MLS Cup 2009: An Outsider’s Guide To Seattle Pt.1

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Whether MLS Cup 2009 is your first trip to the Emerald City or your fourteenth, you can always expect to do something new, cool and different when in Seattle. From the restaurants to the museums, to the wharf to the whales it’s a city like no other and the Insider has cherry-picked a few of our favorite restaurants, watering holes and activities to help you make the most of your time in Jet City.

Get Fed

The first thing you’ll need is a dive bar and Shorty’s, with it’s excellent/evil mix of clowns & hot dogs should do the trick. It’s not a total dive but when compared to some of the other places mentioned in this post it’s a cesspool. The reason we list this first is that you are on vacation and you are most-likely going to blow through 2007-levels of cash; best to know upfront where to go when the money runs low.

Now then, if you’ve come to Seattle with someone special who appreciates soccer and brilliantly named eateries as much as you do, Frank’s Oyster House & Champagne Parlor is a must. Dripping with sophisticated cool and boasting an ocean-sized selection of seafood, Frank’s is on it’s way to becoming a local legend. If sampling the local seafood isn’t on your list of “musts”, check out Ipanema Grill for an endless stream of Brazilian rodizio-style BBQ; they prepare up to 16 different meats a day so come hungry.

Get Busy

If you are the type of traveler who avoids cliche as if it were contagious, you are still not excused from making a trip to Pike Place Market. We’re sorry but you just have to respect the classics (and you’ll be glad you did). We’d also recomend you check out the local wildlife: Puget Sound is home to one of the best known (not to mention easily accessible) whale populations on the planet. Clipper Vacations can help you get in touch with your inner Cousteau and see these magnificent Orcas up close. Should you want to do something that is a little more “underground” (literally), you might try taking Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour; it’s got nothing to do with hipsters and everything to do with building a new city on top of the old city.

Get Cultured

Did you know that museums are open to people who aren’t on a school trip? It’s surprising, yet true. And in Seattle there is something for everyone no matter what your taste. For a well-rounded experience without drilling too deep into one specific area your best bets are SAM, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, located on the campus of University of Washington. If you want to go with something a little more niche there’s always the Wing Luke Asian Museum, the Museum of Flight and the treasure that is the Klondike Gold Rush Museum.

The must-see though is the EMP|SFM or Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. With it’s iconic Frank O’Ghery architecture (see the photo above) and 140,000 square feet of exhibits, films and interactive musical  playgrounds, this is simultaneously the coolest/geekiest museum in existence. Be sure to check out their current Jimi Hendrix exhibit and On Stage, an interactive installation where you can rock a virtual audience of thousands on guitars that never go out of tune).

Go Broke

At some point during your trip you may say to yourself “Self, I need a new pair of kicks.” If such a scenario should unfold, whether it involves shoes, clothing or a new iPhone to replace the one you’ll lose on the pub crawl –someone always loses their phone– there are as many shopping districts as there are raindrops in Seattle, all of which will be more than happy to help you part with your hard earned cash/overextended credit.

Downtown (epicenter: Seneca and 4th Ave.) and Pioneer Square are the most centrally located but if you are willing to branch out, a little adventure can get you a long way. Try the laid back “U (University) District” (epicenter: University Way NE & NE 45th St.) for a youthful, collegiate crowd and loads of inexpensive eats and shops. The specialist pick is the “ID” or International District (Epicenter: Maynard Ave. & Weller St.), a vibrant collection of restaurants, shops and cafes representing dozens of ethnic groups; Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Thai and Pacific Islander are only a handful of the variety nationalities who have planted a flag in this 8-block area south of Pioneer Square.