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The Gates Foundation: Portal to Opportunities
More than a visual reminder of its altruism, the Gates Foundation’s new campus may do for Seattle w
Bright copper skin shines along the sweeping arm of a building on the new Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation campus at the edge of Seattle Center. The brilliant surface seems to reflect the weight of world hopes and of distinctly regional ambitions. For as the largest charitable foundation in the world gives away about $3…
Lifestyle: Desktop Storage Solutions
Kelley Moore goes back to school in style with simple storage solutions for little scholars
Between the math assignments, art supplies and ever-mounting piles (backpack, sweatshirt, soccer cleats—wait, what is that green thing?), it can be tricky enough to organize your kids, let alone your entire home. In the spirit of students going back to school, I created a homework-ready desk with a few stylish, savvy ideas to aid busy…
Tasting Notes: Washington’s Hard Ciders
A blooming Washington hard-cider industry is beginning to find some room at the table
Hard cider may not have the huge fan base of Washington’s craft-beer-brewing movement or its rocking wine industry, but if recent appearances of the cult beverage on local menus is any indication, it’s only a matter of time. Part of the appeal of hard ciders—most of which are between 6 percent and 8 percent alcohol—is…
Unforgettable Spice at Thai Curry Simple
A no-frills Thai place that knows how to curry favor.
There’s little signage, but once you locate Thai Curry Simple you’ll never forget where it is, because it’s hard to find a good lunch for just $5 in this town. But here you can choose between tasty, slightly pan-fried pad thai (with tofu or chicken) and green curry, zippy with lemongrass, each for $5. Or…
Restaurant Review: June
A starched interior gives way to insanely good honey-cured pork chops
It’s bittersweet to see that the lovely gray wallpaper that once graced the interior of Madrona’s Cremant has come down, making way for June’s similar look of starched sophistication—matte-gray banquettes punched up with grass-green chairs and vaguely nautical lampshades. But as long as chef/owner Vuong Loc keeps that insanely good honey-cured pork chop on his…
Restaurant Review: Luc
Iconic chef Thierry Rautureau succeeds in bringing a hint of Rover’s to his less formal restaurant.
Thierry Rautureau opened the tony, revered Rover’s in Madison Valley, where haute French cuisine is plated precisely onto custom Villeroy & Boch china and enjoyed during lavish, nine-course degustations. Those scenes in movies where the déclassé struggle to figure out which fork is used to pluck escargot from its shell could have been filmed at…
Food We Love: Gelato
D’Ambrosio Gelato is making small-batch gelato so good that the lines are out the door, even on not-
In the last few years, myriad frozen-treat shops have come onto the scene, so D’Ambrosio Gelato’s opening (5339 Ballard Ave. NW; 206.327.9175; dambrosiogelato.com) registered only a tiny ripple on my radar. That was before I got my first lick of the thick, dense, velvety stuff. Owners Marco and Enzo D’Ambrosio—Enzo is a university-certified master gelataio—are…
Most Influential: Real Change’s Tim Harris
People person Tim Harris is Executive Director of Real Change newspaper
Tim Harris is a people person. “I think that people are sacred,” he says. “When I see people being dehumanized, it pisses me off and makes me want to do something about it.” He founded Seattle’s Real Change newspaper in 1994 to advocate for low-income individuals and provide job opportunities by recruiting them to sell…
Most Influential: Co-founder Tad McGeer
Tad McGeer is Co-founder, President, and Chief Engineer of Aerovel Corp.
In aviation, big jets get all the glory, but Tad McGeer’s development of lightweight, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) demonstrates not only that good things can arrive in small packages, but that they can do so safely and, if his latest project succeeds, economically and reliably. McGeer’s work with the In-Situ Group dramatically advanced the state…
Most Influential: Activist Keli Carender
Activist Keli Carender organizes protest at Westlake Park
“People credit me as the one who started the Tea Party,” says Keli Carender. “I feel like the tinder was already there, ready to burst into flames, and I just lit the match.” On Presidents Day 2009, Carender organized a “Porkulus” protest at Westlake Park downtown. Appalled by what she deemed excessive spending in the…
Most Influential: Hanson Hosein
Director of the University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media program Hanson H
Hanson Hosein isn’t your typical academic. A law student turned award-winning producer turned NBC Iraq war correspondent turned documentary filmmaker turned digital communications professor, this husband and father of two has built a career on blazing his own path. In his latest role as director of the University of Washington’s Master of Communication in Digital…
Most Influential: Group Health Cooperative
Insurer and Health Care Provider, Group Health is the highest-rated commercial health plan in Washin
In September, Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative learned it’s the highest-rated commercial health plan in Washington state—and in the top 50 nationally—in a new ranking by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. With more than 600,000 members and more than two dozen medical centers throughout Washington state, Group Health has become a destination for health care…
Most Influential: CEO Paul Davis
Coinstar CEO Paul Davis spent much of 2009 fighting legal battles with movie studios
Penny-pinching consumers looking for cheap entertainment have flocked to Redbox DVD-rental vending machines and, in a year’s time, catapulted Bellevue-based Coinstar—Redbox’s parent company—onto the corporate big screen. Earlier this year, Redbox—originally a creation of McDonald’s but acquired by Coinstar last year—had grabbed 25 percent of U.S. video-rental sales, up from 18 percent a year earlier,…
Person of the Year: The Police Officer
We are not accustomed to seeing police officers as victims
We are not accustomed to seeing police officers as victims. Or as villains. But the past year in the Puget Sound region has focused our attention on law enforcement personnel so relentlessly, so vividly, that no year in recent memory can compare. Between October 31 and December 28, 2009, six officers—one from the Seattle Police…
Most Influential: Bill Gates Sr.
William H. Gates Sr. is the Yes on 1098 Campaign Spokesman and co-chair for The Bill and Melinda Gat
As if working to eradicate polio weren’t enough, Bill Gates Sr. has, in his mid-80s, ventured forth and not only approached, but actively embraced, the so-called third rail of Washington state politics: the income tax. This is in addition to his co-chairmanship of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his active involvement in numerous…
Most Influential: Ones to Watch
Seattleites whose actions are soon likely to affect our city and our daily lives
Common SenseShe had been in office only a few months when Seattle City Council member Sally Bagshaw earned a citywide high-five for seeking to delay a proposed (and controversial) Dale Chihuly museum project at the Seattle Center. Convincing the center that it should at least entertain other proposals for how to use the former Fun…
Clark Bowen of CB’s Nuts
CB's Nuts founder Clark Bowen hits out of the park
Clark Bowen first began roasting peanuts to satisfy a personal craving. The Washington native grew up snacking on peanuts produced in small, local roasteries. As time passed and larger corporations bought out the brand he had come to rely on, the quality of his favorite salty snack diminished. Searching for the perfect in-shell peanut proved…
Bar Hop: The Market Arms in Ballard
The Market Arms in Ballard opened in June, much to the delight of World Cup soccer fans
On a bustling corner in Ballard, The Market Arms (2401 NW Market St; 206.789.0470; themarketarms.com) opened in June, much to the delight of World Cup soccer fans. Brought to you by the local Brits responsible for The George & Dragon in Fremont, the bar features endless sports on the telly and, of course, Guinness galore….
Cravings: Kickin’ it with Kimchi
Kimchi's flavor is one of a kind, adding serious punch to many dishes
Usually made with cabbage, this Korean side dish is traditionally pickled in brine and buried underground to ferment for a few days. It is thought to have many health benefits, such as improving gastrointestinal function. Kimchi’s flavor is one of a kind—a spicy, savory taste adding serious punch to many dishes. Here are four local…
Out to Lunch: Savatdee
The flavors of Laos and Thailand beckon from Savatdee's exotic menu
Hey, you like fried rice, right? Who doesn’t? Well, I’ve got the dish for you. It’s like the love child of fried rice and popcorn chicken, with some lettuce wrapping thrown in for good measure. It’s called nhem mou ($11), and you’ll find it at Savatdee on the special menu of dishes from Laos. The…
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