic rock. The food is a tier above typical diner fare (and includes veggie and vegan options). If it’s not too early for you, you can grab a cocktail and turn lunch into brunch. But we’ll need to fill some hours before dinner, so...
1:30 p.m. Afternoon Hang
For the sake of argument let’s say you’re doing all this on a Friday on weekend, when Halcyon Brewing opens at noon. Let’s also assume the weather is nice (why not?) so you can lounge on the patio drinking pilsners and snacking on popcorn chicken. Get an IPA if you want, but remember that thing about pacing yourself? It’s almost time for...
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4 p.m. Happy Hour
Oh look at that, FlintCreek Cattle Co., just across the street, has the best happy hour in town. We’re not exaggerating: beers are $5, selected cocktails are $8, and the food specials include a $10 burger that is creamy and decadent. Maybe split it with a friend, because we have to go to...
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6 p.m. Dinner
Cross the street again to La Conasupo, a Mexican restaurant inside a grocery store that probably doesn’t qualify as a “secret” anymore, since it’s been on so many best-of-Seattle lists. The tacos and quesadillas here are big and meaty (though vegetarian options exist) and if you’re here on a weekend you should definitely try the barbacoa.
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8 p.m. Nightcap
The bummer about time is that it’s linear. We did a happy hour at FlintCreek and that means we missed the happy hour specials down the street at Dark Room. That’s okay though, this cocktail bar is open late and we can spend as much time here as we want sampling the innovative drinks — don’t be fooled by the funny names like Oaxacan Sockem’ Rumbots, these are cocktail lovers’ cocktails. If you’re still hungry try the kimchi pimento cheese. You’re still hungry?