June 2012

Two New Must-Read Parenting Resources

Two New Must-Read Parenting Resources

Follow these local experts to find the very best for entertaining and shopping for your kids.

Tot StuffTottini, the beloved South Lake Union tot-gear shop, has a new bundle of joy: a brand-new blog for local parents, TotStuff (blog.tottini.com). Store owners Melissa Maffei and Melissa Van Flandern have recruited a cadre of local and national bloggers, such as Rebecca Woolf (girlsgonechild.net), Keli Faw (drygoodsdesign.wordpress.com), and Emily and Matt Baldwin (standardstyle.com/category/blog), to…

The Ultimate Father's Day Pick

The Ultimate Father’s Day Pick

A personalized trinket that will make any dad feel like a rock star.

For the dad who has everything—except a recording contract—personalize a silver guitar pick. Bainbridge Island artist Carrissa Barbee imprints custom messages, kids’ names and/or birthdates onto standard-size sterling silver picks for a gift that says “You rock, Dad!”—even if all he ever rocks these days is a cradle. $35; the-silver-diva.com; allow seven business days for…

A Diaper Bag for Dads

A Diaper Bag for Dads

This eco-friendly shoulder bag keeps dad equipped for all manner of duties. (Wink.)

Conquer the Father’s Day gift quandary with the coolest diaper bag in town: SoDo-based Metamorphic Gear gives new life to old sails and tarps by sewing them into sweet man-totes. Lake City dad Lindsay Lawrence makes the bags with 75 percent upcycled materials; they’re big enough to hold a 15-inch laptop (or about 15 clean…

Understanding the Royal Treatment at Brightwater

Understanding the Royal Treatment at Brightwater

King County’s shiny new sewage treatment plant aims to change our thinking about water usage.

When a visitor tells Ron Kohler that it smells good where he works, he nods graciously. “I hope you pay particular attention to that smell,” he says. “I’m very proud of it.” The aroma—generic fresh air—is nothing special, except that Ron is a manager at King County’s Brightwater wastewater treatment plant. From its innocuous odor…

Those Summer Nights

Those Summer Nights

Editorial director Rachel Hart reflects on the endless possibilities summer presents us.

Come late spring, the yearning begins for the days when the sunlight lingers past 9 p.m., the air gets (a little) warmer and my family finally emerges from hibernation inside our cozy 1,400-square-foot home. These are the days when our back door is constantly open, our kids are running in and out, and we gain…

Strawberries at Café Flora

Strawberries at Café Flora

This early summer treat makes us berry happy.

Come early summer, the menu at Madison Valley’s airy Café Flora really starts to come alive: Asparagus, rhubarb, peas, carrots and tender baby lettuces make their way to plates as soon as they’ve popped their heads up in the garden. I find myself drawn to the restaurant’s atrium, dewy and warm, filled to bursting with…

At Ma'ono, Spring Hill's Fried Chicken Wears a Hawaiian Shirt

At Ma’ono, Spring Hill’s Fried Chicken Wears a Hawaiian Shirt

An ambitious neighborhood bistro brings Hawaiian comfort food to West Seattle.

I know I wasn’t the only one in town who felt a little wistful upon hearing the news that Mark and Marjorie Chang Fuller were converting their West Seattle restaurant into a more casual, Hawaiian-themed eatery called Ma‘ono Fried Chicken & Whisky. Opened in May 2008, Spring Hill had tried to plant an ambitious “New…

Belle Clementine Comes Up Short

Belle Clementine Comes Up Short

The relatively low prices on this great menu seem to be short-changing, of all people, the diners.

David Sanford has the best intentions. At his communal dining space in Ballard, where one seating is offered each night (reservations and a credit card deposit required), the former caterer and personal chef hopes to build a community gathering place around food. He’s kept the ingredients pure—meats sourced from local farmers, seasonal veggies whenever possible—and…

Lucky 8’s China House Merely Passable [CLOSED]

Lucky 8’s China House Merely Passable [CLOSED]

The tongue-in-cheek suburban American Chinese spot disappoints

If you grew up, as I did, in suburban America, you likely ate at a place similar to the Chinese restaurant of my youth, the Golden Wok. Chunks of pork were fried in a stiff batter and served in a pool of ruby gloss; chicken was fried and then topped with a mellow sauce and…

Say Uncle

Say Uncle

Some of the best to-go Thai food in town.

After a year spent living in Thailand, married chefs Wiley Frank and Poncharee Kounpungchart (aka “PK”) missed the flavors of the street food there. So in 2010, they began a regular Monday pop-up restaurant, then called Shophouse, in the old Licorous space. Now, Shophouse is Little Uncle, and Little Uncle has a permanent home in…

Old Vines Bearing Good Fruit

Old Vines Bearing Good Fruit

In the first of a three-part series, we look at some of Washington’s most mature vineyards.

Washington’s wine industry is maturing into adolescence—a far cry from its infancy in the early ’70s. Back then, there were only about a half-dozen wineries operating in the state, and only a few hundred acres of grapes planted. Few wineries and vineyards had survived Prohibition, and the ones that did grew grapes primarily for sweet,…

Belltown's Innkeeper is Plenty Hospitable

Belltown’s Innkeeper is Plenty Hospitable

This rustic abode serves up satisfying drinks and Mexican-Caribbean cuisine.

With lighting on the dim side, the Innkeeper could at first be confused with the type of lounge that caters to those who sip serious cocktails while contemplating life’s mysteries. But the bustling happy hour (3–6 p.m. and 10 p.m.–midnight daily), and the friendly staff soon reveal a different personality: rollicking neighborhood joint. The atmosphere…