Food & Drink in Port Orchard

Leading a healthy (or healthier) lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to say farewell to social interaction altogether. We are lucky enough to live in beautiful, health-conscious Seattle, which means you can catch up with friends over good food and good drinks at many of the city’s finest restaurants and bars and not dread zipping up your jeans the next day. Check out this list of healthy happy hour alternatives for some healthy inspiration. Juicebox: Want a delicious beverage that won’t leave you with a raging hangover tomorrow morning (and might even help cure the one you already have)? Head to Juicebox, Seattle’s only gourmet fresh-pressed juicer. In addition to delicious, healthy juices (I swear the Tropical Dream, a combination of kale, pineapple, celery and orange juice makes me glow), they also have a selection of sandwiches, crepes, salads and breakfast items that fit almost any cleanse you’re currently on. Remedy Teas: With over 150 teas on hand, if you meet up for a tea party at Remedy Teas you won’t even miss the hard stuff. Let their tea experts help you find your new favorite non-alcoholic beverage, or pair it with a delectable tea sandwich, salad or soup. London Plane: Matt Dillon’s casual outpost in Pioneer Square can be a bit precious, but what he does with vegetables is just unreal. Their menu rotates constantly, but is full of the most delicious salads and veggie-based dishes anywhere in the city. And if you choose to imbibe (red wine has lots of health benefits!), their wine selection is bar none. Ellenos Greek Yogurt: Pike Place Market has lots of choice watering holes, but they only have one artisan Greek yogurt stand. Grab a friend and get a few to-go cups of this delicious high-protein yogurt, featuring local dairy and homemade toppings, and take a long walk to the waterfront. I can’t get enough of the passion fruit flavor, but the berry choices are pretty delicious too. Whole Foods: Most Whole Foods locations (Westlake, Interbay, Roosevelt, Bellevue, Redmond and Lynwood) have dining options that go beyond their immense salad bar. Check their local store websites and follow their calendars to find out when you can go enjoy one of their themed happy hours (keep your eyes peeled for their oyster specials) and grab a kombucha, a sparkling water or green juice to accompany your snacking. Cafe Flora: This vegetarian restaurant is so delicious that even the most dedicated carnivore will go nuts for their lentil-pecan pate, sunchoke chips or gluten-free pizzas. They do have a killer wine list and some very enticing cocktails, but if you’re sticking to the non-alcoholic beverages, they have Communitea locally-brewed kombucha on tap.

Wine bars abound in Seattle. Some are bustling and swank, others small and intimate, providing casual sippers with a place to trade confidences or find tranquility after a long day. Whether you’re launching the night downtown with a splash, or keeping calm to carry on, there are multiple ways to enjoy classic sips in Seattle. Purple’s cavernous downtown location offers a lengthy list of regional and European wines, served by the glass, bottle or in flights. With tall ceilings and picture windows, Purple was designed around a corkscrew-shaped vertical cellar and large countertop bar, though numerous tables and a mezzanine bar offer alternate ways to enjoy an after-work wind-down. Purple’s full menu offers small and full plates, including cheese flights and oven-baked pizzas, as well as pastas, short ribs or Muscovy duck. Wallingford’s Smash Wine Bar & Bistro, where gleaming wine glasses on its bare wood tables signal formal drinking in an informal setting, is a good place to stop off with friends. Relaxed drinkers can compare Northwest or European wines by glass or by flight at one of the numerous four-tops, or squeeze into the tight bar space. Small plates—including “build your own board” cheese tastings—as well as sliders, flatbread plates, soups, and entrées mean a casual meet-up could end with dinner. On Capitol Hill, small and sexy Poco Wine + Spirits pours Northwest, Spanish, French and South American sips from a menu that also includes tapas selections, all from a quiet street that feels far from the nearby hubbub of an otherwise busy neighborhood. Portalis in Old Ballard, with its exposed brick walls, rotating art exhibits and wooden bar, offers both glass pours and bottles from its retail store for a small corkage fee. The shop’s small but carefully curated menu regularly features soups, charcuterie and cheese, and more – all with suggested pairings. Over in West Seattle, The Cask serves an equally strong list of wine pours, as well as beer and cider from taps at its lengthy wooden bar. The alehouse’s expanded menu offers up locally made truffle popcorn, gratins, salads, sandwiches and braised meats to pair with the sips. The wine list skews Northwestern and features reds on tap from Proletariat, one of the region’s first wineries to sell shareable wine “prowlers”. Of course, beer drinkers can also buy and refill growlers here if they like. But with so many regionally relevant bottles of vino to choose from, it’s hard to imagine anyone opting for beer over wine.

Whether you are looking to brush up your cooking skills so that you can dine more often at home and save some cash, seeking to make the perfect pie crust for that holiday gathering, or just want a tasty  outing with friends, food related classes are a great way to explore your culinary interests. From dedicated cooking schools to the grocery store down the block, these local venues can help new cooks learning the basics, as well as those cooking at a more advanced level, find confidence in the kitchen. The Pantry at Delancey Right next door to the popular Delancey pizza restaurant in Ballard, The Pantry, a community kitchen known for hosting family-style dinners and private events, also provides hands-on cooking classes. Almost every evening of the month, eager students of all levels fill the venue and gather to learn new cooking skills from local chefs while creating a meal to be enjoyed together at the end of class. Classes do tend to fill up very quickly and it’s recommended that interested students sign up for emails to be alerted to new offerings as they become available. Diane's Market Kitchen In the heart of Seattle, owner and chef Diane LaVonne teaches series and single cooking classes that feature locally sourced ingredients, many fresh from the Pike Place Market just outside her doorstep. Diane’s hospitality, warm, encouraging style, small class sizes and home kitchen setting all combine to make one feel right at home while learning to prepare a simple but impressive meal. Evening, weekend and lunchtime classes are available. ChefShop.com At their Interbay retail store, this specialty food shop and online supplier offers presentation-style cooking classes with some of the best personal and professional chefs in Seattle. With a focus on non-fussy, good home cooking, students will learn how easy it is to re-create restaurant-worthy dishes at home. Book Larder This unique cookbook store in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle was designed with the cooking enthusiast in mind. And it is only fitting that they offer cooking classes and demos. Many classes are free, some demonstration style and some hands-on. They also offer seasonal themes and meet-the-author demos that include a cookbook signing by the visiting author. Each Monday, Culinary Director, Chef Rachael Coyle teaches a 60-minute lunch break cooking class offered for a small fee. Oh! Chocolate Oh! Chocolate’s 2-hour chocolate dipping class, held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at the Madison park store, teaches students all about the revered cacao and provides a hands-on segment where students learn to temper chocolate just like the professionals. Students depart the evening with a box of chocolate goodies that they have hand-dipped themselves! These classes are very popular and frequently sell out quickly. A 10% discount is offered on private classes available for groups of 10 people or more. Art of the Pie Half day pie workshops and an annual multi-day pie camp are held at the Pie Cottage in Port Angeles on Washington’s scenic Olympic Peninsula. Though there is some travel involved, students willing to make the trip will be rewarded by learning to make the perfect crust from award-winning pie maker and teacher Kate McDermott. Included in each half-day workshop class are all ingredients, recipes, snacks and more. Whether you are a pie expert or a beginning pie maker, Pie Camp is for all levels of experience. Included in this 5-day culinary splurge are all meals, lodging, instruction, equipment, supplies and tools. Other Resources Convenient and accessible, local grocery stores often host cooking classes and free demos. Check the individual schedules of your local PCC, Whole Foods Market and Central Market.  In addition to wine tasting and wine pairing classes, several wineries also provide cooking classes (or cooking with wine classes.) The EFESTE tasting room in Woodinville offers cooking classes to the public several times a year as well as custom classes that are available as bookable private events. Kitchen supply stores, such as Sur La Table and William Sonoma, are also a great resource for food themed demos and classes.