Best or Worst? You Decide…

This year saw an explosion in trends we loved…or not so much. But there’s one guarantee: We all definitely have an opinion. Boon or bane? Talk amongst yourselves.

The Gallery and Shop/Spa/Restaurant/Coffeehouse/Fill in the Blank Combo
This year, art, like an invasive species, snuck into every kind of non-native habitat possible. Now, for your viewing pleasure, you can take in art while you wait for your spa treatments (at The Loft), shoe salesperson (at Triple) and appetizers (at Shoofly Pie). But does art really go with everything?

Upscale Bowling, with Irony
Can a great blue-collar activity like bowling be truly gentrified? This year saw the shuttering of Ballard’s beloved Sunset Bowl. Yet fancy joints like Garage on Capitol Hill or Lucky Strikes Lanes in Bellevue are thriving. So what happens when the other hipster bowling shoe drops?

“Green” Overkill
Suddenly green resolutions are everywhere, and doing…well, we’re not sure how much good. Charging for grocery bags? Banning foam takeout containers? The blowback could light Renton for a year. Mini airline SeaPort trumpets itself as a “green airline” for donating “carbon offset” funds to the Columbia Land Trust to help preserve forestland. But can an airline ever really be “green”? Paging Kermit.

Hyper-Local-Seasonal-Locavore Menus
We’re down with the concept, but when you think about what’s truly native and local—salmon, raspberries, blackberries and fiddleheads, each for about three weeks a year—that doesn’t leave a lot of room for variety. Are you listening, Tilth, Trellis, Sitka & Spruce, Sutra, Dahlia Lounge, Lark, et al.?

Car-Free Days. And the Bike Explosion.
Good, in theory, unless you’re trying to drive or walk amongst the killer two-wheelers (or bike amongst the killer pedestrians and cars). And car-free is great for…other people who don’t have to do soccer practice duty. Can’t  we all just get along?