March 2011

Finding Edible Weeds in Your Garden and Lawn

Finding Edible Weeds in Your Garden and Lawn

Seattle author and expert forager Langdon Cook on how to see your backyard as an exotic produce aisl

Adventurous eaters need not stray far from home for a unique meal. Just step outside. It’s springtime, and the eatin’ is easy. Here in the Puget Sound region, with its temperate climate, we can harvest a bumper crop of nutritious and toothsome weeds from our gardens and lawns nearly year-round. If that sounds gross, consider…

Spring Arts 2011 Preview: What's Hot in Seattle

Spring Arts 2011 Preview: What’s Hot in Seattle

Our picks for the can't-miss music, theater, visual art, dance and film events of the season.

The weather might not be making a terribly convincing show of spring just yet, but the local arts scene is abloom with vibrant events. Visualize: head-to-toe hairy soundsuits, nirvana for Nirvana fans and an extremely engaging stuffed goat (trust us). Plus new arts venues and locally crafted dance, theater, film, music and visual arts aplenty….

2011 Local Outdoor Gear Preview

2011 Local Outdoor Gear Preview

It seems only fair to extend the locavore movement to outdoor equipment.

Seattle has long been a mecca for outdoorsy people and technical innovation, so it follows that some of the leading outdoor clothing and gear manufacturers in the world have set up shop here. Chances are good that many items in your gear closet were designed and possibly even manufactured within a few miles of home….

Sweet Streets: Three Emerging Seattle Neighborhoods

Sweet Streets: Three Emerging Seattle Neighborhoods

What's new in West Seattle Triangle, White Center and Kirkland Avenue

West Seattle TriangleBordered by Fauntleroy Way SW, 35th Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street Though the area is currently as strollable as an airport runway, the chin wagging continues about plans to fashion a trendy, tree-lined “gateway” neighborhood patch out of this area east of the Junction. While signs of new life are few at…

Sweet Streets: Cost of Living in 8 Seattle Neighborhoods

Wanna live there? A sampling of real estate sales in select Seattle neighborhoods.

Cost of Living> South Lake Union401 ninth ave. unit 111 (Veer Lofts) 1,073-square-foot condo unit built in 2008, sold on November 19, 2010, for $367,6752010 property taxes: $3,223Attendance-area public schools: John Hay Elementary and McClure Middle School (both on Queen Anne);  Garfield High (in the Central District) Capitol Hill1106 13th Ave. 1,950-square-foot Victorian-style home built…

Best Neighborhoods: 34th Avenue, Madrona

Best Neighborhoods: 34th Avenue, Madrona

Betwen East Spring and East Pike Street lies a hidden jewel that has a habit of appearing and disapp

PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE: Well-groomed urban sophisticates The Brigadoon of Seattle neighborhoods, Madrona has a habit of appearing and disappearing from our memory radar, but it never fails to charm with the quaint-village perfection of an MGM musical. EAT/DRINK: It’s easy to imagine Gene Kelly soft-shoeing his way along sidewalks animated by family-favorite breakfast and…

Best Neighborhoods: Airport Way South, Georgetown

Best Neighborhoods: Airport Way South, Georgetown

Between South Lucile and South Hardy streets lies our city's biker chic 'hood.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE: Arty singles and employed beatniks Sometimes the aircraft bound for Sea-Tac Airport and Boeing Field fly so low over Georgetown it seems you could reach out and tickle their bellies. If this isn’t stimulating enough, there are plenty of ground-bound attractions in this SoHo-style neighborhood, from the gracious Corson Building on…

Best Neighborhoods: Rainier Avenue South, Columbia City

Best Neighborhoods: Rainier Avenue South, Columbia City

From South Edmunds Street to South Dawson Street, a peek at a small town in the Seattle's South End.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE: Bike-riding, Berkeley-style globalistas If Mayberry had an urban soul, it might look like Columbia City. The high charm quotient comes from the old-style street clock and painted benches, plus cute flower shop KC’s Flowers, all-day breakfast hangout Geraldine’s Counter, butcher shop Bob’s Quality Meats, multiple-screen movie house Columbia City Cinema and…

Best Neighborhoods: 24th Avenue Northwest, Ballard

Best Neighborhoods: 24th Avenue Northwest, Ballard

From Northwest Market Street to Northwest 65th Street, a peek at the insider's Ballard.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE: Indie traditionalists It’s a familiar syndrome in many families: the spotlight-craving, showboat sibling versus the spotlight-dodging, quietly confident one. Just north of Ballard’s more look-at-me venues on historic Ballard Avenue NW and mainstream NW Market Street lie the subdued, tree-lined offerings of 24th Avenue NW. Here you’ll find colorful coffee shops…

Best Neighborhoods: Greenwood Avenue North

Best Neighborhoods: Greenwood Avenue North

From North 65th Street to North 75th Street, a look at laid-back, lived in PhinneyWood.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE: Modern Family-style broods and kid-free yuppies With yoga studios, day spas, hair salons, dental offices, even a DIY dog-washing joint, the overlapping, family-focused ’hoods of Phinney Ridge and Greenwood—or PhinneyWood—have the essentials and the extras covered. SHOP: There’s an old-school True Value Hardware store and a quirky new, all-vegan shoe store/chocolate…

Fondue: 5 Spots for a Retro Date Night

Fondue: 5 Spots for a Retro Date Night

Everything tastes better with cheese (or chocolate), so it’s no surprise that fondue remains a guilt

PAIRWhat happens when a mild, buttery Camembert and a strong, pungent Gorgonzola join forces? They create Cambozola, which makes a dip-tastic fondue. Pair’s version is accompanied by pear, apple and crostini pieces begging to be dunked. $9. Ravenna/U District, 5501 30th Ave. NE; 206.526.7655; pairseattle.com THE MELTING POTYou can’t go wrong with the traditional Swiss…

Restaurant News: Spinasse Expands, Tom Douglas's SLU Footprint Grows

Restaurant News: Spinasse Expands, Tom Douglas’s SLU Footprint Grows

News on Spinasse's expansion into the neighboring space, and Tom Douglas' great South Lake Union tak

DOUBLING DOWNSpinasse, the cozy Capitol Hill pastaria (1531 14th Ave.) where Jason stratton, one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs of 2010, heads the kitchen, will double in size later this spring. The northern-Italian-style restaurant will expand into the corner space next door, the former Whimsy Home Décor location, adding another dining room…