June 2015

37 Summery Things to Do in Seattle You Didn't Know Existed

37 Summery Things to Do in Seattle You Didn’t Know Existed

The best in-city adventures for a picture-perfect warm-weather season

Let’s be honest, having a good summer in Seattle doesn’t take a lot of ingenuity. It’s sunny and warm: Get outside! Marveling at the blue skies and the novelty of not wearing a jacket offers sufficient stimulation for most of us locals. But for those who seek to push the fun a bit further, we…

Seattle Rock Star's New Book is Full of Insight from the Trenches

Seattle Rock Star’s New Book is Full of Insight from the Trenches

Nancy Guppy rocks out with Duff McKagan

Known best for his stint as the bass player for Guns N’ Roses, Seattle rock star Duff McKagan has also proven himself to be a skilled writer by way of his popular columns for Seattle Weekly and ESPN.com, and his memoir, It’s So Easy (And Other Lies), acclaimed for its frank self-awareness. In May, he…

Good Bar Makes a Splash in Pioneer Square

Good Bar Makes a Splash in Pioneer Square

The new bar sports elegant decor and hand-crafted cocktails

A couple of blocks off First Avenue in Pioneer Square, across the street from the wonderfully hidden Waterfall Park, Good Bar (240 Second Ave. S; 206.624.2337; goodbarseattle.com) delivers well-crafted cocktails and a hopping happy hour for neighborhood working folks. Because this bar was opened by Kamala Saxton and Roz Edison, the owners of the tasty…

Two Rum Cocktail Recipes

Two Rum Cocktail Recipes

There are so many fantastic rum cocktails that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start! You’ll find one classic below and one new cocktail, both of which pair perfectly with some of our local rums. The DaiquiriThis classic is a wonderful mix even if you’re not on a beach. I think that real crushed…

6 Washington Rums that Bring the Beach to You

6 Washington Rums that Bring the Beach to You

Locally made tropical spirits are suddenly sailing the high seas in Washington state

Kill-divil, hydra-monster, cursed liquor—with its dark monikers, rum has spent some time on the wrong side of the tracks, in the company of unsavory pirates and ruthless smugglers. It’s a curious spirit, with a fiery history and a present that conjures bikinis and tropics. That spirit and the fact that its main ingredients—sugarcane byproducts such…

Paseo's Grand Re-Opening Comes With Some Changes

Paseo’s Grand Re-Opening Comes With Some Changes

Seattle's legendary sandwich shop returns, but will it live up to expectations?

If you don’t know the story, the short version goes like this: Paseo, upper Fremont’s iconic sandwich shop, closed without warning in November after more than two decades in business. The owners filed for bankruptcy amidst accusations of wage theft and other labor abuses, and the scandal was all over the news for a week….

Make a Pre-Cinerama Pit Stop at Cantina Leña

Make a Pre-Cinerama Pit Stop at Cantina Leña

Tacos and margaritas abound at Tom Douglas' 17th Seattle restaurant

It’s all about the details at Tom Douglas’ new, casual taco-and-margarita spot, where reclaimed wood, simple café tables and chairs, and pops of terra-cotta orange combine for an upbeat, easygoing feel at the base of The Martin Apartments downtown. There’s a seductive oven-roasted-tomato sauce under the hunk of tender culotte steak ($15, served with tortillas),…

4 Must-Play Seattle Miniature Golf Courses

4 Must-Play Seattle Miniature Golf Courses

Bring out your inner Jack Nicklaus at one of these four putt-putt courses in town

Didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open? No problem. While the competitors show off their strokes at the tournament in nearby Chambers Bay (6/15–6/21; usga.usopen.com), you can ply your putter at one of Seattle’s miniature golf courses.Green Lake Pitch and Putt This leafy nine-hole pitch and putt course at the south end of Green Lake is…

Island Inspired: Jay Blackinton, of Orcas Island's Hogstone's Wood Oven

Island Inspired: Jay Blackinton, of Orcas Island’s Hogstone’s Wood Oven

The surprising rise of chef Jay Blackinton, who channeled the spirit of Orcas Island’s rad farming and food culture to find something like stardom

Jay Blackinton, the rising star at Hogstone’s Wood Oven on Orcas Island

Seattle Sculptor Debuts Work Based on his Childhood Home

Seattle Sculptor Debuts Work Based on his Childhood Home

Artist Leo Saul Berk reinterprets the house that built his creativity

They say your home is a reflection of your identity—and if money allows, you can reshape your house (through a new coat of paint, a kitchen remodel, a second story) to more accurately reflect the person you are, or hope to be. But what happens when the relationship goes the other way—when a house transforms…

Redmond Blogger Makes Old Comic Book Heroes New Again

Redmond Blogger Makes Old Comic Book Heroes New Again

Local blogger turns comic book fascination into a new book

Remember a superhero named The Red Bee? No? How about The Bouncer? Or The Puppeteer? Now’s your chance to get to know these (understandably) long-lost comic book stars, thanks to a new book by Redmond-based writer Jon Morris. The League of Regrettable Superheroes (Quirk Books, $24.95) grew out of Morris’ blog, Gone & Forgotten (gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com),…

Canada By Rail: An Unforgettable Road Trip

Canada By Rail: An Unforgettable Road Trip

Soak up the scenery, breathe in the mountain air and maybe spot a grizzly

We’ve been traveling east all day, the late afternoon sun is golden, the sky deep blue. I’m standing on an open-air deck watching the range-country scenery outside of Kamloops, British Columbia, roll by. It’s dry cattle country—a surprising shift from the dense greenery west of the Cascades. Suddenly, someone shouts “sheep,” and we scan the…