October 2010
Restaurant Insider: October 2010
Scott Staples's latest project and a new bagel shop
Staples Center I’ve been waiting for someone to create a Seattle-style Shake Shack, the fanatically obsessed-over chain of New York City burger shacks opened by Danny Meyer. Now it looks as if Scott Staples, chef/owner of Quinn’s and Restaurant Zoë, is doing just that. Staples’ yet-unnamed venture will feature classic $6 burgers made with a…
Shelter: Eco Lighting
How many interior designers does it take to change an eco light bulb into something as attractive as
You might guess that Mount Baker-based eco architect Rob Harrison would be a zealot about energy-efficient lighting. But beneath his family’s roof, tucked in among the curly compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), a few energy-hogging incandescent light bulbs still glow. “You can’t create a mood” with energy-efficient lighting, Harrison says, so he reserves a few lamps…
Perfect Pastries
With the right accompaniment, a good cup of coffee plays on a much larger stage. Here are some of ou
The figgy maple scone from Volunteer Park Café is utter perfection. Buttery, with bits of fig scattered about in the flaky dough, it may be the best in town. Capitol Hill, 1501 17th Ave. E; 206.328.3155; alwaysfreshgoodness.com No local bakery can match James Miller’s croissant expertise at his decade-old Café Besalu. Pull it apart slowly…
Scoop: Seattle’s Pollinator Pathway
Seattle's bees stay busy along the Pollinator Pathway
Seattle artist and designer Sarah Bergmann is making quite a buzz, thanks to the Pollinator Pathway, a project she began in 2008 with the intent of creating more habitat for local bees and other pollinating creatures. If you haven’t heard, the nation’s population of pollinators is plummeting, and the pathway aims to aid their plight…
Seattle Magazine’s Ultimate Coffee Guide
A celebration of Seattle's caffeinated culture
For many of us, it’s the first word we croak in the morning: Coffee. Not a question, nor a command (though sometimes a plea), but most often a statement—a fact of daily life, especially in Seattle, where, as you may have heard, we drink a lot of coffee. Lately, our beloved local ritual of going…
Scoop: Radar Hair and Records
Radar Hair and Records caters to overgrown music lovers
Have you ever found yourself in mid-haircut, wishing your salon also offered a selection of vinyl LPs and vintage music gear? Us, too! Thankfully, Radar Hair and Records has landed in SoDo. Open since July, the funky space combines the talents of owners Betsy Hansen (formerly of Rusk, Vain and Helmet Head salons) and Johnny…
Health: An Expert’s Advice on Mammograms
A year after a federal task force issued a controversial advisory on mammographies for women in thei
Dr. David C. Grossman, senior investigator at Seattle’s Group Health Research Institute, has served nearly three years of a four-year term as one of 16 members on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which last year was at the center of a controversy arising from its new recommendations on mammography screenings. News reports have indicated…
Scoop: Quilts by Boo Davis
Seattle’s most headbanging quiltmaker shows off her softer side in a new book
How does a longtime metalhead channel her deep desire to quilt? In the case of Boo Davis, 36, she quits her day job as an illustrator for The Seattle Times, creates a label called Quiltsrÿche (quiltsryche.com) and uses traditional techniques to make quilts featuring the “devil horns” hand sign and tributes to heavy-metal bands. Davis’…
Tasting Notes: Seattle’s New Pour Houses
An urban influx gives wine lovers a city rich in pour houses
The wine buzz around the Puget Sound area has been all about the explosive growth of wineries and tasting rooms in eastern Washington and Woodinville. But urban wineries are blossoming, too, bringing closer to home the opportunity to taste—and buy—an impressive array of Washington wines. “We thought about looking in Woodinville, but it’s pretty saturated,”…
Road Trip: Long Beach Peninsula
Everybody into the bog! It's cranberry time.
WHERE: Long Beach Peninsula, for the 89th annual Cranberrian Fair, October 9–10. WHY: It’s harvest season for the deliciously tart bog-dwelling berries, of which Washington is the nation’s fifth-largest producer (who knew!). At the Cranberry Museum in Long Beach (cranberrymuseum.com), revelers can check out a 10-acre demonstration bog, witness the harvesting process and browse the…
Reviews: Flying Fish, Marjorie & Fatty’s Corner
Allison Austin Scheff reviews what's new in Seattle dining scene
Flying Fish Owner/chef Christine Keff’s Flying Fish, which opened in Belltown way back in 1995, built a reputation on great seafood but, boy, did the interior need an update. Instead of spiffing up the old girl, Keff moved her to South Lake Union in May to start over in a neighborhood with new life (and…
Scoop: Theo Chocolates x Reese’s Peanut Butter
Theo continues to prove that everything goes better with chocolate
The Fremont-based organic chocolate purveyor Theo has gained a well-earned reputation for fair trade cacao bean sourcing as well as innovative collaborations—for example, creating chocolates in cahoots with perfumers, tea makers and local Fremont Brewing. This month, Theo continues to prove that everything goes better with chocolate by way of its “Chef Session,” a limited-edition…