Seattle's Melrose Market New Must-See Food Mall

San Francisco has the Ferry Building, New York has Chelsea Market, Philly has Reading Terminal. Now Seattle is adding to the culinary cred it established through Pike Place with a new destination-worthy food mall: Melrose Market.

At Marigold & Mint, you'll find "organic flowers and edibles" from the owner's family farm, as well as vintage Mason and apothecary jars, while The Calf & Kid offers a small but stunning selection of imported and Pacific Northwest cheeses. Witty tasting notes and a liberal sampling policy add to the appeal.

Rain Shadow Meats, one of Seattle's only regional and sustainable butcher shops, features house-cured meats from butcher Russell Flint, formerly of Boat Street Cafe. Stop in for some of the delicately spiced chicken-liver pâté, or pick up some thinly sliced beef short ribs to throw on the grill; Flint likes to marinate his in chermoula, a fragrant paste used in North African cuisine (click here to download his recipe).

Melrose is also the new home of chef Matthew Dillon's Sitka & Spruce, which relocated in May. The hyper-local menu changes frequently, but a recent visit included rustic delights such as raw scallops with green garlic and preserved lemon ($18) and long-line-caught lingcod with asparagus, honey and Banyuls vinegar ($23).

And the future looks bright: Soon-to-open Melrose tenants include Homegrown Sustainable Sandwich Shop and Bar Ferdinand, a wine shop/bar co-owned by Dillon.

Melrose Market, 1501-1535 Melrose Ave., Seattle; melrosemarketseattle.com