2,000 Calories in Seattle

We toured Seattle to find the best, most nutritious restaurants the city has to offer. Here's a unique guide to good eating and great exercise for hungry travelers.

How we did the math:
This series is meant as a fun guide to experiencing a city through the Cooking Light lens. All calculations are rough estimates and should be seen as a starting point for your own adventure.

Calorie burns were estimated using this calculator.  The approximations are based on how vigorous the activity level is for a 150-pound woman—for example, a stroll around a farmers’ market was calculated at a lower burn than when we tell you to pick up the pace.

We estimated steps at an average of 2,000 steps per mile walked.

All calorie calculations for the meal selections we recommend were rough estimates based on inputting similar dishes and ingredients into this calculator.

 

 

Pike Place Market is all about ambling, ogling, and tasting local produce, dairy, seafood (including the famous salmon toss), and specialty foods. Begin with a breakfast of a ricotta, almond butter, and marmalade crumpet from The Crumpet Shop; then spend a few hours exploring the stalls on six levels.

Rachel’s Ginger Beer  just launched its first soda fountain at Pike Place, featuring seasonal flavors like rhubarb and Asian pear, but the namesake ginger beer is a zingy, lemon-tart brew that steals the show.

Burn: 136 calories
Eat: 533 calories

Matt Dillon's bold style earned him the 2012 Best Chef Northwest award from the James Beard Foundation. At Bar Sajor  he turns out dishes like oven-roasted quail with dates, pickled vegetables, and yogurt—with flair worthy of the latest it neighborhood.Help walk it off discovering this downtown district's galleries and boutiques, stopping into E. Smith Mercantile (pictured) for vintage kitchen supplies, accessories, and clothing.

Burn: 68 calories
Eat: 410 calories

Now it's time to pick up the pace. The 27-mile recreational Burke-Gilman Trail winds through several Seattle neighborhoods and is a hot spot for walking, running, and cycling. Plan a walk that gets you 8,000 brisk steps (about 4 miles; don't worry—there's beer and ice cream ahead!). Follow the shore-front, pausing at Gas Works Park's kite hill, which unreels glorious skyline views. Continue another mile to funky Fremont: Among its stores and street sculptures stands Bluebird Microcreamery.  This small-batch pioneer partners with local brewery Elysian on a stout flavor and crafts its own beer flavored with chocolate milk from Theo, the country's first organic, fair-trade chocolate factory. A perfectly paired scoop and a pint are worth the walk.

Burn: 341 calories
Eat: 440 calories

 

On the lake's northeast shore lies Westward, a new eatery that swirls together local seafood and Mediterranean flavors. Chef Josh Henderson offers dishes like gigante beans with feta followed by Moroccan fish stew, where mussels and Alaskan halibut hang out with cauliflower and the lavish currylike spice mix ras el hanout. Enjoy it with a glass of wine, and this hearty but healthy dinner fare will help you refuel after an afternoon of active adventures.

Burn: 0
Eat: 898 calories

This neighborhood bustles with pubs, restaurants, and music venues. See what the fuss is about, and then wrap up your walk with a drink at Percy's and Co., a new apothecary-style watering hole serving cocktails with infusions like sage and oregano. As with many of the city's hot destinations, it blends the landscape's flavors with a sense of exploration—one that carries from the kitchen right into the great outdoors.

Burn: 34 calories
Eat: 165 calories

TOTAL BURNED: 579
TOTAL EATEN: 2,446
TOTAL STEPS: 14,000
[NET CALORIES: 1,867]