January 2011

Restaurant Review: Capitol Hill's La Bete

Restaurant Review: Capitol Hill’s La Bete

A gorgeous reclaiming of the old Chez Gaudy, with carefully prepared, exceptionally good food.

If you ever found your way into Chez Gaudy—down the shadowy hallway and through the small rooms decorated in college-rental fashion—you won’t believe how elegant La Bête is. Against all odds, the same Capitol Hill space that was Chez Gaudy for five years is now beautiful: The long black walnut bar is polished to a…

Staple and Fancy Mercantile is "Pretty Good"

Staple and Fancy Mercantile is “Pretty Good”

Is chef Ethan Stowell's new Ballard restaurant his best yet? Dining critic Allison Scheff finds out.

In big cities like ours, there are a lot of “pretty good” restaurants. It takes something to really shine, to be great. Union, Ethan Stowell’s first restaurant, which opened way back in 2003, was a great restaurant in the beginning. But it was always a little too stiff for an any-night stop. Still, Stowell built…

Local Architects Frame Negative Space at the Border

Local Architects Frame Negative Space at the Border

Arts and culture editor Brangien Davis on Lead Pencil Studio's arresting new work, "Non-Sign II," th

Seattle-based architects and artists Daniel Mihalyo and Annie Han, who collaborate under the name Lead Pencil Studio (leadpencilstudio.com), have built their reputation on nothing. More specifically, their award-winning site-specific installations have focused on absence—such as in 2003’s “Stairway,” a spindly metal flight of stairs missing quite a few steps in the middle, and 2006’s phenomenal…

Comfort Food: Noodle Dishes

Comfort Food: Noodle Dishes

Smooth, slippery and highly slurpable, these noodles are high on our craveable carbs list.

Pad ThaiThere’s something seductive about the pad thai ($14) at Wallingford favorite May Restaurant & Lounge. It comes artfully arranged on a banana leaf, and the server carefully customizes the noodle dish tableside for you and yours. Craving extra crushed peanuts, a mild bite of chile, a moderate squeeze of lime or an extra spoon…

UW Scientist Henry Lai Makes Waves in the Cell Phone Industry

UW Scientist Henry Lai Makes Waves in the Cell Phone Industry

UW scientist Dr. Henry Lai never set out to link cell phones to cancer, but his work—and efforts

A greeting card on bioengineering professor Henry Lai’s office wall at the University of Washington contains this quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This philosophy could well sum up Lai’s work on the effects of low-level radiation…

Seattle's Best Comfort Food

Seattle’s Best Comfort Food

January may be National Soup Month, but that’s no reason to limit ourselves to just one type of soot

Whether it’s the singular contentment found in a plate of gooey mac and cheese, or the soothing warmth of a hot bowl of soup, this time of year we’re all about praising good ol’ comfort food. For this issue, we indulged in moist slices of meatloaf and flaky-crumbed piroshky. We dug through mounds of mashed…

Nerd Report: Empire & State Infuse Economics and Politics In New Game

Nerd Report: Empire & State Infuse Economics and Politics In New Game

A Redmond-based gaming startup crafts a new game that's both entertaining and instructive for those

The next time you’re bored at work, resist the urge to flip through your ex’s Facebook photos and engage in a productive distraction instead. Empire & State is a new MMO game (that is, “massively multiplayer online,” meaning opponents are playing from their own computers) from Redmond-based gaming startup Novel Inc. While most MMOs take…

Road Trip: Go Bavarian at Leavenworth's Winter Ice Festival

Road Trip: Go Bavarian at Leavenworth’s Winter Ice Festival

Head East for a packed roster of wintry events, including snow sculpting, tubing, snowshoe relays, a

WHERE: Leavenworth, Washington, for the annual Bavarian Ice Festival, January 15–16 (leavenworth.org). WHY: A packed roster of wintry events, including snow sculpting, tubing, snowshoe relays, a slippery tug of war (no spiked footwear allowed!), sleigh rides and the Northwest Dog Sled Pulling Competition. Adventurers can sign up for the famed smooshing contest, in which teams…

Beauty Scoop: January 2010

Beauty Scoop: January 2010

We sometimes contemplate moving overseas just to partake in culturally condoned sleep traditions suc

The new nidra sleep treatment at  Vida Spa begins with a warm cup of tea in the cozy, fireside relaxation room, where guests have been known to nod off. After a soothing aromatherapy massage and press-and-release tension relief on the scalp, temple, neck and shoulders, you’ll be sent home with newfound Zen. Each guest receives…

Scoop: Mix and match services at American Cutting Co.

Scoop: Mix and match services at American Cutting Co.

Located in the old Maison Luxe space, this new downtown salon tailors its a la carte-style menu to s

Embrace your choosy side at new downtown beauty joint American Cutting Co. (1123 First Ave.; 206.395.2060; americancuttingco.com). Occupying the former Maison Luxe space, the salon tailors its à la carte–style menu to suit your time and budget. Pick from shampoo and cut ($22, without dry and style; $47, for additional blow-dry), go for the full…

Scoop: Where to Taste Top-shelf Tequila in Seattle

Scoop: Where to Taste Top-shelf Tequila in Seattle

Start the year off right with top-shelf agave from our local tequila temples.

The new year often inspires a slew of detox drinks as an antidote for excessive holiday festivities. But while starting out fresh is all well and good, we’d like to propose an alternate kickoff libation: tequila! Rather than tossing back shots of the cheap stuff, however, we suggest a more suave agave—in the form of…

How OtB's A.W.A.R.D. Show is Democratizing Dance

How OtB’s A.W.A.R.D. Show is Democratizing Dance

Reality Programming America—or at least Seattle—is voting on which local dance company should win

COORDINATESThe A.W.A.R.D. Show1/27–1/30, 8 p.m. Prices vary.On the Boards, 100 W Roy St.206.217.9888, ontheboards.org We’re all familiar with the concept: Dancers compete before a live audience in hopes of earning enough votes to win a big cash prize. It certainly works for reality television, but isn’t it a little unseemly for Seattle’s esteemed dance community?…