A Taste of the New York Style in 1870s Seattle
Before the city’s culinary scene went global, entrepreneurs like William Philpott were racing to introduce the 'New York style' to the rough-and-tumble streets of pioneer-era Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Puget Sound Restaurant, Mill Street opposite Occidental Square. The undersigned, proprietor of the Puget Sound Restaurant, takes pleasure in announcing to the citizens of Seattle and the public generally that he has opened a first-class restaurant. Meals at all hours. Suppers for parties and other purposes will be served at the shortest notice. William Philpott.
“The undersigned... takes pleasure in announcing to the citizens of Seattle and the public generally that he has opened a first-class restaurant.”
Today's Seattle is a global dining destination, yet this 1870s advertisement captures the same early ambition to signal prestige and modernity by importing out-of-state culinary trends—a cycle of cultural 'arrival' that persists in the city's food scene over 150 years later.
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