Seattle's Best Sustainable Restaurants

Remember when we used to eat Cap'n Crunch and Spicy Hot Cheetos and didn't know that they would eventually kill us? Aww, those were the days. Now we have all this evidence (damn you science) that tells us we should probably be eating more like the Flintstones (sans Moonshine, boo, they take away all the good stuff!) and less like Saved By the Bell. And, lucky for us, we live in this awesome place that really takes this seriously. We have lots of restaurants who put organic/local/sustainable/all other healthy buzzwords inserted here at the top of their list of priorities. Double lucky for us that this food usually tastes better. We picked our favorite spots around the city that serve delicious and sustainable food. 

And just for the sake of clarity we will leave the definition of sustainable and delicious here: 

Sustainable: adjective  sus·tain·able \sə-ˈstā-nə-bəl\ involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

Delicious: adjective  de·li·cious \di-ˈli-shəs\ very pleasant to taste

Photo credit: Local 360 Instagram

Local 360 is a Belltown spot that sources almost all of their ingredients from places within a 360 radius of the city. Recommendation: The fried chicken will make you feel like you can live forever.

Stumbling Goat in Phinney Ridge has an atmosphere that feels like home and ingredients that came from the organic farm around the corner (well not literally, but you get it).  

Homegrown this sandwich shop crafts some legit sammies. Plus they really do make sustainability their #1 priority. Recommendation: Bacon, Egg, and Beechers for breakfast or the BLT for lunch!

Mashiko was the first fully sustainable sushi restaurant in Seattle. Hajime serves up creative, authentic and sustainable sushi in West Seattle and also offers sushi cooking classes! Recommendation: Nami Omakase is a ton of food at a great value.  

Tilth is one of the many restaurants in Seattle you can find a James Beard award winning chef who cooks up mouth watering food. It is beautifully presented and a bit pricey, but you get high end ingredients you don't have to feel any guilt chowing down on. Recommendation: Pan seared scallops

Portage Bay Cafe is not only sustainable, but quite possibly one of the happiest places to eat on earth. Recommendation: 1. Go for brunch. 2. Get the Pancakes or French Toast which will gain you access to the best toppings bar you've ever seen. 3. Go to town. 

Photo Credit Top Left: Mashiko, Top Right: Portage Bay, Bottom Left: Tilth, Bottom Right: Stumbling Goat

8 Best Mexican Spots in Seattle

Creating the perfect taco is an art form. A science. Many people try and many people fail. You have to know which ingredients go together, how to properly prepare these ingredients, and then get the perfect ratio of said ingredients together in a tortilla. When someone succeeds at all three of these variables then you get fireworks. Taco Fireworks. That's right, explosions of guacamole in the sky.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (which, full transparency, when doing research we discovered we had no idea what this day was actually in honor of. Educate yourself, people) we compiled you a list of our favorite Mexican places in town. We would like to note that we understand people can be very defensive about their tacos. If your favorite spot isn't on this list maybe it's because we haven't been there or, ya know, maybe it's because your favorite spot is Taco Bell. 

Alright, here we go! 

El Borracho is definitely one of our regular spots in town. We love the food, drinks, and people!

Our recommendation: Tacos de Hongos. Meat lover? Go for the Carnitas Burrito.

Tacos Chukis is a tricky to find dive in Capitol Hill, but so worth finding and waiting in line for these little tacos.

Our recommendation: Adobada Tacos with a Dos Equis

El Camion has a few food trucks around town and are always serving up a wide variety of awesome grub from the window. 

Our recommendation: Fish tacos with a Jarritos (go for the pineapple!)

La Carta de Oaxaca is one of two Mexican restaurants owned by the same family and check off all the boxes for great Mexican food! 

Our recommendation: Mole Negro Oaxaqueno

Cantina de San Patricio is located in Post Alley in Pike Place Market and has a good happy hour with a small patio you can enjoy your drinks on during a sunny day! 

Our recommendation: This one makes the list for their Margs (which is a food group, right?) and outdoor seating.

The Saint would make the list for character alone. It has a unique building and atmosphere and to top it off the food is awesome too.  

Our recommendation: Any of the Quesos Fundidos, and if you are feeling frisky get a flight of their tequilas.

Agua Verde Café & Paddle Club is a fun, sunny day spot. It sits on Lake Union and doubles as a kayak rental hub for paddling around Lake Union. Grab some tacos and a drink, then get out on the lake to enjoy the city!

Our recommendation: Bacalao Tacos and a view of the lake!

The Yard is not a Mexican joint, per se, but they do have some amazing Mexican dishes on the menu and their outdoor seating is the icing on top of the ...err..  salsa on top of the taco?

Our recommendation: Any of their tacos, but especially the Adobada and for something different try the Ensalada Quesadilla.

Honorable Mention: Gracia is new on the scene in Seattle (former Matt's in the Market chef, Chester Gerl, is behind it!) and we haven't had a chance to drop in yet, but we hear it is great so we wanted to include it for everyone to go try. You're welcome.

Our recommendation: We haven't been here yet, so we don't have one! But word on the street is their tamales are awesome.

Let us know your favorite spots in the comments!