Jul 25: Ballard Seafood Festival

It's amazing that this area has many food festivals occur during the summer. It's a city version of a picnic. Today is the 2nd Annual Seafood festival... well, actually it's the 35th Annual Ballard Seafood Festival, but the second annual for me. :)

Ballard started out as a Scandinavian neighborhood where the residents are proud of their Nordic heritage.

A restored replica of a Viking ship that was sailed in Lake Washington in the early 1900's.




The folks in Ballard worked the sea. Salmon being the common catch.


The trademark dish at the festival - smoked salmon.

Salmon (and Halibut) are brushed with butter (?) and a secret seasoning mix.


An improvised sand pit is created where an Alderwood fire is started and the wood is allowed to burn down.


The metal box is moved over the wood and the fish is smoked/cooked on a grate.


We also walked the festival to see what else was cooking.


Cajun blackened salmon caught our eye.


Served with grilled onions, tartar sauce on a soft bun.
The salmon was slightly spice from the seasoning, still moist and delicious.


A couple other things caught our eye... Food on a stick!
Roasted corn and Alligator on a stick.
Yes, alligator. It's not Nordic nor is it very Pacific Northwest, but looked interesting.


The old saying is mystery meat tastes like chicken... Actually, the alligator tasted like pork especially with the spicy coating. The texture was a little chewy like beef.


We split the corn.
Can you tell which half was my half?
The portion eaten to the core... lol.