59 degrees, overcast skies, persistent drizzle.
I stepped off the plane from the Dominican Republic on June
1, 2011 completely unprepared. First order of business upon arrival was a trip
to Old Navy to supplement my tropical wardrobe with attire more suitable for a “summer”
in Seattle: long-sleeved shirts, a hoodie, and an extra pack of undershirts for
good measure.
Seattle is not just a city. It’s a way of life. A life in
which climate plays a leading role, especially when it comes to the city’s food
and drink culture. Seattle residents put a premium on fresh, locally produced
meats and produce, as demonstrated by restaurant menus and the innumerable
farmers markets throughout the city. Local
farms fueled by the temperate climate and predictable rains in the region dramatically
reduce the number of miles from crop to table, which is at the heart of the
food culture there. However those cool
temperatures and only periodic sunshine also help make Seattle one of the most caffeinated
cities in the world. While the European-style espresso bars offering small shots
of strong black liquid certainly exist, in the birthplace of Starbucks,
residents seek large cups and free refills to help them get through the day. It
is not uncommon for multiple cafés to compete for business on the same block.
Surveying residents to determine the best cup of joe is a fool’s errand. With
so many possibilities, everyone has their favorite.
Seattle’s other addiction, not counting medical marijuana of
course, is craft beer. While Washington
State has built a robust export market for its stellar red wines, the local
brewmaster is clearly the hometown favorite. The average grocery store has a better selection
of local beers than most places on the East Coast offer of beers of any type. A house party is almost as likely to serve
bottles of homebrew as the professional variety. Tastings, food pairings and street festivals
throughout the year all pay homage to the sudsy stuff.
Beer makes sense in a place like Seattle. Wine and liquor
are of course popular, but beer speaks to the anti-establishment sensibilities
at the core of the city. Wine is too bourgeois, liquor too flashy. A pint of
beer sits comfortably in the hand of a happy hour reveler dressed in layers of
wrinkled shirts and tattered jeans, who just happens to be a Senior Manager at
Microsoft. But not just any beer. This
is Seattle, not Pittsburgh. A can of PBR just won’t do. It needs to be brewed onsite
from locally farmed ingredients and water fresh from the Cascade Mountains.
Anything short of that is simply unacceptable.
