Pike Chocofest 2014 Recap, and 24 hours in Seattle

I attended the Pike Brewery Chocofest last year, and we had planned to attend again this year. We didn’t want to use up too many vacation days, and we agreed to spend just a little more than 24 hours in Seattle.  We bought the tickets about a month in advance using Bolt Bus because it was closer to our home than going to the Amtrak station. The plan was for us to to be leaving Sunday morning of the festival and returning during Monday afternoon.

This entire planned getaway happened to fall on Sunday February 9- the same long weekend as the Portland Snowpocalypse. This is what it looked like by us, and the streets. These photos are before Saturday night/Sunday morning- when the snow turned to rain and that turned to ice everywhere! Yes, that is an abandoned car across the street, and some 2 feet icicles. There were also little snowmen in the Park Blocks as well as the amusement of fellow Portland citizens skiing down the street or sledding down sidewalks around our neighborhood.

Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014

Escape from Portland

So given all the snow, and now the rain that was turning into ice, that found us on late Saturday night wondering if we would really be able to get out of Portland. It had already been 2 1/2 days with the many inches of snow already on the ground essentially shutting down the city on Friday. Many businesses did not open (there was even a twitter hashtag to find the shorter list of who WAS open). I saw snow continue to pile up on abandoned cars that were left behind in favor of walking, and already there had been some cancelled Bolt Bus routes. The Worst Ride of the Year event was scaled back and the Polar Plunge even cancelled because the extreme winter weather was too risky in terms of safety.

So I was not too surprised when I got an email and text at 5am on Sunday morning saying that the 8:30am bus I had booked for us had been cancelled and the fare refunded. The two bus routes afterwards were already sold out, which meant that we would not have gotten to Chocofest in time. I quickly checked Amtrak and was surprised it was still running, so booked us tickets on the Amtrak 8:20 train instead.

That’s how at 7:45am, on the eerily quiet streets of downtown, you could hear the continued crunch of our feet as for 20 minutes we carefully tried to not fall as we navigated the ice all over the sidewalks and streets. We didn’t see another person out, and only 2 cars. It was like an abandoned apocalyptic city like from that movie The Day After Tomorrow. The freezing rain had made everything slick. A text message on his and my phone even warned everyone to stay home!

Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014 Snowpacalypse PDX in February 2014, Emergency Alert for Portland

It was sheer luck that 15 minutes before our Amtrak was scheduled to leave, one of the eleven Trimet Max trains that were reported to be running (they had actually stopped all public transportation- no buses were running and only the Yellow and Red had moving trains) fortunately coincided with our walk. Usually in the time we had been walking, we would have already been practically at Burnside and Broadway. That morning we only got to SW 6th and College. We felt like this.
Snowpacalypse commute in PDX in February 2014

The Yellow Line was able to transport us to Union Station, and the Amtrak train did leave on time at 8:20- three cheers for trains! Thanks to Trimet and Amtrak for saving us and assisting in our escape. The Chocofest Getaway Weekend to Seattle was on!

Travel by Train

Travel by Train via Amtrak, our escape from Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle

It was beautiful observing the winter wonderland from the comfort of warm Amtrak train cars. Our train did get delayed as we had to keep stopping for the conductor to shovel out switches, but given that we were safe and browsing the internet while she had to do all the driving and work, I can’t really complain at all.
View from the Amtrak by Kelso as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle View from the Amtrak by Kelso as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle View from the Amtrak by Kelso as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle View from the Amtrak by Kelso as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle

The train we were on happened to be one of the new trains that Amtrak and Travel Portland had added a special Portland Now car. If you have never taken Amtrak before to Seattle, it’s quite comfortable and I would not choose to drive to Seattle when you have this option instead. Every seat has outlets, there is free wireless (not fast enough to be streaming movies, but fine for lots of internet browsing), there are restrooms, and there is a dining car serving food and drinks (including alcohol if you are inclined).  Very comfortable! Unlike the bus you can get around and walk, and there are some pretty views to the west side.
View from the Amtrak car as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle View from the Amtrak car as we escape Snowpacalypse PDX for Seattle

The first photo you see are the coach seats, and then the seats in the Portland Amtrak Cascades “Portland Express” dining car with the cool Pendleton patterns! Check out this Portland Monthly slideshow giving you a peek of the Portland goodness inside the train car.
Taking the Amtrak to/from Seattle is comfy in the new Portland Now train Taking the Amtrak to/from Seattle is comfy in the new Portland Now train "Regular Lounge car in the Amtrak in the new Portland Now train

Our Hotel For One Night: Edgewater

Usually the 8:20am train would get you to Seattle by 12:10, but because of the snow and ice we arrived a little late, about 2:30pm. We took a taxi to our hotel for the evening, the Edgewater. Besides being a cool boutique hotel with a lot of character right by the downtown and right on the waterfront, it was only a little more than a half mile walk to Pike Place Market and Pike Brewing. Each room has a fireplace for a little extra romance, and they seem to like bears!
Checking into Edgewater for our one evening getaway in Seattle. Right by the piers and on the waterfront! Checking into Edgewater for our one evening getaway in Seattle. Right by the piers and on the waterfront! Checking into Edgewater for our one evening getaway in Seattle. Right by the piers and on the waterfront! Checking into Edgewater for our one evening getaway in Seattle. Right by the piers and on the waterfront!

I really really wanted these bear footstools. They had such cute innocent, even if slightly vacant, expressions as they peered at me every time we passed by the lobby gift shop.

Adorable footstools

Progressive Lunch/Snacking at Pike Place Market Area: Crumpet Shop and Piroshky Piroshky

After several days where most of the city was shut down, it was so exciting to walk down Pike Place Market and see all the hustle and bustle of everyone being out and about! I returned to the Crumpet Shop– I had visited previously and enjoyed a crumpet with Walnuts, Honey & Ricotta (AKA The Walrus). My friend selected the crumpet with English cheese and tomato and pesto, which I also really liked then and I was tempted to get that so I could have a whole one instead of my previous tasting bite. But there were other ones I wanted to try- and so I decided to go with entirely new crumpet topping combos.

This time I got to try a crumpet with orange marmalade Blue Stilton. I also tried a crumpet with ricotta and pesto. Both were gobbled up in mere minutes. I highly recommend the Crumpet Shop– they have been there for 36 years and have perfected crumpets. You just need to pop in for one or two and you can continue on your eating journeys, I promise!
Crumpet Shop crumpet with orange marmalade Blue Stilton in Seattle, by Pike Place Market Crumpet Shop crumpet with orange marmalade Blue Stilton in Seattle, by Pike Place Market Crumpet Shop crumpet with ricotta and pesto in Seattle, by Pike Place Market Crumpet Shop crumpet with ricotta and pesto, by Pike Place Market

Next was some wandering around taking in the sights of Pike Place Market vendors and the people visiting the market- such great people watching. Even though we have visited Pike Place Market many times, I never get tired of seeing it all. This time, I had additional knowledge to tell F as we walked because I had taken a Pike Place Market Food Tour with a friend on a previous visit, so I was able to at this point easily navigate to vegetarian choices for him as I now really know the layout of the market!

I’ve usually been intimidated by the line at Piroshky Piroshky, but we had time to spare now since it was still a couple hours until Chocofest. Besides, having a little more would help settle my stomach for the Chocofest event, right? When I had walked by at first on our way to the Crumpet Shop, there had been a line that snaked and was probably 20 people deep. When I returned, there were only a handful of people in my way – cough – I mean in front of me. Score!

This famous Russian Bakery also by Pike Place Market has both sweet and savory Russian pastries. I ordered the famous Smoked Salmon Pate piroshky, and we watched the Olympics event of the Women’s Biathlon (the one with skiing and shooting) as I enjoyed this warm bread stuffed with a salmon dill cheese mixture inside. It seemed very apropos. We also got the Piroshky Piroshky Potato and Cheese.
Seattle Pike Place Market famous Smoked Salmon Pate piroshky with warm bread stuffed with salmon dill cheese mixture inside Seattle Pike Place Market famous Smoked Salmon Pate piroshky with warm bread stuffed with salmon dill cheese mixture inside Seattle Pike Place Market famous Smoked Salmon Pate piroshky with warm bread stuffed with salmon dill cheese mixture inside Seattle Pike Place Market Piroshky Piroshky Potato and Cheese

Pike Chocofest 2014 Recap

Around 5:15 we went to get in line for the Pike Chocofest. This event is also a fundraiser, as all proceeds go to Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, a local non-profit dedicated to keeping Puget Sound clean. This event was even better than last year logically because they spread the 80 vendor tables out across more space and they also had garbage cans and water stations continually refilled and easily available at various points.
Pike Brewing Chocofest 2014 flyer

As we waited in line, there was even someone who walked down with samples of Intrigue Dark Chocolate Truffles and cheese from Cabot (some on Simple & Crisp oranges) for us to sample as we scanned the QR code to a pdf to browse the various participating vendors and their offerings.
Pike Chocofest 2014 Pike Chocofest 2014 Simple & Crisp and cheese

This is a chocolate extravaganza- so many chocolates, 14 chocolatiers alone. Look at all the flavors of Theo Chocolates, and two examples of the plates housemade Caramels utilizing Pike beers from Taste Restaurant (one of the best museum restaurants I’ve ever tried – they are in the Seattle Art Museum, nicknamed SAM here). There were also beautiful Assorted Truffles infused with Pike Ales from Carters Chocolates. I was in love with the Pistachio Paprika Caramel (among many decadent caramels and smoked chocolate chips) by Hot Cakes–  which calls itself a a molten chocolate cakery. Love I tell you.
Pike Chocofest 2014, Theo's Chocolates Pike Chocofest 2014, Fleur d Sel, Absinth, and Rose Otto Caramels from JonBoy Caramels Pike Chocofest 2014, beautiful Assorted Truffles infused with Pike Ales from Carters Chocolates Pike Chocofest 2014, beautiful Assorted Truffles infused with Pike Ales from Carters Chocolates Pike Chocofest 2014, beautiful Assorted Truffles infused with Pike Ales from Carters Chocolates  Pike Chocofest 2014, Hot Cakes' offerings. They are a molten chocolate cakery. Love.

There were also baked chocolate desserts, such as these mini cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes, and Macrina Bakery with lovely Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding with Chocolate Drizzle and Powdered Sugar
Pike Chocofest 2014, mini cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes Pike Chocofest 2014, Macrina with lovely Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding with Chocolate Drizzle and Powdered Sugar

It’s not just chocolate in the expected sweet form however. It also appeared in

  • beverage form in beer (such as Triplehorn‘s Nemesis Imperial Milk Stout with Cocoa  Nibs, Naked City Brewing‘s Mint Chocolate Porter and Charlie’s Golden Ticket beers, or Airways Brewing‘s Maylani’s Coconut Stout)
  • salt and chocolate combinations via fingerling potato chips and/or pretzels with cocoa nib salt from Boka
  • savory sweet combos like Steelhead Diner’s Signature Chocolate Pecan Pie Tartletts with Bourbon Chantilly and Cocoa Nibs or a decadent bite like Copperleaf’s chocolate chip brioche with Pleasant View Farm Foie Gras mousse and Preserved Wenatchee cherry

Pike Chocofest 2014,  Kestrel late harvest chardonnay and Salish Sea Brewing Big Love Porter Pike Chocofest 2014 Pike Chocofest 2014, Airways Maylani's Coconut Stout Pike Chocofest 2014 Boka and chocolate covered potato chips Steelhead Diner's Signature Chocolate Pecan Pie Tartletts with Bourbon Chantilly and Cocoa Nibs Pike Chocofest 2014 a taste of the chocolate with Copper leaf and the chocolate brioche w mousse and cherry

Meanwhile, Honest Biscuits generously sampled 3 mini-biscuits- Beecher’s Flagship Cheese biscuits, some sort of gluten free one that my eyes glazed over past when I saw they also had Theo Chocolate and bacon biscuits. I am not ashamed to tell you I went to that table more than once and was wrapping some of those biscuits to eat the next day.
Pike Chocofest 2014, Honest Biscuits Pike Chocofest 2014, Honest Biscuits, Beecher's Flagship Cheese biscuits Pike Chocofest 2014, Honest Biscuits, Theo Chocolate and bacon biscuits

One of my favorite combinations was chocolate sprinkled on cheese, specifically Mt Townsend Creamery‘s cheeses sprinkled with grated Theo Chocolates). Combinations of cheese and chocolate included here Seastack with Theo’s 70% Ginger, Red Alder with Theo’s Coconut Curry, and New Moon with 75% Milk Chocolate!
Pike Chocofest 2014 Theo Chocolate and Mt Townsend cheese "Pike

Another great combination was the Chocolate Covered Raspberry beer cocktail, which combines Lindemans Lambic Framboise, a raspberry ale, with Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout, courtesy of importer Merchant Du Vin.
Pike Chocofest 2014, A great combination was the Chocolate Raspberry beer cocktail, which combines Lindemans Lambic Framboise, a raspberry ale, with Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout

Thankfully, there were also some other items to give you a break from all the chocolate. For instance, I really liked the Kestrel Late Harvest Chardonnay, which is a sweet dessert wine that is a steal at $18 a bottle. Pike Brewing also had a line for their BBQ Ribs meat vehicle for the Kilt Lifter BBQ sauce, accompanied by a Kimchee Cole Slaw (the Pike Kilt Lifter is their Scotch Ale), and offered some pretzel bread bites at one of their beer stations along with their Tinkertown Tart and Pike Octopus Ink beers.

The Trace Restaurant Kalua Pork Sliders were popular, as were the Metropolitan Market presented Ploughman’s Platter with Irish Cashel Blue topped wtih bacon and drizzed with honey, Colliers Welsh Cheddar, Olympia Provisions’ Salami (creminielli, wild boar) and Cornichon and Onion Mix. Maybe I went back for two helpings of that Cashel Blue mixture.
Pike Chocofest 2014 a vehicle for Pike Kilt Lifter Bbq sauce Pike Chocofest 2014- some of the offerings of pretzels and beer from Pike. I Like Pike Pike Chocofest 2014, Kalua Pork Sliders were popular Pike Chocofest 2014, Metropolitan Market presented a Ploughman's Platter with Irish Cashel Blue topped wtih bacon and drizzed with honey, Colliers Welsh Cheddar, Olympia Provisions' Salami (creminielli, wild boar) and Cornichon and Onion Mix.

Seastar brought Porcini Mushroom Soup with Truffle Crème, and it being Seattle, of course there were some seafood highlights, thanks to Taylor Shellfish patiently shucking Shigoku and Kumamoto Oysters all evening.
"Seastar Pike Chocofest 2014, thanks to Taylor Shellfish patiently shucking Shigoku and Kumamoto Oysters all evening

We both really enjoyed the vendor of Finn River Cidery as well, with their brandy dessert fruit wines including a tart Black Currant and they also offered a spicy Habanero Cider with balanced sweet with a bit of fiery burn. Finn River was one of the 5 Ciders/Mead vendors that participated. There were multiple samplings of Spirits along with the available beverages of Beer (13 vendors) and Wine (9 vendors)- but with 18 Spirit and Distillery Vendors there was no way I could visit them all! I couldn’t possibly highlight all the fabulous vendors.
Finn River Cidery booth at Pike Chocofest 2014 <a href=

It finally was 9pm, and we took an evening stroll back to Edgewater, with its roaring outdoor fireplace greeting us and then turned on the fireplace in our room to snuggle up. So far, we had been in Seattle for about 7 hours. We had no more tummy room, but stopped to check out the cool Six Seven hotel restaurant. We oohed and ahhed over their menu, which uses backlighting to help you read the menu, so smart!
Edgewater hotel, Seattle, at night with its big roaring fireplace outside its entrance Edgewater hotel, Seattle, the cool Six Seven hotel restaurant. We oohed and ahhed over their menu, which uses backlighting to help you read the menu, so smart!

Museum Monday – Pacific Science Center for Modernist Cuisine and Butterflies

The next day, we ordered room service breakfast before packing up and walking a little over half a mile to Pacific Science Center to check out the Modernist Cuisine exhibit before it started to travel starting February 17. The exhibit includes about 100 photos selected from the Modernist Cuisine body of work, some that were not even published in their various Modernist Cuisine books previously. Along with this exhibit, putting together this collection also resulted in a new Modernist Cuisine tome, The Photography of Modernist Cuisine. Note this is a food photography book, not a recipe book like their others. But, I personally think viewing it in the exhibit, with its large print, is the best way to admire the outcome of their work. If you want to learn more about how, you will want the book.

The photography exhibit definitely showcase a merge of Food, Art, and Science together.  It was fascinating being able to see so much exquisite detail in the larger than life formats- many of the prints you see were my size! They had to do a lot of engineering and inventions in order to create these photos.

My favorite photos were of the cross-sections like the work with the noodles and shrimp, as well as the levitating sandwiches, such as the Mushroom Swiss Burger you see next to the Mac and Cheese. My photos don’t nearly do it justice- I just am sharing a hint of how beautiful some of the work really is, if you haven’t heard of the Modernist Cuisine books or the Cooking Lab in Bellevue before.

Museum Selfie, checking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center Checking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center: Variations on Pesto, and Infused Butters, both by Chris Hoover 2011 Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center: Mac and Cheese by Chris Hoover 2011 and Levitating Hamburger by Ryan Matthew Smith 2009Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center: Wok Stir Fry by Ryan Matthew Smith 2008 Checking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center Checking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science CenterChecking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center Checking out the Modernist Cuisine Exhibit at Pacific Science Center: A Panorama of Steak by Nathan Myhrvoid 2011

Museum Selfie by duh, me; Variations on Pesto, and Infused Butters, both by Chris Hoover 2011; Mac and Cheese by Chris Hoover 2011 and Levitating Hamburger by Ryan Matthew Smith 2009; Wok Stir Fry by Ryan Matthew Smith 2008; A few photos of behind the scenes setup behind some of the cross-section photos in Modernist Cuisine; A Panorama of Steak by Nathan Myhrvoid 2011, all © Modernist Cuisine LLC. Modernist Cuisine exhibit.

They haven’t announced what and when all the cities are the exhibit is traveling to as of this date, so I wanted to check it out in case it did not come to Portland and who knows how long before/if it returned to the Northwest.  According to their Modernist Cuisine exhibit website they will be announcing those stops soon. The exhibit was only in Seattle for four months, and these four months were its premiere before starting it’s 3 year journey around the world. If it comes into your area, I recommend taking a look, and then picking a nice place for dinner afterwards! Here’s a bit more from the TED talk by Nathan Myhrvold: Cut your food in half

After this exhibit, we stopped by the Butterfly House, where it’s 80 degrees F, to warm up a bit before we walked by the Seattle Space Needle and downtown to Yardhouse for lunch (after that photo of the wok and noodles, I was really craving garlic noodles!). We had just a smidgen of time to even make a stop at a branch of F’s company office to say hello. Then, we caught the 2pm Bolt Bus back to Portland, arriving in Portland around 5pm, and walked home to rest for our work week.

And that’s how we spent a little less than 24 hours in Seattle!

Warm up with the butterflies at Pacific Science Center it's 80F in here Warm up with the butterflies at Pacific Science Center it's 80F in here Warm up with the butterflies at Pacific Science Center it's 80F in here Seattle Space Needle

If you haven’t been before, I highly recommend visiting the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum here- I covered this is a previous post. It is my favorite of the offerings at Seattle Center, even higher on my must do list than going up to the Space Needle! Portland Monthly has their own picks for 12 hours of eating in Seattle (and I have never been to Mamnoon), but my recommendations include (I have a big spreadsheet wishlist, as I often do when I travel, but here’s the highlights I have confidence in)

  • Breakfast: Serious Biscuit, Lola, Portage Bay Cafe, Skillet Diner, Toulouse Petit
  • Lunch: Revel, Serious Pie, progressive eating by Pike Place Market, Salami Cured Meats, Paseo
  • Drinks: Bathtub Gin, Bravehorse Tavern, Tavern Law, Quinn’s Pub, Rob Roy
  • Dinner: The Whale Wins, Spinasse, Shiro’s, Sitka and Spruce
  • Things to Do: Pike Place Market Wandering (or take a food tour), Chihuly Garden and Glass (if you can come late so you can see it in daytime and also when it is lit up at night), Olympic Sculpture Park, Seward Park for great view of Mt Rainier if clear, Kerry Park for a view of the Seattle skyline, Theo Chocolate tour

I’ve visited Seattle several times, so feel free to also browse other recaps I’ve done to see other deliciousness and activities I’ve enjoyed!

Photo of me between two Modernist Cuisine exhibit photos at Pacific Science Center: Mac and Cheese by Chris Hoover 2011 and Levitating Hamburger by Ryan Matthew Smith 2009
Proof I was there- a rare photo that I am actually in!

Have you ever done a quickie Seattle getaway? Do you plan to- and where would you go? Can I recommend two upcoming events – this coming weekend is the Seattle Wine and Food Experience, and at the end of March is the Taste Washington at CenturyLink Field Event Center on March 29 and 30- both big food festivals!

Signature

A February Seattle Getaway Plan

I’m planning a February Seattle Getaway, and wanted to highlight some of things I’m planning in case you too, want to do a Seattle mini-vacation soon.

Last year, I attended the Chocofest in Seattle at Pike Brewing Company, as I recapped in this previous post. Here are a few sample images from what I experienced last year:

Macrina Bakery's brioche cocoa puff

This year, I’m returning again to attend Chocofest 2014. This will be their sixth event, this year held on February 9 from 6-9pm. All proceeds benefit Puget Soundkeeper, a local non-profit dedicated to keeping Puget Sound clean. As last year, the event includes samplings of wine, spirits, cider, mead, chocolate, and other food samples. Last year, there were 70 vendors- and this year they are targeting 80. The entire Pike Pub- from restaurant to brewery, all 3 floors- will be dedicated for this event. The $45 includes entrance, all the food, and ten scrip tickets which are used for the alcohol, as well as an adorable little baby snifter glass. 10 tickets doesn’t sound like much- but F and I were having a hard time finishing off those tickets and if you’ve read this blog, you are familiar with how experienced we are with beer festivals so that’s saying something.

Getting to Seattle is easy- for instance, consider the Bolt Bus. This bus goes direct from Portland downtown to Seattle’s downtown, and was less than $20 each way. The bus features wireless and a power outlet so I can keep updated on my various RSS feeds after I wake up from my nap. Another option is to of course drive, or ride the Amtrak. You may even see the special Portland Amtrak Cascades “Portland Express” dining car, covered in Portland art outside and inside featuring Portland furniture, food and drinks! If you book 2 weeks in advance- which is still possible to make this Chocofest- you also get 25% off). Check out this Portland Monthly slideshow giving you a peek of the Portland goodness inside the train car.

I’m leaving in the morning, and during the daytime before the Chocofest I am planning to visit the Pacific Science Center.

Until February 17, the Pacific Science Center is hosting an exhibit called the Photography of Modernist Cuisine. This exhibit includes more than 100 images over the past 7 years, some at more than 6 feet long, that explore the world of the science and art of food via photography. It’s a mix of art and technique via the photography, food love, and the story of the science behind food. Images include the fractal structures and color gradations of vitamin C crystal, the physics that propels and explodes a bursting kernel of popcorn, or a cross-section photo of what it looks like when boiling vegetables.

Here’s a peek of what Modernist Cuisine is via video- you can get more information at the website Modernist Cuisine.

If this sounds like a Foodie February Seattle Getaway… you are RIGHT!

How much does planning food factor into your vacation planning?

Note: I’ve already seen the Chihuly Garden and Glass, but if you haven’t, I recommend that you include it as part of a Seattle mini vacation: I had a whole post dedicated to it here. I’ve visited Seattle several times, so feel free to also browse other recaps I’ve done to see other deliciousness and activities I’ve enjoyed!

Signature

Review of Pike’s Chocofest 2013

Pike Brewing, located in Seattle naturally not far away from Pike Place market, hosted their 5th annual Chocofest on Sunday Feb 10 from 5-8 pm. They closed down the brewery for the ticket holders (this year targeting 400 guests, and I believe they did sell out) and so that the 69 participating vendors could spread out to offer their samples ranging from wine, spirit, cider, mead, chocolate, baked goods, and food pairings that you can pair with chocolate and/or incorporated chocolate.

Pike Chocofest proceeds every year benefits a chairty, and for 2013 this was the Puget Sound Keepers Alliance, a grassroots citizens organization whose goal is to protect the waters of Puget Sound.

Very helpfully, the event included a map and booklet with a listing of the vendors, their locations, and a sampling of what they would be offering. How organized and thoughtful! On the Pike Brewing Facebook and also their Events page online, a QR code let us preview via PDF on our phones what we might choose to spend our 15 scrips (used for alcohol, and poured into our little snifters that we could take home) on. All the food samples were complimentary.

I know I and many other people, despite all the plentiful choices, had a hard time spending all our beverage scrips. Thankfully, everyone attending seemed focused on discovering new vendors and trying new things, not on maximizing food and drink intake. Still, it was an embarrassment of riches with the generosity of the vendors who participated. I warn you now that balancing my purse, drink, food, and camera along with the people was not an easy feat, and then I was also grabbing example menus an brochures and business cards too, though thankfully everyone is listed in the booklet- I only need the photos, even if a bit blurry, to jog my memory a little more.

Beverage-wise, on my list that F and I tried included

  • Lazy Boy Brewing’s Belgian Nutella hazelnut oatmeal stout (better than liquid nutella in its sweet but not overly sweet nuttiness) and orange chocolate hefeweizen that had a strong orange nose but balanced its citrus tone with a bit of bitter orange peel zest. That nutella beer was the best beer in my opinion of the evening.
  • Silver City Brewery’s Strange Love, a rye barrel aged Imperial Mocha Porter was F’s choice of best beer of Chocofest.
  • Samuel Smiths Organic Chocolate Stout was rich and delicious and also got a second visit. They had both this chocolate stout and Lindemans Framboise and missed an opportunity to offer pourings that had both in it though for a chocolate strawberry delight!
  • Triple Horn Brewing’s Oi-Du-Vin Saison is a beer that is blended with a late harvest Roussanne wine and aged with Hungarian oak
  • Airway Brewing’s Airways Chocolate Stout was another chocolate stout that made me wish I had a scoop of vanilla ice cream
  • Naked City’s Mint Chocolate Porter was the best chocolate mint beer of the night. Meanwhile their “Charlie’s Golden Ticket” chocolate golden ale was light tasting, offering a subtle addition of flavor that is barely perceptible
  • American Brewing’s “Peppermint Paddy” Chocolate mint stout was the second best mint chocolate beer in my opinion
  • Pike Brewing Company’s Pike Elixer of Love- Choco Cherry Stout and Pike Brewing Company’s Pike EmbarassMINT of Richness – Chocomint Porter were disappointments in terms of flavor for me because they weren’t as pronounced. However, we did like that they had a special Octopus Ink Black IPA in honor of Puget Sound
  • FinnRiver Cidery’s Spirited Apple Wine was dangerous, tasting light with a bit of apple spice but kicking in at 18.5%
  • Woodinville Whiskey’s Mash Bill No 9 and 100% Rye Whiskey were smooth, though F and I agreed we liked the Rye better
  • Sky River Meadery’s Solas Wa Honeywine aged in Dry Fly distilling whiskey barrels, and a Blackberry Honeywine were sweet and of the two the tartness from the fruit of the blackberry edged it over the honeywine
  • 5 o’clock Distillery’s Pear Brandy and Cherry Brandy  (also they offered Rhubarb Liqueur, Moonshine Whiskey, and Northwest Dry Gin) were the last tastes we had before it was time to return to our hotel to rest and digest.

Tastes included

  • Seastar’s Porcini mushroom soup with black truffle cream was delicious and you could imagine it was like in the cartoons, when an aroma has the shape of smoke with a hand and finger that beckoned to me as soon as I entered the Museum room
  • Taylor Shellfish was shucking to a line of people until the end its Shigoku and Kumamoto oysters
  • Honest Biscuit’s mini-cheese biscuit made with Beechers scheese was buttery flakey and still moist
  • Trace (restaurant from the W hotel) tasting of duck confit with Kurtwood Farms camembert on semolina crackers
     
  • Mt Townsend had a beautiful display with their Red Alder cheese dusted with chocolate, and they also had their Seastack on Raincoast Crisp crackers with Theo’s spicy chili chocolate
    Mt Townsend cheese display at Pike Chocofest 2013 Mt Townsend cheese display at Pike Chocofest 2013 Mt Townsend cheese display at Pike Chocofest 2013
  • Pike Kilt Lifter Baby Back ribs with Kilt Lifter BBQ sauce was messy but thankfully since the meat was falling off the bone, guests were saved from having to gnaw to get all that delicious sauce and tender meat
    Pike Kilt Lifter Baby Back Ribs
  • RN74’s crunchy chocolate profiteroles with homemade rocky road ice cream was refreshing coolness as the people packed in close in the narrow aisles between the two sides of the Upper Museum
    RN74's crunchy chocolate profiteroles with homemade rocky road ice cream
  • Gelatiamo gave big two scoop cups of Pike/Gelatiamo beer gelato using 5x stout chocolate along with a tart Raspberry Nelly sorbetto, another great way to cleanse the palate after so much richness at many of the other tables
    Gelatiamo sorbetto cup at Pike Chocofest
  • Confectional’s Salted Caramel Uber Dips, a miniature salted caramel cheesecake dipped in deep chocolate on a salted crust
    Confectional's Salted Caramel Uber Dips
  • I loved watching the Pane e Olio Focaccia booth as he made it rain cheese on his cut tasting portions of Focaccia Basilico and Focaccia Dolce
    Pane e Olio Focaccia
  • Surprise Savory from Boka were gougeres in the flavors of blue cheese, cheddar, or gruyere- and you didn’t have to choose, you could collect them all! Maybe I even put a few in my purse and had them the next morning…
  • Steelhead Diner’s seafood mole was messy but a burst of palate cleansing flavor when we finally arrived to the 1st floor, though I give points for them using egg cartons to help prop them up for service
    Steelhead Diner's seafood mole
  • Macrina Bakery’s brioche cocoa puff with a ganache chocolate center within a sweet brioche was a generous portion size, and she had a lovely display set up as well
    Macrina Bakery's brioche cocoa puffMacrina Bakery's display at Pike Chocofest 2013
  • Art (restaurant from the Four Seasons Seattle) offered northwest salmon profiterole, and made these strange little profiterole trees as part of their display…
    northwest salmon profiterole northwest salmon profiterole
  • Similarly, I’m not sure why Beecher’s, who was offering their Flagship and Marco Polo Reserve, had a turtle of cheese, but it did look earnest
    Beecher's Cheese display with Flagship and Marco Polo
  • I was sad that I was too full to have room for Lauren Kohn’s offerings- next time! Her table looked delectable.

There was more available than I listed, these were just my top memories of the evening. Even with the supposed huge crowd that was present, I never had more than a few people in front of me waiting for a taste (well, except for the oysters, but that was understandable) and only the Museum Room of all the spaces that were used got elbow to elbow crowded and a bit warm. It seemed very well organized, and the fact that the event was 3 hours at first seemed short given how many people were attending and the number of vendors, but actually turned out just right, again because you never really had to wait long. There were areas of water pitchers and cups to keep hydrated, and plenty of little buckets by every table to throw away toothpicks or sample plates or napkins as needed, again showing how organized and thoughtful this event was.

Thank you to everyone who participated, it was a worthwhile little getaway to Seattle for an evening to experience this, and I enjoyed becoming acquainted with more incredible producers of deliciousness just over the state border. It had it all- no discrimination in alcohol at all so you could love coffee, distilleries, breweries, wineries, you could love all sorts of sweets and savories. And, I am in love with my new little snifters!


Pike Chocofest 2013 vendors Pike Chocofest 2013 vendors Pike Chocofest 2013 vendors

Signature