The Season for Chocolate Lovers

By Shelby Rowe Moyer | February 9, 2018 | Courtesy of 425magazine.com

nstead of reaching for an ordinary box of chocolates this Valentine’s Day, we recommend a multitude of local chocolate-makers who create each confection with a little extra love.

BOEHM’S CANDIES & CHOCOLATE

The beloved chocolate confections shop has been ingrained in Issaquah’s tapestry since 1956, when founder Julius Boehm moved his operations from the Seattle area to the forested foothills of the Eastside. Boehm, a 1924 Austrian Olympic runner, immigrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1941 after fleeing Hitler’s reign.

Boehm and the current candy-shop owner, Bernard Garbusjuk, bonded over their similar immigration experiences, and Garbusjuk worked with Boehm for 10 years before his death in 1981. Garbusjuk followed the footsteps of his Austrian ancestors as a candy maker and underwent intensive culinary training in Germany. Step through the quaint doors of the shop to find dozens of handcrafted sweets, from classic sea salt and caramel chocolate boxes to bars etched in the shape of Washington state. For those who love digging into the process, Boehm’s offers chocolate-making classes that include a tour of the factory and the adjacent chalet where Boehm lived, and a guided session with participants making more than a pound of chocolate treats to take home.

Also on the property is a replica of a 12th-century Switzerland chapel, featuring a re-creation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Man. The chapel was a vision of Boehm that came to fruition shortly before his death, and is reserved for weddings and tours. Boehm’s Candies & Chocolate is a truly special landmark in Issaquah, with no end in sight. Garbusjuk is passing the business on to his two children, who are learning the company from the ground up.

FRAN’S CHOCOLATES

The doors to Fran’s Chocolates in Bellevue and Seattle are like the entrance to heaven. Bite-size chocolate truffles are delicately wrapped in paper foil, beckoning onlookers to have a taste. Fran Bigelow’s name has become synonymous with exceptional chocolate; it was a trip to Paris that inspired her affinity for “pure” and “simple” flavors. Bigelow opened her first patisserie and chocolate shop in 1982, and is credited for “sparking the artisan chocolate renaissance in the United States” some time later.

THEO

“We make chocolate. Amazing, delicious, mind-bending, wonderful chocolate,” according to the founder of Theo chocolate, and we could leave it at that as a perfect summation of the delectable company. But its origin story is truly inspiring. Founder Joe Whinney first started exploring organic cocoa beans in 1994, and fell in love with the people farming the land in Central America and Africa. In 2006, Whinney created Theo chocolate and brought the first organic chocolate to the United States. Theo’s mission is to “create a more beautiful, compassionate, and enduring world by responsibly making delicious and inspiring products for everyone.”

INDI CHOCOLATE

Erin Andrews embarked on a family trip to Belize and showed her daughters cacao farms. She fell in love with chocolate and launched the first iteration of her chocolate company in Belize. As of now, she’s been in the business for eight years and recently moved into a new location as the first chocolate factory at Pike Place Market.

23 Lunar New Year 2018 Events In Seattle

Where to Welcome the Year of the Dog with Lion and Dragon Dances, Dumplings, Lucky Envelopes, and More

by Stranger Things To Do Staff

The Lunar New Year in Chinatown festival is the biggest event in Seattle, complete with dragon and lion dances, taiko drumming, and the beloved $3 food walk. CHAM ROEUN BUNPHOATH

The Lunar New Year officially begins on February 16, but Seattle celebrations to welcome the Year of the Dog start well before then. We've rounded them all up below, from the Lunar New Year in Chinatown festival to Seattle Symphony's Celebrate Asia concert, and from Têt in Seattle - Vietnamese Lunar New Year to a celebration at Lucky Envelope Brewing. Find them all below, or on our Lunar New Year calendar.

FEBRUARY 7-20

Lunar New Year at Uwajimaya
The Asian grocery store chain will celebrate Lunar New Year by giving out lucky red envelopes with special prizes to customers who spend $30 or more. At the Seattle store on February 10 and 11, Yenbo Huang will also demonstrate Chinese calligraphy, copies of which will be available for purchase. There will also be colorful lion dance performances in Seattle and Renton on February 10, and in Bellevue on February 18.

FEBRUARY 10

Lunar New Year at Tacoma Dome
Celebrate Lunar New Year with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center by visiting over 90 booths and watching live performances from around the world.

Lunar New Year Banquet
See traditional performances, bid on auction items, and enjoy a special House of Hong menu to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year Dumpling Party
Bid adieu to the Year of Rooster and welcome in the Year of the Dog with a plate of delicious dumplings from Callus. Proceeds from the party benefit China Residencies, a non-profit directory and advisory platform for artists to "engage in creative exchange through residency programs in China."

Lunar New Year Fair
See a traditional lion dance before picking up a "passport" to go on a Lunar New Year tour through the Wing Luke Museum. There you'll find games, crafts, stories, face painting, a scavenger hunt, raffle prizes, and more.

Lunar New Year Gala
Ring in the Year of the Dog at the UW Chinese Student Association's 51st Annual Lunar New Year Gala, which is open to the public. There will be food, games, and prizes.

Sammamish Chinese New Year
Experience Chinese traditions surrounding the Lunar New Year by seeing performances by the International Lion Dance Team, watching a martial arts demonstration, live music, and dance, taking in visual arts, and visiting interactive booths.

FEBRUARY 10-11

Têt in Seattle - Vietnamese Lunar New Year
The Lunar New Year is celebrated not only in China, but also in Vietnam, Korea, and other countries. Explore the cultural roots and contemporary influences of Vietnam through live performances, hands-on activities, foods, crafts, games, martial arts, and a market.

FEBRUARY 11

Celebrate Asia
Seattle Symphony will perform their annual Celebrate Asia concert, which has celebrated traditions of Seattle’s Asian communities for 10 years now. This year's concert will feature music by famous Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Indian composers. There will also be lion dancers and drummers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Chinese New Year Celebration: Stories & Tea/Pastry Pairing
Sip tea, snack on pastries baked by Yana Bacheva Guerrero to represent symbols of good fortune, and learn about traditional symbols and rituals of prosperity for the Chinese New Year, like red envelopes and paper with Chinese words.

Lunar New Year in Chinatown
Ring in the Year of the Dog at this massive Lunar New Year celebration that showcases the diversity, richness, and culture of the Asian community. See traditional dragon and lion dances, Japanese Taiko drumming, martial arts, and other cultural performances on the Main Stage, plus arts and crafts and family activities—and don't miss the $3 food walk.

FEBRUARY 16

Lunar New Year at Great American Casino
Snag limited-edition $8 collectible chips in red envelopes and take in a dragon dance for the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year at Wild Ginger
See a traditional lion dance performance by the International Lion Dance & Martial Arts Team in celebration of Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year: Red Envelopes
For Chinese New Year, Super Six will be distributing lucky red envelopes stuffed with surprise coupons with every check—yours could contain 50-percent-off your drinks, buy-one-get-one-free musubi deals, or half-off a hat or sweatshirt.

FEBRUARY 16-17

2018 Year of the Dog Chinese New Year Celebration
Ballard’s Lucky Envelope Brewing cofounders Barry Chan and Raymond Kwan named their business for the Chinese tradition of giving out colorful red packets stuffed with paper cash to bring good fortune for occasions such as the Lunar New Year (the color red is associated with energy and prosperity). To usher in the Year of the Dog, they’ve planned an all-out weekend celebration with five special “culturally inspired” beer releases, food trucks with sweet and savory taiyaki from BeanFish on Saturday and teriyaki rice bowls from Byte on Sunday, and—of course—red envelope giveaways with deals tucked inside.

FEBRUARY 17

Chungee's 8 Year Anniversary and Chinese New Year
Usher in the Year of the Dog with as well as Chungee's eighth anniversary with a special lion dance performance, homestyle Cantonese food, cocktails, and beer.

Lunar New Year at Phoenix Tea
Drink tea, eat snacks, make art, and write down your intentions at this Lunar New Year party.

FEBRUARY 18

Lincoln District Lunar New Year
See performances representing Lunar New Year traditions from around the world—including Thailand, Mexico, Hawaii, Somalia, Cambodia, and more—at this Tacoma event. Performers include Poerava Group, Variya, Esplandor Mexicano, Samuel Danh, Kanoelani Galiza, Rukio, and others.

Lunar New Year at Stevens Pass
Shred your way down the mountain and into the Lunar New Year. Then, watch a lion dance, enjoy traditional food specials, join a torchlight parade, and meet "avalanche dogs."

Musang Chinese New Year Pop-Up
This month's edition of Musang, a recurring pop-up brunch, will celebrate Chinese New Year by "honoring the many Chinese influences in Filipino Cuisine."

FEBRUARY 24

Lunar New Year at Bellevue Collection
See martial arts, music, and dance performances, and taste food from Din Tai Fung and Baron's Xi'an Kitchen and Bar, at this Lunar New Year celebration.

FEBRUARY 25

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Seattle 2018
This curious cultural fusion is the only event that fuses the celebration of Scottish poet Robert Burns' birthday with the Chinese Lunar New Year. There's lion dancers and bagpipes, a special Presentation of the Haggis, and a recitation of Robert Burns' "Address to the Haggis."

ICHS Lunar New Year 5k
Celebrate the Year of the Dog by running or walking this annual 5K.

Your Ultimate Guide to Where to Eat Out (or Order Food From) for Valentine's Day 2018 in Seattle

Heart-Shaped Pizza Deliveries, Splurgy Dinners, No-Reservation Dessert Nights, and More

by Stranger Things To Do Staff  |  Courtesy of theStranger.com

Valentine's Day doesn't have to be about expensive steak dinners—Ba Bar will offer a giant bowl of pho for two, complete with happiness dumplings, prosecco, and chocolate cake, all for a cool $48 per couple. BA BAR CAPITOL HILL

We know you can't go just anywhere for your Valentine's victuals, so we've rounded up all the Valentine's Day events in town so that you can choose your own adventure. You can get dressed to the nines for a high-end affair at Tilth or Eden Hill, or go low-key with a beer dinner at Belltown Brewing or Ghostfish. Dining in more your style? Not to worry—we've compiled a selection of gifts and treats that you can get delivered right to your or your loved one's door, like oysters from Taylor Shellfish, heart-shaped pizzas from Big Mario's, or confections from Cupcake Royale. Still want to go out, but don't have the time or budget for a full dinner? We've also included drinks- and dessert-only options, like Oola's Valentine's Boozy Hot Chocolate Bar and Coyle's Bakeshop's Dessert Night. Follow the links below for full menus and reservation links, and, for even more inspiration, check out our complete Valentine's Day calendar.

Note: We advise you to make your reservations as soon as possible, as many of these locations may already be fully booked and deadlines are fast approaching for pickup orders. Call ahead to make sure.

Jump to: Dinners | Desserts | Drinks | Classes | Food to Order

DINNERS

FEBRUARY 10-14
All Water Seafood & Oyster Bar
Scott Mickelson's four-course dinner includes Oysters Rockefeller, salmon en papillote or New York steak, and raspberry chocolate panna cotta or ganache for dessert.

Bluwater Bistro
Dine on surf and turf (lobster tail and filet mignon) and a complimentary glass of champagne. There will also be a jazz quartet on Valentine's Day evening.

El Gaucho
At this combination Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day event, dine on three courses with choices like crab avocado crostini, filet mignon, vegetarian jambalaya, and bread pudding while taking in a burlesque cabaret show hosted by ringmaster Armitage Shanks.

FEBRUARY 10-17
Dunbar Room
Nurse a cocktail near the Dunbar Room's crackling fire before enjoying a luxurious three-course meal that includes wild mushroom bruschetta, rabbit cacciatore, Wagyu steak bolognese, and passionfruit cannoli that "will bring a tear to your eye."

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Ada's Technical Books: Love at the Lab
Indulge in amuse-bouche with avocado toast and roasted tomato polenta bites, cocktails, and a choice of rich duck egg carbonara with king trumpet mushroom "bacon" or Brussels sprout risotto with Meyer lemon for the main course.

Adana
Chef Shota Nakajima's six-course Japanese menu showcases lobster tempura and a molten lava cake with cedar smoked gelato and red miso caramel.

Agrodolce
The sumptuous feast at Maria Hines' trattoria includes options such as beef cheek ragu, beet and fennel pappardelle with ricotta salata, Taylor Shellfish mussels with preserved Meyer lemon and chilies, and limoncello tiramisu.

Alchemy
The craft cocktail bar and restaurant has a four-course menu with chrysanthemum and caviar blinis, beef tartare with smoked quail egg, hanger steak and smoked black cod, and red velvet cake.

Bar Cotto
The salumeria will have hearty, comforting choices like braised beef short ribs with polenta, roasted fennel, and gremolata and a funghi pizza. End with an ice cream sandwich with chocolate gelato and hot fudge.

Baron's Xi'an Kitchen & Bar
The contemporary Chinese restaurant will have a limited amount of two-top tables for couples but will have plenty of room for groups, with romantic reimagined Chinese fare like passionfruit prawns, champagne sea bass, black pepper Wagyu beef, Peking duck, and royal pan-fried seafood noodles. They'll also have cocktails, like the lavender Empress Royale or the rose-colored Strawberry Basil Martini, and an in-house sommelier will be on hand for wine pairings.

Belltown Brewing
For a laid-back Valentine's Day, the Belltown brewery will serve pancetta fennel salad, pork chops, and strawberries with strawberry gastrique, along with an optional beer pairing flight with four beers.

The Bookstore Bar
Let whiskey whisk you away with a four-course journey, with whiskey-infused dishes like duck confit salad with a scallion whiskey agrodolce and cocktail pairings like a yuzu whiskey highball.

Bramling Cross
The cozy gastropub's lobster-focused menu features lobster deviled eggs, lobster fritters, whole grilled lobster, and pickle fries with dill aioli, with malted chocolate budino for dessert. Upgrade with filet mignon or a wine or beer pairing.

Cafe Pettirosso
The Capitol Hill cafe will serve a vegan-friendly prix-fixe menu and a limited menu of their usual offerings.

Columbia Tower Club
This elegant dinner features a choice of roast chicken or Chilean sea bass for the main dish, and views from the Columbia Tower.

Copperleaf Restaurant
This luxe seven-course meal features Maine lobster ravioli, caramelized diver scallops, and Theo milk chocolate Bavarian.

Derby
Derby, Ethan Stowell's restaurant inside the upscale car club The Shop, has a lobster-themed menu, from smoked lobster bruschetta to a whole grilled lobster.

Eden Hill
Chef Maximillian Petty's characteristically playful menu includes innovations like a crispy pig ear salad, a chestnut pecorino tortellini, a grown-up "snack pack" with whiskey caramel and dark chocolate pudding with real 24K gold, and a honeycomb lollipop.

Elysian Bar
Sip some thematically appropriate brews like the Bitter Patter Triple IPA and Raspy Whisper Chocolate Raspberry Gose alongside a three-course prix-fixe dinner.

Ghostfish Brewing Company
Every course of this three-course dinner in the mezzanine overlooking Ghostfish's brew floor is paired with a 7oz pour of beer, including a surprise.

Goldfinch Tavern
This "romantic feast for two" features a variety of shared plates, like goat cheese bruschetta and roasted mushrooms with fried duck egg; a shared pasta dish of gramigna pasta with hazelnuts; and choices of Oregon lamb chops, lemon marinated albacore, seared king salmon, or truffle risotto for the main course.

Grappa
Snack on beets and burrata or lobster risotto while guitarist Enrique Hanao provides the soundtrack.

Heartwood Provisions
Treat yourself to Cupid worthy-comestibles such as Kusshi oysters, steak tartare with egg yolk jam, and dry-aged ribeye, all while swilling a selection of top-notch champagne from Heartwood's special menu.

Hitchcock
Brendan McGill's fresh menu at the locally focused Bainbridge Island restaurant includes wood-fired bone marrow with Buddha's hand, ube and sweet potato terrine, broiled raclette, braised mangalitsa pork belly, and more.

Hollywood Tavern
Share a menu for two, with shrimp cocktail, prime rib or salmon, crème brûlée, and chocolate covered strawberries. Afterwards, cozy up to the outdoor fire pit with a drink.

Hot Stove Society
Love stinks, and so do the ripe, odiferous cheeses featured in every dish of this six-course meal with beverage pairings and demonstrations.

How to Cook a Wolf
The MFK Fisher-inspired restaurant in Queen Anne will have hamachi crudo with pomegranate, radish, and chili; a tagliarini with uni sauce and Dungeness crab with pangrattato; and a chickpea panisse.

Itto's Tapas
The Moroccan and Spanish tapas place will serve housemade date jam and goat cheese on baguettes, sea bass or lamb chops, and chocolate cordials with strawberry gastrique.

L'Oursin
This bright, refreshingly unpretentious menu from the lively, irreverent French bistro (which earned a nod in Imbibe magazine at the end of 2017 for Wine Bar of the Year) showcases such "sensual and titillating gustatory delights" as albacore with preserved lemon and radish and Dungeness crab with salsify, celeriac, and carrot. There’s also a pretty palette of pairings, with natural wines in shades of pink, rosé, and red, spirits, and, for dessert, chocolates.

Lark
Lark is a perennial favorite for Valentine’s Day, and for good reason: Chef John Sundstrom's beloved high-end mainstay offers up a generous, clever menu that’s by turns luxurious and light, with raclette tartine, a rich egg yolk risotto, a PB&J foie gras pavé with huckleberry jam and fluffy peanut butter "snow" on brioche, and chèvre and wild mushroom cannelloni. It’s all finished off with a tangy blood orange and coconut milkshake.

Le Messe
The first Valentine's Day menu from the brand new restaurant by Brian Clevenger has risotto with wild mushrooms, salsify, and mascarpone and an amerena cherry sorbet.

Mamnoon
The modern Middle Eastern eatery will have a special chef's tasting menu, a rosé cocktail, and hand-painted truffles.

Marine Hardware
Ethan Stowell's intimate Ballard spot has oysters on the half shell, crispy pork rillette, roasted king crab, and roasted beet salad, and an assortment of mignardises and truffles to finish.

Marmite
Each course of this sweet and swoony supper from Marmite co-owners and couple Bruce and Sara Naftaly symbolizes an aspect of love: oysters for their aphrodisiac properties, nettle soup (the dish Bruce won Sara over with after they picked 33 gallons of nettles at Discovery Park on their first date, aww), cheese blintzes with wild mushrooms and pickled peaches to represent the "sincere warmth" of love, and Chateaubriand beef and wine in honor of François-René de Chateaubriand, founder of French romanticism. Chocolate cake for dessert, naturally.

Maslow's
Savor a three-course dinner with oysters on the half shell, oxtail pappardelle, and blood orange cheesecake. You'll also be helping support FareStart's mission to provide "the next level of needs to help move people toward a higher wage on their journey to security and self-sufficiency."

Maximilien
Enjoy a romantic French-inspired six-course menu while being serenaded with accordion music from Bonnie Birch.

Mercato Stellina
The Italian brick-oven pizzeria’s cozy Pike Place location, which just opened in December and features a window where guests can watch pasta being made by hand, will serve options like steak tartare and foie gras on fragrant, herb-studded pizza breads, as well as hand-shaped stuffed caramelle pasta in a prosecco-spiked blood orange sauce and chicken tortellini in a savory parmesan broth. The meal will be topped off with a choice of chocolate budino with olive oil and sea salt or blood orange granita, and strains of live accordion music from musician Lenny Luzzi will set the tone for a romantic repast straight out of Lady and the Tramp.

mkt.
The Tangletown cafe will have seared foie gras with brioche and fig jam, Kusshi oysters, king crab ravioli, and olive oil lemon cake.

Omega Ouzeri
The Greek Capitol Hill fixture offers a prix-fixe menu with three courses with options like saganaki (flaming cheese), lobster pasta, and passionfruit cake, as well as a dinner menu of highlights.

Osteria La Spiga
The rustic Northern Italian osteria has chestnut crepes with wild mushroom sauce, smoked tuna carpaccio with fennel and orange, pan poached monkfish with smashed potatoes, and chocolate budino.

Palisade
The Valentine's standby has Dungeness crab and lobster bisque, prime rib, roast chicken, and a "Cupid's duo for two" (white and dark chocolate fondue with graham cracker dust, toasted marshmallows, and cookie hearts) for dessert.

Poco Wine + Spirits
Choose between chorizo or harissa chicken, side dishes like roasted Brussels sprouts and bacon-wrapped dates, and chocolate lava cake or apple cobbler, with a bottle of Carignan or Petite Syrah.

Poppy
The bright, cheerful, Thali-style restaurant's menu features warm mussel and smoked potato salad, celery root ravioli, braised short ribs, and desserts in unexpected combinations like chili peanut ice cream with masala popcorn and butterscotch baklava with coffee custard sauce.

Raccolto
Brian Clevenger's West Seattle restaurant will serve sunchoke "chips and dip" with salmon roe and chives and handmade rigatoni with brussels sprout pesto.

Rione XIII
The Roman-inspired restaurant will have white truffle ravioli, risotto cacio e pepe, and linguini nero with clams and pangrattato, with tiramisu for dessert.

RN74
Michael Mina's trés French five-course menu includes oysters and caviar, escargot en croute, Maine lobster thermidor, char-grilled and butter-basted chateubriand, and a Valrhona chocolate pot au creme.

Scout
This four-course tasting menu from executive chef Derek Simcik starts with a fresh hamachi crudo and ends with a profiterole filled with dark chocolate mousse and pomegranate curd.

Serafina
This decadent four-course menu features foie gras mousse, butternut squash mezzaluna, braised beef short ribs, and pomegranate cheesecake, with the Alex Guilbert Trio providing music.

Staple & Fancy
Ethan Stowell's Italian eatery offers raw oysters, burrata with green apple and chive, foie gras crostini with fig and balsamic compote, gnocchi with braised short ribs, and yogurt panna cotta.

Stateside
The French-Vietnamese fusion gem will serve an inventive menu with a golden shrimp "toast" bun, Dungeness crab cakes, and a gianduja-cassia bark "creamsicle."

Stoneburner
The Italian-American restaurant housed within Hotel Ballard will serve caramelized cauliflower agnolotti, grilled lamb loin, and chocolate hazelnut mousse crunch.

Tavolàta Capitol Hill and Tavolàta Belltown
Both locations of the pasta-focused eatery will have pork belly with parsnip puree and kumquat agrodolce; black truffle risotto with cauliflower, leeks and Parmigiano-Reggiano; and tagliatelle with oysters.

Tilth
The perennial farm-to-table favorite offers a rustically romantic menu that includes Kusshi oysters with yuzu mignonette, house-made frascatelli with foraged mushrooms, and goat cheese semifreddo for dessert.

Trace
Executive Chef Steven Ariel's simple, classic menu features a baby green salad with tender beets, an alder-smoked prime rib steak and shrimp, and chocolate and salted caramel mousse cake.

FEBRUARY 14-16
Waterways Cruises
On this cruise, feast your eyes on views of Lake Washington and Lake Union while you dine on a four-course menu with a choice of lamb, sockeye salmon, or gnocchi. Add on V-Day staples like roses and chocolate-covered strawberries.

FEBRUARY 14-17
The Herbfarm
The upscale dining destination ratchets up their already amorous ambience with "an abundance of roses, candles, champagne and romantic music to set the mood" at this multi-course meal, with wine pairings culled from their 25,000+-bottle cellar.

FEBRUARY 14-18
Ba Bar
Pho is for lovers: Slurp a giant bowl of noodles for two and enjoy sparkling wine, "happiness dumplings" and chocolate raspberry decadence cake.

Dexter Brewhouse
Dive into a special Valentine's menu with a rich, yolky salade Lyonnaise; lamb chops or vegetarian lasagna; and a dark chocolate cheesecake with a dark cherry reduction.

Lady Yum
Come dressed as a queen and celebrate the Galentines in your life with bottomless champagne, macarons, snacks, drink specials, and special prizes.

Ray's Cafe
The Ray's Boathouse sibling will offer its regular menu as well as "a variety of decadent date night specials."

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15
Redhook Brewlab
Savor a four-course menu, with shiitake and squash tempura, hamachi poke, and local beef, along with limited release beer pairings in Brewlab's private dining room.

DESSERTS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10
The Nest: Sweet Tooth Experience
Indulge your sweet cravings with a tasting menu of confections including white chocolate with pistachio and rosewater and milk chocolate with baguette ice cream and olive oil jam. Then take in the sultry stylings of vocalist Caety Sagoian at the Nest's Love or Lust party.

FEBRUARY 14
The Cookie Counter
The Greenwood vegan bakery and ice cream shop's V-Day mixer includes a warm cookie sundae/"pizookie" ("a fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookie baked up in an individual pie tin, topped with two scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, whip cream, sprinkles, and two cherries"), new rotating flavors, Valentine's Day Mad Libs, a photo booth, candlelight treats, and board games. Wear red, pink, or hearts to enter a raffle for $25 at Cookie Counter. 15% of all proceeds will go to Luvable Dog Rescue, and guests are encouraged to bring donations.

Coyle's Bakeshop
For the debut edition of their “Bakeshop Dessert Night,” Coyle’s Bakeshop is transforming their quaint, chandelier-illuminated Greenwood bakery space into a Parisian bistro-slanted “low-key dessert restaurant” for the evening, serving lemon tarts, profiteroles, and ille flotante (“floating island,” a foaming meringue set adrift on a puddle of creme anglaise) alongside coupes of champagne cocktails and a steady flow of sparkling wine. No reservations are necessary, so it’s an ideal last-minute date or additional stop at the end of your night.

Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery
In the tradition of Leslie Knope, this day for "ladies celebrating ladies" features scoops on pink waffle cones, a selfie station with props, an exclusive ice cream flavor for the occasion, and treats like chocolate boxes, pastries, cakes, espresso, and more.

AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
Hot Cakes
For the holiday, the molten chocolate cakery is re-releasing their "bling blings," a gourmet, gilded version of a Hostess Ding Dong: "moist, dark chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate butter cream then hand-dipped in organic 55% dark chocolate" in a shiny gold wrapping.

Lady Yum
The macaron maker has Red Velvet and Burnin' Love (a spicy hot tamale flavor) treats available for the month of February.

Molly Moon's Ice Cream
Heat things up with the ice cream parlor's limited-time Valentine's flavor, Mexican hot chocolate spiked with organic cinnamon from Red Ape Cinnamon (available in scoops and pints).

Raised Doughnuts
Get a box with a glazed strawberry doughnut and three raspberry doughnut holes from the sought-after doughnut pop-up, available through Blossoms Studios for a limited time. There are also gift packages with doughnuts and flowers available.

Theo Chocolate
Everybody's favorite Phinney chocolatier offers a variety of treats for the holiday: My Cherry Baby (a milk chocolate bar with chewy dried and freeze-dried cherry bits); Salted Black Licorice (a salty dark chocolate bar with a subtle anise flavor); Love Is Love (an eight-piece box of mixed chocolates); and Casanova, a "sensual" collection of caramels in Catuaba Lemon Verbena, Lavender Jalapeno, Ginger Rose, and Honey Saffron.

DRINKS

FEBRUARY 14
Bottlehouse
The "urban winery" and tasting bar will have specials just for Valentine's Day, like their Love Potion No. 9 (a blushing, fizzy sparkling wine with preserved hibiscus) and cannoli for dessert.

Frolik: Be My Valentine Bash
Sip sparkling rosé and cocktails while participating in icebreakers and consorting with eligible singles. Join one of three age groups (20s-30s, 30s-40s, or 40+).

OOLA Distillery
Customize your own spirituous hot cocoa from indi chocolate with a selection of OOLA's vodka, gin, and whiskey, and top with add-ons like toasted marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, caramel sauce.

Pine Box
Spread the love with sour ales from New Belgium, like Oscar, Felix, & Imperial Frambozen, on tap.

Seattle Caviar Company
Enjoy blushing-pink bubbles, taste seven varieties of caviar, and end with heart-shaped toast points topped with caviar and crème fraiche.

CLASSES

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Boat Street Kitchen: Cooking Class
If you'd rather spend Valentine's Day in the comfort of your home with a home-cooked meal but don't know what to make, Boat Street Kitchen will show you how with this cooking class that includes dinner and wine.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Cookie Decorating at Nuflours
Gluten-free eaters can join in the cookie decorating fun with this informal, hands-on class, which will teach you how to embellish your cookies with sugars, glitter, icing, and more.

Truffle Making & Flower Arranging Workshop
Feeling crafty? At this hands-on workshop, the artisan chocolatiers of indi chocolate will teach you how to make delectable hand-rolled truffles and customize them with your favorite toppings, and Jessica Helton, founder of Studio Bloom, will show you how to arrange delicate blossoms in a bouquet to take home with you. Nurse your choice of a 72% drinking chocolate, OOLA's whiskey, or a glass of red Wildridge Winery wine while you linger over your creations.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Valentine's Day Bean to Bar Chocolate Making Class
If you've ever wondered how to make chocolate from scratch, here's your chance. You'll learn how to roast, refine and temper chocolate starting with cacao beans and go home with a free chocolate bar of your choice.

FOOD TO ORDER

Big Mario's
Convey your feelings for the objection of your affection with a cheesy, heart-shaped pie delivered right to their door by Big Mario's. Add a single rose and, if you wish, a custom message.

Cupcake Royale
For February's Filled with Love series, Cupcake Royale has created a series of filled cupcakes, including Fluffernutter, Butterscotch, Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake, and Raspberry White Chocolate. There are also dozens topped with "hugs and kisses" and conversation hearts, a Valentine's classic dozen and Valentine's favorites dozen with staples like red velvet. And if you need something more potent, don't forget Deathcake, Cupcake Royale's famous "lovingly lethal" dessert with three layers of Jacobsen Sea Salt "chocolate decadence," chocolate cake, and Stumptown espresso ganache (also available in a gluten free version).
Deadline to order: No later than noon on Tuesday, February 13.

Piroshky Piroshky
The Pike Place Market pastry purveyor is offering a Valentine’s Day gift box with seven sweet piroshkies of your choosing.
Deadline to order: Friday, February 9 for shipping before Valentine's Day. Monday, February 12 for pick-up on Valentine's Day at Pike Place, Northgate Mall, Westfield Southcenter, and Columbia Center.

Saltadena
Nancy Stuart, whose Instagram bio says she "dreams in buttercream," makes gorgeous, showstopping cakes. Snap up a mini four-layer cake perfectly sized for two, in flavors like chocolate-hazelnut, strawberry vanilla, and PB&J (or get a bundle of all three).
Deadline to order: Sunday, February 11. Pick-up will be available at SPRUCE in Bellingham between 4 and 6 pm on Valentine's Day.

Taylor Shellfish
Give the gift of shellfish with a pre-order from the premier oyster supplier.
Deadline to order: Not listed, order ahead to be safe and specify desired delivery date.

Trophy Cupcakes
The cupcakery’s “Happy Valentine” dozen includes cupcakes in chocolate raspberry, chocolate vanilla, and vanilla vanilla, decked out with candy hearts and decorative picks. If you like your pastries petite, they also have adorable red velvet and chocolate raspberry minis sprinkled with tiny hearts.
Deadline to order: Not listed, order ahead to be safe and specify desired delivery date.

29 Places to Celebrate Mardi Gras 2018 in Seattle

Where to Get King Cake, Dance to Brazilian Carnaval Music, Find Party Beads, and More

by Stranger Things To Do Staff  |  Courtesy of theStranger.com

Whether you want to eat king cake or get decked out with beads and go dancing, there's a Mardi Gras event for you in Seattle. SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, February 13, this year, and there are tons of opportunities in Seattle to raise a glass to the the party-filled and culturally diverse holiday. Whether you're looking to let loose early, the day-of, or a few days after, we've got you covered, from Columbia City's Beatwalk Fat Tuesday to Brazilian Carnaval 2018: Mardi Gras!, and from the Mardi Gras Mayhem 5K to the French Quarter Kitchen's party with hush puppies and beignets. Plus, at the end of this list, we've rounded up all of the places to get king cake, paçzki, and other Mardi Gras treats at bakeries, grocery stores, and other restaurants around Seattle.

FEBRUARY 8

Sebi's Bistro Fat Thursday Polish Donuts
Get a taste of Mardi Gras early at this traditional Polish celebration with donuts, pastries, and other sugary treats.

FEBRUARY 8-13

Tavern Hall Mardi Gras
Get in a festive state of mind with a Mardi Gras menu, Louisiana beer, and cocktails in Bellevue.

FEBRUARY 9-13

The Great Royal Room Mardi Gras Celebration
The Columbia City venue will celebrate Mardi Gras over three evenings: A Tribute to Fats Domino on Friday, Caribbean Carnival Fete on Saturday, and Fat Tuesday on Mardi Gras itself.

FEBRUARY 10

Mardi Gras & Music Festival
Visit our neighbors in Burien for a Mardi Gras celebration, live music, and a pub crawl.

Mardi Gras at Emerald City Trapeze
Make your Mardi Gras "dark and sexy" at this cabaret circus show, where flying trapeze artists, variety acts, and aerial artists will perform before joining guests on the floor for a dance party. Don't miss the themed cocktails.

Mardi Gras at Highline
Dance along to local bands Butterflies of Death and Butt Dial, take in burlesque performances by Scandal From Bohemia, Momo La Vein, Evan Vicious, Ruby T. Gray, Bunny Rarebits, Carmen Caliente, Namii, and Bella Lunacy, and enjoy Mardi Gras-themed libations.

Mardi Gras Masquerade Party Cruise
Board a three-hour cruise for this Fat Tuesday fête, which includes Creole-inspired appetizers, a DJ and dancing, drink specials, beads, and a mask.

FEBRUARY 10 & 14

Mardi Gras: A Valentine's Cabaret
At this combination Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day event, dine on three courses with choices like crab avocado crostini, filet mignon, vegetarian jambalaya, and bread pudding while taking in a burlesque cabaret show hosted by ringmaster Armitage Shanks.

FEBRUARY 11

Fastelavn
Fastelavn is a children's carnival traditionally celebrated in Denmark (as well as Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Estonia, Latvia, and the Faroe Islands) a couple days before Ash Wednesday. This celebration features a barrel piñata, candy, crafts, a "beat the cat out of the barrel" contest to chase away the lingering spirit of winter, and more.

Petit Troll
Stop by the Fremont Sunday Market to join the Neon Brass Party for a flashy mini parade a couple days before Fat Tuesday. They'll be decked out in glittery costumes as they galavant down the street with mini floats in tow.

FEBRUARY 13

The 5 Spot Mardi Gras
The homey Queen Anne diner will celebrate with Big Easy food specials, like a crawfish boil and Dungeness crab and duck gumbo, and live music from the Acheevers. Whoever finds a tiny plastic baby baked into their slice of king cake for dessert will reign supreme for a day by winning a $50 card.

B's Po Boy Mardi Gras
In the hedonistic spirit of the holiday, heap your plate with crawfish etouffee, gumbo, red beans and rice, and king cakes from the authentic New Orleans-style joint's buffet, with sets from Big Easy-inspired band Super-Krewe.

Beatwalk Fat Tuesday 2018
Multiple venues in Columbia City will have live music and drink specials for Mardi Gras, in addition to a second-line parade led by Jazz Night School.

Fat Tuesday Celebration with Thomas Marriott & Friends
Jazz trumpeter Thomas Marriott has won the Golden Ear from Earshot Jazz seven times. He and his band will perform at jazz hangout Tula's for a riotous Fat Tuesday celebration.

French Quarter Kitchen Mardi Gras
The newly rebranded French Quarter Kitchen (formerly Absinthe Brasserie) will go all-out for the occasion, with free hush puppies and beignets, king cake, complimentary rum punch, burlesque performances by Briq House and Verity Germaine, all-night happy hour specials, and giveaways.

Ivar's Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Party
Don a mask or themed attire for Ivar's Fat Tuesday fête, with live zydeco music, door prizes, a buffet of Cajun and Creole comestibles like crawfish cakes and fried green tomato muffulettas, and hot blueberry beignets and king cakes for dessert.

Poly Gras: A Mardi Gras Celebration
The controlled tempest that is the Polyrhythmics brings the funk for Mardi Gras, supported by Ten Man Brass Band and DJ Abe Beeson for an all-out dance party.

Toulouse Petit Mardi Gras
The Cajun-Creole kitchen is throwing a bash with drink specials, beads, masquerade masks, prizes, and music from the Dixie Land Band and DJ Marty Mar.

FEBRUARY 16

Anderson School Seafood Boil
Roll up your sleeves and tuck into a Fat Tuesday feast of oysters on the half shell, crab, steamer clams, prawns, mussels, kielbasa sausage, corn on the cob, potatoes, and more right on the table. As they write, "Le Bonne Temps Rouler!"

FEBRUARY 17

Brazilian Carnaval 2018: Mardi Gras!
Eduardo and Ana Paula Mendonça present this Seattle-based celebration of Brazilian Carnaval (an annual festival with parades, dancing, singing, and celebration that happens before Lent begins) that will take into account issues of power, racial exclusion, and social inequality. Attendees will get to experience a wide variety of region- and culture-specific Brazilian music and dance.

Stone Lounge Brazilian Party
DJ Neto will be laying down Brazilian, funk, and reggae music, with support from special guest Junior do Cavaco.

Royal Esquire Club Mardi Gras
Celebrate Mardi Gras with beads, feathers, masks, parasols, and live Zydeco music.

FEBRUARY 24

Mardi Gras Mayhem 5K
Don your party beads for a Mardi Gras 5K around Magnuson Park.

ONGOING FOOD SPECIALS

Amandine Bakeshop
The regal Galette des Rois at Sara Naftaly’s bakery comes topped with its own cute little paper glitter crown.

Bakery Nouveau
The venerable bakeshop has been busy frying up paçzki, a Polish donut treat, filled with chocolate, vanilla, or raspberry pastry cream or house-made apple tatin, available at all three locations until February 13. Their king cake, made with braised croissant dough and rolled with apple tatin and raisins, is blinged out with gold and purple sugar and is available by the slice or whole cake (the whole ones have beads!).

Le Panier
The French patisserie’s Galette des Rois can be requested through special order until February 14, depending on availability (call ahead to make sure).

Metropolitan Market
The upscale grocer is selling fried, glazed paçzki oozing with jelly and sweet cream until February 13, while supplies last. (Pre-orders are advised; call your local store or stop by to ensure yours.)

Sugar Bakery
The First Hill bakery bakes king cake with a buttery brioche dough and three choices of filling: bourbon pecan, strawberry cream cheese, or vanilla cream cheese. It’s adorned with colored sugar and beads and comes with a plastic baby inside. Whole cakes can be pre-ordered by calling 206-749-4105 until March 5, and it’s also available by the slice on Thursdays and Fridays.

Where Ya At Matt
The roving New Orleans street food truck serves colored sugar-sprinkled King’s Cake by the slice.

Where to Dine Out for Valentine’s Day: 2018 Edition

For Valentines and Galentines, Tinder dates and soul mates.

By Diane Stephani  2/1/2018 at 9:30am

IMAGE: COURTESY OF HEARTWOOD PROVISIONS

Reservations, as always, are key. 

Adana 
Six courses with dishes like chicken nanban with shiitake puree, lobster tempura, beef tenderloin with mayo mashed potatoes, and molten lava cake with cedar smoked gelato and red miso caramel. $90 per person

Artusi 
Four courses including pancetta-mozzarella panini with spicy fonduta and roasted potatoes, kale salad with avocado and blood orange, lasagna bolognese with marinara, and caramel cake with coffee frosting and brown butter streusel. $65 per person 

Bookstore Bar and Cafe 
Westland Distillery selections paired with a four-course menu: shigoku oysters, duck confit salad, 72-hour braised zabuton steak with celeriac puree, and torchon foie gras with pear textures and whiskey gastrique. $60 per person, $80 with whiskey pairings

El Gaucho Seattle 
Three courses accompanied by a cabaret show. Choose from options like crab avocado crostini, filet mignon, sea bass, vegetarian jambalaya, and bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and praline-rum sauce. $150 per person

Heartwood Provisions 
Five courses with geoduck, seared yellowtail with sunchoke puree, dry-aged ribeye with parsnip confit, and coconut tapioca with condensed milk foam. $95 per person

Hitchcock 
Eight courses such as wood-fired bone marrow, ube and sweet potato terrine, squid ink bucatini, sunchoke and celeriac risotto, and dry-aged beef ribeye. $120 per person, optional $60 for beverage pairings

Lark 
Four courses with raclette tartine, caramelized onion soup, lamb chops with sunchoke puree and red wine sauce, and a blood orange and coconut milkshake. $120 per person, $55 optional wine pairing

Le Messe 
An amuse of celeriac soup with pesto and black truffle, plus three courses such as ahi tuna with pomello, farro, and green goddess dressing, black cod with Manilla clams and garbanzo beans, risotto with wild mushrooms, salsify, and mascarpone, and amarena cherry sorbet with mint and sea salt. $75 per person

Mercato Stellina 
Live music by Lenny Luzzi, five courses with kushi oysters and radish salsa with yuzu lemon, steak tartare with quail egg, foie gras with apple and pear compote, chicken tortellini, and blood orange sorbet.$65 per person, $40 optional wine pairing

Palisade 
Three courses with Dungeness crab and lobster bisque, surf  and turf, organic roast chicken, and mascarpone cheesecake with raspberry coulis. $75 per person, $12–$15 beverage pairing

Raccolto 
Four courses: sunchoke chips and dip with salmon roe and chives, hamachi crudo, rigatoni with brussels sprout pesto, lamb loin with polenta, bitter greens, and saba, and an almond and olive oil cake with gremolata and caramel. $70 per person

RN74 
Five courses with oysters and caviar with eucalyptus creme fraiche, Maine lobster thermadore with cognac creme, and champignon de Paris and tarragon. $125 per person, $65–$85 for beverage pairing

Spinasse 
Six courses with braised oxtail risotto, roasted lamb chop with melted leeks, fritti misti, and pistachio-mascarpone cream with luxardo cherry mousse. $115 per person, $50 for wine pairing

Stateside 
Four courses with choices like hamachi sashimi, salmon roe on crispy sticky rice, glazed turkey wing, Dungeness crab cake with sesame noodles, and caramelized banana cake. $75 per person, $35 for wine pairings

Stoneburner 
Four courses with caviar dip and chips, Dungeness crab salad with aleppo pepper, egg yolk raviolo with sheep’s milk ricotta, grilled lamb loin with Baharat spice, and chocolate hazelnut mousse crunch. $75 per person, additional $19 for bubbles pairing

Vendemmia 
Three courses which include tomato tagliatelle with pesto, bacon, and ricotta salata, beef cheeks with roasted garlic, speck, and celeriac gremolata, and chestnut semifreddo with buttermilk, bay leaf, and green apple. $75 per person

Volunteer Park Cafe 
Five courses including prawn salad with citrus and avocado, seafood consomme, duck breast with sweet potato puree and apple-cress salad, pork tenderloin with escarole and pear chutney, and chocolate mousse with raspberries and pistachio crumble. $95 per person, $130 with wine pairings

5 Things You Need to Eat and Drink in February

Image Credit: Courtesy of Li'l Woody's

Meet chef Holly Smith and her fancy-pants lamb burger.

Who else is cheering for the fact that all those resolutions about less booze, fewer carbs, no sugar in January can be tossed out the window now? Life’s too short to not have the occasional (or regular) mid-day cookie or whiskey after work. Enjoy yourself, and check out these food-and-drink highlights in February:

Get your burger on.
Li’l Woody’s is again running their much-anticipated Burger Month, where four chefs create masterful specials for the local burger chain, one for each week in February. First up is Café Juanita’s Holly Smith, with her Ranch Lamb Burger: organic lamb, curry lime mayo, pickled red onion, arugula and (the wild card here) raw cauliflower, available through Feb. 5. You can check out the full lineup here—I’m most excited about Adana chef Shota Nakajima’s burger because it involves my favorite Japanese potato chips. 

Learn the wonders of paczki.
Paczki (pronounced PONCH-kee) are filled Polish doughnuts eaten before Lent, another excuse for people to deprive themselves of delicious things. Bakery Nouveau gets out the deep fryer for paczki every year in this short window—find them at all three locations until Feb. 13, when they’re gone for another year.

Up your pre-flight meal game.
Sea-Tac is in the middle of a major restaurant overhaul, promising offshoots of popular local businesses to keep us well fed prior to a flight. (Someone told me my first year in Seattle to take a sunny vacation sometime in February, and no advice has been more valuable.) Café Flora is launching Floret between terminals A and B starting Feb. 6; the 2,000-square-foot space will be the first vegetarian and vegan restaurant at the airport and serve all day. Dine in is available, when your flight to Palm Springs is inevitably delayed because the weather is terrible here, but take-out will, of course, be an option as well.

Celebrate our local ladies.
On Feb. 11, the Northwest Women Stars of Food and Wine will bring female chefs, sommeliers and winemakers for an epic feast, and $50 gets you in. Look for the likes of Chera Amlag (Hood Famous Bakeshop), Carrie Mashaney (Mamnoon), Nicole Matson (How to Cook a Wolf), Tamara Murphy (Terra Plata), Lisa Nakamura (Gnocchi Bar) and Rachel Yang (Revel, Trove, Joule) plus dozens of lady wine-and-beer makers and talented sommeliers.

Blow out the candles.
Tavolata is celebrating 11 years in Belltown—a lifetime in restaurant years—with a birthday-themed Sunday feast, also Feb. 11. If you haven’t been to one of these monthly communal dinners, I highly recommend it: It’s a steal at $55 per person (for an array of salads and salumi, multiple pasta dishes and proteins like pork chops and swordfish) and I’ve made some really excellent friends by striking up a conversation with strangers around the table. Plus, this one involves confetti cake and party hats. Make a reservation here. 

Winter is the Perfect Time for Locals to Visit Pike Place Market

9 places for Seattleites to check out at the market when the sky is dark and the lines are short.

BY: LESLIE KELLY |  Courtesy of SeattleMag.com

Image Credit: Photo via iStock.

Here are a few of my favorite places -- new and old -- at this iconic landmark that we’re so fortunate to have right in the middle of our city. Please, go! Like, now!!

Cafe Campagne recently got a refresh, now the cozy dining room can peek into the open kitchen and watch chef Daisley Gordon and his crew turn out French classics like cassoulet, bouillbaisse and steak-frites. There’s also a tasty new meat-free option worth trying: Assiette de saladesfeatures a vegetable salad on marinated lentils. Big bonus: The new bread oven in the kitchen is now turning out some beautiful baguettes and croissants daily.

Crossaints at Cafe Campagne

Can we all agree, it’s a whole lot more fun to eat food on a stick? Get a naturally fermented, good-for-your-gut sour pickle on a stick at Britt’s, for the perfect $3 walking around snack. Guaruntee you’ll get some “where’d you get that?” queries out on the cobblestone streets. Tell ‘em it’s just down the hall from the magical Creamery, across from sweet Shy Giant Frozen Yogurt and kitty corner from the loveable Oriental Mart, home of some amazing Filipino home cooking.

Andrew from Britt's shares a sour pickle. 

Did you know Seattle’s oldest wine shop has a club? I didn’t either until just a few weeks ago when a friend clued me in. It’s $40 a month for three bottles selected by the sharp staff at Pike & Western, and that also includes 15 percent off the rest of your purchases at this snug space that’s filled with all sorts of great options you’re not going to find elsewhere.

Honest Biscuits is rightly famous for its signature sandwiches, but I’m a huge fan of the grits, which you can and most certainly should order on the side. Or, assemble your own winning break-y by asking for a fried egg on top, with some kale salad on the side. This humble take-away venue is located in the awesome new MarketFront addition. What? You haven’t been to the new MarketFront? Make tracks, already!

Also in MarketFront, indi chocolates not only sells its bean-to-bar products, but serves espresso drinks and some really wonderful hot sipping chocolate. If the timing’s right, you might even catch the crew turning those thoughtfully sourced cacao beans into the dark chocolate that this business has gained acclaim for producing.

Bavarian Meats not only has one of the most interesting deli counters in the city, it’s become a destination for sausage lovers looking for their lunchtime link fix.

The new Jalapeno Popper Bratwurst will warm you right up down to your wool socks, with those fiery peppers, cream cheese and caramelized onions tucked inside the casing, turning this German classic into something that once you try it, you’re going to go to bed thinking about and wake up craving. Yes, it’s that good.

Oh, also! They’re now selling the whiskey cured bacon that blew judges away at last year’s Beer and Bacon Classic (which is coming right up… save the date: April 28 at Safeco Field).

Nothing brand new at The Crumpet Shop. Well, except that Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler were in recently, getting their maple butter crumpets on. (Really!) Very cool, guys, but I’m still a sucker for the marmalade partnered with Stilton cheese. Everything’s organic here and there’s free refills on hot tea.

Kastoori Grill does a decent lunch buffet that almost always includes a very good goat curry, but you’re definitely gonna wanna save room for the soft serve mango ice cream. This brain-freeze-inducing, orange-y swirl is the real reason I frequent this spot.

Mercato Stellina opened late last year and has been kinda flying under the radar. Which means you can still snag a table at lunch or dinner. And when you get settled in, do not miss Joe Obaya’s exceptional handmade pasta. Standouts include tender Dungeness crab gnocchi, tagliatelle Bolognese and Draper Valley chicken tortellini in a prosciutto-parm brodo. Great cocktails and stellar pizza, too.  

And that’s just a start. There’s so much more to explore. See you there?

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SEATTLE’S BEST MUSEUMS

By Joshua Johnson December 21, 2016 |  Courtesy of VisitSeattle.org

FEBRUARY IS SEATTLE MUSEUM MONTH, when visitors staying in select area hotels are invited to explore the city’s museums for half off the regular price of admission.

From jamming on a guitar at MoPOP to climbing into a jet fighter cockpit at the Museum of Flight, Museum Month is an awesome opportunity to dive into Seattle’s diverse collection of multi-sensory exhibitions, with hands-on doses of art, culture, and science. And no, you don’t have to use your “inside voice.”

MoPOP, the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly EMP Museum)

Chris Devers

From the bizarre, iridescent architecture of Frank O. Gehry to the 35-foot-tall tornado-shaped tower of guitars that welcomes visitors, the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP, is an experience for the senses. 

For some serious musical inspiration move into the space decked out in psychedelic oranges, pinks, and purples — that’s Hendrix. Even if you’re not a music fan per se, as you come face to face with Jimi’s life and legacy you’ll get a zoomed-out, macro look at the musical scene of the 1960’s and how it influenced the next 50 years. Move upstairs into the Sound Lab and pick up a guitar, sit down at the drums or keyboard and practice your solo or jam with friends. The private sound booths are a fan favorite so snag an empty one and claim your 10 minutes of booth time and compose your masterpiece. A rotating selection of exhibits featuring musical and creative icons fill the remains of the cavernous interiors of MoPOP.

Music covered, continue on your way to a full-on immersion in all things sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Three exhibits covering our “hopes, dreams, and fears” (get it?) feature props and interactive displays from popular works of cinema, literature and art. This is Seattle’s paradise for pop culture. Prepare to geek out.

Where to find it: Seattle Center – 325 Fifth Ave N

Seattle Pinball Museum

Photo: J. Nathan Matias

No matter how advanced video games and VR become, there will always be an undeniable (and I would say superior) pleasure in the physical banging, bouncing, blinking, and cajoling (and endless frustration) of a pinball machine. Celebrate your old-school love of pinball at the aptly named Seattle Pinball Museum — it opened in 2010, redefining “kinetic art,” and showcases machines just a few years old all the way back to 1934.

$15 gets you in the door (half off during Museum Month, of course) to play the rotating selection of 50+ machines to your heart’s content. Just try not to TILT!

Where to find it: 508 Maynard Ave S

The Center for Wooden Boats

Photo: The Center for Wooden Boats

Seattle and the surrounding Puget Sound have a deep history of small maritime vessels (that is, boats) that goes all the way back to the native tribes who plied the waters with cedar-hulled canoes. On the shores of South Lake Union, The Center for Wooden Boatsinvites visitors to not only see their collection of boats but to actually get out on the water in one. Sign up for sailing lessons or rent yourself a sloop (you’ll find especially good rates off-season in February). Take a class, attend a lecture, a workshop, or a field trip, or just walk the docks exploring the vessels (100% free).

Intrigued, but not ready to sail on your own? Pedal-boat rentals for non-sailers are maybe more your speed (and hey, better exercise).

Where to find it: 1010 Valley St

Chihuly Garden and Glass / Museum of Glass

Photo: Chihuly Garden and Glass

There’s really only one name in American sculptural glass: Dale Chihuly. And aside from actually being the glass-blowing genius himself, the closest you can get to the jaw-dropping works created by Seattle’s master artist is at Chihuly Garden and Glass. The centerpiece of the outdoor/indoor experience is the Glasshouse, a 4,500-square-foot conservatory housing a suspended swirl of enormous red, orange, and yellow glass blossoms. Instagram heaven. Seriously, spend five seconds on their website and good luck not adding it to your list. This isn’t just glass, this is…another more colorful, more vibrant world.

If Chihuly Garden & Glass only whets your appetite (the odds are surprisingly good), how about some live glass blowing? Hop in the car or train and head to Tacoma’s Museum of Glass to watch artists in the Hot Shop transform molten blobs into masterpieces (and, of course, to check out the museum itself). Eye-catching both inside and out, wandering around the museum’s exterior (it’s right along the waterway) and catching the sculptures in the moonlight is worth it, too.

Where to find them: Seattle Center – 305 Harrison St (Chihuly Garden and Glass); 1801 Dock St, Tacoma (Museum of Glass)

Pacific Science Center

Photo: ctj71081

It’s always super cheesy when someone says “children of all ages will love,” but… The Pacific Science Center is most definitely a children-of-all-ages kind of place, whether it’s cheesy to say so or not. There’s a rotating calendar of exhibits and programs, but my favorites always involve the Life Sciences exhibits — the Saltwater Tide Pool where you can get up close to an anemone, and the Tropical Butterfly House where, regardless of the weather outside, the temperature is 80° and butterflies fill the air. Magical! There’s also an IMAX dome in case you need some additional eye candy.

Bonus: This area totally feels like a theme park — it was designed by Minoru Yamasaki for the 1962 World’s Fair. Within easy walking distance are the International Fountain, MoPOP, the Space Needle, and the aforementioned Chihuly Garden and Glass. In other words, this makes for one heck of a great day in Seattle.

Where to find it: Seattle Center – 200 Second Ave N

Seattle Aquarium / Woodland Park Zoo

Photo: Ryan Hawk for Woodland Park Zoo

Because they’re not exactly museums, I’m going to lump these two together. I do think it’s cool, however, that the aquarium and zoo are both joining the Museum Month fun because a) I love me some animals (the otters at the aquarium are everything) and b) these are great options for the kiddos.

The Seattle Aquarium is on the waterfront, an easy stop on your sightseeing walk, and is a fascinating way to explore the marine life that fills the Puget Sound. Be sure to check out the diver shows, the daily octopus feedings, and two more favorites — the moon jellies and the seals. The Woodland Park Zoo, on the other hand, is a few minutes’ drive from downtown and adjacent to Woodland Park and Green Lake. There are more than 1,000 animals, and you’ll see everything from ocelots to mountain goats to red pandas to tree kangaroos.

Where to find them: 1483 Alaskan Way (Seattle Aquarium); 5500 Phinney Ave N (Woodland Park Zoo)

Seattle Art Museum

Photo: Antonio Campoy

Wandering from collection to collection, exhibit to exhibit, in the Seattle Art Museum is the best remedy for that nagging art itch. SAM collections include thousands of works from a wide range of ancient and modern cultures (the collection of African masks is one of my faves), and rotating exhibits brings world-class modern and classical art into the space.

All that ruminating over masterpieces can work up an appetite. Afterward, grab a bite at SAM’s Taste Restaurant, a casual-but-classy street-level spot serving salads and sandwiches with locally-sourced ingredients.

Where to find it: 1300 1st Ave

USS Turner Joy Museum Ship

Photo: Mlouns at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

An hour-long ferry ride from the Seattle waterfront, in the nearby city of Bremerton (home to an enormous naval shipyard), a decommissioned and painstakingly preserved Vietnam-era naval destroyer — aka the USS Turner Joy DD-951 — waits at the end of a dock to be explored by curious visitors. I remember being awestruck as a kid visiting the big, gun-metal-grey war boat, scampering through passageways and gawking at the giant weaponry.

Whether you’re a naval history buff or not, the USS Turner Joy is fascinating and a fun way to spend an hour or two (and a great excuse to jump on the ferry and explore nearby maritime communities like Bremerton).

Where to find it: 300 Washington Beach Ave, Bremerton

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

Photo: Andrew Waits for The Burke Museum

The collections at The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (comprising more than 16 million objects!) tell the story of life on planet Earth. Founded in 1885, this is the oldest public museum in Washington state and, as an active research museum, also serves communities of academics, researchers, and students from around the world. From indigenous artifacts to dino bones, The Burke has always been, and hopefully always will be, a place to learn.

A half day here is a highlight to any University of Washington Campus visit, and you’ll leave knowing a bit (or a lot) about Washington’s history, in particular through exhibits such as “Washington’s First Dinosaur,” “Pacific Voices,” and “Life and Times of Washington State” (more about disaster, lava, and ice than you probably realize).

Where to find it: NE 45th St & 17th Ave NE

Museum of Flight

Photo: Benson Kua

For millennia, humankind dreamed of flight. In 1903, that dream was achieved by the Wright brothers, and in a little over a century we have perfected flight and used it to visit other worlds. Occupying the south end of Boeing Field, The Museum of Flight has offered a celebration of this achievement since 1965. More than 175 air and spacecraft are on display, spanning all eras of human flight. You can even climb into the cockpit of a SR-71A Blackbird reconnaissance plane — the fastest, highest-flying jet ever built.

Seattle may not be the birthplace of flight, but with local employer Boeing celebrating 100 years, it’s safe to say this is a thing Seattle knows a thing or two about.

Where to find it: 9404 E Marginal Way S

These Are Washington’s 2018 Good Food Award Winners

Sixteen notable local sweets, brews, and pantry products to sample this year? Challenge accepted.

By Seattle Met Staff  1/22/2018 at 11:10am | Courtesy of SeattleMet.com

Image via the Good Food Awards’ Facebook page.

The Good Food Awards, surely the only honorary with an “elixir” category, announced its 2018 winners this weekend in San Francisco. Per usual, Washington represented well in this annual celebration of sustainable, crazy tasty local food and drink products. This year’s local victors included some familiar names alongside some newcomers. (Mental note: check out that snacking cacao and spicy eggplant kasundi situation, stat.)

The whole list of winners is available online, and below are Washington’s honorees by category.

BEER

Atwood Ales Farm Brewery, Rhuty

CHEESE

Cascadia Creamery, Glacier Blue & Sawtooth

CIDER

Dragon’s Head Cider, Traditional Cider & Perry
Finnriver Farm Cidery, Blue Hewe

COFFEE

Vashon Coffee Company, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Natural Daniel Miju

CONFECTIONS

Fran’s Chocolates, Dark Chocolate Sauce & Caramel Sauce
Good King, Harmony Gourmet Snacking Cacao

ELIXIRS

Girl Meets Dirt, Ruby Spiced Apple Shrub
Reverend Al’s Bona Fide Potents, English Cucumber, Lime and Mint Shrub 

FISH

St. Jude Tuna, Mediterranean (Solid White Albacore Tuna)
Pure Alaska Salmon Company with Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Canned Pink Salmon

HONEY

Sequim Bee Farm, Snowberry Rose

PANTRY

Seattle Canning Company, Sonny’s Spicy Eggplant Kasundi

PICKLES

Johnson Berry Farm, MJ’s Bread and Butter Pickle & MJ’s Basil Bread and Butter Pickle
OlyKraut, Cumin Jalapeño Sauerkraut

PRESERVES

Johnson Berry Farm, Strawberry Basil Jam

Small cell technology comes to Kirkland

A rendering of Verizon’s light pole small cell implementation designs. Courtesy of the city of Kirkland

Small cell technology comes to Kirkland

The city council approved the first small cell master use permit with Verizon.

By Kailan Manandic  |  Wednesday, January 17, 2018 11:30am  |  Courtesy of KirklandReporter.com

The Kirkland City Council recently approved an ordinance that will grant Verizon Wireless a non-exclusive master use permit to implement its small cell technology in the city’s southern half.

The permit gives Verizon the right of way to install its small cells on existing utility poles and street lamps in the southern half of Kirkland.

The small cells work to help fill the gaps left by large cell towers that often can’t be built in residential neighborhoods.

“It’s a very exciting technology,” said Kim Allen, who represented Verizon at the Jan. 2 council meeting. “Kirkland has been a leader in adopting a small cell ordinance that allows this technology to be deployed in a very thoughtful way, which preserves the (city’s) aesthetic.”

This is only Verizon’s first step in the permit process and there is no estimated start date for construction.

According to Allen, the existing 4G cell tower network is adequate, but is becoming more and more stressed as customers use more and more wireless devices at home.

“We’re trying to bring a solution closer to where people are actually using their phones in an aesthetically pleasing way,” she said.

The permit only covers the city’s land south of Northeast 116th Street because Verizon is focusing on areas with the greatest need, according to Allen. The permit can be changed by the city if Verizon requests to expand the permit beyond the city’s southern half.

Verizon will mostly attach the small cells to existing Puget Sound Energy poles, but they are also designing small cells that will integrate with city-owned light poles. These designs conceal the antennas within the street lights to minimize the aesthetic impact.

“We don’t want people to think there are going to be all these new antennas out there,” said Rob Jammerman, development engineering manager for Kirkland. “They say they’re the size of a VCR or something smaller in that size of antenna.”

Verizon is the first cell phone carrier to apply for the master use permit and Jammerman expects many to start applying soon. AT&T has already contacted the city about implementing their own small cell network.

“They’re all lining up,” Jammerman said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

Currently, Verizon still needs to finalize all the building permits before they can start adding the antennas to the utility poles.

“All equipment will be painted to match, all antennas will be painted to match and we will do our utmost, as we have been doing with communities all over the Puget Sound region, to make this integrate as seamlessly into your community as possible,” Allen said.

Investing in a Second Northwest Home

By Shawna De La Rosa | December 28, 2017 | Courtesy of 425magazine.com

raving a coastal getaway? Seeking a chalet on the slopes? Longing for lakefront sunshine?

Lives are hectic, but calming aesthetic beauty lies just hours away. Puget Sound is rich with jewel-like locales perfect for family and friends to disconnect, reconnect, and decompress in a vacation home.

The first step is deciding where to buy. Options range from the ocean to the mountains, from inland beach cabins to Eastern Washington lakefronts.

Depending on the location, square footage, and condition of the home, buyers can expect to pay an average of $300,000 to $1 million-plus for a second home, said Chris Murphy, Realtor at WashingtonWaterfronts.com. More affordable homes, starting at about $150,000, can be found in Packwood, just miles away from White Pass Ski resort southeast of Mount Rainier National Park.

Hood Canal offers miles of saltwater beachfront with clamming, crabbing, and water-sport opportunities, Murphy said. The shallow and narrow nature of the channel leaves the water warm and calm, making for easy paddleboarding and kayaking conditions.

Whidbey Island has beach properties in Useless and Mutiny bays, many that have been in families for generations. There, a 1,000-square-foot beach cabin may sell for $1 million, Murphy said.

Camano Island is another popular second-home location.

There, about 30 percent of 2016 home sales were second homes, said Marla Heagle, owner of Windermere Real Estate Camano Island.

Most second homes are purchased for family getaways, she said. But some buyers purchase specifically for the Airbnb or VRBO opportunities.

On the coast, Seabrook is a planned community that is able to maintain its value through the amenities available and the cache it has developed with Seattle and Eastside residents, Murphy said.

Casey Roloff, who founded Seabrook in 2002 with his wife, Laura, designed the community after historical towns centered on walkability and mixed-use planning. They were inspired by California beach towns like Carmel. At Seabrook, current for-sale home prices range from the low $400,000s to more than $1.5 million.

Fifteen years into the plan, existing homeowners are still considered the “first adopters.” Home prices remain relatively low, compared to what they will be when the retail town center is complete, Roloff said. Still to come: Fifteen businesses that will include an arcade, luxury theater, brewery, outdoor outfitter, jewelry store, restaurants, and ladies boutique. There’s even a high-end yarn store for all those knitters out there.

Some people prefer the sun over the waves. For those, Lake Chelan is always a good option.

Dustin Thomas, inside sales director at Nick McLean Real Estate, said houseboats are a fun second-home option for many buyers. Starting at about $300,000, the houseboats can troll around the lake and then park at a local marina.

Also there, The Lookout at Lake Chelan is a planned community popular with second-home buyers. So far, 104 homes have been sold, and 63 are complete. A total of 320 homes are planned. Prices range from $520,000 to $880,000.

The Lookout sits on a bluff looking out over the lake, said Laura C. Harris, director of sales. All homes share access to the lake, and development will only go about halfway down the property, allowing for good communal access to the beach.

Only 80 miles from Bellevue, Suncadia is a popular location for second-home buyers, as well. Current sale prices range from $695,000 for 1,900 square feet to $3.2 million for a 12,000-square-foot home. Hiking and biking trails, golf courses, a pool, and waterslides create plenty of fun for everyone in the family. Winter activities include skiing at Snoqualmie Ski Resort, tubing, and ice skating.

“I encourage people to buy what they are going to use, what fits them best, and what fits their specific needs. Don’t buy more than you are going to need when you are there with your family.”

– Casey Roloff, Seabrook founder

Like other second-home areas, Suncadia’s sales are booming. The community hit an all-time record in 2015 for the number of real estate transactions. It has increased every year since. This year, Richard Seay, the vice president and director of sales and marketing for Suncadia, expects transactions to be 22 percent higher than 2016.

Many second-home owners put their properties on the vacation rental market. If the home is well-cared-for, the homeowner can recoup between 50 to 100 percent of the cost of owning the home, said Murphy.

The Lookout at Lake Chelan runs a cottage-rental program in which about 65 percent of the homeowners participate.

It makes sense to consider the rental program, Harris said. The average owner spends about 45 nights a year in his or her home. Each cottage rents out about 120 nights per year.

Murphy has put together an Excel spreadsheet so buyers can assess what type of return on investment they can expect by renting out their properties.

That said, Murphy urges his clients to buy a home for its intrinsic value and to buy something their family will use.

Roloff concurs.

“I encourage people to buy what they are going to use, what fits them best, and what fits their specific needs,” he said. “Don’t buy more than you are going to need when you are there with your family.”

Suncadia’s Seay also believes second homes shouldn’t be considered a strictly financial investment.

“Vacation homes are investments in your family’s time,” he said.

Murphy, who owns a second home himself, said vacation homes are part of a renewal process.

“Going to a second home, or a vacation home, for the weekend leaves you refreshed and ready to go for the next week and gives families the opportunity to bring all the generations together under one roof.” 

Snow Much Fun

By 425 staff | December 22, 2017 |  Courtesy of 425magazine.com 

The holidays are behind us, and the gray, cold weather is here. It would be easy to hunker down with a fluffy blanket, in front of a crackling fire, with a book, and hibernate until spring. Or you can go search for snow and make the most of winter. And then of course, come back inside and get cozy. Here’s your ultimate winter fun guide — hot chocolate recipe included!

CHILLING CLOSE TO HOME

Courtesy Icicle TV

You don’t have to travel far with the kids to have “snow much fun!” We’ve rounded up a list of options to suit everyone from your littlest snow bunnies to thrill-seeking teens.

Leavenworth

If you’re looking for a close-in adventure that feels a world away, head to Leavenworth.

This faux Bavarian village is beautiful year-round, but only a Grinch couldn’t be charmed by its storybook shops sprinkled with snow. Leavenworth also pulls out all the stops this time of year, with more adventure and entertainment than you can possibly fit in one long weekend. And now that the holidays are over, the crowds aren’t as thick, but the nostalgia is still going full blast.

The Leavenworth Ski Hill, just outside of town, is the place to head for tubing. There are also trails for cross-country skiing, two ski resorts nearby, and multiple companies offering everything from snowmobile rentals to horse-drawn sleigh rides. If the kids would like to get an idea of what Rudolph and his crew do in the “off season,” book a tour of the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm. They’ll also get a kick out of the Gingerbread Factory and The Nutcracker Museum.

If you happen to visit during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, you’ll be there for IceFest,which features snow sculptures, games, a snowmobile sled pull, fireworks, and more fun.

If you like a slightly less crowded experience, you can still enjoy a festive atmosphere all winter long. The twinkling Christmas lights typically stay up through mid- February, and the other fun continues as long as there is enough of the white stuff!

Want to stay closer to home? Here are a few more options for family fun.

Shuttle to the Snow

Don’t want to drive in the icy weather and search for parking? The Seattle Ski Shuttle to The Summit at Snoqualmie runs Saturdays and Sundays and picks up riders in Bellevue and North Bend. Round trip tickets are $40. Reserve your spot at seattleskishuttle.com.

Hyak Snow Park

Hyak is less than an hour from Bellevue if the weather cooperates. Note that you will need a Snow Park Permit and a Discover Pass for this popular spot. Regulars suggest you go as early as you possibly can to snag a parking space. You won’t find rope tows or magic carpets here, but you will find a great big hill to sled down on your own sled or inner tube once you make it to the top. This is a multi-use area, so be prepared to share with cross-country skiers and snowshoers, and leave the dog at home!

Totally Tubular!

Hold on tight! The Snoqualmie tubing center features eight or more lanes. The hill is 550 feet long with about 40 feet of elevation. Your tweens and teens will be going so fast, they won’t even have time for an eye roll! You book your time here by reserving a two-hour session, and you will want to do that in advance, online, as times do sell out. While this isn’t a total bargain, it is a ton of fun, and getting everyone off electronics is priceless.

Paradise at Mount Rainier

Photo by Miki Yoshihito

The snow-play area at Paradise is the only part of the park where sledding is permitted. It usually opens late December, but do always check conditions before you head up. Families with children ages 8 and up may also want to sign up for ranger-led snowshoe walks!

ADVENTURES IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

There’s nothing like experiencing the outdoors under a blanket of snow. Ride the Mount Rainier Gondola to the top of Crystal Mountain, snowshoe through old-growth forests, tube down hills under the stars, and more. Here are cool adventures for every kind of winter enthusiast.

Exploring is Easy at Suncadia

When Suncadia Resort and Spa in Cle Elum is covered in snow, it’s simple to get out and explore with rental equipment and activities nearby. Ice skate outdoors next to the forest and beneath twinkly lights at the Village Pavilion. Or, rent cross-country skies and snowshoes and set out on several miles of groomed trails. Want the view without the work? Tip & Lucky, two Percheron horses, will trot you around on a sleigh. And recreational enthusiasts might enjoy fly fishing for local trout at one of the icy streams with an expert fisherman. Warm beverages and snacks are packed for the two- to three-hour outing. There’s also a long drift-boat fishing trip available. But let’s face it: Not everyone enjoys the snow by tromping through it. Take in the winter season cozied up by the fire at The Lodge, or warm up in the hot tub.

Ride the Mount Rainier Gondola

Crystal Mountain is known for its powdered slopes. But if you’re not an avid skier or snowboarder, there’s still a lot to do. Take a scenic ride up the mountain above snow-covered evergreens on the gondola. After traveling about 2,500 feet up, there’s a bird’s eye view of Mount Rainier and the Cascade range. Washington’s highest-elevation restaurant, Summit House, is also perched there, at about 6,872 feet. Warm up inside with hot chocolate or a glass of wine.

Snowshoe Crystal Springs

If you can walk, you can snowshoe. Long gone are the bulky, tennis-racket-shaped shoes of yesteryear; they have been replaced by modern, hard-deck snowshoes such as the MSR Denali, which are small and easy to manage. Grab a Thermos full of hot cocoa, a picnic lunch, and head up to the Crystal Springs Sno-Park for a day of adventure and sunshine that isn’t often found at lower elevations this time of year. Located on the sunnier, drier side of Snoqualmie Pass, Crystal Springs boasts approximately five miles of ski and snowshoe trails through old-growth forest and stunning vistas. Many of them can be reached on easy trails with less than 100 feet of elevation gain, making this an adventure perfect for those of varying skill and fitness levels.

Zoom Around on Snowmobiles

There are more than 3,000 miles of groomed snowmobiling trails through Washington state’s Winter Recreation Program. The program offers Sno-Parks throughout the state for snowmobilers to access the trails. For a map of snowmobile areas and more information, go to parks.state.wa.gov. The Washington State Snowmobile Association is also a good resource for rentals, riding areas, safety tips and more. wssa.us

Cozy up in a Mount Rainier Cabin

Photo by Sunrisesoup

Looking for a romantic getaway? Quaint cabins and cottages are scattered throughout the Mount Rainier area. Secluded in quiet forests and along riverbeds, there’s a lot of charming getaways to choose from. Some have outdoor hot tubs, where guests can soak while snowflakes flutter down. visitrainier.com

Glow Tubing in Oregon

Over 600,000 LED lights, laser light shows, black lights, and colored lights keep Mount Hood vibrant at night so tubers can slide down the mountain under the stars. There are also conveyor lifts to keep tubers on the slopes. Mount Hood SkiBowl offers the night activity. During the day, visit Frosty’s Playland and the Winter Adventure Park, where there’s a play zone, a carousel, and kiddie snowmobiles. skibowl.com 

Ziplining in Whistler, B.C.

Photo by Kris Krüg

Fly above the icy creeks and through majestic old-growth trees covered in a blanket of snow. Whistler Zipline Tours is an epic way to see the area’s beauty. Along the way, you’ll learn about Whistler’s ecology and wildlife. No experience needed. whistler.com

Dog Sledding in Montana

Experience the beautiful, rugged landscape of Montana while being pulled by a team of dogs. Dogsledding is a thrill and offered at several different venues throughout the western side of the state. Yell “mush,” and you’ll be on your way! visitmt.com

Hot Springs in Idaho

Heat things up in the icy cold with a trip to one of the many natural hot springs in Idaho. Lava Hot Springs has five pools ranging in temperature from 102 degrees to 112 degrees. More than 2.5 million gallons of hot mineral water runs through the pools each day before entering the Portneuf River. visitidaho.org

Photo by Michael Kartes

Cold-weather treat

Ultimate Homemade Hot Chocolate

Over medium-low heat, slowly melt 1 cup of bittersweet chopped chocolate (or chips). Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Slowly add 4 to 5 cups whole milk and stir. Start with 4 cups, and add more if desired. (This is a party in a mug, so more chocolate, less milk is always my choice.) Bring the mixture to a simmer, but do not boil. Keep stirring. Top with marshmallows or whipped cream; stir with cinnamon sticks if you like a little spice. — Danielle Kartes

The 20 Best Things Our Dining Critic Ate This Year

From fried chicken to falafel, these are our favorite dishes of 2017.

BY:  CHELSEA LIN | Posted December 13, 2017 | Courtesy of Seattlemag.com

Image Credit: Ma'ono Facebook

Behold the divinity of Ma'ono's fried chicken sandwich.

I eat out. A lot. More than I even need to for work. When I thought about compiling this list, I originally aimed for 10 dishes, but there were just too many great meals to limit myself. Instead, I’ve pulled together the top 20 things I ate this year—from small snacks to elaborate meals to memorable desserts. (I even left off my favorite dishes that I return to year after year, plus all the great things I ate in other cities.) These bites were all new to me in 2017; I hope you get a chance to try them soon.

Duck tsukune at Kamonegi
Everyone talks about the hand-made soba at chef Mutsuko Soma’s new Fremont spot, but she’s just as deft with the tempura and sides—the duck tsukune (meatball) is unreal. 

Fried chicken sandwich at Ma’ono
It’s not an everyday kind of sandwich—though there is a walk-in Virginia Mason clinic on the other side of U Village—but the crispy, crunchy, spicy fried chicken on a Hawaiian sweet roll (plus Moscow mules on tap!) inside Rachel’s Ginger Beer changed my life, or at least my shopping habits.

Pork belly at Art of the Table
Each of the many courses I had at Art of the Table’s stunning new Fremont space justified the hefty price tag, but I particularly loved chef Dustin Ronspies’ pork belly, served with his grandma’s sauerkraut recipe. (The gnocchi was awesome, too.)

Raclette at Fire and Scrape
How have I lived this so long without experiencing the gooey deliciousness that is raclette? I ate potatoes topped with melty cheese at the Fremont farmers market, standing in the rain, and I’m counting down the days to get back there.

Huckleberry pie at White Swan Public House
Sous chef Kayla Cramer makes pies on Thursdays, which is precisely when you should go. They don’t always involve sweet-tart huckleberries, but don’t miss it when they do.

Demi-gorgonzola pizza at Windy City Pie
When Dave Lichterman invited me to hang out in the kitchen of his Interbay pizzeria and test his new Detroit-style pies… well, I couldn’t say no. Keep your eye on his specials—and when he runs this pizza topped in braised beef, gorgonzola and drizzled in demi-glace, get there a.s.a.p. We promise you won't get sucked into the Upside Down world.

BLT at Bavarian Meats
I’ve long loved the sausages at this Pike Place Market spot, but last time I got a BLT—and I’m never looking back.

Rice bowl at B-Side Foods
If I lived closer to this hipster-chic Capitol Hill café, I’d eat the rice bowl—topped in a gorgeous rainbow of virtuous fermented and pickled veggies, plus a soft egg—every day.

Don't underestimate Aviv Hummus Bar's unbelievably tasty falafel. Photo courtesy of Aviv Hummus Bar Facebook.

Falafel at Aviv Hummus Bar
The menu is short at this new Capitol Hill spot, and chickpea is king. My fave hummus variation is the half-mashed masabacha, but the real showstopper is the light-as-air falafel—easily the best in town.

Salmon and kasu “risotto” at Opus Co.
Of all the restaurants that opened in 2017, this intimate Greenwood spot is perhaps my favorite, for both the value of the Opus Feast ($50 per person!) and also the salmon with kasu (sake lees) from the production facility downstairs. 

Off-menu burger at Bateau
Such an obvious choice, I know. But I finally tried it, and damn, it’s as good as I’d hoped.

Aappam and curry at Kathakali
This Kirkland Indian joint is exactly the kind of place I love most, with unique, delicious cuisine run by a passionate, talented couple. The fiery curries are best when eaten with the spongy aappam.

Oatmeal cookie chunk ice cream from Sweet Lo’s
I’ve been following Sweet Lo since she was making custom pints and delivering them around town herself. I’m now a part of her monthly ice cream subscription, and the oatmeal cookie chunk in June was inhaled in a single sitting. (Lemon bar can be found in stores around town, and is my second favorite.)

Risotto at Copine
Everything at this Ballard restaurant is refreshingly refined, but the risotto was so surprising—simply perfect, which I’ve found is rarely true when it comes to risottos.

Northwest nachos at No Bones
There’s a lot to be suspicious about when it comes to vegan tiki, but the nachos at this kitschy Ballard spot knock it out of the park—particularly if you add the flavorful spiced jackfruit.

Don't skip Junebaby's pimento cheese. Photo by Andrea Coan.

Pimento cheese at Junebaby
I still haven’t made it in for fried chicken night, but as of now, my favorite dish at Eduoardo Jordan’s acclaimed Ravenna restaurant is the delightful pimento cheese served with pickles and saltines.

Smoked and pickled mussels at No Anchor
Great food and great beer? It doesn’t happen frequently, which is what makes this Belltown bar so special. Get the smoked and pickled mussels (“plated while listening to black metal,” according to the menu, which makes me like it more) and thank me later.

Guava cake at Cakes of Paradise
I don’t like guava or this kind of fluffy white cake, but I loved this family-run Georgetown shop’s guava cake so much I thought about it for days after.

Ube cookies from Hood Famous
I’ve written a lot about this Ballard bakery’s awesome ube cheesecake, but the ube cookies—chewy and buttery and utterly flawless—were a surprise hit that I’d eat again anytime.

Tripe and geoduck at Matt’s in the Market
This last one isn’t fair, but I need to include it anyway: Last week I attended chef Chris Cosentino’s dinner at Matt’s in the Market as part of their Planes, Trains and Traveling Chefs series, and the whole offal-heavy menu just blew my mind. His tripe and geoduck in vinaigrette reminded me you should always keep trying things, even if you think you don’t like them. 

Last-Minute Plans: 52 Free, Cheap & Easy Things To Do for New Year's Eve 2017 in Seattle

Free Fireworks, Champagne Toasts, Music, and More

by Stranger Things To Do Staff  |  Courtesy of TheStranger.com

Just because you don't have loads of money doesn't mean you can't have free champagne at a masquerade party. SHUTTERSTOCK

There are lots ways to splurge on New Year's Eve this year, but being on a budget doesn't mean you can't send 2017 out with a bang. Below, you'll find all the ways to ring in the new year that won't cost more than $15, from New Year's Eve at the Needle to the New Year's Eve Garbage Bash, and from First Night Tacoma to the Barrel Thief's Prohibition New Year's Eve Party. For even more options, check out our complete New Year's Eve calendar.

1. A Very Linda's Tavern New Year's Eve
Linda's Tavern cheerily invites you to "party like we are not all fucked" at their cover-free New Year's bash, with a sparkling midnight toast and all-night jams from DJ Chris Cab.
(Capitol Hill, free admission)

2. Aaron Crawford
In his sophomore release Evergreen, Seattle country stud Aaron Crawford showcases his influences from church music, Johnny Cash, U2, and more. Join him for an intimate set this New Year's Eve at the Little Red Hen, complete with a champagne toast and party favors. 
(Green Lake, $10)

3. Bakeréé New Year's Eve
Join the Bakeréé and Canfinder at a New Year's Eve party, where you can have a nosh from the SlideThru food truck, dance to live music, hang out in Canfinder's mobile lounge, and take 20 percent off products from Flight, Freddy's Fuego, Dabstracts, and Exotiks.
(Georgetown, free admission)

4. Ballard Loft New Year's Eve
DJ Indica Jones will be spinning all night long at this New Year's Eve party. Expect party favors and confetti cannons at midnight. 
(Ballard, free)

5. Capitol Lounge New Year's Eve 2018
Go all out for this New Year's Eve on the hill with DJ sets by Shan Tha Don and Trent Von on the dance floor of the Capitol Lounge. 
(Capitol Hill, $10)

6. Celebrate New Year's Eve with the Still Ill DJs
Join Still Ill DJs Paco and Chetbong for '90s and early 2000s hiphop and R&B at Pettirosso's New Year's Eve celebration. They'll provide complimentary champagne for the obligatory midnight toast. 
(Capitol Hill, $10)

7. Champagne Kisses: New Year's Eve with Princess Charming
Local cabaret artist Princess Charming will be hosting and performing at this New Year's Eve extravaganza, featuring disco classics from DJs Sling Dion and Kirky, "Timmy and Kacey on the pole," and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. Come early for "the world's tiniest Tea Dance." 
(Capitol Hill, free/$5)

8. Chupacabra New Year's Eve
Watch the Space Needle fireworks from a bay window perch while you drink champagne. Food will be available until midnight (with happy hour starting at 10), but there will also be standing room later in the evening.
(South Lake Union, free admission)

9. Club Contour New Year's Eve 2018
Club Contour dresses up for New Year's Eve with a champagne toast and a club-wide countdown to midnight and featured DJs Fred Eddison and Chase leading the way to the dance floor, playing hiphop, top 40, mash-ups, and EDM all night long.
(Pioneer Square, $10+)

10. Corner Bar New Year's Eve
Bring your noisemakers to galavant through the streets in a "Not-So-Silent-Night Parade," followed by dancing with DJ Dr. Lehl, DJ Evan, and McTuff. 
(West Seattle, free)

11. DROP THIS! New Year's Eve 2018
With a capital-S Stacked line-up of talented local DJs and producers, Monkey Loft will tower over their NYE competition thanks to live sets by Hanssen, Succubass, Sharlese, Chad Neiro b2b Kadeejah Streets, Justin Collins b2b Rhines, Nikolay Cloud b2b Kyle Douglas, and Sean (Night Train) b2b Peter Evans.
(Downtown, $15-$20)

12. Eagle Masquerade
DJ Mike Sniffen will man the decks at this fetish masquerade party to ring in the new year, complete with party favors, a champagne toast, and a clothes check. 
(Capitol Hill, $6/$8)

13. First Night Tacoma
Kick off the New Year with Seattle's smaller, more manageable neighbor town's 25th annual all-ages festival. "The world's shortest parade" will start the festivities, followed by dancing, music, and other performances on "over a dozen" stages, and the evening will wind up with fireworks.
(Tacoma, $12/$13)

14. Flammable New Year's Eve
San Francisco's Sunshine Jones will ring in a better year with a live set at Re-bar, with support from Karl Kamakahi, Xan Lucero, and Brian Lyons. 
(Downtown, $10)

15. Hey Now! - New Year's Eve Edition
Finish off the year by dancing to all your guilty pleasures at Barboza, like the Backstreet Boys, Nelly, Katy Perry, Shaggy, Blink 192, the Black Eyed Peas, NSYNC, and Ke$ha. 
(Capitol Hill, $10/$15)

16. Hopvine New Year's Eve Karaoke
Spend the last moments of the year singing from the heart. At midnight, enjoy a complimentary champagne toast. 
(Capitol Hill, free)

17. Hula Hula New Year's Eve Karaoke
Sing your heart out and sip special drinks on New Year's Eve. 
(Capitol Hill, free)

18. Joe Judice
Join Joe Judice at the Fid as he plays original songs inspired by the Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, Neil Young, and Van Morrison. 
(Ravenna, free)

19. Kings of Cavalier, Nordus, Upwell, Crown Villains
Scream into a New Year with the local bad boys of Kings of Cavalier, Nordus, Upwell, and Crown Villains at Darrell's. You'll get your party hat and champagne too, so no worries. 
(Shoreline, $8)

20. The Masonry New Year's Eve
Drink special beers from Engine House #9 and Shelton Brothers while you dance to tunes from DJ Nick Weitzel at this New Year's Eve bash. 
(Fremont, free admission)

21. A New Year's Celebration with Super Sonic Soul Pimps and Karmic Unrest
Alternately conceived by an "alien mother and earthly pimp," the members of Super Sonic Soul Pimps have developed a band mythology that involves wild tales of interspecies love and galactic adventure somehow resulting in their experimental funk grooves. They'll be joined by Karmic Unrest for this High Dive New Year's Eve party. 
(Fremont, $10-$20)

22. New Year's Eve with Afrocop
Afrocop are an awesome, future-minded funk/fusion jazz trio with a penchant for abstract keyboard explorations and banging backbeats. Hear them bring in the new year at Vito's, along with special guests.
(First Hill, free)

23. New Year's Eve at the Anchor
All ages can ring in the new year with plentiful guitar solos by dancing to hard rock from Lust Punch, rock and blues from Blackstone Daze, and "power rock" from XOfenders. 
(Everett, free)

24. New Year's Eve at Eden
Dance to sets from DJs John England and Ben Traxx, see a live performance from Josephine Howell and the Bad Boys Band, and clink to the new year with complimentary bubbly at midnight. 
(Pioneer Square, free)

25. New Year's Eve at El Chupacabra Alki
Emerald City Soul Club will be spinning R&B, soul, funk, disco, and reggae into the new year. Dance 2017 away and enjoy an unobstructed view of the Space Needle's fireworks. 
(West Seattle, free)

26. New Year's Eve with The Hot McGandhis
Sway to soulful jazz and funk with the Hot McGandhis this New Year’s Eve at the Triple Door. 
(Downtown free)

27. New Year's Eve at Korochka
Enjoy free champagne and sparklers at midnight at Korochka's New Year's Eve party. 
(Lake City, free admission)

28. New Year's Eve at the Maple Bar
Snag deals on champagne bottles all night and clink to the days ahead with a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. 
(Maple Leaf, free admission)

29. New Year's Eve at the Needle
Don't want to splurge on New Year's Eve entertainment? Check out Seattle Center's annual free party, featuring a performance from Northwest pop cover band Sway, a light show and KEXP DJ-soundtracked dance party, and (the most important part) fireworks at midnight.
(Seattle Center, free)

30. New Year's Eve at Old Pequliar
Phatti LaBelle will DJ this free party on the last night of the year. 
(Ballard, free)

31. New Year's Eve at the Owl N' Thistle
Snack on some hors d'ouvres and boogie with the Owl House Band into the wee hours.
(Downtown, free admission)

32. New Year's Eve at the Pocket
The scrappy little Pocket will throw a free party for community members with champagne, "Giant Twister," other games, dancing, and a balloon drop. This is the party for you if you love fringe theater and keeping your hard-earned dough. 
(Greenwood, free)

33. New Year's Eve at Saint John's
Wave goodbye to the good, the bad, and the really bad of 2017 and welcome a better year ahead with a no-frills night of champagne toasting. DJs Elzabub and Moomoomix will provide the tunes. 
(Capitol Hill, free admission)

34. New Year's Eve at Shelter Lounge
The lounge's trivia night will take place before DJ Sidlicious takes over. At midnight, enjoy complimentary champagne for a New Year's toast. 
(Green Lake, free)

35. New Year's Eve with Sundae + Mr. Goessl
Cozy up in the Hotel Sorrento's Fireside Room on New Year's Eve with local '30s pop-inspired duo Sundae + Mr. Goessl. 
(First Hill, free)

36. New Year's Eve with the Yada Yada Blues Band
The YYBB are a slick little blues outfit, that "avoid typical covers and focus on deeper cuts of artists lesser known to today's listener." South Sound Tug and Barge will open their Parliament Tavern set with "a rip-snorting set of party protest folk stomps," and there will be a champagne toast at midnight. 
(West Seattle, $10)

37. New Year's Eve Bash with Dead Sonics, Hi Crime, New Felts
Get into a night of fusion at the Skylark with Dead Sonics cranking out the "intergalactic punk rock infused hip-hop jams," and support sets by Hi Crime and New Felts. 
(West Seattle, $8)

38. New Year's Eve: Champagne & Cocktails
Toast to an effervescent new year at Poco with sparkling cocktails and lots of bubbly. 
(Capitol Hill, free admission)

39. New Year's Eve: Darqness vs. 69/50
Excellent local QTPOC collective Darqness will join forces with artist group 69/50 for a New Year's Eve party at the Hillman City Collaboratory rife with hiphop, rap, R&B, and electronica talent. Get ready for ripping live sets from cosmic performers like DoNormaal, Guayaba, Taylar Elizza Beth, and Brian is Ze, and high-energy dance blocks from Darqness resident DJs Toya B, Howin 1000, Dos Leches, and Reverend Dollars. 
(Hillman City, $10)

40. New Year's Eve Garbage Bash IV with Honcho Poncho, Sons of Rainier, and Chris Acker
Seattle alt-rockers Honcho Poncho will headline the fourth annual New Year's Eve Garbage Bash at Conor Byrne, an all-out holiday party with local group Sons of Rainier and New Orleans alt-country singer-songwriter Chris Acker, and rumor has it there may be costumes and a hot dog-eating contest. 
(Ballard, $10/$15)

41. New Year's Eve Karaoke Bash
Choose your karaoke song wisely at this Columbia City Theater New Year's Eve party—it will be the last song you'll sing this year, or the first song you sing next year. 
(Columbia City, free)

42. New Year Masquerade Bash at Fadó
Don a glittery mask, dance to tunes from DJ Nate, and enjoy a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. 
(Downtown, $10/$15)

43. New Year's Eve Prefunk Party
Ring in the new year at Absinthe with free hushpuppies and beignets, bottomless champagne, $4 speciality shots, happy hour bites, prizes, and giveaways. 
(Belltown, $10)

44. Pink and Gold New Year's Eve
Drink "cheap" champagne, knock back a few glitter Jell-O shots, and boogie to DJ Alex Noble at Neon Boots, which will be decked out in pink and gold for New Year's Eve. 
(Belltown, free admission)

45. Prohibition New Year's Eve Party
Party like it's Prohibition at the Barrel Thief's '20s-themed bash, which will feature era-appropriate music, black and white gangster films with no sound playing in the background, a Prohibition-inspired cocktail menu, a champagne flight, and a midnight countdown with sparkling champagne toast included with admission. 
(Fremont, $5)

46. Ring in the New Year at Bottlehouse
Bottlehouse's New Year's Eve includes bites, champagne toasts, and a Hershey's kiss at midnight. 
(Madrona, $15)

47. Sallie Ford, Lonely Mountain Lovers, La Fonda
Sean Nelson writes, "Portland artist Sallie Ford on the bill is almost too good to take. Ford’s album Slap Back, on which she metamorphosed from very-good-singer-songwriter-with-a-country-bent to garage-soul-psych-rocker (who still writes fantastic songs), has made the past year a lot more bearable." What better way to celebrate the end of said year than with this Sunset Tavern show? 
(Ballard, $15)

48. Sam's Tavern New Year's Eve
Sam's Social Sunday Seahawks Party will merge with a New Year's Eve celebration for a night of music (supplied by Dr. Fever), views of the Space Needle fireworks, Jell-O shots, champagne, football, and more. 
(South Lake Union, free)

49. Smashing Flannel, The Aqua Nets, Princeology
If you're apprehensive about the future, throw it back this New Year's Eve with '80s and '90s hits from Smashing Flannel and the Aqua Nets at Substation. Prince cover band Princeology will open the evening with Prince hits and deep cuts. 
(Ballard, $15)

50. STAGE Seattle New Years Eve 2018
Party to Top 40, EDM, and mash-ups in two rooms themed "Vegas" and "Miami." There will be party favors, a balloon drop, giveaways, and free champagne. 
(Pioneer Square, $15)

51. Success, Ol' Doris, Kids on Fire, Good Touch, Boss Tanaka, The Drowns
Progressive punk rockers Success make music that is simultaneously "driving, motivating, and catchy." They'll be joined by Ol' Doris, Kids on Fire, Good Touch, Boss Tanaka, and the Drowns for this Kraken show. 
(University District, $10)

52. Wilde Rover New Year's Eve
Celebrate the new year by seeing a live performance by Herding Cats and enjoying a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. 
(Kirkland, $15)

The New Seattle Bars We Fell in Love With This Year

It was another big year for bar and restaurant openings, and these were our favorite new watering holes.

BY: A.J. RATHBUN, CHELSEA LIN AND MICHAEL RIETMULDER | Posted December 15, 2017 | Courtesy of Seattlemag.com

Image Credit: Chustine Minoda

The deceptive Black & White cocktail at Alchemy.

The expansion of our local bar and restaurant scene continued unabated in 2017, with many (many) new beer bars, wine dens and cocktail joints opening. There were so many that picking a “best” list was nearly impossible. But we conducted the thorough (and delicious) research needed to narrow it down to the below, which isn’t in any specific order.

Navy Strength (Belltown)
Don your grass skirt (maybe over long johns) and sail into this tiki port of call. From Chris and Anu Elford, owners of liquid landmark Rob Roy and neighboring No Anchor, Navy Strength serves immaculate tiki classics, including Seattle’s top Mai Tai, as well as adventuresome modern takes. Case in point: the Zombie Pyre, which combines the serious rums it demands with port and Italian amaro. It’s described as “A brooding, aromatic bastard of a drink.” Indeed. 

Also, don’t miss the rotating “travel” drinks section, presenting flavors from a rotating countries (currently the Philippines). Chef Jeffrey Vance’s food stands up to the beautifully beachy cocktails thanks to items like the garlic coconut sticky rice. -A.J. Rathbun

Alchemy (West Seattle)
With a candlelit Brontë-ish atmosphere—highlighted by black and white décor, velvet-covered chairs and a giant wooden table—you might expect large glasses of red wine here. But under bar director Tony Larson, Alchemy’s focus is on painstakingly imagined and constructed cocktails, at times using unusual ingredients and unique presentation involving drinker participation. The Bon Fire—a rye old fashioned with a trio of bitters: Angostura, peach and “funky orange” bitters—arrives smoked in a beaker for the customer to pour over a big ice cube. Original chef Larkin Young recently departed, but thankfully his double deviled eggs (with both cured and smoked yolks) remain. -A.R. 

Union Saloon (Wallingford)
An archetypal neighborhood bar is that comfortable-yet-well-crafted place you know you could make your second home the moment you step inside. Union Saloon fits that description, with deer and elk horns, hanging saloon lights, handsome Sapele-wood bar with a brown and tan harlequin-patterned leather sides giving it a warm small-town, Western feel. Equally inviting is the “Saloon Twos” menu of reasonably priced mixed drinks like the gin and tonic ($6 during happy hour). While the hearty open-faced sandwiches are enough for a full meal, don’t fill up and miss owner, and local restaurant vet of 20-years, Michelle Magidow’s cakes slices. -A.R.

Beer Star is White Center's new beer mecca. Photo by Maria Billorou.

Beer Star (White Center)
Well, looky who’s on the come-up. Since opening in once restaurant-hungry White Center, stroller pushers, dog walkers and jersey-clad football fans have all flocked to this gargantuan beer hall that helped spur the ‘hood’s restaurant revolution. Think Chuck’s on steroids, but decidedly more bar than bottle shop, with nearly 50 taps marked on its snazzy digital menu boards warning you when that coveted keg is about to kick. In beer-centric Seattle, Chuck’s Hop Shop’s model is often mimicked, but Beer Star arguably does it best (or at least biggest) with adjoined Chinese Takeout and Li’l Woodys keeping the ale hounds fed. -Michael Rietmulder

Joli (Ballard)
The cocktails at this new Ballard bar and restaurant are too good to ignore. While drinks sage Paul Shanrock—who presides over the large bar area—includes well-balanced riffs on classics (see the refreshing Raspberry Mule) on his menu, the cocktails shine brightest when indulging his obvious love of Italian bottles. The best example is A Lovely Day for Bloodsport, made with Cividina grappa, Luxardo Bitter Bianco (a citrus-y aperitif) and Carpano Bianco vermouth. While the name is, well, bloody, the drink has a lovely visual clarity and a botanical, vegetal taste. -A.R. 

Civility and Unrest Bellevue (Bellevue)
Among the many restaurant openings in the new Bellevue Collection, Seattle chef Jason Wilson’s the Lakehouse earned more buzz than most. But it was his modern speakeasy downstairs, an ultra luxe lounge hidden behind a graffiti panel barely discernable unless you know where to look, that intrigued us more. Here, a well-heeled crowd mingles over craft cocktails (mostly of the brown liquor variety) and bottles of bubbles. And since this project is led by a chef rather than bartender, the bar bites are far beyond the ordinary—look for spot prawn rolls, spicy merguez sausages and pretzels made from Wilson’s own coffeeflour. -Chelsea Lin

Pablo y Pablo (Wallingford)
The latest outpost from the Heavy Restaurant Group, Pablo y Pablo is a welcome addition to a once bar barren stretch of 34th Street in lower Wallingford. The cocktails from Chad Phillips and Heavy’s spirits chief Casey Robison pair perfectly with the Mexican fare (the vegan nachos with lush cashew cheese are worth having no matter your diet), and have a foot in the classics while still being fresh and original. The La Paz for instance, made with Bolivian brandy, banana liqueur, lime and ginger beer, will bring a little bounce to winter days with its light, tangy, refreshing nature. They also have a worthy list of tequilas and mezcals, which can be had solo or paired with complementary chasers for an extra buck. -A.R. 

These Excellent Seattle Brunch Spots Are Open New Year's Day

With the holiday falling on a Monday, 2018 presents the chance for a three-brunch weekend.

BY: MEGAN LAMB | Posted December 20, 2017 | Courtesy of Seattlemag.com

Image Credit: The London Plane Facebook

The simple merging of two very ordinary meals spawned an American cult hit. Brunch has captivated the hearts (and stomachs) of hungry hipsters and bottomless mimosa lovers, and for good reason. It's virtually a national pastime and everybody has their go-to spot. But on New Year’s Day—when we need brunch the most—many restaurants will be closed for the holiday (or to nurse that hangover).

Thankfully, these restaurants are here for us. Whether you’re looking for a quick stop at a café or an elaborate buffet, there’s something for everyone. But wherever you go, try to call ahead for a reservation, because it’s sure to be a busy morning for brunching.

Tilikum Place Café
Start 2018 off right with one of Tilikum Place Cafe’s signature Dutch Baby pancakes. Choose between sweet (with apples, cinnamon and dulce de leche), or savory (with Persian spiced lamb, feta and roasted carrots). Better yet, get both–because why not? 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Lower Queen Anne, 407 Cedar St., 206.282.4830, tilikumplacecafe.com

Capitol Cider
Whether your ears are still ringing from the night before or you were in bed before the ball dropped, this brunch joint will hit the spot. We recommend the cinnamon raisin french toast, with maple butter and roasted apples ($13). 10 a.m.-3 p.m., First Hill, 818 E. Pike St., 206.397.3564, capitolcider.com

Tallulah’s
Kick off your New Year’s resolutions with Tallulah’s nutrient-dense kale salad or try their acai yogurt and fruit bowl. Wash it down with a Communitea Kombucha for a fresh start to your healthiest year yet. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Capitol Hill, 550 19th Ave. E., 206.860.0077, aneighborhoodcafe.com

Salty’s Waterfront Seafood Grill
Voted King 5 Best of Brunch for 10 years running, the buffet at Salty’s is the perfectly excessive cap to the holidays, complete with oysters, meats carved to order, eggs benedict and a build-your-own bloody mary station. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., $60, Alki Beach, 1936 Harbor Ave. SW, 206.937.1600, 

W Bellevue Living Room Bar
This swanky Lincoln Square hotel is gracious enough to host a “morning after hangover brunch.” Revive yourself with its all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs and bacon, plus a complimentary mimosa—if you didn’t get your Champagne fix last night. Tickets are available online. 9 a.m.-1 p.m., $30, Lincoln Square, 10455 NE 5th St., 425.709.9000, wbellevue.com

Monsoon 
Ever woke up after a long night out and ordered dumplings for breakfast? If not, you’re missing out. Luckily, Monsoon is open New Year’s Day. While they’ll have more traditional brunch plates like crab benedict and French toast, we recommend the shrimp dumplings or pork buns. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Capitol Hill, 615 19th Ave. E., 206.325.2111, monsoonrestaurants.com

London Plane 
The food at this chic Pioneer Square restaurant is to die for. Try the crème fraîche coffee cake with blueberries and pecan streusel or go for a slice of their famous freshly baked bread topped with spicy tahini, creamed greens and a fried egg. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Occidental Square, 300 Occidental Ave. S., 206.624.1374, thelondonplaneseattle.com

Oddfellow’s Café
Choose from simple and locally-sourced breakfast items like baked eggs and avocado toast at this beautiful high-ceilinged café, and 2018 will automatically be off to a good start. Plus, the lattés are superb. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Capitol Hill, 1525 10th Ave., 206.325.0807, oddfellowscafe.com

Café Flora
This vegetarian eatery is hosting a brunch buffet on New Year’s Day for Seattle’s herbivores. If this holiday spread is anything like its usual brunch menu, it’s bound to be delicious. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Prices vary, Madison Valley, 2901 E. Madison St., 206.325.9100, cafeflora.com

Where to Dine, Party, and Toast This New Year’s Eve

Bid farewell to 2017 with champagne toasts and multicourse menus at these Seattle restaurants.

By Diane Stephani  12/19/2017 at 10:05am

IMAGE: COURTESY OF HEARTWOOD PROVISIONS

You know the drill: reservations are strongly, resolutely recommended.

Agrodolce
Four courses including grilled octopus tentacle, tajarin spaghetti with sheep’s milk rocotta, quince agrodolce, and Roman honey cake. ($90)

Big Mario’s
New York–style pizza, $2 Miller High Life aka the Champagne of Beers, plus an actual bubbly toast at midnight (Prices vary)

Bottlehouse
Usual menu of lovely bites, cheese, and charcuterie, with a holiday cocktail, baby champagne cupcake, and Hershey’s kiss combo for midnight festivities. (Prices vary, $15, respectively)

Canlis
Oh, just a “bash outfitted in 1950s-era sequins and black tie, a nod to the decade when Canlis was founded.” Unlimited food and drink, plus Dick’s Drive-In. ($350)

Capitol Cider
A French Creole–themed party hosted by Seattle drag icon Tipsy Rose Lee, complete with live music, magic, and a burlesque show, with a New Orleans–inspired menu upstairs in the dining room. ($45)

Derby
Twenties-themed party with music, casino games, a whiskey and dessert bar, amongst a collection of classic cars. ($86–$850)

Dexter Brewhouse
Four-course meal with Mollusk beer pairings. Crispy chicken wings with smoked honey glaze, brussels sprouts with bacon, shepard’s pie, and dessert. ($60)

Eden Hill
Five-course tasting menu: foie gras mousse, sous vide lobster, venison tartare with fermented elderberry, Wagyu ribeye and smoked bone marrow. ($105, $75 optional wine pairing, $150 optional baller wine pairing) 

El Gaucho
The Seattle location hosts its annual New Years Eve cabaret show, with three courses available at the 5pm showing and four courses available at the 9pm show. Dishes include filet mignon, giant African tiger prawn, and truffle risotto. ($150–$185)

E. Smith Mercantile
Scallop, brioche, and caviar, plus duck confit crepes with mushrooms and pickled persimmons. ($90)

Eve
Four-course menu of organic, vegetable-forward fare, plus some a la carte options ($65; prices vary)

Heartwood Provisions
Five courses with geoduck, spot prawns, scallops, filet mignon, and coconut tapioca. ($95)

Hitchcock
An eight-course feast with petit fours, fried beef bone marrow, sweet potato terrine, wood-fired cauliflower, and more, complete with champagne toast at midnight. ($120)

Ivar’s Salmon House
A dinner buffet with classic and modern seafood dishes, live entertainment, champagne for a midnight toast, and views of Lake Union and the Space Needle. ($85)

Joule
Choice of three-course prix fixe (at the bar and counter) or five-course menu. ($55 and $80, respectively)

JuneBaby
Two words: fried chicken. Four-course tasting menu with said crunchy bird ($95 with beverage pairing)

Kamonegi
Long noodle, long life: Toshikoshi soba, or New Year soba, is eaten for prosperity and longevity. Dine in or take out. ($20 for two to-go portions; prices vary in restaurant)

Lark
Four-course dinner with oysters, risotto nero, striped bass, and venison loin. ($125)

L’Oursin
Seven-course prix fixe dinner: pink scallops, foie gras, uni (of course), plus “more ostentations items.” Pair with spirits, cocktails, and a most lively lineup of natural wines. ($50)

Mkt.
Dry-aged beef carpaccio, Alaskan spot prawn, black truffle raviolo, halibut, lamb loin and braised lamb shank, plus choose form three dessert options ($85)

Monsoon
Both locations on Capitol Hill and in Bellevue will serve their regular menus with the addition of specials for the evening, such as a hamachi crudo with shrimp and pineapple relish, rau ram, and braised beef shortrib. (Prices very)

No Anchor
Baller beer and bubbles alongside smoked sturgeon, foie gras, sablefish, Wagyu zabuton, and caramel petit fours. ($150)

Revel
Prix fixe menus, specials, and festive cocktails (Prices vary

Salare
Seven-course tasting menu. We don’t have any dishes to note, but it’s no mystery: This will be a fine meal to cap off the year. ($125 with wine pairing)

Smith Tower
A Black and White ball with live music, a four-course dinner, and a champagne toast at midnight. ($50–$170)

Tarsan i Jane
A seven-course tasting menu with butter poached Maine lobster, Washington razor clams, Dungeness crab xuxo, and chocolate with salted butterscotch and passion fruit granita. ($155–$165)

Trove
All-you-can-eat barbecue menu with a complimentary fizzy cocktail. We’re told: It’s the “last day of the year, it’s worth it.” ($50)

Tutta Bella
Live music, Neapolitan cuisine, a complimentary prosecco toast at midnight, and a view of the Space Needle’s fireworks. ($30)

Urbane
Three courses with Alaskan King crab salad, cabernet braised short rib, and lemon tart with vanilla mascarpone. ($62)

Volunteer Park Cafe
Your choice of prawns, filet of beef, sole, and duck breast. Finish the meal with molten chocolate cake and orange creme anglaise. ($95)

5 Winter Cocktails to Warm You

Because in the dark of winter sometimes you need to get a little lit.

By Stefan Milne  11/30/2017 at 3:35pm

The Lock the Gate at Canon. 

IMAGE: CANON

It almost seems redundant to mention why you might want to sneak away for a cocktail come winter: the slashing rain and soggy traffic, the shopping bills, the relatives. Whatever your reason, here are a few options for brief chemical respite. 

Lock the Gate at Canon

A warm-milk cocktail is as unimpeachable is it is misunderstood; it’s wholesome and corrupt, a simple contradiction. Bourbon and milk is the classic, but brandy sits nicely too. Bartenders at Capitol Hill cocktail haven Canon clearly know this, which is why they’ve layered Portland’s Burside bourbon with Park cognac, Fernet Vallet, Chinese five spice, and an Eggo-hemp milk. The last is made from, you guessed it, Eggo waffles toasted and steeped in hemp milk. Both comforting and a little weird—and served hot, of course—it’s as close as you can get to a fuzzy sweater without actually wearing one. 

Redrum at Hazlewood

Even on the bustling Market St, Ballard stalwart Hazlewood feels tucked away. All tea candles and chandelier lighting and oddball decorations—zebra smoking a cigar, animal skulls on the walls—it offers constant shelter from any storm. As do consistently solid drinks. Sure, the Redrum sounds more Halloween than winter, but this cocktail—a layered concoction of gin, Ancho Reyes chili liqueur, Gran Classico, and Laphroaig scotch—hits a certain spot. Warming without being spicy, smoky but not even slightly campfire-like, it’s a testament to making a subtle cocktail with straight booze, and all the good cheer that imparts.

Dirty Boulevard at Teachers Lounge

While the negroni is perhaps the perfect summer cocktail, its sibling the boulevardier (sub whiskey for gin) matches that perfection in winter months—the bourbon softens and deepens Campari’s bitter punch. Teacher’s Lounge, the neighborhoody in the right way Greenwood cocktail bar, highlights the classic’s powers with a hit of pimento dram. (Pimento here meaning allspice, not the red peppers that impregnate green olives and rouge the southern cheese.) And what says Christmas better than a cocktail named after a Lou Reed song about 1970s New York brutality?

Night’s Watch at Quoin

IMAGE: QUOIN/INSTAGRAM

Night’s Watch at Quoin

Fremont’s Quoin, and restaurant Revel next door, are solid places while away a winter night. No, I kind of doubt any standard yuletide nogs will appear on the menu. But everywhere in this building there’s plenty of warmth: a fire pit out back, chef Rachel Yang’s chili- and kimchi-studded food, and bar manager Joe Friderici’s cocktails which tend to kick in a few senses—booze and frequent spice. In the Night’s Watch, mezcal brings some smoke and gets an avocado oil rinse, a couple Spanish sidekicks (manzanilla sherry, saffron bitters), and a black pepper and cuttlefish ink tincture, which aside from looking nicely menacing adds brine and spice. It’s a dark drink for the dead of winter; I’ll leave the Game of Thrones jokes to you.  

Selvstarter at Damn the Weather

In the cold, I tend to turn toward rich brown liquors: rum, whiskey, cognac. But aquavit—essentially a Scandinavian take on gin, caraway and dill supplanting the juniper—is an excellent alternative for the winter months, evocative of places far more arctic than our drizzly corner. In the Selvstarter at Pioneer Square’s Damn the Weather, aquavit comes with a cast of other bold flavors: apricot brandy, Cocchi Americano, and Salers—the latter two being aperitif wines. The result is layered and aromatic and transportive in just the right way, a thing to make you heed the bar’s name. 

37 Extravagant New Year's Eve 2017 Parties in Seattle to Buy Tickets for Now

Great Gatsby Celebrations, Masquerade Balls, Boat Parties, And More Events Over $50

by Stranger Things To Do Staff | Courtesy of thestranger.com

Drink, dance to KEXP DJs, and watch fireworks at the Pacific Science Center's opulent SPECTRA: New Year’s Eve Under the Arches party. COURTESY OF PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER

Spending an intimate New Year's Eve at home with a bottle of Cook's doesn't sound bad, but it's been a tough year, so why not treat yourself to some well-deserved glitz and glamour? On our New Year's Eve calendar, there are nearly 200 ways to ring in 2018, but below you'll find the snazziest soirées of them all, from Great Gatsby-themed celebrations to masquerade balls to boat parties.

The Backdoor New Year's Eve Classic Hollywood Ball
End your year with live music from local funk trio Johnny and the Moles, an aerial performance by Tanya Brno, and "an eclectic array of Wax Sounds" from DJ Mr. Ballet at the Backdoor's New Year's Eve Party. There will be oodles of champagne. Reserved booths are available for an additional fee. 
($40-$250)

BeautyBoiz Wear Masks NYE
Your big queer New Year's Eve party at the Fred Wildlife Refuge will have so much to offer, courtesy of Forward Flux Productions: drag by Crystal Powers, Adé, and Haus of Shade, masquerade frolics, a champagne toast, aerial performances, a full bar, and sets by celebrated local disc jockey icons Cookie Couture and Reverend Dollars. Dress skimpily or extravagantly, but be sure to wear your best mask. VIP tickets include a special entrance, coat check, unlimited champagne, and a meet and greet with Crystal Powers. 
($20-$100)

Bollywood New Year's Eve
Wicked Karma has taken over the New Year's Eve-iest venue in town, the Fremont Foundry, to throw its Bollywood vibes across the upstairs penthouse, rooftop, and atrium with see-through dance floor. Shake it out all night to DJ RDX playing Seattle's best Bollywood, with a midnight champagne toast, a Desi food feast, party favors, and more. VIP tickets include unlimited trips to the bar. 
($43/$74)

Century Ballroom New Year's Eve
Choose between two rooms of dancing at Century Ballroom New Year's Eve Party: A live salsa room with Tumbao (featuring lead singer Carlos Cascante of Spanish Harlem Orchestra), or an LGBTQ+ "OutDancing" room with DJ MC Koop. There's also an optional five-course dinner with meat, seafood, and vegetarian menus. 
($20-$120)

Chihuly NYE pARTy
Choose this New Year's Eve party if you want to watch fireworks through the glass ceiling, tour the glass museum, hear live music by the Michael Benson Band, and drink a champagne toast at midnight (and if you've got 250 clams to throw around). Dale Chihuly's wriggly, organic-looking glass sculptures will surely be dazzling by firework-light. 
($250)

Cirque New Year's Eve
Bowl a few rounds, play games in the arcade, sip drink specials, and dance the rest of the year away to live DJs at Lucky Strike Lanes. There will also be special performances by acrobats, hoop artists, and stilt walkers. VIP packages include $300-$400 private lanes, or a $10,000 private room—which comes with 100 VIP tickets and a dozen bottles of Moët & Chandon Champagne. 
($30-$10,000)

Countdown at the Bayou
If the holiday’s glut of prohibition-themed parties doesn’t appeal to you, transport yourself instead to the balmy Bayou with Capitol Cider’s French Creole fête, hosted by drag queen Tipsy Rose Lee. Wash hushpuppies and beignets down with crisp sparkling cider as you take in a burlesque performance from “bluestocking bettie” Jesse Belle-Jones and live music from psych-rockers General Mojo’s. There will also be a magician and psychic readings to add some enchantment to your evening. VIP tickets include a coat check, hush puppies, beignets, a midnight toast, a psychic reading, reserved exclusive seating, and a gift bag.
($45-$600)

Frolik & Fizz New Year's Eve Party
The Motif Hotel's exclusive rooftop bar's New Year's Eve includes bubbles, bites, and music from a live DJ. 
($65/$85)

Gatsby & Gold New Year's Eve Celebration
Dress up in Great Gatsby garb for this gilded New Year's Eve celebration at the Shop, with beats by DJ Fundo, a photo booth, whiskey and dessert bar, Duo Rêves aerial artist performances, casino games, and a midnight toast. VIP ticket packages include a private couch for up to eight people and two bottles of Moët & Chandon Champagne.
($80/$800)

Gatsby's Yacht
Harken back to the days of speakeasies and flapper dresses at this fancy boat party. Expect a variety of appetizers, "roaring '20s-themed party favors," DJs, and plenty of (perfectly legal) champagne. 
($249; sold out)

GLAMORAMA 2018
In Club Sur's Copacabana Ballroom, dance to '80s classics from Prom Date MIXTAPE, 1960s tiki and surf hits from the Spyrographs, and more tunes from DJ Vodka Twist. In the Starliner Lounge, join Lushy for DJ sets and live installations. A VIP ticket gets you access to both rooms, plus a three-course dinner. 
($30-$425)

Indulgence
At "Seattle's biggest New Year's Eve bash," you can explore MoPOP, check out a comedy stage, get drunk, and even hear music by '80s party rock groups Hairstorm and Brand X. If you haven't brought anybody to smooch, check out the Singles Mingle and you may be mashing lips by midnight. The VIP Gold pass lets you avoid lines, eat special snacks, and use a private restroom so you don't have to pee with the proles. 
($69/$350)

Islander New Year's Eve Boat Party
See the Space Needle's New Year's Eve fireworks from the lavish comfort of a boat that will sail along Lake Union and Lake Washington. VIPs get reserved seating and champagne. 
($80-$200)

A Little Party Never Hurt Nobody
This Gatsby-themed New Year's Eve bash promises Moët & Chandon Champagne, a special Dead Line menu, dancing, giveaways, decadent party favors, and more. VIP packages include mezzanine access, more and fancier food, and a chance to win prizes. 
($95/$150)

Masq-On Masquerade
Suit up in your New Year's Eve finest and don your favorite bejeweled mask at this classy Factory Luxe soiree. Upgrade options include an open bar, champagne, and reserved seating.
($35-$800)

Midnight Masquerade NYE
Copious Love presents this second annual Midnight Masquerade New Year's Eve at Flutter Studios, complete with "dark theatrics," DJs Jeremy, Onesies, and TonyG spinning dance tunes under the giant chandelier, bottomless champagne, and more. The VIP ticket includes all-you-can-drink champagne. 
($30-$50)

Midnight: A NYE Dance Party
As you would expect, the city’s most exclusive restaurant is sparing no expense for their end-of-2017 shindig, which has been in the works since March and which harks back to Canlis’s mid-century roots with a glamorous suggested dress code of 1950s sequins. They’re flying in the Chris Norton Band from New York to perform, transforming the upstairs into a Dick’s Drive-In, and have been tight-lipped on details, as they promise a parade of surprises throughout the night of “dancing, libations, and nosh.” Though New Year’s Eve is typically their most profitable night of the year, they’re admirably donating every last dime of the proceeds to local charity Big Table, which "exists to see the lives of those working in the restaurant and hospitality industry transformed by building community around shared meals and caring for those in crisis, transition, or falling through the cracks." 
($350; sold out)

Moisture Festival New Year's Eve Extravaganza
Moisture Festival is devoted to the variety of performers Seattle has fostered over the years, from circus acts to comedians, burlesque dancers to musicians, and jugglers to tap dancers. It's been going for more than 13 years in Seattle, a testament to the popularity of cabaret-style entertainment in town. At this New Year's spectacular, Esther de Monteflores, Godfrey Daniels, Lamonte & The Family Affair, Patrick McGuire, Ron W. Bailey, and Tom Noddy will wow you with funk, juggling, aerial acts, and more entertainment. Plus, giant red balloons and snacks and champagne! 
($75)

New Year's Eve at Suite
Celebrate the end of this year with a massive party at Suite Lounge, with dinner, drinks, and dancing to sets by DJs Kryspin and Jakey, and a midnight balloon drop and champagne toast to mark the occasion. Pay extra for a reserved table for up to eight.
($30-$1,000)

New Year's Eve 2017: Walk on the Moon with DJ Neil Armstrong at The Nest
DJ Neil Armstrong, a Jay-Z World Tour DJ, soundtracks this rooftop party with a countdown and champagne toast. 
($100)

New Year's Eve at the Royal Room
The Royal Room Orchestra brings you the swing of yesteryear, with a jazz dinner followed by swing dancing. Prix fixe menu and a cover charge for the musicians are included in the price. The evening's entertainment will include sonic renderings of pieces by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Sun Ra, and more. 
($65)

New Year's Eve at W Seattle
Ring in a better year with live DJs, an open bar, a photo booth, complimentary bites, and a champagne toast at the W's New Year's Eve party. Upgrades include the $175 "limitless" ticket (with a VIP lounge and an open bar) and the $4,000 "backstage access" ticket, with admission for 15, three bottles of Dom Pérignon, 30 drink tickets, and reserved seating on stage.
($55-$4,145)

New Year’s Eve Celebration
At this special edition of Love, Chaos, and Dinner by Teatro ZinZanni, special appetizers, dessert, and champagne will complement the circus show and five-course meal. 
($239/$289)

New Year’s Eve Extravaganza
Jet City Improv will present two hours of on-the-fly comedy. Munch on hors d'oeuvres and desserts, toast at midnight with champagne or unboozy sparkling cider, dance, and watch the fireworks on the big screen. 
($59)

New Year's Eve: Great Balls of Fire!
Allow yourself to be swept away on a sonic journey of over a century of great piano hits, led by pianist and singer Tony DeSare at Benaroya. After the performance, stay for the post-concert party which will include a glass of champagne, a live musical performance, and dancing to the midnight countdown and beyond. 
($56/$154)

New Year's Eve Party Cruise
Watch the Space Needle fireworks and sip champagne from the comfort of the lavish Waterways Cruises yacht on Lake Washington. 
($167)

New Year's Eve with BowieVision
Fact: I was invited to a BowieVision show when the tribute band came through town earlier this year. I was too pregnant to say yes. Actually, I was only about four months along, but I worried about vomiting on my shoes while trying to lose myself in the music of one of my (late) favorites. This particular seven-piece of David Bowie tributeers apparently dress up in costumes inspired by the Thin White Duke (minus wigs and makeup), and deliver note-perfect, showmanship-savvy selections spanning from earlier in his career (“Space Oddity,” “The Man Who Sold the World”) to 1980s-era jams (“Modern Love,” “China Girl,” “Let's Dance”) to 1995’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” (to which I can relate now more than ever). Be forewarned: There’s little in the way of “deep cuts” (unless you’re a closet fan of “Blue Jean”). The $125 ticket includes admission, an appetizer, entrée, dessert, a glass of champagne, and party favors. LEILANI POLK
($90/$125)

Nordic New Year's Eve
The Swedish Cultural Center invites you to a night of local and Scandinavian music with three floors of dancing to the tunes of Rat City Brass, Buttdial, and the Disco Cowboys. Champagne, favors, Swedish ginger snaps, and a view of the fireworks included. For $50, enjoy an authentic Scandinavian feast crafted by Swedish chef Erik Johansson. 
($40/$50)

NYE Masquerade 2017
Ring in 2018 with a massive Aston Manor masquerade dance party worthy of royalty, soundtracked by resident DJ Mykzilla, with VIP packages and bottle service. 
($40-$70)

Shelley and the Curves New Year's Eve Party
Shelley & the Curves will host their annual New Year's Eve party at the Best Western with live pop and rock classics, preceded by a prime rib and salmon dinner "with all the trimmings," and complete with a champagne toast at midnight and a view of the Space Needle's fireworks. 
($110)

SHINE NYE
Shine on, you crazy diamond, at the Kremwerk/Timbre Room complex with a New Year's Eve party dedicated to all things that shimmer, sparkle, and glitter. The music across three stages will run the gamut from underground house to techno to left-field hiphop and club music. Expect a strictly local affair behind the decks with the likes of Upper Left's Sean Majors, DoNormaal collaborator Luna God, and Jet's DJ Zai. Obligatory champagne toast at midnight, but with something no other club can match: Little Maria's Pizza open late for a party running until 5 a.m. VIP table service is also available. GREG SCRUGGS 
($45-$350)

Sin City NYE
Robbie Turner and the cast of Mx queens will help you fete the last night of 2017 at Queer/Bar with glitz and glitter, joined by Britney impersonator Derrick Berry and two ladies from RuPaul's Drag Race, Coco Montrese and Nebraska Thunderf*ck. Stay for the midnight champagne toast. VIPs get reserved seating, sparkling wine, coat check, and a meet and greet with the performers.
($20-$300)

Smith Tower Black and White Ball
Find a swanky black and white outfit to wear to this New Year's Eve ball, replete with views of the Space Needle's fireworks, live music from the Ed Littlefield Trio, and a midnight champagne toast.
($170)

SPECTRA: New Year’s Eve Under the Arches
You don't need to be a nerd to enjoy this opulent party at the museum, as long as you have a healthy appreciation for midnight fireworks—but it'll be best if you're a fan of science, the Laser Dome, drinking, dancing, and KEXP DJs. At midnight, watch the happy explosions from their nifty be-sculptured courtyard. VIPs get access to an open bar, snacks and desserts, a private lounge, champagne, and more. 
($85/$180)

Spirit of 76 New Year's Eve Boat Party
Count down to the New Year with fellow boat partiers on the lit-up Spirit of 76 cruise ship, where you can see views of the Space Needle's fireworks display from Lake Washington. The VIP pass includes a reserved table and champagne.
($150/$400)

Under the Fireworks Yacht Party
Spirit of Seattle is hosting one of several boat parties where you can dance in your New Year's Eve best while drinking champagne and watching the Space Needle's fireworks display. 
($189/$199)

Wonderland New Year's Eve Celebration
This special edition of Can Can's Wonderland, a snowy chalet frolic with beautiful dancers, features a four-course menu for the earlier shows and a champagne toast with party favors for the 11 pm performance. 
($99/$155)

10 Foolproof Food Gifts

On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen, on cheese samplers, on beer and fixins.

By Jaime Archer  12/15/2017 at 10:15am | Courtesy of SeattleMet.com 

Does your mind draw a complete blank when it comes to presents for your mother-in-law, work BFF, or mailman? Not to fear, food is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. From fancy gadgets to fish-filled gift boxes to cheesy treats, be prepared to conquer Christmas and check off everyone on your list.

Joule

There’s your home cooks, and then there’s your adventurous dinner party-throwing friend who jumps headfirst into cooking trends. Perfect for them: A sous vide tool just as stylish as it is practical, sure to draw accolades at the aforementioned get-togethers. The newest rose gold edition of Joule, sold exclusively at Sur La Table, includes a subscription to ChefSteps Premium’s online cooking lessons and myriad recipes—two gifts in one! Sur La Table, $229.

Image: Courtesy Joule

Snow Cap Winter Warmer Ale

Is it just a coincidence that Pyramid Brewing’s 22-ounce bottles are the perfect size for a stocking? We think not. Any beer-loving bro would beam upon receiving this brew crafted with roasted chocolate, caramel malts, and plenty of hops. For a little something extra, try the bourbon barrel-aged version. Use Pyramid’s site to track down the spot closest to you selling Snow Cap.

Image: Courtesy Pyramid Brewing Co.

Mama Bear’s Whats-This-Here Sauce

Dads of the world, meet the new and improved Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle some in your marinade or add a dash to your bloody mary just like they do at the Back Bar. And even if a little bottle of sauce seems like the ultimate dad gift, keep in mind that mother knows best (and knows how to make a mean secret sauce). E. Smith Mercantile, $16.

Image: Courtesy E. Smith Mercantile

‘Pie & Whiskey: Writers Under the Influence of Butter and Booze’

Poetry, prose, and recipes all packed into one book—this one’s sure to please artsy friends who spend their days in bookstores and homey grandmas looking for pie recipes (and some entertaining stories to pass the time while the pie’s in the oven). Elliott Bay Book Company, $20.

Image: Courtesy Sasquatch Books

Bitty Bowls

Every fancy kitchen à la HGTV needs a multitude of pretty little bowls for salt and spices and what have you. Enter CG Sculpture and Jewelry’s Bitty Bowls, made in Seattle from hand forged copper fused with glass. They even come with a small packet of Himalayan salt for peak Instagram vibes (which means even less work for you, last minute gift buyer). CG Sculpture and Jewelry, $62–$98.

Image: Sarah Flotard

“World’s Best” Mac and Cheese Kit

Okay, so penne’s a little untraditional, but that’s what makes Beecher’s mac and cheese so world famous—it’s one of Oprah’s favorite things, mind you. Head down to Pike Place to pick up a kit (and watch some curds spin round and round), or have the whole thing shipped across the country, so even distant relatives can have a taste of Seattle. Kit includes 12 ounces of penne, Beecher’s Flagship and Just Jack cheeses, and the recipe. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, $29.

Image: Courtesy Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

Snack Tray

Transition directly from present opening to snacking with a tray of goodies: Mt. Townsend Creamery Cirrus camembert, mini rosemary croccantini crackers, smoked olives, uncured salami chock full of French herbs, and a knife to dig into that cheese. Grab all of them at a Cone and Steiner location, $63.

Image: Courtesy Cone and Steiner

2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

One gift to rule them all, one gift to find them, one gift to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. You get the gist—you really can’t go wrong with a bottle of wine. This cab hails from the Columbia Valley’s Browne Family Vineyards and has a whole slate of flavor notes, from black cherry to truffle oil to mint. Brown Family Vineyards, $35.

Image: Courtesy Browne Family Vineyards

Herring Kit Gift Box

Nothing says Ballard better than a box of herring! Bring out the inner chef in your friend with this kit for herring spiced spread, which comes with ingredients as well as a recipe card from chefs Renee Erickson and Marie Rutherford. Inside find a can of herring from Sea Creatures, locally-sourced currants, a bag of Villa Jerada vadouvan spice mix, and Pedro Ximenez Sweet Vinegar. Sea Creatures, $35.

Image: Courtesy Sea Creatures

Gray and Smoked Salted Caramels

Life’s like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get. Or do you? Fran’s Chocolates delivers exactly what the doctor ordered in the form of dark and milk chocolate caramels finished with gray and smoked sea salts. Harvested off the coast of Brittany, this salt might be more of a world traveler than you. No shame in that, only more deliciousness. Fran’s Chocolates, $34 for 20 pieces.

Image: Courtesy Fran’s Chocolates