The Market Grill
1509 Pike Place #3, 682-2654
Open daily, 11 am-5 pm.
Eating a salmon sandwich in the Pike Place Market sounds like a descent into tourist hell. It’s telling, then, that the Market Grill–an unassuming little eatery just a few flower stands north of the market’s brass pig–has a loyal following of locals who keep returning for its excellent salmon and halibut sandwiches (“Voted best halibut sandwich in the Market” according to a sign. Really? They vote on that stuff?). Fact is, folks often have to wait for a stool to open up after ordering, and some wind up just standing at the front counter to eat.
The sandwiches ($8.95) feature grilled baguette-style bread, with optional lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, and homemade tartar sauce or rosemary mayonnaise (ask for extra if you’re a condiment junkie). Cajun “blackened” seasoning coats the fresh fish (currently Alaskan king for the salmon, but it varies according to “whatever’s good”) and gives the fillets a spicy kick. About the only weakness is that the bread is sort of chewy, making things splat out the sides when you take a bite.
If fish doesn’t make you jump up and down, you can also get versions with prawns ($8.95) or chicken ($6.95). Or else bag the sandwiches altogether and go with some sides: The Market Grill’s homemade coleslaw and clam chowder are mighty. The slaw ($1.50) is wonderfully basic, nothing fancy, sweet and peppery with bigish hunks of cabbage, while the “old-fashioned” chowder ($3.50/$4.50/$5.50) is simply insane–rich and buttery and with a slightly spicy finish, with dill and chunks of carrots, potatoes, and onions. It might not sound that impressive, but–ye gods–I’d brave the teeming hordes at Pike Place Market again–naked, with beef brisket duct taped to my body, through a Princess cruise liner’s worth of ravenous, fat Texans–just to get another cup of that stuff.