February 2008
Will Travel For Cheese
Some people take road trips for nature, while others optimize their route to get a taste of small-town living. If your interests are more culinarily inclined, consider trying this loop around Western Washington—it will take you to some of the state’s top cheese producers, mongers, and enthusiasts.
Here in Washington—a state with many distinct climates, terroirs, and biomes as well as diverse agricultural blessings—we celebrate our apple, wine, beer, stone fruit, and seafood industries to the hilt. Some may be surprised to learn that dairy and cattle are the state’s second-largest agricultural commodities, making Washington a real paradise for cheese lovers, with…
Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…
Restaurant Roundup: Coffee, Costumes, and Secret Burgers
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
Little sips. That is our destined-to-fail mantra for the upcoming Seattle Coffee Festival (Oct. 24-25), an event so enticing we’re already mentally preparing for the tidal wave of caffeine coming our way. The two-day event, now in its second year, takes place at Magnuson Park Hangar 30, showcasing a buzzing lineup of Seattle and regional…
They betrayed you. Now what?
How do you fight hard against someone *and* still care for them? In Republican Mesa, Arizona, Julie Spilsbury was known for her council seat and her cinnamon rolls. When she endorsed Democrats, friends and neighbors who’d known her for decades launched a historic effort to kick her out of office. The man leading it did…
Your Guide to Halloween in Seattle and Beyond
The Pacific Northwest was made for this time of year. Here’s how to celebrate it.
It’s spooky season in Washington, which means haunted farms, fall festivals, pumpkin carving, costume contests for pets and people alike, and more. Here are some of the best ways to celebrate Halloween in Seattle and beyond. Halloween Fun and Frights in Snohomish October 10-11, 16-18, 22-25, 29-31, November 1 Stocker Farms Visiting a pumpkin patch…
Styled Child: Meet Seattle Kidswear Brand Rapozza
From a basement startup to a Pacific Place boutique, the family-run label is making colorful children's clothing with staying power.
For Rapozza, a locally owned and designed children’s clothing brand, the phrase “moving on up” describes the company’s evolution in more ways than one. Founded by Brenda Palomino in 2023, Rapozza launched from a basement with online sales, then jumped to local makers markets, and most recently, opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Pacific Place….
Get Blown Away: Seattle’s Glass Art Scene Takes Center Stage
Now in its 8th year, Refract Seattle is the region’s premier celebration of glassblowing—arguably the most famous visual art genre in the Pacific Northwest. Pioneered by names like Dale Chihuly, Ginny Ruffner, Lino Tagliapietra, and Preston Singletary, glassblowing has remained among the area’s most prolific creative outputs, with contemporary talents such as John Hogan, Julie…
Kishi Bashi Is Ready to Feel Everything
Ten years after Sonderlust pushed his music in a new direction, he’s bringing the pivotal album to The Crocodile—and playing it in full for the first time.
Back in March of 2012, I snagged a last-minute ticket to see Of Montreal at the Showbox. As amazing as Kevin Barnes and company were, along with tourmates Deerhoof, the biggest impression made on me was the opener, Kishi Bashi. Armed with little more than a violin, a loop pedal, and a pristine voice, Kishi…
Seattle’s Artists of Color Expo Offers an Inside Look at the Creative Life
The October 9-11 gathering features live art-making and hands-on workshops, with Seattle artist Damon Brown delivering the keynote.
More than 100 artists participate each year in Seattle’s Artists of Color Expo & Symposium (ACES), which brings exhibitions, artist talks, live art-making, and workshops under one roof. Visitors can learn a technique from an artist or hear how a childhood memory became the starting point for a piece. This year’s event takes place October…
Opening Night: Coffee TAB Brings Coffee Back to 23rd and Jackson
The nonprofit’s third cafe turns the long-vacant former Starbucks space into a new community gathering place.
For a Starbucks, the coffee shop on the corner of 23rd Avenue and Jackson Street in the Central District has spawned a lot of discourse. When it opened in 1997, it was the product of a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts by neighborhood boosters and civic leaders who were hunting for more investment in the historically…
Seattle Author Kristen Millares Young Follows Her ‘Desire Lines’
Blurring the lines between desire and expectation, her debut memoir explores what women inherit, sacrifice, and claim for themselves.
In her debut memoir, local author Kristen Millares Young dives straight into precarious experience of being a woman. Blending myth, history, personal essay, and travelogue, Desire Lines (Red Hen Press), out October 6, is an unflinching look at the challenge of balancing one’s own desires with the demands of motherhood, marriage, and work, and the…
Inn at Langley: Where the Shore Meets the Sky
After a property-wide redesign, the Whidbey Island retreat reopens with a locally inspired take on vacationing in the Pacific Northwest.
Michelin-star chef Johnny Spero never planned to end up in the Pacific Northwest. A lifelong East Coaster born and raised in Baltimore, he began his culinary career at 16, working for a series of big-name chefs and restaurants before opening his own establishments in Washington, D.C., including Reverie, which earned him his Michelin star in…