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For cheap eats in Seattle, you can't go better than this blast from the past - the mock up fifties diner is surprisingly well done, with bright red booths, a jukebox you can request rock-n'roll tunes from, and perky staff who break into jive routines in the middle of a shift.

Kooky touches include old Coca-Cola ads on the walls, ketchup splodged into a smiley face on your plate, and a long bar for sipping shakes and malts, and watching the behatted chefs flip burgers.

Of course the main draw here is the food - all of it highly calorific but delicious fare. Oreo milkshakes so thick you're straw will get stuck (use a spoon, and don't be ashamed to drain the last dregs from the metal 'shaker' that comes with your glass), mountainous BLT's and oozing chili dogs. The burgers are even better; thick and juicy and come in all shapes and sizes, from the gut-busting Bacon Cheddar Double, to the 'Route 66' - complete with mushrooms, grilled onions and mozzarella cheese.

These burger's separate the men from the boys - don't even think about ordering a salad. After eating here, you'll never be able to face a McDonalds again.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22093 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22091
America's oldest Farmer's Market hasn't lost any of its buzz, with an underground maze of mezzanines filled with weird and wacky shops, the overflowing blossoms of the Hmong flower market, and stalls laden with fresh fruit, vegetables and an international sweep of gourmet treats.

The entertaining fishmongers put on a good show, hurling fish over customer's heads, whilst street performers and musicians add to the chaos - look out for the kazoo and spoons player!

During the Spring and Fall harvests, the market hosts 'Organic Wednesdays', where you can scoop the best local produce for a cheap picnic.
You could spend hours browsing the stalls, but there are a few that really stand out - 'Read All ABout It' sells unusual newspapers and magazines from all over the world, Three Girls Bakery does the BEST garlic rosemary bread and peanut butter cookies in Seattle, and you can visit the very first Starbucks (quaint and nothing like the cookie-cutter chains across the country) for the original Tall Skinny Latte.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/22091 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18904
You can eat here, joining dozens of families picnicking on the sloping park ground adjacent to this weekly festival. The Sicilian style restaurant ‘La Medusa’ serves a Wednesday dinner that has been cooked up using only produce purchased fresh that day from the stalls in the market (book ahead).

Within a short radius Columbia City has a pub (great local microbrews), a bookstore (Bookworm Exchange), a gallery, restaurants, a bakery (which serves coffee and treats), a cinema, as well as ethnic and independent shops that beg to be browsed.

If you are in town on the first Friday of the month then come along to ‘Beatwalk’ which starts kicking in around seven in the evening; many of the places described above are open until late, each with their own band, one five dollar payment gives you the freedom to wander from venue to venue people-watching and relaxing (you might even enjoy the music too).

It’s a lot of fun and not set up with tourists in mind, many of my neighbours arrange to meet up or just wander down knowing they will bump into friends. The 'south end' is the 'social end'.

If you have a car (or ride Metro 39) go down to Seward Park and walk the perimeter path that follows the lakeside around this peninsula, looking across towards the downtown skyscrapers, it is hard to imagine that you are in a major US city. Within Seward Park there is old growth with the biggest Douglas fir inside city limits, bald eagles nest here and one particular nest is easily viewed from the internal drive that goes up by the amphitheatre.

I have lived in Seattle since 1989 and I love the south end, it doesn’t get the ‘travel show’ attention of other more northerly neighbourhoods but it’s a quiet gem of an experience waiting to happen.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18904 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18903 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18903 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18902 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18902 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/8933 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/8933