4 Secret (and Cheap) Food Spots in Seattle

There is a time and place for the uber-nice, fancy food spots in Seattle. We definitely have our favorites (as seen here), but what really gets us excited is when we hear from a friend of a friend’s cousin that the best $2 tacos are being sold discreetly in the back of a bar or there is a spicy banh mi for $1.50 from a dive-y street cart. These are the real heroes in our eyes! Check out these four secret and cheap spots we have learned about in the last year. They are all worth checking out and all are dirt cheap and delicious.

Cafetal Quilombo Café

You probably would never guess that this brightly colored coffee shop in Beacon Hill would also be home to some of the best tamales in the city, but that’s what makes it so great! The owners are from Mexico, which means they know what they are doing and there are 7 different choices at only $2.50 a pop. In our opinion, tamales can sometimes be dry, but not these. They are soft and warm, flavorful and filling. Our favorite was the pork with red salsa, but the chicken was delicious too. Don’t forget to get a Cafe de Olla (Mexican spiced coffee). This is Seattle after all.

Pork and chicken tamales at Cafetal Quilombo

Tamale list

45th Stop N Shop

This convenience store on 45th Street in the Wallingford neighborhood will sell you a 5-hour Energy and make you a fresh and colorful poke bowl. While there is excellent poke in this city, we like the Stop N Shop because the portions are large, the fish is extremely fresh, and the soy sauce is house made. In addition to the rice and fish, the bowls are loaded with other toppings including lettuce, edamame, seaweed, crab salad, ginger, sesame seeds, and some other delicious stuff we are probably forgetting.

Order your poke by the 5-hour Energy

Lyon’s Grocery

Lyon’s, located on Dexter Avenue, is the neighborhood grocery store of your dreams. Not only can you get your fix of Pop-Tarts, cereal, and ice cream, but you can grab a warm deli sandwich for lunch or dinner too. Lyon’s has an extensive list of sandwiches that includes both standard and unique flavors. We love the Caribbean Roast Pork and the I Love NY, but we also had our eyes set on The Bird, which sounds like Thanksgiving dinner (think turkey and cranberry sauce). 

Inside Lyon's

Carribean Pork sandwich

I Love NY

Quick Pack Food Mart

Fried chicken from a convenience store might scare some people, but we’ve never been choosy. It’s a good thing too, because the fried chicken you can purchase from the Quick Pack is the perfect consistency of tender and crunchy. How do they get it so right? It's cheap, fast, and tastes as good as it smells. Ask for their hot sauce if you like a little heat to your bird-- it's a great addition. And while the Quick Pack is small, you can still grab a drink and something sweet as you check out to round out your fried-chicken-in-a-convenience-store experience.

Got a secret and cheap food spot we need to know about? Please share! We promise not to tell a soul…

10 Awesome Seattle Dates Under $20

1. Play a round of mini golf at Flatstick Pub. This fun indoor mini golf pub only costs $7/person and is a great place for a night of fun. 

2 .Watch the sunset and roast s'mores at Golden Gardens. This is hands down one of the best waterfront parks in Seattle. They have fire pits, so bring a picnic bag with some wood, matches, and all the fixings for your perfect s'more. 

3. Get your karaoke on at Rock Box. Because who doesn't want to belt out to Celine Dion with their BAE? Full price at Rock Box is $7/hour, but during happy hour you can get the amazing price of $4/hour. 

4. Volunteer together. Seattle is a tightknit community, which means there are a ton of places to get involved and give back! This is a great way to grow closer and get to know new people as well. Some of our favorite nonprofits include Treehouse, EarthCorps, and Solid Ground. 

Volunteering at Pike Place Market Food Bank

5. Rent pedal boats at Greenlake. Green Lake is a beautiful place to get out on the calm water for some 1-on-1 time. Pedal boats are $20/hour and are perfect for a leisurely jaunt out on the lake!

6. Grab some ice cream at Molly Moons in Queen Anne and head down to Kerry Park to soak up the views. Just a few blocks away from the best views in Seattle is some of the best ice cream! Check what time the sun is setting and go grab a bench, enjoy your waffle cone, and watch the sun go down.

7. Take advantage of Seattle's awesome music scene and see some live music at Conor Byrne. This bar in Ballard hosts amazing local talent for a very low cover charge! You can't go wrong with any of the artists, they are always great! 

8. Take a hike - There are tons of great hikes of varying difficulty to do around the city (WTA.org is a great resource). You don't even need to leave the city for Discovery Park. A hike to the lighthouse on the water is a perfect date for an afternoon! 

9. Play some games! Seattle has so many fun places to go if you like arcade games (we will 100% destroy on any skee ball set-up in our presence). Full Tilt Ice Cream Parlor, Kings Hardware, Unicorn and Shorty's are our favorite picks in the city! 

Skee ball at the Unicorn

10. Go place some bets at Emerald Downs. There aren't many people who don't enjoy the thrill of placing a bet at the races! Head over and see if you can win big. You can bet for as low as $2 a race!

What are some of your favorite cheap date spots? We would love to hear about them! 

Occidental Park: Games, Food Trucks, and Art

This urban park has gotten a serious facelift in the last year and we keep finding ourselves going back for more.

This "park" is located in the heart of Pioneer Square and even though there isn't much grass to be found it has a lot to offer us city folks. Year round bright green and blue tables and chairs sit out for people to enjoy the mild Seattle weather. Peppered in between all the seating are a ton of fun games for groups to play and often in the summer time musicians come here to play for the people enjoying the space. 

Food

Occidental Park is home to our favorite city thing: Food Trucks. There is a happy little pod that sets up shop here Monday through Friday. We recommend Wednesdays when Nosh and El Cabrito Oaxaca are in attendance. (Read more about Seattle's best food trucks here)

Grand Central Bakery always has a line out the door and for good reason. Their flagship location is located inside Grand Central Arcade on the west side of Occidental Park. They bake fresh bread daily and their specials are always unique and delicious, with their permanent menu full of tried and true options.

Look for the ivy entrance to Grand Central Bakery

Swannies is a sports bar located on the west side of Occidental right next to the Comedy Underground. This is a great place to grab some greasy burgers and fries and cheer on the Sounders with friends. 

The London Plane is a hot new spot in the neighborhood. Find it right across the street on the south end of Occidental Park. This place has great baked goods and coffee. Stop in for a croissant and latte and take a sea salt chocolate chip cookie for later! 

Games

Occidental has gained a reputation as a great park to take friends or kids for some fun and games. This is because with the improvements last year they brought in a ton of actual games for people to play free of charge, out in the open. Most of them are oversized which adds to the fun (Think giant chess, checkers, and connect four). There are also a couple foosball tables, bocce ball courts, and cornhole boards around the park. 

Art 

Occidental is full of wonderful art, especially native art. The totem poles and wood carvings tell stories from a culture rich in history. Our favorite is Tsonoqua, "a mythological giantess and 'nightmare bringer' invoked by exasperated North Coast mothers to frighten their children into obedience." You can also find Sun and Raven telling the story of the raven's theft of the moon and Man Riding on Tail of Whale. The other large sculpture is the Seattle Fallen Firefighters Memorial by Hai Ying Wu. The life size firefighters pay tribute to generations of Seattle heroes. 

Welcome to Occidental Park!

Find Occidental Park here: 117 S Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104

There is also a tourism booth located in the southeast corner of the park. If you have questions head over here to learn more about the area, rent bocce balls, etc. 

Insider tip: If you have some time, make sure to walk the block over to check out the Waterfall Garden Park! It's one of Pioneers best secret spots. 

EarthCorps

Getting the gear ready for park restoration

We spend a lot of time eating, drinking, and exploring Seattle (hence this website).  It's no secret we love this city. It gives us so much when it comes to culture, activities, and good food. So what do you do when someone gives you a wonderful gift (did we mention the amazing food?), well you reciprocate!  We want to make sure we are always finding ways to give back in order to show our thanks. We have volunteered with the Pike Place Market Food Bank, and, most recently, we spent a day doing park restoration with EarthCorps. Park restoration in the middle of winter? Call us crazy, but the good folks over at this lovely organization are out there year-round doing park clean-up so we decided to join them and soak-up some of that fresh PNW air. I mean this is "Rain or Shine Guides," right?

EarthCorps' mission is to build a global community of leaders through local environmental service. The team leads park restoration events all over the city with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. Tasks range from pulling invasive species, planting native trees and shrubs, and mulching.

EarthCorps lends a helping hand to some serious problems regarding the parks in the area. Turns out, a long time ago, English Ivy was planted in the parks around Seattle. It’s beautiful and grows fast, but unbeknownst to the people who planted it, it’s also invasive, covers the ground entirely, grows up trees, and eventually chokes them out. Seattle is a welcoming place and we don't like to choke out beautiful trees that give us clean air and lush landscapes. Trees are what puts the emerald in our emerald city, so English Ivy, you gots to go!

In 1993, Dwight Wilson, a Peace Corp volunteer, dreamed up the idea of Peace Corps for the earth (creatively naming this organization EarthCorps) and in 2003 EarthCorps declared war on the invasive weeds attacking our parks. With the help of over 175,000 volunteers, all Seattle parks have been put into restoration so that we can continue to enjoy them.

Take that you rotten old English Ivy!

What does a day volunteering for the earth look like? During our shift this year we worked in the Thornton Creek Watershed. The first two hours were spent ripping ivy out of the ground. It’s hard work, but supremely rewarding. After a break for lunch, we planted around 50 native shrubs and then mulched. All shifts are 10am – 2pm with a break for lunch. The EarthCorp team also spends time with the group educating about the parks, identifying native and invasive plants, and showing the proper way to use tools. We love that you leave there not only having worked hard to save a park, but educated as well.

English ivy growing up a tree

EarthCorps work in parks all around the city, so it’s easy to find an event near you, and they have a very easy online sign-up. Check out the calendar, and maybe we’ll be seeing you there!