5 Must-try Sweets: Seattle
Much like the sunlight we received during this trip, our Seattle stay was short and sweet. We only had 1 whole day to explore the beautiful city and 1 whole day to explore the Northwest Chocolate Festival and 2 full days of driving through I5. Short - yes! Sweet - literally! Beautiful - absolutely!
With only 1 day to explore, here are my top 5 must-try sweets in Seattle!
1.Theo Chocolate Factory - Ok, I may be a little (or a LOT) biased for placing Theo Chocolate on the top of my must-try list. With the proliferation of bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the US, Theo is my number one favorite. Never had I imagined that I will be fangirling over a chocolate shop and that's exactly what happened in my visit. First, if you haven't tried any of their bars - you should! And lucky us, they are sold in most Wholefoods and Raleys locations. Next, the Hazelnut Praline and Eggnog bonbons are to-die-for!
2. Warm Apple Cider at the Pike Place Market - What's a visit to Seattle without stopping by at the popular Pike Place Market?! Our visit was rather cold and wet and a cup of warm apple cider is an experience of its own. With the palpable beauty of fall in Seattle, its only fitting to sip a cup of warm cider as you walk around Pike Place Market! There are a few vendors around the market selling them for just $5 a cup.
3. Grand Central Bakery - located inside the old Grand Central Hotel in Pioneer Square, Grand Central Bakery is a must-try! With its rustic artisan-style pastries, it's easy to get lost in time and space on your visit! Both the red brick wall and the crackling fire are reminiscent of the Grand Central Hotel's glory days in the 70's. Enjoy a cup of warm latte and one of the vast amount of pastries from giant cinnamon rolls to giant muffins to coffee crumb cake and croissants. There is something for everyone to enjoy!
4. Bakery Nouveau on 15th Ave. E - sprawled at the top of their long display case are French Macarons of different colors and flavors! With this, Bakery Nouveau and I instantly connected - we spoke the same language! For my new readers, I owned a macaron shop thus the fascination. What I like most about this bakery is the amount of selection they have of both sweet and savory pastries like quiches, breakfast pizza and croissant sandwiches. For the adventurous, try their double-baked chocolate croissant! Unlike the traditional buttery and soft flaky layers of a croissant, the double-baked ones have a more crunchy texture on top while maintaining the softer flaky layers inside. Perhaps, its one of Seattle's best kept culinary secrets!
5. The Confectional - located at the heart of Pike Place Market is the cheesecake heaven a.k.a The Confectional! Dipped cheesecake on a stick, what a genius idea! We used to sell (a very delicious) cheesecake bites in our shop. Dipping cheesecakes individually took time and I can see having the stick simplifies the process. Anyway, I love the assortment of flavors and sizes they have. Plus, it is not very often to stumble upon a shop dedicated to cheesecakes!
So there you have it! If in case, you found your sweet tooth only having 1 day to explore Seattle - give these 5 places a try!