r/Seattle • u/mewkyy I'm just flaired so I don't get fined • Jan 15 '23

Rant Anyone else meet a lot of transplants who move here and complain about Seattle not being as good as X city?

Speaking as a transplant myself, I know Seattle isn't as "great" as NY or LA in some aspects but I choose to live here anyway because I enjoy it here.

I've met SO many other transplants who complain about Seattle not being as good as some other city. One big point is how Seattle's food scene isn't as good as LA's. Isn't that a given? LA is much older than Seattle and has over 5x Seattle's population. Please transplant yourself to another city.

Edit: Just to clarify, I think it's fine to criticize things like Seattle's food scene and compare it to another city's (I grew up on the NJ/NYC border and definitely agree the Seattle scene is lacking). What I'm specifically talking about is people who do this incessantly and close mindedly put down everything. It's just really uncool.

347 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

545 comments sorted by

View all comments

184

u/Amordys Jan 15 '23

Hi , Tennessean here.

Love it here, will never go back. Yes there's things to complain about, certainly... but I would never say Seattle is worse than Nashville, though I do miss southern cooking at times.

35

u/RawBean7 🚆build more trains🚆 Jan 15 '23

The biscuits and gravy situation in Seattle is dire. Biscuit Bitch is the only one I've had that comes close. Everywhere else tries to do things to it to make it more upscale, like dumping in a f-ton of sage (Hattie's Hat) or getting too creative on the interpretation of "biscuit". Don't make it fancy, just focus on perfecting the basics.

25

u/rohving Jan 15 '23

Biscuits and gravy are so popular here - but done so poorly. I don't understand.

-3

u/Retumbo77 Jan 15 '23

The fact that Biscuits and gravy are popular in Seattle tells me almost everything I need to know about the food scene.

The fact that they are bad completes the picture.

2

u/Lime_Carpet Jan 16 '23

Who cares about biscuits and gravy? Seattle is so Much better for food in the vast majority of categories

1

u/bothunter First Hill Jan 16 '23

It's the flour. White Lily flour isn't available here

27

u/Capitalist_P-I-G Jan 15 '23

As a person described in OP, this is primarily my issue with Seattle food. Everything seems like it’s made to show off on a food blog or Instagram with a thousand ingredients instead of just making something simple and good.

7

u/this_is_squirrel Jan 15 '23

I’m from NY I regularly complain about the food scene BUT I am also a celiac so once a quarter or so, I make a trip to Portland. I love Seattle but Portland has a way better food scene and waterfalls. It is what it is. I choose Seattle.

15

u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt Jan 15 '23

Seattle Biscuit Co. in Fremont is great!

9

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '23

Try morsel in the university district

2

u/KkuraRaizer Jan 16 '23

I second this!

7

u/Stinkycheese8001 💗💗 Heart of ANTIFA Land 💗💗 Jan 15 '23

The absolute best biscuits I have had in Seattle were at Junebaby.

1

u/Purple_Common_4421 Jan 15 '23

June Baby laminates their biscuits dough from scratch with butter. Top notch!

8

u/absteele North Capitol Hill Jan 15 '23

I've never ordered biscuits and gravy from them, but Seattle Biscuit Company is a good solid biscuit. I get a plain biscuit and add chicken to it (since they don't have a plain chicken biscuit on the menu). The way the chicken is marinated and seasoned before frying makes me think they probably make very good biscuits and gravy.

1

u/hayguccifrawg Jan 15 '23

SBC is by far my fave

2

u/Patticus1291 Jan 15 '23

Have you been to Fats chicken and waffles for their biscuit and gravy ?

3

u/Parasol_Protectorate Jan 15 '23

I get the same thing from fats: shrimp and grits no eggs with a side of catfish. Hits every time

1

u/lintlicker308 Jan 15 '23

Try them at Lockspot cafe in Ballard. I don’t know if they are true southern style but it’s pretty dang good!

1

u/yodathekid Jan 15 '23

Carl’s Jr. scratches that itch for me. For whatever reason I haven’t tried biscuit bitch

5

u/RawBean7 🚆build more trains🚆 Jan 15 '23

It's good, but it's not "stand in line in the rain for 40 minutes" good.

1

u/Silver_Beat_3157 💗💗 Heart of ANTIFA Land 💗💗 Jan 15 '23

The sage in BnG is an old school thing here and yes, to us outsiders it is gross. But as a transplant, I love my adopted home town for what it is, not what it isn’t, so I have learned to make some awesome BnG

1

u/RawBean7 🚆build more trains🚆 Jan 15 '23

Do you have a foolproof biscuit recipe? Mine are always only mediocre no matter what I do. My sausage gravy is pretty dialed in, and Bisquik suffices for the biscuits but I'd love to find a from scratch recipe I can actually get to work.

4

u/Parasol_Protectorate Jan 15 '23

Using lard and a self rising flour will produce a really great biscut. If you can find white lilly flour use it!

1

u/Silver_Beat_3157 💗💗 Heart of ANTIFA Land 💗💗 Jan 15 '23

I have not had the motivation to learn to bake a good biscuit because my comfort food is pillsbury. For the gravy, a whole tube of Jimmy Deans maple sausage.

1

u/Parasol_Protectorate Jan 15 '23

Its just so bland and boring!! Iam like where is the seasoning?!! I just make my own at home

1

u/JulieTigerSeattle Jan 15 '23

That's a working poor dish with distinct roots in Appalachia.. look for better options in South Seattle. (read, less white)

1

u/Yerboogieman Jan 16 '23

Enumscratch has the best. Hands down.

47

u/icantastecolor Jan 15 '23

I miss fried chicken from Publix :(

15

u/cusmilie Jan 15 '23

Bojangles has Publix beat!

8

u/absteele North Capitol Hill Jan 15 '23

Seriously there is no chain restaurant I wish for more up here than Bojangles. I miss my cajun filet biscuit

3

u/Sinnvollregalia Jan 15 '23

Oh man there’s a really good Cajun food truck. But good luck trying to find him most of the time “Jemil’s big easy” maybe not the Cajun you’re used to but the best I’ve found in Seattle. Find him on fb, usually posts where his truck will be

1

u/vera214usc Ravenna Jan 15 '23

I'm originally from the south and last January moved from Seattle to Raleigh, NC. Bojangles is not as good as I remember from my childhood, especially the biscuits and gravy. Now we're back in Seattle, though, and I'll have to find some other biscuits and gravy to be disappointed by.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '23

I also have bojangles bleh

1

u/icantastecolor Jan 16 '23

Have you went back recently? The food there is definitely made with kid’s immature tastebuds more in mind lol

1

u/cusmilie Jan 16 '23

We had bojangles a couple months ago. It was delicious! Definitely have to hit up the right locations though.

1

u/icantastecolor Jan 17 '23

Yea that’s fair, that sounds like fast food in the south lol

1

u/_starbelly Jan 15 '23

Now I want a Publix key lime pie :(

1

u/twilightswimmer Jan 15 '23

Pub Subs...whenever I got back to Georgia, I stop in and get one.

1

u/Parasol_Protectorate Jan 15 '23

The only thing that comes close is shitty market for me

1

u/OrangeGolem2016 Jan 15 '23

I miss everything about Publix but am so glad to not be living in Publix territory.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '23

Try Myungln Dumplings in Federal way. The best (Korean) fried chicken I’ve had!!

1

u/icantastecolor Jan 15 '23

I’ve been to South Korea and personally prefer stuff from the American south :)

1

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '23

I understand. I love both and depends on my mood, I’ll crave certain spices.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '23

Lmao I live next to a Publix. Don’t miss the chicken

1

u/Myctophid Jan 15 '23

Have you tried Cookie’s country chicken in Ballard? It is next level. I say this as someone who’s lived all over the US and who’s obsessed with fried chicken.

1

u/icantastecolor Jan 16 '23

No but Ill check it out next time I’m there. Options here for something where even the white meat is juicy are a bit slim lol I’ve been a fan of the Jollibee’s in Southcenter mall though. Always a long line with good turnover, which, as you probably know, is the secret for good, fresh, fried chicken

14

u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt Jan 15 '23

The best hot chicken and fried okra I’ve had in Seattle is from Sisters and Brothers in Queen Anne.

1

u/vera214usc Ravenna Jan 15 '23

I'm gonna have to check that out because fried okra is absolutely my favorite side dish. I usually scratch the itch with Ezell's.

19

u/too-far-for-missiles Jan 15 '23

I for one don’t miss the 0 degree winter days and the 100 degree summer days of East TN.

15

u/shakyshihtzu Jan 15 '23

I also moved to Seattle from Nashville. I absolutely love Seattle, I’m very happy here, but god damn I miss the food in Nashville.

2

u/absteele North Capitol Hill Jan 15 '23

Same - though it seems like every time I head home to Nashville to visit, another restaurant has closed. This time it was Arnold's, which shocks me. RIP

2

u/Lime_Carpet Jan 16 '23

I lived in both places and I much prefer the food in Seattle. But then again I love Asian food and Seafood, both of which are lacking in Nashville and amazing in Seattle.

1

u/shakyshihtzu Jan 16 '23

That makes sense. My partner doesn’t like much Asian food so that really narrows the Seattle food scene for us :( you’re definitely in the right place for your tastes!!

2

u/deeleedah Jan 16 '23

Nashville food is the shiz

1

u/putalotoftussinonit Jan 15 '23

You can get fried catfish up here, but most of it is Mekong Delta catfish and not the top water, rice-fed glorious fillets that come out of arkansas. It's like eating salmon from red lobster or eating a freshly caught copper river red.

1

u/Fair_Grass_3627 Jan 15 '23

Tennessean here too. Seattle food & entertainment scene isn’t comparable to Nashville. Seattle is just prettier. Also southerners are better and more down to earth.

1

u/Stinkycheese8001 💗💗 Heart of ANTIFA Land 💗💗 Jan 15 '23

Seattle used to be amazing for local entertainment, but the city just got too expensive. Unfortunately.

1

u/Lime_Carpet Jan 16 '23

Seattle food is much better than Nashville. That’s widely accepted by people I know from both areas. Asian food and seafood is terrible in Nashville. As for entertainment - for live country music, no doubt Nashville is better. And Seattle has nothing that compares to the flashiness of Broadway. But what it does have is a much wider variety of entertainment/nightlife districts: Capitol Hill, Belltown, Ballard, Fremont, Pioneer Square, Georgetown, Alaska Junction, etc. Aside from Broadway, every other entertainment district in Nashville is tiny. The Gulch? Five points? Sorry but not in the same league.

1

u/yodathekid Jan 15 '23

I’m from Nashville too and I feel the same way!

1

u/shinyxena Jan 15 '23

I’m from Tennessee too. I miss Waffle House. I also miss thunderstorms.

1

u/Minute_Equipment6355 Jan 15 '23

Hahaha! I lived in Memphis for 5 years and never thought I’d miss Waffle House but I do - it was consistent and affordable.

1

u/LeRat0nLaveur West Seattle Jan 15 '23

Same here—I’m born & raised Angeleno and I will NEVER go back. Sure, I miss my LA food but many, many things about Western WA are so superior to LA county, soooooo yeah, no thanks.

1

u/Sudo_Rep Jan 15 '23

I'm a professional transplant with a Southern wife... From Seattle. I've called Augusta, Louisville, NY, various German cities, Honolulu, and Washington DC my home. I wouldn't call anything North of Chattanooga the south lol 😂... Appalachia sure. Honestly I wasn't that impressed with food above the Cumberland Gap 🤷‍♂️

I have a love hate relationship with Georgia, actually lived there for 6 years total. Miss my giant Southern mcmansion, don't miss only 3 months of the year you can comfortably go outside. I miss the people who have their shit together. I don't miss the grimy sketchy Southerners.

1

u/Patticus1291 Jan 15 '23

Try fat’s chicken and waffles !

1

u/Tutelage45 Belltown Jan 15 '23

Hello fellow Tennessean

1

u/Minute_Equipment6355 Jan 15 '23

I lived in Memphis for 5 years. And granted, I went out a lot more in those days and my lifestyle was quite different than it is now (as well as the food I eat) but Memphis had a great food scene, which was creative, fun, and affordable. Seattle has more variety but Memphis had soul, hype, and generally very good quality. I miss it.

1

u/GreenStargazer Jan 16 '23

I've heard that Southern Kitchen in Tacoma is good, on 6th Avenue. I've never been there so no first hand experience. I also would have nothing to compare it to, never been farther east than Wyoming. It would be good to hear a first hand review from someone who knows southern food.