August 2021
How the Name ‘Alaskan Way’ Came to Be (Hint: it Took Awhile)
Our revamped waterfront will need a new name. Should Seattle reconsider ‘Cosmos Quay'?’
Sometime after 2020, Seattle will wake up to a spanking new waterfront. Assuming Bertha finishes her work, the Alaskan Way Viaduct is replaced with a new street-level boulevard, the new seawall is finished, and the James Corner–designed “waterfront for all” park is completed, it will signal a massive transformation of the place where Seattle meets…
Delicious Seafood and Drink Pairings
Our creative duos prove that odd couples can make the most interesting dinner companions
Sip and Slurp: Beer and Oysters! The essence of an oyster is rich and complex, with flavors that curiously manage to be both pungent and delicate. Almost any beer pairs well with oysters. The only rule of thumb is to avoid overwhelming the oyster’s subtle flavors with a robust beer, such as an imperial stout…
Duke’s Award Winning Clam Chowder
Ingredients: 2 cups baby red potatoes, diced medium 4 slices nitrite-free bacon ½ cup Darigold butter 2 cups onions, diced medium 2 cups celery, diced medium 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, diced small ½ cup flour or ½ cup Duke’s Gluten-Free Flour Blend* 2 tablespoons clam base 1 ½ cups clam juice 1 ½ cups milk…
Cynthia Nims’ Northwest Crab Boil
Unlike our compatriots in the eastern regions of the country, Northwesterners typically add no spice (beyond salt) to the pot when boiling crab for a feast. Having grown up here, of course I adhere to the practice, finding that the flavor of the crab itself is near perfection. Some crab lovers simply scoop up clean…
Recipe for Rice Vinegar–Ginger Mignonette
Both fresh and pickled ginger add distinct flavor to this mignonette. Look for the thinly sliced ginger (often pink, sometimes a natural buff color) commonly served with sushi. It may be sold with other Asian ingredients in a refrigerated case, or you may find small condiment-size containers near prepared sushi. Makes about 1/2 cup, enough…
Tilth Owner Going Nuts for Homemade Milk
Maria Hines on the virtues and versatility of homemade almond milk
Nut milks—especially almond milk—are having a moment. The creamy liquid is made by grinding nuts with water, resulting in a velvety milk-like beverage. Health-conscious eaters and plant-based diet devotees swear by the nutritional value of nut milks, adding almond milk, for example, to smoothies and swapping out the cream in coffee for Brazil nut milk….
The Must List: Pierogi Festival, Sonic Evolution & More
What to do this weekend and beyond in Seattle
Must HearGet Ready for Sonic Evolution: This is IndieFriday (5/13, 8 p.m.) Filmmaker Bill Morrison joins forces with Bang on a Can cofounder Michael Gordon for a one-of-a-kind evening. Morrison uses archival Seattle footage as a backdrop for Gordon’s electrified concerto for virtuoso pianist and multimedia artist Tomoko Mukaiyama. Brooklyn-based composer William Brittelle presents a…
Midsummer Fun: Where to Celebrate the Solstice in Seattle
Celebrate the high point of summer, Scandinavian style
To say the summer solstice is a big deal in Scandinavia is an understatement: In Sweden, for instance, the midsummer holiday comes second only to Christmas in terms of the scale of celebration. After a season of short, dark days, it’s little wonder those Nordic types break open the schnapps and toast the high point…
Instagram Inspiration: Surreal Sunsets
Dreamy evening colors that mean the heralding of warmer temps
Free outdoor art. That’s essentially what you get with sunsets, ethereal happenings that swath our beloved PNW views in pastel colors—every single day. Cue the heart-eye emojis. Aside from being magical phenomenons, they’re also symbolic harbingers of everything we yearn for during winter—warm summer evenings, tranquil daydreams, bare feet, open windows, s’mores, and best of…
3 First Impressions of Meet the Moon
This Leschi spot offers up twists on classics like the Old Fashioned, a stocked coffee bar and more
Opening in late January, Meet the Moon (which takes its memorable name from the Robert Frost poem “Going For Water”) is poised to be a summertime staple. It’s located right on Lakeside Avenue, near the marina at Leschi and the lake. After a recent visit, here are three impressions about the spot from the same…
Q&A with Seattle Rapper Raz Simone
The gravely-voiced Simone will be joining Macklemore on a U.S. tour
Sitting on the edge of the trunk of a Tesla, Seattle rapper Raz Simone greeted about two dozen fans near an apartment building off Cherry Street last Wednesday afternoon. The informal event was part of the kickoff for his upcoming tour with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. For a series of dates, Simone will open for…
Going out of business cheese sale this weekend
Culture Club Cheese Bar and The Calf & Kid closing their doors
It’s a sad day for Seattle cheese lovers. Culture Club, the lovely little cheese bar in Capitol Hill, is closing its doors after six months. I enjoyed my visits to the little slice of dairy heaven, but ultimately, it didn’t make enough money to sustain itself, owner and cheesemonger Sheri LaVigne told me via email…