One of our travel guides partners, Not For Tourists, has several unique offerings for travelers on their website this week. Check out the following highlights from their Seattle correspondents this week...  

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Seattle's Own Wonka

 Amy Mikel

Theo's Chocolate
Where can you find the only entirely free-trade, organic chocolate factory in the United States? Right here in Seattle, tucked away on a little side street in Fremont. Theo's Chocolate has been quietly growing their business since 2006, with a factory and retail shop set up in a historic building former home to both a trolley barn and Redhook brewery. The company's wide range of chocolate bars and gourmet confection chocolates have punchy flavors like Coconut Curry and Chai Tea, but that's not to say you can't still get a good old plain milk chocolate or dark chocolate bar (some with a hefty 91% cacao content). Stop in the retail shop to browse Theo's surprisingly cheap selections, or take a tour of the factory for a nice little lesson on the bean-to-bar process and for a real eye-opener on what kind of junk gets into "other" chocolate bars. Warning: tour includes all you can eat chocolate samples.

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Totally Awesome!

Jessica Baxter

Seattle Laser Dome
If you're looking for great recession time entertainment, (and let's face it, who isn't?) you should really check out Laser Dome at the Pacific Science Center. Sure, most of the audience is comprised of teenagers looking to hang with their crushes in the dark. But there’s also loud rock n' roll...and LASERS! They have classic shows like "Pink Floyd: The Wall" and "Laser Queen," and they're always adding limited engagements for contemporary bands like Radiohead and Muse. It never hurts to sneak in some beers in your tummy. But even in a sober state, lasers are pretty cool. Especially when they depict robot battles. It's already cheaper than a movie but there are even more ways to save at Laser Dome. Thursday is "cheap date night" at $5 a pop. Concessions on Friday and Saturday are just $2. They have $1 weekend matinees with your PSC ticket. Teen admission is always $5. Best of all, it's a live show, which means there's a guy in the booth customizing each performance. If the crowd is keen, he'll even do an encore. Besides, you should support the Pacific Science Center because financially, it's not doing so hot. The people need their science!

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Calling All Party People

Barrie Arliss

Marrakesh Moroccan Restaurant
Do you like sitting on your ass? Do you like eating an entire lamb? Do you like belly dancers? Well, shit, get a group together and go to Marrakesh right now. This is a birthday party’s wet dream. There's something for everyone here. The ambience is dark, romantic, ethnic and mysterious for the daters. The pillows are plentiful so your bony, fat or old ass won't hurt when you're sitting on the ground. The lamb is not on the menu so the planners will enjoy calling two days ahead. Foodies will love the succulent eats. OCD freaks will get a kick out of cleaning their hands at the table with the water and towels provided by the staff. And bachelors, lesbians and any one who likes to have a good time will get a kick out of the talented belly dancer. Sure, it's a bit pricey. But you're paying for everything in this paragraph. And it's all worth it.

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F-R-I-T-O P-I-E!

Barrie Arliss

Smarty Pants
I'm not sure what it is that I love so much about Smarty Pants. I think it can be said in two glorious words. Frito Pie. Just saying Frito Pie should conjure up excitement and mystery. Is it a pie? Is it awesome? And does it really have Fritos in it? To answer my own questions, not exactly, yes! And YES! Before Smarty Pants, I never knew such a thing existed. I never thought such goodness in the world was possible. And when the tattooed clad waitress who was either flirting with me or hated my guts handed me my first warm bowl of meat and beans and FRITOS!, all it took was my first bite to know that I found something special (and not that kind of special) at Smarty Pants.

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To Each Their Own Cookie

Barrie Arliss

Specialty's Cafe & Bakery
I'm pretty much spoiled when it comes to food. Therefore every time I hear rave reviews, I usually leave totally disappointed. Thus, I introduce you to Specialty Bakery and Cafe. The one thing I kept hearing about this place is that their warm cookies are the bomb. So that was my mission: eat warm cookies. Unfortunately, my first attempt was the peanut butter cookie and it wasn't fresh out of the oven. Sans warm, it was still good. Not like totally mind-blowing let me rave about this on some "other" review site good. It was just good, decent, not nearly as great as the Dahlia Bakery peanut butter cookie. And since I really wanted this warm cookie to write a fair review of my own, I waited around for a HOT chocolate chip cookie. This cookie seriously just left the oven and then was flung into my mouth. I burnt my tongue and decided to hell with this shit. These cookies are not for me.

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Check out NFT's website  - they have free downloadable guides, maps, gear, and of course, the travel guide books. Not to mention, they are pretty funny people. I am always laughing when I visit their site, or read their newsletter.

They also have sections of their guidebooks available for download at only $1.50.

Not For Tourists has offered a coupon for Wandering Educators - please use the coupon code: WE for a 10% discount.

http://www.notfortourists.com/