The Travel Writer’s Heart

Posted by TravelKorner on October 31, 2015 in Destination - USA, English | Leave a comment

The Best Route is Through Food!

As a travel blogger you participated on a few media familiarisation tours with most initiated through hosted events to peak interest from media. While not an actual experience the destination marketing organization Visit Seattle, provided a test drive of what it is like to savour the taste and sights of the city at “Genussakademie” in Frankfurt, Germany.

In marketing its said the stronger the impression, the greater the opportunity to win heart and mind, Visit Seattle knows that travel writers engage their five senses to relay the experience of a place. Fusing great food, wine and stunning images from hotels, airline and the port authority representatives showcasing the region to spark travel journalists’ interest.

“Great food experiences infused with sights and sounds create a vibe are often elusive,” Ilse Harley, General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel explained during her introduction. “We have partnered with Chef Ethan Stowell, who’s culinary creativity, combined with a Pacific Northwest dining concept in a breathtaking setting, to provided an authentic local dining encounter.”

Late in 2014 the Four Seasons sought to revive the atmosphere ART Restaurant and Lounge in the brand’s Seattle hotel, named to complement a chic scene across from the Seattle Art Museum. The Four Seasons searched for a local partner who would bring excitement to the downtown location and were impressed by Stowell’s combination of great food served in an engaging and approachable way.

For Stowell, this was the chance to return downtown to open a big, upscale restaurant. “After our first restaurant, Union, closed in 2010, I’ve been looking for the right opportunity to return Downtown,” Stowell sums up his philosophy for Goldfinch Tavern, “We wanted the fun vibe of Staple & Fancy and a little bit of that sophisticated feel that was Union.”

The chic Goldfinch Tavern, named for the state bird of Washington, the American goldfinch, will have “the high level of service you’d expect from the Four Seasons with a causal dining atmosphere,” Stowell said.

Great food requires great drinks. Home to the American morning jolt, Starbucks Coffee, the city of Seattle is also the gateway to a home-grown secret. Washington State, teaming with over 850 wineries, generates the second largest premium wine production in the United States.

“The state’s most renowned wine regions Walla Walla and Yakima Valley are located east of the Cascade Mountains,” Washington State Wine Commission President and CEO, Steve Warner highlights. “Just a short 30-minute drive from Seattle, visitors can experience the taste of Washington wines in Woodinville Wine Country home to over 100 tasting rooms and wineries.”

Travel writer, Jonathan Raban, summed up the essence of the Emerald City, “At night, what you see is a city, because of the lights. By day, it doesn’t look like a city at all, the trees out-number the houses… is it a city, a suburb, or is the forest growing back?”

The best way to a travel writer’s or visitor’s heart is through food. So plan on taking a few days to explore Seattle, sample the offerings of Washington wineries, soak in the vibe at the 13 locations of Ethan Stowell’s restaurants, and grab a cup of Starbucks coffee at the historic Pike Place Market.

INFO BOX

Planning: Visit Seattle, web: www.visitseattle.org, T: (206) 461-5840, Visitor Center locations – Pike Place Market, and Washington State Convention Center.

Airlines: Via Frankfurt June 6-20/2016 – Condor 799 euros, Iceland Air 919 euros, American Airlines/Lufthansa 1143 euros.

Accommodation: Four Seasons Hotel, 99 Union St, Seattle, 332 euros per night

Food: Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Anchovies & Olives, 1550 15th Avenue, T: (206) 838-8080; Bar Cotto, 1546 15th Avenue, T: (206) 838-8081; Brambling Cross, 5205 Ballard Ave NW, T: (206) 420-8192; Chippy’s – Fish and Drink, 4741 Ballard Avenue NW, T: (206) 257-4390; How To Cook A Wolf, 2208 Queen Anne Ave N, T: (206) 838-8090; MKT., 2108 N 55th Street, T: (206) 812-1580; Red Cow, T: (206) 454-7932, 1423 34th Avenue; Rione XIII, T: (206) 838-2878, 401 15th Ave E; Staple & Fancy, T: (206) 789-1200, 4739 Ballard Ave NW; Tavolàta, T: (206) 838-8008, 2323 Second Avenue; Goldfinch Tavern, T: (206) 749-7070, 99 Union Street; and for simply great pizzas try Ballard, T: (206) 946-9960, 5107 Ballard Ave NW; or Frelard, T: (206) 946-9966, 4010 Leary Way NW.

Wine: Washington State Wine website provides a great tool to organize tours, suggested wines and visits are: Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling a winemaking collaboration between the Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Bob Bertheau and famed Germany’s Mosel Valley winemaker Ernst Loosen, Betz Family Winery Bésoleil, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot Columbia Crest, and, Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain.