Seattle or Paris: Where Will I Eat Better?

[Pool Boy]

There is a smidgen of hope for a short vacation this year - after so many home repairs leaving our travel budget barren.

Help me Obi Wan.

[DonRocks]

There is a smidgen of hope for a short vacation this year - after so many home repairs leaving our travel budget barren.

Help me Obi Wan.

It is absolutely not possible to answer this question as framed - you've *got* to give some more detail. I've been to both places multiple times, and can tell you that you won't be disappointed with either one. For Palena-like experiences (knowing that you're a fan of Palena), go to Seattle.

[porcupine]

I'm in Seattle right now, and I must say there is some mighty fine food here.  (Last night, toasted sourdough bread with morels and a runny egg at Sitka and Spruce.)  A few hours ago, xiao long bao second in quality only to ones I've had near Vancouver, B.C.  I can't compare Seattle to Paris, but you can dine very well here.

[astrid]

No Paris experience, but I had some fantastic meals in Seattle/Portland last year.  Also want to put in a good word for Willows Inn on Lummi Island, which just won the James Beard Award for best chef Northwest.

If you're paying with money rather than with miles, the current price difference between flying to the West Coast v. flying to Europe will be considerable.  That's why we ditched our plans for Spain this year and opted for Atlantic Canada instead.

[DonRocks]

I'm in Seattle right now, and I must say there is some mighty fine food here.  (Last night, toasted sourdough bread with morels and a runny egg at Sitka and Spruce.)  A few hours ago, xiao long bao second in quality only to ones I've had near Vancouver, B.C.  I can't compare Seattle to Paris, but you can dine very well here.

The background picture on my Twitter account was taken two years ago at Sitka and Spruce, and was one of the finest dishes I had in all of 2013, anywhere, at any price (the wild Alaskan salmon was swimming that week, and the local huckleberries had just been picked). Food does not get any better than this.

[Pool Boy]

It is absolutely not possible to answer this question as framed - you've *got* to give some more detail. I've been to both places multiple times, and can tell you that you won't be disappointed with either one. For Palena-like experiences (knowing that you're a fan of Palena), go to Seattle. 

OK OK already!

So.....competing interests in trying to sort out where to go.

Some background - after a jam packed 2013 (New Orleans, LA/San Diego, a couple of NYC jaunts and a long weekend on the coast north of San Francisco), our travels came to a grinding halt. We have faced two major home projects that simply could not wait to be addressed, at all. One was last year, but we did manage several days in Ogunquit, Maine. The other project is about 85% done and is this year. We're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and trying to squeeze out SOME kind of getaway this year.  It will probably be our only foray this year. Fortunately, this year's project is turning out to come in a bit under budget, which never, ever happens. So we must chart our course.

So, outside of food, dining and drinking, which are the main reasons we travel (only half joking), we travel for art, the arts, history, architecture, nature, where sea meets rock, where you get lost in the adventures of a new city (or mountain, or trail, or lake, or), where you revel at the thing you just discovered, where you hear a dozen languages and that makes you smile, where you hear the flap of the strong wings of a bird reaching for a bit of wind, where you climb at an awkward angle of a double dome structure and catch a slivered glimpse  of light in the form of a window and it gives you pause, where you find a mountain lion's paw trail and see where he stopped for a drink at a beach where river dumps into ocean.......all of that and more.

So you can see the conundrum.

What to do what to do what to do.

Bearing in mind my desire (and to a lesser extent, my wife's) to go to new places to us, and preferably in countries we have yet to travel. I think when I get older, my ability to manage and handle international travel will diminish, so it is best to do as much of that as possible now. And honestly, choosing between these two places is not a matter of either or or, but rather which one do we go to first? First world problems for sure.

So pros and cons?

Paris is the City of Light. It's romantic. It's old compared to cities in the US. Steeped in history, art, architecture, food and wine. Museums to explore. Notable things of history and architecture to see (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc). Another city with great mass transit. It's a country I have never been to (not counting changing planes). The food will be amazing. The wine will be amazing. We are cemetery hounds and the likes of those in Paris makes me giddy. But I have not even really researched anything yet. Add to this that the euro is at 1.11 at the moment and hopefully will go no higher than 1.20 by the end of the year. Add to this the wrinkle that is Icelandic Air, and the chance to catch a few days on the way back from Paris to do the volcanic lagoon near Reykyavik (another country!) for the sheer oddity and relaxation of it and this Paris idea is pretty great.

Seattle. What's not to love - food, books, coffee, beer, food, Olympic National Park, ferries, islands, seafood, hiking, and more.It would at least partially complete our travels of the west coast (been from San Diego all the way up to Eureka in California, and California in general many times, Much or Oregon including Portland, and Vancouver in Canada (oh my Vancouver!)) - so compelling on that front! Lots of food things to do and explore. Bookstores to get lost in. Ferries to take. Hiking to do, and trails to get lost from humanity on. The coast and sea and rock places to find. And I have no idea what I am talking about since I have never been there! Plus, we can get ridiculous airfare there.

On balance, they are close in price when you look just at hotel, airfare and car/gas (Paris would be no car, Seattle would mean car (for some of the time to get out of Seattle proper - too bad Silver Car does not operate there yet!)) we are only a few hundred bucks apart. Paris/Iceland for 7/2 days versus Seattle for 10 days.

So what the hell will tilt this to a decision?! Aaaaaaaaaaaa!

<edit - research of course, of which this thread and post are a part of!> Does this help?

TIA!

[Pool Boy]

Anyone been to Altura in Seattle by the way?

[Pool Boy]

No Paris experience, but I had some fantastic meals in Seattle/Portland last year.  Also want to put in a good word for Willows Inn on Lummi Island, which just won the James Beard Award for best chef Northwest.

If you're paying with money rather than with miles, the current price difference between flying to the West Coast v. flying to Europe will be considerable.  That's why we ditched our plans for Spain this year and opted for Atlantic Canada instead.

Thanks - going to Europe is indeed expensive. Airfare for just one of us to Paris is more than both of us to Seattle.  Interestingly, we also considered Atlantic Canadian destinations. It's cheaper to fly to Seattle than points north of Maine (if you look a bit that is).

[hillvalley]

Paris is magic. If you have never been you need to go.  With to dollar so low Europe is essentially on sale right now.  Seattle will always be there and will never be on sale the way Paris is right now.

It is possible to go to Paris and eat to your hearts content on a budget.  Use Air bnb to find an apartment so you have access to a kitchen. With a bit of research ahead of time (Patricia Well's Food Lover's Guide to Paris app is incredibly useful) you can find breathtaking but still affordable meals.  Lunch at cafes with prix fix menus will have you around $25 without wine.  Memorable dinners can be had for $50 a person.  At least one meal should be a picnic in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower of baguette, cheese, charcuterie, and a bottle of wine, all picked up on Rue Cler a few blocks away; if you go in the fall replace the charcuterie with a dozen oysters.

I've never been to Seattle and it is at the top of my list of places to go in the US but Paris is Paris for a reason.  Paris will change you, refuel you, invigorate you in ways you can't understand until you have been there.

[Waitman]

Paris is magic. If you have never been you need to go.  With to dollar so low Europe is essentially on sale right now.  Seattle will always be there and will never be on sale the way Paris is right now.

It is possible to go to Paris and eat to your hearts content on a budget.  Use Air bnb to find an apartment so you have access to a kitchen. With a bit of research ahead of time (Patricia Well's Food Lover's Guide to Paris app is incredibly useful) you can find breathtaking but still affordable meals.  Lunch at cafes with prix fix menus will have you around $25 without wine.  Memorable dinners can be had for $50 a person.  At least one meal should be a picnic in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower of baguette, cheese, charcuterie, and a bottle of wine, all picked up on Rue Cler a few blocks away; if you go in the fall replace the charcuterie with a dozen oysters.

I've never been to Seattle and it is at the top of my list of places to go in the US but Paris is Paris for a reason.  Paris will change you, refuel you, invigorate you in ways you can't understand until you have been there.

This. Done that exact picnic (realizing a lifelong ambition to eat oeuffs en gelee), though at a time when we stumbled across Rue Cler by happy accident (the Eiffel Tower is easy to find, even for me) and Pat Wells was a paperback. Also the quays make excellent picnic spots as well.

[Waitman]

Go to Paris.

If, for no other reason than that it appears that the stars and the finance gods have come together to give you options. Seattle can be done almost on a whim -- no jet lag, no customs , no passport renewals, minimal psychic capital, easy to keep in touch with the office and you can tread water until the airfares drop and strike. Paris is logistically and psychologically a bigger deal. And there a statistically significant chance that -- if you don't go this year -- something will "come up" next year, and the year after will be wedding you have to go to and the next year, there's a new job and you can't take time off....

Go to Paris.

[DonRocks]

This. Done that exact picnic (realizing a lifelong ambition to eat oeuffs en gelee), though at a time when we stumbled across Rue Cler by happy accident (the Eiffel Tower is easy to find, even for me) and Pat Wells was a paperback. Also the quays make excellent picnic spots as well.

Are you talking about the morning market on Rue Cler? Imagine staying in a hotel on that tiny little street, and not knowing the market was there until the next morning (yep, happened in 1992).

[Waitman]

Are you talking about the morning market on Rue Cler? Imagine staying in a hotel on that tiny little street, and not knowing the market was there until the next morning (yep, happened in 1992).

When we got there in 2002 (?) it ran pretty much all day -- or at least until the early afternoon -- but yes.  We were staying a block off Rue Cler on Rue Valadon.  (Sadly, a quick review of TripAdvisor suggests that the owner of the Hotel Valadon has moved on.  Victor was the perfect host the three times I stayed with him, but I read enough reviews to know that -- unlike current management -- he would have responded to the (very few) two- and one-star reviews with a very Gallic sneer  and "never stay at my hotel again."

[smithhemb]

Lucky us -- we have close friends in both cities. Which means we've visited both a number of times, but didn't eat out as often as (or where) we would if we were on our own. I second Waitman's stars-have-aligned advice.

While you're near the Eiffel Tower, visit the Quai Branly Museum. And don't forget to eat chocolate.

If you go to Seattle, see if you can find Tay berries at Pike Place Market. Wow, were they good.

[ktmoomau]

Based strictly on food, I would actually say Seattle has better food if you like diversity(a wider range- great pasta, seafood, sushi, etc) I liked the places I ate in Seattle much more than any of the places we ate in Paris.  Paris has great food, but it is also a place that is less diversified in a way, and a little more stuffy.

But if you were paying for me to go to one city versus the other, Paris would win, except for the fact that I have lovely friends in Seattle I want to visit. I really truly love both places, so I understand your dilemma.  Have you been to Paris before?  If not go to Paris, go to Seattle another time.  If you have been to Paris, then Seattle all the way easy decision.

Seattle- Olympic National Park is just amazing, it's amazing and awesome in many ways, I could spend a week there and just recharge and refresh.  The vibe is chill, the food everywhere is really good.

Paris- Is not chill, but is totally chic.  The museums, sights, markets and shopping are just awesome.

[Choirgirl21]

Having never been to either, Paris seems like the obvious choice to me, which I realize is not helpful in any way. However, I thought this might be:

"A $1000 Day in Paris for $100" by Seth Kugel on nytimes.com

[Pat]

Paris (and I'd echo a lot of what Waitman says).

I've been to both cities but not in a long time.  Further skewing my opinion, I've only been in Paris with limited funds and have had more disposable income while in Seattle, which is the city of these two I've been to most recently.  I've got family in Seattle.

I can't imagine making this decision based only on food.  You can certainly make bad food choices in Paris, but it's Paris.

This seems like an apples and oranges comparison (or a cheddar and brie comparison).

[lekkerwijn]

Having been to both in the past year, my vote is for Paris. Nothing can compete with the pure romance of Paris. The dollar is so strong right now against the Euro that the cost issue is slightly less relevant. Wander, nibble and enjoy the joie de vivre.

[Dr. Delicious]

FWIW, I've just booked a trip to Paris for next year (our first visit), and am appreciating everyone's enthusiasm and suggestions. Please keep posting suggestions (food and sights) here or in the Paris thread. This Eiffel Tower thing sounds like a big deal...hah!

[hillvalley]

Papier+ has magnificent journals. I dare you to walk in and not buy one.  A few blocks away at Studio des Parfums you can create your own perfume.   I saved a crappy day in Paris by working with Sophie to create my scent.  Perfume was never my thing until now and I smell great.  Across the street is Mariage Freres, a tea house that is over 150 years old.  They've become a chain and the tea selection can be overwhelming but I spent an enchanting afternoon here sipping tea and reading.

The garden at Musee Rodin is my favorite, which is saying something in a city full of spectacular gardens.  After walking through the museum enjoy a glass of sancerre in the little restaurant and then relax in the back on one of the wooden loungers.  From there walk a few blocks over to Rue Babylon and check out the public garden that has full vegetable garden in the middle.  Continue on Babylon to Rue du Bac and make a right.  A block or two away is  Le Bon Marche; check out the wall of water, among other delectables.  It is Dean and Deluca on French crack in the best way possible.  Spend 2 euros and bring a cloth bag back to use at home.  Or take a left and check out the little shops and patisseries.

Go to Shakespeare and Company and soak it in.  If you are lucky you will stumble across a young prodigy playing the piano and you can enjoy a free concert while sitting on a seat/bed of the staff.  Check the calendar before you go and sign up to participate in their monthly podcast readings of different plays.

If you go up the Tower, which you should, purchase your ticket ahead of time to cut down on waiting in line.  And pay to go all the way to the top; it's a waste to get that close and not go all the way.  Go near sunset or make sure you get over there at night to see the lights in action.

If you are staying near Marche Raspail, on Sundays, go to the last vendor closest to Metro Babylon and enjoy the best potato cheese gallette you will ever enjoy.  Yeah, that's a lot of hyperbole but it is true.  When I am an old woman I will dream of these gallettes.  Also on Sunday, at Marche Mouffetard, a block or two over from Rue Mouffetard, you'll find a vendor who sells mini salamis.  Buy a few bags full to munch on throughout your time in Paris.  I dream of these salamis and couldn't find them elsewhere in the city or most of Europe for that matter.  Then go over to Rue Mouffetard, which is closed to traffic on Sundays, and wander down.  Somewhere on the right is a bakery that sells eclairs with goat cheese and fig.  You're welcome.

If that doesn't make you want to go then I don't know what will.

[Rieux]

I always like having lunch at the dining room of the Musee d'Orsay (the sit-down, nicer restaurant, not the restaurant behind the clock).  You sit in a beautiful room, and can ask for a table looking out over the rooftops of Paris.  The food is solid (not amazing, not bad, but solidly good), it is not expensive, and it is a really nice way to rest for an hour while out doing museums/sightseeing.  It won't be a culinary revelation, but I always find it really really pleasant.

[Pool Boy]

What a great thread. I have thus far waded through probably 100 links of things to do in Seattle, and none for Paris just yet. I should manage that this weekend. I was already leaning Paris and the recent posts are leaning me even further in that direction. hhmmmmm

[astrid]

Haha, Seattle is lovely but Paris is PARIS.  All the chatter here makes me want to visit there next.

A further inducement, since you're considering stopping over in Reykjavik en route to Paris, is that Iceland has some fantastic restaurants.  My favorite, Seafood Cellar, has closed.  But this place certainly sounds intriguing and the chef has a gorgeous new book out.

[Pool Boy]

Paris is magic. If you have never been you need to go.  With to dollar so low Europe is essentially on sale right now.  Seattle will always be there and will never be on sale the way Paris is right now.

It is possible to go to Paris and eat to your hearts content on a budget.  Use Air bnb to find an apartment so you have access to a kitchen. With a bit of research ahead of time (Patricia Well's Food Lover's Guide to Paris app is incredibly useful) you can find breathtaking but still affordable meals.  Lunch at cafes with prix fix menus will have you around $25 without wine.  Memorable dinners can be had for $50 a person.  At least one meal should be a picnic in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower of baguette, cheese, charcuterie, and a bottle of wine, all picked up on Rue Cler a few blocks away; if you go in the fall replace the charcuterie with a dozen oysters.

I've never been to Seattle and it is at the top of my list of places to go in the US but Paris is Paris for a reason.  Paris will change you, refuel you, invigorate you in ways you can't understand until you have been there.

Question for you - Can you pop a bottle of wine anywhere in Paris, outside? For this great idea of a lunch? I assume so, but it'd be hard to do that here in the USA in such a touristy equivalent spot as near the EIffel Tower.

This. Done that exact picnic (realizing a lifelong ambition to eat oeuffs en gelee), though at a time when we stumbled across Rue Cler by happy accident (the Eiffel Tower is easy to find, even for me) and Pat Wells was a paperback. Also the quays make excellent picnic spots as well.

I had to look this up and now I WANT THEM.

[hillvalley]

Paris is magic. If you have never been you need to go.  With to dollar so low Europe is essentially on sale right now.  Seattle will always be there and will never be on sale the way Paris is right now...

With a bit of research ahead of time (Patricia Well's Food Lover's Guide to Paris app is incredibly useful) you can find breathtaking but still affordable meals.  Lunch at cafes with prix fix menus will have you around $25 without wine.  Memorable dinners can be had for $50 a person.  At least one meal should be a picnic in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower of baguette, cheese, charcuterie, and a bottle of wine, all picked up on Rue Cler a few blocks away; if you go in the fall replace the charcuterie with a dozen oysters...

This. Done that exact picnic (realizing a lifelong ambition to eat oeuffs en gelee), though at a time when we stumbled across Rue Cler by happy accident (the Eiffel Tower is easy to find, even for me) and Pat Wells was a paperback. Also the quays make excellent picnic spots as well.

If you would like to borrow my tree killing copy let me know.

Question for you - Can you pop a bottle of wine anywhere in Paris, outside? For this great idea of a lunch? I assume so, but it'd be hard to do that here in the USA in such a touristy equivalent spot as near the EIffel Tower.

I had to look this up and now I WANT THEM.

I know nothing about French law but I drank out of open bottles in a number of places in Paris.  In Europe alcohol laws are less restrictive in general.  I know it is legal in Spain and Switzerland.

[DonRocks]

If you would like to borrow my tree killing copy let me know.

And you'll have to expend a gallon of gas to get it.

I know nothing about French law but I drank out of open bottles in a number of places in Paris.  In Europe alcohol laws are less restrictive in general.  I know it is legal in Spain and Switzerland.

Keep in mind, however, that France has gotten *very* strict about drinking and driving (.05% as opposed to .08% in the US). Here's what Wikipedia says: "0.05% or 0.02% for bus drivers (€135 fine and 6 demerit points on the driver's license, which can be suspended for 3 years maximum), [11] 0.08% (aggravated, criminal offense, license suspension for 3 years, €4500 fine, and up to 2 years imprisonment)"

The good news is that only an eediot would have a car in Paris.

[hillvalley]

And you'll have to expend a gallon of gas to get it.

Huh?  Joke isn't working.

[Pool Boy]

OK - Paris won!

Now the real planning begins. We have months of activities we could do, but probably only a week to figure it all out. A bit of see the sites, and definitely a bit of embracing letting the day and night take us where it will, even if it means nowhere at all.

Now is when the restaurant recommendations are also desired. Will go look at the thread in the other subforum next.

[ktmoomau]

I don't know if I posted my Google map in the Paris thread, here it is:  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z_Or3KSoERVk.kapJ62lC2Z_Q&usp=sharing

It has a ton of the sights on it, and a lot of restaurants I scoured from here, foodie websites, food magazines, travel shows, etc.  Might come in handy.

For your more future trip to Seattle, it's not quite as detailed, as I have been to Seattle fewer times:  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zqYBNaR01rm8.k4az6Sqv9YDg&usp=sharing

[Pool Boy]

I don't know if I posted my Google map in the Paris thread, here it is:  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z_Or3KSoERVk.kapJ62lC2Z_Q&usp=sharing

It has a ton of the sights on it, and a lot of restaurants I scoured from here, foodie websites, food magazines, travel shows, etc.  Might come in handy.

For your more future trip to Seattle, it's not quite as detailed, as I have been to Seattle fewer times:  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zqYBNaR01rm8.k4az6Sqv9YDg&usp=sharing

Thanks for sharing! We're already building our own map, but you have given us a lot of stuff to look at!

[Pool Boy]

OK, so now it really is real - flight is BOOKED as in Bookem' Danno!