A couple of weeks ago I took a walking food tour of Seattle with my dear friend and fellow foodie Jenn. I had given her a gift certificate last Christmas and seeing as it’s nearly the holidays, we thought we better get on it and give it a whirl.

Savor Seattle is a local company that offers culinary walking adventures. They offer three distinct tours including  the Pike Place Market Tour, Seattle Gourmet Tour and Chocolate Indulgences Tour. Each tour offers a wide variety of tastings at specialty food shops, artisans, and neighborhood restaurants. Along the way, your tour guide highlights the vibrant stories of the people and places that make Seattle what it is today.

There is something for everyone on this tour – even seasoned foodies. Our tour started at Andaluca in the Mayflower Hotel. I have been here many times for brunch however we were treated to the most unique and tasty duck cake ever. Think crab cake but with duck…amazing! They also served us their signature sangria and gave us not only the recipe but the secret for ensuring the perfect balace. So far so good in my opinion…

We then walked down the street to Serious Pie. Sadly, I have never been but man was it worth the wait. We sampled slivers of the most luxurious white truffle pizza…one of the best things I’ve ever tasted! Run don’t walk to get this pizza. Tyle Florence recently dubbed this the best pizza he’s ever had if you need professional affirmation

From there it was on Buona Tavola outside Pike Place Market to sample truffle salt, rich basalmic vinegars and oils. After that we had seafood risotta and vino at Il Bistro where the chef came out and literally walked us through the preparation of the dish. One of the best things about this tour is the personal interaction with the chefs, proprietors, and staff that really take what you’re tasting up a level because you’re getting the story behind the ingredients and preparation.

Our next stop was Pike Brewery where we got a tour of the brewery and tasted some of its most popular brews.  If you’ve never been to Pike Brewery check it out. They have an amazing variety of beers that are brewed onsite – doesn’t get fresher than that. ART Restaurant in the new Four Seasons Hotel was the next pit stop in our culinary journey for soda a burgers. But not just any soda and burgers. DRY Soda and the most flavorful mini burgers you’ve ever had (but don’t call them sliders according to the chef.) Not what I expected to sample at such chi chi establishment, but of course it was delicious, the view was incredible and I learned that ART has one of the coolest happy hours around. $18 gets you unlimited access to this amazing cheese buffet (mmm cheesy goodness.) In the winter they switch it up to a chocolate buffet. You can’t be that and I was wildly suprised to see how accessible ART was.

Last stop? Gelatiamo for some homemade gelato and coffee. By this point I’ve almost hit culinary overload and have claimed to be full at least three times, but I make due and sample one last course. Like every other stop we made it was delicious and we got some interesting background on the proprietor.

In short, Savor Seattle is awesome and worth every penny. If you’re looking for something unique to do or want to impress your out of town guests this the tour for you. I had such a good time, that I’m considering taking the chocolate tour or the Pike Place Market tour.

Last weekend I attended the Food and Wine Experience at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. The event featured food from some of Seattle’s finest restaurants including Andaluca, Cicchetti, Campagne, Earth & Ocean, FROST and Maximus Minimus (which I wrote about a few weeks ago in my mobile food post). In addition, the wine was flowing from wineries from the Willamette to Napa valleys.

Now you may be thinking that this seems like a hoity toity event with “fou fou food” as my mom calls it. But actually events like these are great opportunities to sample restaurants/wineries you may never have tried or have always wanted to visit. My personal favorite of the day was the bacon maple donut from FROST Donuts. I’ve heard of these before but had never tried one and let me just say I’m a bonafide fan and I don’t even like donuts!  I had a great time however and got to meet some other local food bloggers which was a double bonus.

For those who are short on cash but have always wanted to try some of the finer eateries in Seattle I’ve got a treat for you. Seattle Restaurant Week kicks off April 18-29 with more than 100 participating restaurants. Each will offer three-course dinners for $25 Sundays through Thursdays. And you won’t believe who is participating: Brad’s Swingside Cafe, the newly opened Emmer & Rye, Madison Park Cafe and nationally acclaimed Canlis (yep you heard me, Canlis) just to name a few. I’ll be writing about this again as we get closer to the date but check out the event’s Web site for more details and jump on these great deals. I know I plan to eat out that entire week J

Do you have a restaurant you want me to review? Want to see a round-up of the city’s best mac ‘n cheese, cupcakes, insert food here? Send me an e-mail at missy@bellesofthesound.com or find me on Twitter @foodiecritic.