East Meet’s Pacific Northwest in This Week’s Iconic Market Box!
This week, Savor Seattle is taking customers to Asia! We have teamed up with a number of Pike Place Market businesses to bring you everything you need to create a gourmet Asian experience at home. From perfectly chilled soba noodles to gigantic-sized pork and shrimp shumai, we think you will love the flavors coming from this box just as much as you’ll love the stories of the businesses behind them.
SeaBear Smokehouse
Founded in Anacortes, Washington in 1957, SeaBear Smokehouse produces all the seafood and smoked fish products at the Made in Washington store in Pike Place Market, as well as other smoked products to fine dining restaurants and hotels nationwide. The name “SeaBear” refers to a Native American legend of a creature that is part bear and part killer whale, which is appropriate considering both animals love salmon and other seafood!
This Week, SeaBear Smokehouse is providing two 6oz. Black Cod fillets in each Iconic Market Box. Also known as Sablefish, Black Cod is white in color and smooth in texture. The fish is also full of heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, much more than salmon or tuna. When cooked, the flavor is known to be rich and buttery, and can handle high temperatures and still maintain its texture and structure, which is why so many love to serve this in fine dining restaurants. Pan fry it, bake it or smoke it – this versatile fish will have your family and friends raving about the meal and kissing the chef! Follow SeaBear Smokehouse on Instagram @seabearsmokehouse
Michou Deli
A favorite among the crafts artisans, artists and pretty much everyone who works in the Pike Place Market, Michou World Class Deli makes another appearance in this week’s iconic Market Box. Michou’s bounty of panini-style sandwiches, soups, dips, desserts, and salads are beloved for their use of great quality ingredients, and lines at the store are common in the morning and during the lunch rush.
This week, Michou is providing a cold soba noodle salad. A popular “fast food” treat in Japan, the word “soba” is the Japanese name for buckwheat. These noodles traditionally can be served chilled with a dipping sauce or with a hot broth for a noodle soup. Michou’s version is chilled and served with grilled tofu, julienned carrots, edamame, green onions, and cilantro, and comes with a delicious peanut-based dressing. Follow Michou Deli on Instagram @michoudeli
Mee Sum Pastry
From shumai to BBQ pork hum bows, Mee Sum Pastry has been introducing Chinese sweet and savory pasties to visitors in Pike Place Market since 1983. Each morning, their small team of 6 start early preparing, baking, or steaming everything on their menu fresh and on-site. While known for their best-selling BBQ pork hum bows (On a busy day, it is said that they can make 1,000 bbq pork hum bows), one shouldn’t overlook their other offerings. Take their shumai for example, featured in this week’s Iconic Market Box.
Stuffed with pork, shrimp, shitake mushrooms, and scallions, then wrapped with a thick pastry dough and steamed until cooked to perfection – these dumplings will make your eyes widen in delight and your mouth water. Large and in charge, each Iconic Market Box comes with eight of these gigantic shumai. We recommend dipping in soy sauce or, if you are an adventurous eater, pour a splash of OMG! Mango Sriracha White Balsamic Vinegar into your soy sauce for a punchy kick. The acidity of the vinegar and saltiness of the soy sauce will cut through the shumai’s fat, combining a flavor profile that will have you wishing you had more than eight. Follow Mee Sum Pastry on Instagram @meesum_family
Re-heating instructions: Place shumai in steamer basket and steam until cooked through, 8 -10 minutes. If you do not have a steamer basket, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and place shumai on an oven safe dish or tray. Place shumai in oven for 5 -6 minutes, until cooked though.
Pappardelle’s
Ever been asked to sample a piece of chocolate pasta in Pike Place Market? If so, it was probably by the kind folks at Pappardelle’s. Located in the Main Arcade, Papardelle’s is known for their wild and creative assortment of flavored dry pastas, olive oils and sauces. Originally started in Denver, Colorado by Bill Curtis and David Bowen in 1984, the business was bought by a couple named Paula and Jim in 2002 and soon expanded into Pike Place Market in 2006. Since then, the pasta stall has been a major part of the market experience. Their pasta was even served in the White House in the early 1990s and experienced by the Pope!
Besides fresh and dried pasta, the company also produces gourmet olive oils and vinegars. Their OMG! Mango Sriracha White Balsamic Vinegar brings a bit of sweet heat to the acidic condiment. It can be enjoyed a number of ways – on salads with a bit of virgin olive oil, as a dip for dumplings or as part of a marinade recipe for meats, poultry, fish or vegetables. Follow Pappardelle’s on Instagram @pikeplacepasta
Pike Place Fish Market
For many visitors to Pike Place Market, the first thing people see or talk about is the “guys throwing the fish” (ahem- there are women fishmongers there too!). Pike Place Fish Market has been around since the 1920s but their history really gets interesting in the 1960s when Japanese American Johnny Yokohama purchased the business. His family once had a produce stand that stood just next door to where the fish market stands today; the family business was lost when Japanese internment was implemented. As Johnny operated his business, he realized that he and his team had to do a lot of walking when someone ordered seafood – grabbing the product from the display up front, then walking it to the back to cut, clean, wrap etc., then walk it all the way back to the customer. Johnny figured it took about 60 steps down and back, and at a time when a pound of fresh clams were 60 cents a pound, getting paid 1 cent per step did not feel right. Trying to find a suitable solution, he realized that he could simply “toss” the fish or bagged product up and over the counter as long as a fishmonger was there to catch it. Thus,
throwing the fish started not as a flashy promotion as many seem to think today, but rather as a measure of efficiency.
Pike Place Fish Market has included in this week’s box an incredibly special gourmet sauce called Umami 33. This sweet and savory sauce is perfect for marinating and applying to your black cod fillets and pretty much anything else you can dream up. Its name comes from the Japanese word “umami,” translating to “pleasant savory taste” and is considered the fifth tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami). The number “33” represents the 33 batches it took to create their sauce’s perfect recipe today. Follow Pike Place Fish Market and Umami 33 on Instagram @pikeplacefish and @therealumami33
Tom Douglas’s Rub with Love
One of the biggest personalities of the Seattle Food Scene, Chef Tom Douglas’s restaurants have helped define what Pacific Northwest food is all about. Many of Seattle’s prominent chefs have at one point or another either worked for or looked up to Douglas. He has been seen on Bravo’s Top Chef, had brunch with the late Anthony Bourdain, and even has his own radio show and podcast. But what many don’t realize is how special Pike Place Market is to Tom: his first job in Seattle was at the Café Sport – where Etta’s Seafood Restaurant now stands – on the corner where Pike Place meets Western Avenue. Douglas would be sent out of the kitchen and into Pike Place Market to gather the day’s fresh ingredients, where he got to know many of the vendors and producers at the famous market. It was those relationships which helped build the foundation to much of his success and understanding of what Pacific Northwest food is all about.
Tom Douglas’s Rub with Love is Tom’s way of bringing his flavors to your home, and with the current pandemic, it is welcomed now more than ever. Using simple ingredients, the rubs and sauces lend great taste and flavor, turning an otherwise dull dinner into a culinary masterpiece. The Tokyo Rub provided in this week’s Iconic Market Box is perfect for sprinkling on meats, fish or poultry or vegetables. We love to add this to blistered shishito peppers! Follow Rub with Love on Instagram @rubwithlove
Frank’s Quality Produce
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, there is no better place than Frank’s Quality Produce, located at the Corner Market Building of Pike Place Market. Three generations of the Genzales’ family have had a presence in the Pike Place Market, starting with Frank “Cheech” Genzale in 1928, and now Frank Jr., the current owner and operator of Franks’ Quality Produce. Locals choose this stall not just for the high quality of produce, but because of the people that make this stall so special. It is not a rarity to find team members recommending recipes or describing flavors of veggies unfamiliar to those who pass by or visit. It is that kind of quality service that keeps locals loyal, and why we love working with this amazing family-owned small business.
Each week, Iconic Market Boxes include a box of produce, curated by Frank Jr. and his team. The produce changes each week based on availability and season, ensuring that our customers get the best produce available – much fresher and better than what you find at the grocery store! Follow Frank’s Quality Produce on Instagram @franksqualityproduce
Middle Fork Roasters
In 2009, a close-knit group of friends and coffee-lovers decided to put their passions first and began roasting coffee in the heart and soul of Seattle’s coffee scene. Since then, they have been regularly active in their community, giving back whenever they can and working with other businesses to help make their own coffee dreams come true. Middle Fork Roasters are responsible for providing the beans to many businesses around Seattle, including those in Pike Place Market.
We’re psyched that Middle Fork created the Savor Seattle Blend – a combination of Brazilian and Sumatran beans, delivering a bold yet buttery body with rich chocolate undertones. This laid-back blend provides an incredibly clean finish that is perfect for easing into your morning routine. Every Iconic Market Box includes a 1 lb. bag of whole bean coffee. Follow Middle Fork Roasters on Instagram @middleforkroasters
Chukar Cherries
If you ever visited Pike Place Market on the morning version of Savor Seattle’s Signature Tour of Pike Place Market, you would definitely remember your stop at Chukar Cherries. The day stall has been in business for over 30 years and is well known for their talkative and inviting staff, often providing tastings to anyone who inquires. The business was founded by Pam Montgomery, who is from Seattle and had no prior farming experience. Seeing her small family grow, she decided that their family should move out of the city, finding a property in Prosser, Washington that just so happened to have a few cherry trees on it. That few cherry trees turned out to be over 1,000 Bing cherry trees, and many of those cherries were left unattended after picking season ended. Pam soon realized that the cherries she didn’t pick did not spoil on the tree, but rather the sugar in each cherry preserved itself and dried naturally in the eastern Washington sun. After eating one, she realized that the dried cherries were delicious and promptly started to cook with them, creating delightful treats. However, the biggest hit was covering those dried cherries in chocolate, and the rest is history!
The color of the Cherry Blossoms from Chukar Cherries will remind you of the pink floral cherry
blossoms of Japan. Montmorency Tart cherries coated in a thick layer of milk chocolate and a thin layer of white chocolate—naturally colored and flavored with fruit essence. Try not to eat the whole bag all at once! Follow Chukar Cherries on Instagram @chukarcherries
Order your Iconic Market Box today!
No need for a passport next week because we are bringing Italy and France to you! We have a delicious lineup of bread, olive oil, pasta, and more to give you a sweet sense of Europe in your very own home. Plus, Seattle favorite Fran’s Chocolates’ milk chocolate salted caramels are making their first appearance in the Iconic Market Box!
