Seattle | Sooke | Flying Fish Company | Olympic | Food

Where do you like to stay?

"The Four Seasons [now The Fairmont Olympic] is where I usually like to hang my hat. It's special to me because when I was a student I used to perform there as an entertainer at fundraisers. I'd do anything from mime to juggling acts. It was me and my starving student friends. We would go and raid the costume department. They'd deck us out in, I don't know, whatever fit. Usually some sort of atrocious Renaissance garb. We'd go and perform and they'd give us like $25. It's a beautiful hotel. It's right across the street from the new W hotel, which is cool. If you want to get out of the center of town, nothing beats the Sooke Harbour House in nearby Sooke, British Columbia. Great food, great rooms, and a great view of the sea."

Is Seattle as rainy as its reputation?

"That's a misnomer. I mean, there are bumper stickers that say, 'People in Seattle don't tan, they rust.' That's not true."

If you only had one day in the city, what would you do?

"I would go to Pike Place Market, because that's where everything happens. First and foremost, they literally throw the fish around there. I don't know the actual name of the place, but everybody calls them the Flying Fish Company. It's the one right in the corner of the market. They have their own vernacular there, like when you buy a salmon, they go, 'You want that reading?' That means filleted. Book filleted. If you get to the market early enough in the morning, you miss all the tour buses. You can feel like you're a local. You can get a cup of coffee and just hang out. You can look out over the bay and watch the ferryboats come and go. The pier is just down below."

Where do you like to start your day?