February 2015

14 Close-to-Seattle Off-Leash Dog Areas

14 Close-to-Seattle Off-Leash Dog Areas

All the spots your pup can cavort without fear of reprimand

Denny ParkSouth Lake Union, 100 Dexter Avenue NA tiny (.1-acre) graveled area inside the city’s oldest park, surrounded by beautiful towering trees, rhododendrons and azaleas. A nice touch: a fire hydrant situated inside the dog area, for dogs with a sense of humor. Better than being on a leash, but its small size would not…

31 Reasons Pets Love Seattle

31 Reasons Pets Love Seattle

There's never been a better time to be a pet in Seattle. And here's why

Walk around the city and you might see a cat atop a busker’s piano, a parrot fake-flying on a bicycle’s handlebars or a hefty pig on a leash making the sidewalk look awfully small. We cherish our pets in a big way here, and much is made of the fact that dogs and cats outnumber…

Great Food, Drink and Character at Ballard's Brunswick & Hunt

Great Food, Drink and Character at Ballard’s Brunswick & Hunt

The quest for storied drinks and worthy eats ends at Ballard’s Brunswick & Hunt

About 20 feet off Ballard’s busy 15th Avenue, and a few blocks west along the stretch of 70th Street that houses Delancey pizzeria, The Fat Hen and other hits, sits Brunswick & Hunt (1480 NW 70th St.; 206.946.1574; brunswickandhunt.com). A giant mirror framed by delicately carved wood is the first thing you’ll notice, and while…

Vibrant New Murals in Seattle

Vibrant New Murals in Seattle

Several new paintings have popped up in spots both widely visible and delightfully hidden

Whether you consider them free art exhibits, neighborhood signifiers, welcome distractions while stuck in traffic or lone bursts of color on gloomy winter days, murals provide a vital backdrop to city life. When a new mural is painted, it’s often a revelation—why did we leave that boring wall blank for so long? Murals age with…

Texas-style Barbecue Comes to Seattle

Texas-style Barbecue Comes to Seattle

Jack’s BBQ raises the bar for Texas barbecue in Seattle

For a guy who went to Texas A&M’s barbecue camp just a few years ago, Jack Timmons sure does get his brisket right. Before opening Jack’s in September, Timmons, a former marketing exec at Microsoft, spent 18 months hosting Seattle Brisket Experience dinners, slow-smoking dozens of briskets over post oak, mesquite and hickory in an…

What's Next for the Harvard Exit

What’s Next for the Harvard Exit

Seattle’s Harvard Exit succumbs to the city’s new priorities

The Harvard Exit, which screened its final film in mid-January, didn’t start out as an art house movie theater. The Woman’s Century Club (WCC), a group of progressive Seattle women founded in 1891, had the building constructed as a clubhouse for its burgeoning membership (which included Seattle Mayor Bertha Landes). A WCC history book explains…

Infographic: The ’50 Shades’ of our Gray February Weather

As the movie '50 Shades of Grey' opens, we explore just how painful the weather is in February

Tomorrow, 50 Shades of Grey (the blockbuster novel set in Seattle) opens as a movie–perfectly timed for our most punishing season. Here are some tips for finding pleasure in the pain that is February.  

Beach-Worthy Dresses for an Out-of-Town Jaunt

Beach-Worthy Dresses for an Out-of-Town Jaunt

Hitting the sun and surf this month? Try this relaxed resortwear on for size

If you’re lucky enough to be jetting off to a tropical isle this month, whip your wardrobe into shape with something from Pua, a line of beach-worthy dresses, skirts and tops by Ballard’s Shala Sullivan Daniel, owner of former Queen Anne boutique La Femme. Pua means “flower” and “child” in Hawaiian—a perfect name for the…

Where to Dine Out Alone in Seattle

Where to Dine Out Alone in Seattle

It may be the month of tables for two, but those of us looking for time to ourselves have options

BALLARD La Carta de Oaxaca Amid the crowds of people who still (years after this place first opened) wait in line for seats at one of the large communal tables, solo diners have an advantage. They can grab a stool at the counter, which wraps around the open kitchen and allows for an unobstructed, action-packed…

One Set Designer, Two Very Different Productions at ACT

One Set Designer, Two Very Different Productions at ACT

Nancy Guppy goes behind the scenes with set designer Jennifer Zeyl

For the past decade, scenic designer Jennifer Zeyl has been causing audiences to gasp upon seeing sets she has created for plays at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, On the Boards, ACT and many other local venues. This month, the Stranger Genius Award–winning artist shows her stuff in two very different productions at ACT…

Spritz on the Limited-Edition, Floral Fleur09

Spritz on the Limited-Edition, Floral Fleur09

Mount Baker-based Maria Christofilis is back with a new, swoon-worthy scent

Personal fragrance is, well, personal. Wearing a signature scent makes an olfactory impression on the people in your life, forever evoking thoughts of you when they catch a whiff of it elsewhere. For Maria Christofilis, the passion for perfume is also her profession. The Mount Baker mom, who founded home-scent reed diffuser lines Antica Farmacista…

Take a Trip Down the Oregon Coast

Take a Trip Down the Oregon Coast

Time your getaway to coincide with the 15th annual Quilt Run and two outdoorsy festivals

Where: The Oregon Coast, from Astoria to Brookings. Why: Because quilting is cool again, and it’s time for the 15th annual Quilt Run 101 (2/6–2/16; quiltrun101.com). What: A no-sneakers-necessary “run” (via car) along Pacific Coast Highway 101 with stops at 14 participating quilt shops, where you can shop for fabrics, get your Quilt-Run “passport” stamped…