Fave Five
It’s time to rediscover all Seattle has to offer.
By Heather Lowenthal June 16, 2022

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of Seattle magazine.
1. Get dressed it’s springtime in Seattle, where sunshine is a state of mind. So put on a bold, pastel printed Marimekko bucket hat from Pirkko of Finland, purveyors of modern iconic design. It’s a boutique filled with color, hidden in plain sight on First Avenue since 2010, just up from the Pike Place Market. If a hat is too optimistic for your Seattle sensibilities, then sport a graphic rain poncho you’ll use year-round. www.pirkko.com
2. Eat art Visit the renowned Sushi Kashiba. Arrive early and expect to sit at the bar unless you made a reservation four weeks ago. Don’t hesitate. Order the Chef Counter Omakase Experience. In a time of uncertainty, sushi chef Shiro Kashiba delivers beautiful sushi and sashimi of the highest quality with relentless consistency. The experience will ruin you by turning other sushi into, well, dead fish. The meticulous service feels like it comes from a time when everyone wore hats and you needed a nickel to make a phone call. www.sushikashiba.com
3. Release Channel your inner Beyoncé or swing like Michael Bublé at Seattle’s Rock Box karaoke rooms and bar. This venue is a pandemic survivor featuring 12 private rooms ventilated every six minutes with UV air scrubbers with sanitized surfaces. Cocktails and appetizers can be delivered discreetly to your booth and just like that, life will feel like the best of before times. www.rockboxseattle.com
4. Experiment at the SAM Gallery, you can preview the work of more than 60 Northwest artists and rent one or more pieces for three months. If you discover you want to wake up every morning to a glossy “The Bert and Ernie” by Troy Gua or an abstract “Pink Tea Party” gouache and graphite on paper by Cara Jaye, buy it. If not, you’re free to go your separate ways and continue your search for true love. www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/shops
5. Expand Attend Seattle Arts & Lectures events to hear notable fiction and nonfiction authors, poets and journalists speak about their work and the complexity of our times. In 2022, Seattle Arts & Lectures featured Cathy Park Hong, “Minor Feelings — An Asian American Reckoning,” and Bernadine Evaristo, author of 2019 Booker Prize-winning “Girl, Woman, Other.” They are just two writers in a series of 10 conversations with rising contemporary authors. To attend the next event, go to lectures.org/events/ and secure your ticket for a single night or an entire series.