Get ready to embark on an exciting new journey as KinersKorner.com takes you on a tour of Major League cities across the country. In this new feature, we explore the hidden gems and must-see attractions that go beyond the ballpark, while also diving deep into stadium reviews and the fan experience.
When we left you last week, we were just flying out of Denver and to our next city. Our next city, if you took a hint from the Mets schedule in August, is none other than Seattle, WA. Which means our next ballpark is T-Mobile Park.
The good thing about Seattle is that most of the city's attractions besides T-Mobile are in two general spots: The Space Needle and the Pier. The Needle is the centerpiece of an entire area that includes the Museum of Pop Culture (originally the Grunge Music museum but has since expanded to feature multiple exhibits from music, movies, video games, etc.), the Chiluly Garden and Glass Exhibit (same guy who created the glass flowers that you see in the ceiling of the Bellagio in Las Vegas), Climate Pledge Arena, and a food court. The Pier gives you a ton of seafood places (including Ivar's which also has stands in both T-Mobile and Lumen Field) the Seattle Aquarium, the Argosy boat tours, the big Ferris Wheel, and plenty of souvenir t-shirt shops where you can get your Mariners, Kraken, or Seattle Storm gear.
Also, everything is pretty much on the same stretch/block more or less. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta on 1st street. You go one block back, you're at the pier. You go left, you're at the Space Needle. You go right, you're at the ballpark. Everything is a walk or a short cab ride.
If you're looking to see multiple sights, Seattle is one of the cities that offers the purchase of a CityPass, which gets you admission to the Needle, the Aquarium, and three other attractions of your choosing. You can save a little scratch if you buy this package over buying admission to each attraction separately. This trip was the first time I had that, and I can tell you it worked perfectly. Best part is that if you're staying for a while, you have seven days to see all five attractions once you activate the ticket.
When you spend a good amount of time in Seattle, you realize that the city challenges you to get as many pictures as possible of city landmarks while getting the Space Needle in the background. The iconic status of the Needle (even though it barely ranks in the Top Ten tallest structures in Seattle) along with its prominence in the city's skyline gives you a lot of great opportunities for "Instagrammable" photos in this picturesque city.
You also realize that if you tip the guys at Pike's Market enough money, they'll throw fish at you.
Now to the ballpark. I saw three Mets losses in Seattle where the Mets scored a grand total of one run, and the Mariners looked like they were going to ride that starting pitching staff all the way to the World Series. But since then, the M's went 1-8 and got their manager fired. (I'm not bitter or anything.) But they have nice City Connect uniforms.
The park is really nice. You have the Mariners Hall of Fame tucked away on the third base side, along with an outfield wall where you can pretend to jump over and rob a home run like Julio Rodriguez. You also have what might be the closest access fans have to a visiting bullpen in the left field corner. You could literally spit on the pitcher who is warming up (although I don't recommend it.)
In terms of where to sit, your mileage may vary. But having sat in the lower seats for two games and the upper seat for one, I think I would lean slightly towards the upper level seats. Two reasons: One, the lower seats, while you're close, aren't very steep. So if you're sitting anywhere from, say, the 16th row and back, you're looking over a lot of shoulders to see the action, and you have to kinda be at the edge of your seat to see the whole field. Second, sitting high on the first base side gives you a nice view of the city.
Now, let's talk food. Before we go any further: Yes, they sell grasshoppers. No, I didn't eat them. I thought about it because grasshoppers are a big thing up there and hey, when in Rome, right? But then I saw someone on social media post a picture of the grasshoppers, and I decided that they just did not look appetizing at all. Sorry. If I want to eat insects, I'll apply for Survivor. But if it's your thing, go for it. They're sold at Edgar's behind left field on the lower level.
Also at Edgar's, and what I did wind up having were the mini chicken chimichangas seen above. Spicy, so be prepared. But awesome, which I'm sure every other dish at Edgar's is. If pizza is more your thing, try the Moto Pizza stand up on the top level. My buddy had it and swears by it. Then there's the garlic fries, which were recommended to me by some Mariners fans I ran into in Denver. So I went for it on the last night, and they were great. But I'm going to warn you: the mound of fries they give you is massive. So massive that I was offering fries to the people behind me in line, the people next to me in our section ... pretty much everyone. So don't try to eat these alone. And whatever you do, do not eat them and then go straight on an airplane and kiss your significant other 14 hours later. You will still smell like garlic.
To reiterate, don't do this before a flight.
In terms of food outside of the park, we ate a lot of our meals on the go, at the tourist attractions, or in the park. So I can tell you that the Fisherman's Restaurant at the pier has some tasty and fresh fish and chips, as you would expect in a waterfront city. Also, much like in Denver, cream cheese is an integral part of the condiment lineup. So get a Seattle Dog at the nearest stand which hs the cream cheese, plus onions and peppers.
Higher end? I was able to get to the Metropolitan Grille (John Sterling's favorite Seattle restaurant, if that means anything to you) on 2nd street in time for a great cheesecake. But the one place I missed that I really wanted to hit but didn't have time for, and it's for name alone: Biscuit Bitch. I mean, who doesn't want to hit a place called Biscuit Bitch?
But we fit so much into this trip that it's hard to say that we left much on the table. Seattle makes it easy to enjoy much of what it has to offer in one trip. But with a city as great as Seattle with a ballpark as gorgeous as T-Mobile Park, there's always a reason to go back.
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