Visiting the Famous Pike Place Market in Seattle

December 5, 2016

Visiting the Famous Pike Place Market in Seattle

A visit to Seattle, Washington is just not complete without a stop at the famous Pike Place Market.

During a recent business trip to the west coast, I dropped by the century-old market to do a little shopping. Pike Place Market is one of the oldest continuously operated year-round public farmers' markets in the United States. It overlooks the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle and attracts more than 10-million visitors annually. Pike Place Market houses local farm stands, owner-operated bakeries, fish markets, butcher shops, specialty food stores and so much more. If you haven't already stopped by this bustling marketplace, I encourage you to do so the next time you're in Seattle's historic district - you won't be disappointed. If you have visited Pike Place Market, tell me what you liked best in the comments below.

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Pike Place Market was established in 1907 and contains dozens of farm stalls, more than 200 unique owner-operated shops and more than 80 restaurants.

: One of the main attractions is the fish market, where you can find lots of delicious fresh seafood, including these giant Dungeness crabs – some weighing as much as four-pounds each.

: And these fancy cooked Alaskan King crab legs

: These jumbo lobster tails weigh nearly two pounds each! The fish market attracts up to 10-thousand visitors every day.

: It is where mongers are known for throwing the fish. When a customer orders a fish, it is tossed from one monger to another at the ice-covered fish table where it is prepped.

: Seafood can also be shipped overnight anywhere in the United States.

: Here is wild Alaskan halibut – light and lean, with a wonderfully fresh flavor and delicate texture. Halibut are among the largest fish in the sea and the largest of all the flatfish.

: And there is such a variety of seafood – look at all the different oysters!

: Some of the freshest you’ll find.

: At Pike Place Market, Washington farmers sell their locally grown produce and specialty farm products to shoppers seven days a week, 363 days a year – closed only on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Here is just one of the many fruits and vegetables stands.

: Do you know what this is? It’s Romanesco broccoli, also known as Roman cauliflower, Broccolo Romanesco, Romanesque cauliflower or simply Romanesco, an edible flower bud of the species Brassica oleracea. It resembles a cauliflower, but is chartreuse in color and rich in vitamin-C, vitamin-K, dietary fiber, and carotenoids.

: At this stall, the vendor took photos of me, as I took photos of the wonderfully fresh pears and artichokes.

: There were also lots of apples at Pike Place Market. We did not have a good apple season on the east coast this year – mostly because of one killing frost weekend, and the summer’s drought.

: Here is a wide selection of mushrooms. The hedgehog mushroom has orange, yellow or tan-colored caps up to nearly seven inches wide, with a sweet, nutty taste and a crunchy texture.

: The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill, and consists of several lower levels located below the main level – each featuring unique shops such as antique dealers, comic book and collectible shops, and small family-owned restaurants. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls.

: There is something for everyone here at Pike Place Market.

: We stopped by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese shop at Pike Place Market. Beecher’s also has stores in New York City and in Wisconsin.

: At Beecher’s, the cheese is made in full view – from culturing the milk to cutting curds in enormous vats, the entire process of turning fresh milk into finished cheese is seen through large windows.

: And, did you catch this on my Instagram feed @MarthaStewart48? This is Joshua. For some reason he tattooed a rather large image of me on his side!