October 2013
Skateboarding for Girls
Initiating girls into Seattle’s skateboarding culture
For Skate Like a Girl (SLAG) cofounder Fleur Larsen, the best part about teaching girls how to skateboard is opening them up to a whole new world of empowerment. “A lot of learning to skateboard is about trusting your body, taking healthy risks and learning in a community,” she says. Larsen, 34, and business partner…
Sound Transit’s Money Pit: The High Cost of the Sounder North Line
Sound Transit's finances are prompting a lot of head scratching
The autumn nip in the air means one thing—rain is coming. After a hot, dry summer, the shifting forecasts will provoke some grumbles, perhaps nowhere more audible than in Everett, where mudslides canceled 122 trips on Sound Transit’s Sounder north line last winter. For critics of the regional transportation authority (which operates rail and bus…
A Fungus Among Us
I have sort of a thing for mushrooms (the non-hallucinogenic kind, thank you). One of the small-town festivals I frequented while living in the Midwest was Morel Mushroom Days in Muscoda, Wisconsin. I would save my pennies, take home a pint (they were only $12 a pound back then!), and slice up and fry those…
Capture 3-D Images on Your iPhone with Poppy
A Seattle company takes an old-school approach to 3-D imaging
Remembering the View-Master is an exercise in nostalgia—the bright plastic case, those circular cardboard reels, that clunky lever that allowed you to click through 3-D images of the Grand Canyon! The beloved toy stereoscope gets a 21st-century upgrade with Poppy, a new device that turns your iPhone into a camera capable of capturing and viewing…
Reviewed: Tom Douglas’ TanakaSan
Named for Eric Tanaka, Tom Douglas’ longtime executive chef, TanakaSan opened in May and heralds Douglas’ return to the Pan-Asian flavors that once defined Northwest cuisine—and to flavor profiles the chef hasn’t played with in recent years. Centrally located at the base of the quite stylish Via6 apartment building downtown, TanakaSan is a spirited place:…
Seattle Band HalloQueen to Rock Out on October 31
Local band HalloQueen brings Freddie Mercury back from the dead
“When you’re brothers, it’s like you have a secret language,” says Chris Friel, 44, who plays drums in the band HalloQueen with his brother Rick, 47, who plays bass. “We know when to tell each other to shut up.” And when to pump it up—something else that runs in the blood. Sons of legendary local…
Cocktails on Tap at Capitol Hill’s Montana
Capitol Hill favorite Montana boasts cocktails on tap and take-in food
Tucked into an animated stretch of Capitol Hill’s East Olive Way, Montana (1506 E Olive Way; 206.422.4647; montanainseattle.com) is the kind of bar you expect and love on Capitol Hill: tabletops lovingly scarred by the carvings of many patrons, amiable staff, rollicking music just loud enough, and walls adorned with stickers, scrawled graffiti and photo-booth…
Day Trip to Issaquah for the Salmon Days Festival
Where: Issaquah, Washington, for the Salmon Days Festival (10/5–10/6. Downtown Issaquah; 425.392.0661; salmondays.org). What: For the 44th time, Issaquah throws its annual welcome for returning salmon with a street party featuring hundreds of artisans and musicians, playing everything from bluegrass to rhythm and blues. Graze: The more than 60 food vendors include Greek-American fusion, New…
Bo-Nita: A New One-Woman Play at Seattle Rep
Seattle playwright Elizabeth Heffron reveals that coming of age requires a cast of many
On the title page of her script for Bo-Nita, Capitol Hill-based playwright Elizabeth Heffron describes the work simply as “A Play Performed by One Woman.” Turn the page, however, and the complexity is immediately revealed: Set largely in contemporary St. Louis, the cast of characters includes Bo-Nita (a 13-year-old white girl), Mona (Bo-Nita’s mother), Grandma…
Pub Grub Grows Up
The food paired with your brew has never been better, or more original.
Seattle’s beer-brewing scene has been growing and maturing for decades. But this year, it boomed: Around a half-dozen microbreweries opened in Ballard alone (see page 100). And as the brews become bolder and more distinctive—including recent trends toward sour beer, cask ale and other beers explored in this month’s beer feature—the food made to pair…
Nancy Guppy Interviews Poet Kate Lebo
Talking pie with poet Kate Lebo
Poet and pie maker Kate Lebo’s new book, A Commonplace Book of Pie, comes out in October. She’ll read from it at Richard Hugo House (10/17), and Elliott Bay Bookstore (12/6). pieschool.tumblr.com COFFEE SHOP: High 5 Pie on Capitol Hill, a Monday afternoon in JulyKATE’S ORDER: Iced latte, with cherry-almond pie Nancy Guppy: How would…
Local Brewery Districts: Ballard
Valhalla for beer lovers
When Redhook Ale (now in Woodinville) opened its original brewery 30 years ago in Ballard at the corner of Leary and Ballard ways—not, as you might think, in the Fremont location where Theo Chocolates now resides—no one would have imagined the neighborhood would one day be home to several breweries, most of which are less…