Seattle’s essence in just a few city blocks

THE choice wasn’t easy: ostrich jerky or octopus-chickpea bruschetta? While my hungry friend tried to decide, I listened for corks popping at a wine tasting half a block away.

We were at the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market -- not to be confused with Pike Place Market, where fishmongers toss salmon around like Frisbees. That midtown bazaar, on the Seattle itinerary of tourists from Tombstone to Teaneck, is three miles south of Ballard, an enchanting, self-contained neighborhood that’s an alternative to the big city for any day or weekend.

Seattle has dozens of neighborhoods spread across its 90 square miles, connected by bridges spanning freshwater lakes and the saltwater sound. Each has its own vibe, its own heartbeat and its own hardware store.

None, however, has been transformed in the last decade like Ballard. Its triangle-shaped hub nestles at the edge of Salmon Bay, where fishing boats and pleasure vessels parade by on their way into Puget Sound. On the easily navigable streets, you’ll find art galleries, alehouses and clothing stores, two of Seattle’s top live-music clubs and more than 25 restaurants.

Ballard, settled by Scandinavians in the mid-19th century, got its soul from the generations of fishermen who docked here, built homes and toasted 18-hour days in its many saloons. When Seattle annexed Ballard in 1907, residents cried, “Free Ballard!” -- an expression that survives today on bumper stickers and T-shirts.

These days, the Nelsons and Andersons still attend weddings at the Sons of Norway Lodge, eat Swedish pancake breakfasts at the Nordic Heritage Museum and carry home gravlax from Olsen’s Scandinavian Foods. But when Seattle home prices began skyrocketing in the 1990s, Ballard laid out the velkommen mat to artists, shopkeepers, musicians and others fleeing the city’s pricier areas. The renaissance has prompted much head scratching by those who remember it when.

Gastronomic abundance

WHEN I took my friend Shannon, visiting from Minneapolis, to the Sunday market in late September, the sea-sweet aroma of the sound wafted through the morning air and the white-capped Olympic Mountains beckoned from the west. We joined Seattle-ites of every age, sexual orientation and ZIP Code filling their canvas bags with heirloom tomatoes, pastries from Little Prague European Bakery, newly caught oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms -- even worm tea concentrate “for healthy, vigorous plants.”

We arrived early enough to nab a table at Hattie’s Hat, a century-old diner known for its late-night comfort food, a persuasive Bloody Mary and all-day weekend brunches. The Hattie’s Hash -- corned beef, potatoes, red beets and green peppers topped with two poached eggs -- did well in soaking up the happy hour we had enjoyed the night before, bellied up to Hattie’s 1904 hand-carved French bar.

Hattie’s is a pit stop nearly seven nights a week for those heading to the Tractor Tavern, Seattle’s most eclectic club. The Tractor’s intimate setting -- featuring a crystalline sound system and cowboy boots hanging from the ceiling -- can be a jaw-dropping place to catch bands that often play larger venues in other cities.

The market was an ideal place for Shannon to get her bearings and feed off Ballard’s independent energy, as hundreds of Washington state farmers, craftspeople and street performers overran Ballard Avenue. The street is closed to cars during the six-hour fair, except during the winter months, when the market shrinks by half and moves to a nearby parking lot.

After Shannon polished off Bruschettina’s crunchy toast coated with sauteed octopus (her eventual choice), we were off to Portalis Wine Bar. The store’s facade opens to the market, reeling in new customers every Sunday. The sweet cherry finish of the 2003 Allegrini Valpolicella was a tonic to wash away the potent garlic from the aforementioned snack.

With a niece’s birthday in mind, we followed the parade into the children’s shop Clover, where thought-provoking toys are geared to art and science. Children turn the front room into playtime central, often sending one parent fleeing across the street to Camelion Design’s home and garden furnishings shop or down the block for a pint of Pacific Northwest at the Old Town Alehouse, which is in a 107-year-old building that one saloon or another has occupied since Day One.

Other two- and three-story brick Italianate structures along Ballard Avenue house lawyers, architects and artists. A century ago, these were banks and hotels, but many businesses moved to nearby Market Street in the 1920s.

Over on Market, locals complement their caffeine buzz at Verite Coffee with built-from-scratch snacks from the adjoining Cupcake Royale. Shannon called the vanilla butter-cream cupcake “criminally good.” Lingering customers took comfort in the high ceilings, cushioned couches and Wi-Fi technology.

As we pressed up to the street-facing window, quintessential Ballard passed before our eyes. A 70ish chap in a Greek fisherman’s hat thumbed through a newspaper. A graying couple with twins in tow walked toward Ballard Commons Park and the new ecologically friendly library. A pair of tattooed and fuchsia-haired hipsters entered Sonic Boom Records, where renowned bands often play on the intimate in-store stage.

If we were hungry -- and how could we have been? --Sofrito Rico has a half-dozen platos that are as addictive as they are satisfying. The homey Puerto Rican restaurant, decorated in vivid reds and yellows, has an open kitchen and just five tables. It serves generous portions of pork chops with lemon and adobo, and lentil stew bursting with sweet potatoes and intoxicating spices.

Instead, we ambled toward the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, where vessels pass from Seattle’s lakes through the Lake Washington Ship Canal and into Puget Sound. From our generous patch of hillside green overlooking the locks, we took in a procession of yachts and sailboats, and watched entire families marvel at the fish ladder that helps salmon migrate back to fresh waters for spawning.

Overnight visitors could settle in around the corner at Canal Cottages, which overlooks the canal. It’s easy to imagine a respite with a dog-eared paperback on the wrap-around porch of the Caretaker’s Cottage. Inside, there’s enough charm and elbowroom for two couples to spend a night or a week.

When my guest wondered aloud why my house wasn’t on the water, I steered us toward dinner at the Hi-Life, a year-old restaurant housed in a historic fire station. Exposed brick, a wood-fired oven and high-backed booths add a backwoods aura to this urban setting. Once a pint of Red Menace Amber (from nearby Hale’s Brewery) was in my hand, I settled on the Bianca alla Romana pizza.

Teetering between the orange-and-balsamic sea scallops and the applewood-grilled salmon -- a deja vu of that morning’s deliberation at the farmers market -- Shannon realized the menu was much like Ballard itself. The choices seem endless. But it’s hard to go wrong.

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Spirit of Ballard

GETTING THERE:

Nonstop service to Seattle is available on Alaska from Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach, Orange County and LAX. United and Northwest also fly nonstop from LAX, and American flies nonstop from Orange County. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $198.

WHERE TO STAY:

Canal Cottages, on the Ballard ship canal near Northwest Market Street and Seaview Avenue; www.canalcottages.com, reservations at staycanalcottages.com. Two-bedroom cottage and one-bedroom boathouse; $105-$150 a night.

Chelsea Station on the Park, 4915 Linden Ave. N.; (800) 400-6077, www.bandbseattle.com. Six unique rooms with private bath, some with mountain views. Full breakfast included. Near Woodland Park, just a mile from Ballard’s center core. Doubles from $110.

WHERE TO EAT:

Hattie’s Hat, 5231 Ballard Ave. N.W.; (206) 784-0175, www.hattieshat.com. Comfort food since 1904, including a lip-smacking Bloody Mary and a renowned weekend brunch. $7.50-$17.

The Hi-Life, 5425 Russell Ave. N.W.; (206) 784-7272, www.chowfoods.com/hilife. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and full bar in a converted 1911 firehouse. Look for the 20-foot-high “Eat -- Drink” neon. $8.50-$25.50.

Sofrito Rico, 2320 N.W. Market St.; (206) 789-0516. Five tables but more than 20 Puerto Rican platos to choose from. Lunch and dinner. Entrees $5.50-$13.95.

WHERE TO GO:

Ballard Farmers Market, on Ballard Avenue, from 20th to 22nd avenues Northwest; (206) 781-6776, www.fremontmarket.com/ballard. Organic fruits and vegetables, arts and crafts, and street entertainment. Sundays year-round, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (11 a.m.-3 p.m. in winter).

Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W.; (206) 789-3599, www.tractortavern.com. Venerable Seattle club hosts local and national bands at least five nights a week. Tickets $5-$25.

TO LEARN MORE:

Ballard Chamber of Commerce, 2208 N.W. Market St.; (206) 784-9705, www.ballardchamber.com.

-- Scott Holter