Mmmm, mmmm Seattle

Can you ever go home?  A rather timeless question and I think highly personal.  No, Seattle is not my native home but I know that through my extensive travels it is the one urban place I could and I do call home.  Coming back to the pacific northwest after seven years is not without trials and tribulations.  For sure Seattle and the surrounding county has grown in population.

The traffic is more of a drag, especially when you factor in that there is a lot of water and that means bridges and that in turn means bottlenecks.  There is more honking and "Californicated" driving.  Apololgizes to anyone from Cali but this is just ones man's opinion so please don't lose sleep.  But, on the upside, Seattle has become more cosmopolitan and sophisticated, which is a nice change from sleepy New Hampshire.  Again, apologizes to my NH friends, but again this is one guys opinion and it's my blog.  You can always write your own.

The food scene here has really matured.  Where I live in Ballard, I am not for wanting almost any type of food.  It's all here.  Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Greek, Italian, English pub fare, Cuban, Mexican.  Plus, it has great homegrown pacific northwest fare that is heavy on fresh seafood infused with local produce, herbs and fruits.  It is simply, a gastronomic circus compared to what it was when I attended grad school here from 2000-2002.  By New York, LA or Chicago standards it probably takes a backstage but for those who have seen the transition first hand I think it represents a big step forward.

To me though, the best thing about living here is the fresh seafood and the late summer and fall means salmon!  If you have never had fresh, wild caught Pacific Salmon you really owe it to yourself to book a plane ticket, fly out here in September and poke around until you can find a fisherman selling a fresh catch right off the dock.  Then, take that somewhere where you can make a nice charcoal fire and cook that fish up just how you like it.  Maybe that means lemon, pepper and butter liberally tossed over that fish and wrapped in tinfoil or perhaps slathered in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes and grilled right over that open flame.

The season is short for this bounty of freshness and so it is best to binge on it like a wino given a shopping spree in a liquor store.  intoxicate yourself on this stuff until your time here runs out and the they drag you kicking and screaming back to that airplane bound for home.  But fear not, for there will always be a next season.

As for me, I was out for a run when I saw that sign that simply said, "Coho, dock A" done up in duck tape on a piece of poster board and attached to a post.  It was all I needed.  I headed back later where I found "Coho Willy" sitting by a vast blue tub with a smattering of ice and a dozen freshly netted coho salmon laying inside.  He hauled out a 6lb bright buck that tucked neatly into my cooler and was soon on our cutting board to be filleted.

 I set aside a few pieces for the grill and then put the rest into baggies for the freezer.  Coated with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a mix asian spices the fish went skin side down right onto the grill.  Once cooked, the fish just lifts off the skin and is a beautiful deep pink color.   Paired with grilled sweet potatoes, fresh green beans tossed with garlic and fresh crusty bread it is one of the best meals of my summer.