Like Clockwork

This past week has been beautiful, weather-wise. We witnessed more than one afternoon of 70-degree weather here in Seattle, with clear skies and great views of the distant, snow-topped mountains.

And now, here's the weather outlook for the weekend:


That's right, a wonderfully overcast, cool morning, with a 60% chance of rain. Thanks Ma Nature!

I know, wait a month or so and it'll be perfect. Still, it feels like a conspiracy to me.

New Banner For The Site

Hey, I actually got around to making a banner for the site. The picture is from our most recent trip to Greece. OK, so it only took, like, 5 minutes...but still, it's better than the gray-on-gray one I had before, don't you think?

Santino's In My 'Hood Tonight

Santino Rice, fashion designer and top-three contestant on the TV show Project Runway, is visiting Seattle this weekend. More so, he's visiting bars and clubs in Capitol Hill, my 'hood.

Good choice Santino. The weather's nice this weekend. Maybe we'll run into you tonight.

My Take on Seattlest's "43 Things Seattle Is Missing"

The folks over at Seattlest published a list of 43 things Seattle is missing. In the spirit of opinionated responses, here's my take:

1. Soft-serve frozen custard. Eh, not feeling it. There's plenty of good ice cream (like Mix) and gelato (like Bottega Italiana) places in Seattle that I'm not really missing the soft-serve.
2. Thunderstorms! Yes! Coming from the east coast we especially miss these during the spring time. Though, not having to worry as much about the destructive effects of such storms is a plus.
3. Street food. Sure, I'll bite. But street food is more prevalent in denser cities than ours (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago). All that said, you can find some decent hot dogs in Pioneer Square or on the Pike/Pine strip on a Saturday night. And let's not forget about Belgian Frites!
4. Diners. I've called for Waffle House to come out here before. But yes, we are missing this, especially given our bar scene. That said, we do have places like Beth's to tide us over.
5. Buy-backs. Um...I bet if you're a regular and/or know the bartender, this does happen.
6. Nude lap dances. Seattle really is a rough place to live, isn't it?
7. Male strip club. Sorry, not qualified to comment. Next?
8. Strip clubs that can serve alcohol/food. Hmm...what about restaurants where the patrons can strip?
9. A local noir writer. Again, how does this make Seattle any better/worse, especially in our internationally-interconnected modern-day populace?
10. A kick-ass small liberal arts college. How about Antioch?
11. NHL team. Sure, I'd take one.
12. MLS team. Ditto.
13. A go-to celebrity for sports. Snore...
14. Non-stadium major civic projects that actually get done. We're so-so here (think light rail), but overall there's definitely an atmosphere of distrust when it comes to civic projects, agreed.
15. Interesting suburbs. OK, coming from Atlanta, the land of sprawl, let me tell you that the 'burbs here are much nicer than in the ATL. Really. "Interesting" is a vague word, admittedly, but I don't see the propensity of stencil-cut houses here that I do back home.
16. Bars that stay open late on weekdays. Yes - add to that restaurants, book stores, movie houses, etc.
17. Good after-hours. See diners.
18. Underground bookstore. Hmm, not a bad idea. We have bookstores aplenty but most are of the family-friendly type.
19. Danish kringle. Bah! We have cupcakes!
20. Another local Div-I basketball team. Snore...
21. Flavorful tomatoes. Um...have you had good organic ones from PCC recently? They're good. Do they need to be grown in Seattle? :)
22. Central car-free plaza. That could be neat. Not sure where that would go, though, given our existing developments.
23. Rent horses. OK, c'mon, we're not in Texas here. That said, there are some horse farms on the east side.
24. Really large parks. Um, have you been to Discovery Park recently?
25. Cannoli. Sure, yep, got us there.
26. Real powder snow. No thanks, no one can drive here when it's sunny/rainy/snowy/anything but overcast and 55. Keep the snow in the mountains.
27. Winter-wonderland snow. See #25.
28. Cable company choice. Yes. And cheaper rates while you're at it.
29. Street lamps. The 'Ave (University Way) has some nice ones, post-renovation.
30. Neighborhood outdoor markets. What's wrong with these? Most U.S. cities don't have them (ATL for one), so I'm counting my blessings here.
31. Chick-Fil-A. Yes!
32. Competitive eating circuit. Urgh...how vomitous.
33. White Castle. See #32.
34. Fuddruckers. See #32.
35. System-wide transit maps around town. I buy this one. My ride-the-bus plan always begins with visiting transit.metrokc.gov. Would be nice to just head out and use the maps in the wild.
36. Token machines for buses. True.
37. Mass transit. See #14.
38. Serious booze in grocery stores. How about non-state-run liquor stores? I miss places like Green's and Liquor Liquor Wine Liquor in Atlanta (inside joke on the latter one - post a comment if you really want to know).
39. Pee-wee golf. Sure, but there's always Leavenworth.
40. Waffle House. YES!
41. Baptist churches. Can we have just the church buildings? :)
42. Amusement park. Absolutely.
43. -ist site. Well, we could call ourselves Alki. Then we would be Alkist.

Save B&O Espresso!

Visiting our venerable espresso/brunch/lunch/dinner/pastry coffeeshop, B&O Espresso, today, we saw an ominous sign outside: land use action notice.

Our friends and I blinked and read the sign three times. "What? They're going to tear down B&O? To make way for condos?"

A quick recap for those who aren't in the area: B&O Espresso opened its doors in 1976, and was one of the first three espresso-based cafes in the city. Flash forward a few decades and they're still an institution on Capitol Hill, serving old and young, day and night. Their food and atmosphere are excellent, and their pastries are sublime (they're practically our Pacific Northwest version of Atlanta's Cafe Intermezzo). And, B&O holds a special part of thousands of people's memories (think first dates, get-togethers with friends and family). Heck, Pearl Jam came up with their band name while sipping some coffee at B&O.

So, what's the plan now? The P-I has an article that summarizes:

Now the venerable coffee shop is in limbo, with a proposal to tear down its one-story building for a mixed-use development with apartments or condos above retail space...

John Stoner, the owner of the building at the corner of East Olive Way and Belmont Avenue East, said he'd love to keep B&O Espresso as a tenant in the ground floor of the new building, which could be up to six stories...

B&O owner Majed Lukatah said he's not sure what will happen, but that his family intends to keep the business going...

"I have mixed feelings. I don't know whether I should just wait and come back to my own location or go somewhere else," he said.

B&O's building isn't the best on the 'Hill, but it has character. A brand-spankin' new space, after a yearlong construction, probably won't do it justice.

So, we can save B&O in a couple of ways:

• Save the building, and/or ensure the new building will have enough retail space for B&O. The first design meeting for the property is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19th, at 6:30PM at the Seattle Central Community College, (1701 Broadway, Room 3211). Go there and give your feedback. If you can't attend in person, you can view the land use notice, and offer written/emailed feedback.
• Help find a new home for B&O. Know of a good retail space, present or future? Call it in to B&O.

Here's to hoping that there will still be a B&O Espresso on Capitol Hill for years to come.

I'm A "Gay Bingo" Virgin No Longer

Last Saturday was our friend Steven's birthday, so what better way to spend the day than celebrating it? And I do mean all day.

First up was a gluttonous lunch at Steel Pig BBQ, with tasty smoked pork to go around. After having our fill of BBQ and sweet tea (yes, real southern sweet iced tea - one of the few places you can get it in Seattle), we took Steven to a surprise visit of (could you guess?) Cupcake Royale for a birthday cupcake (I told you I was addicted).

Later in the evening, Steven had arranged for several folks to attend Gay Bingo. If you've never heard of this pastime, those two words may sound odd together. Here's the recipe:

- Take 750 people and get them in a huge room (basketball court sized), complete with tables, PA system, and stage.
- Add a bar and food options.
- Add bingo.
- Add the drag queen Glamazonia as a host, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as sidekicks.
- Stir, serve.

It's really a lot of fun, promise. And no, you don't have to be gay to go. And yes, the money goes to a good cause: specifically, the Life Long AIDS Alliance, which funds AIDS research, prevention, and support services.

I got lucky near the end of the night, as I happened to win one of the bingo rounds! Calm down, karma police: I gave half of my winnings back to the cause.

We wrapped up the night at Purr, a relatively new bar on Capitol Hill. It was fairly crowded, but we managed to find a table near the back. The drinks were quite strong, and Steven ended up doing several shots (including a Jager bomb, which most of the table scoffed at but the waiter recommended as a quick way to get Steven plastered).

As if by magic, he was just fine the next day...fine enough to join us for brunch at The 5 Spot on Queen Anne. I guess he had some birthday gastrointestinal protection, huh?

West Seattle Cupcake Royale Opening "Sometime In May"

We visited the Madrona branch of Cupcake Royale today, to give a birthday cupcake surprise to a friend of ours. I asked the friendly salesperson behind the counter when she expected the new West Seattle store to open (per my earlier post). She said, "sometime in May...mid-May, I think."

She then asked, "do you live in West Seattle?"

"Oh, no," we replied, "we live on Capitol Hill."

The friendly salesperson smiled. I think she knew we're just a bunch of cupcake addicts.

MAFIAA.org: Another April Fool's

RIAA and MPAA merged, didn't you hear? Their new acronym: MAFIAA. More on their official web site.

Google Romance: April Fool's!

It took me a minute (a short minute, mind you...*nervous cough*) to figure out that Google Romance is an April Fool's joke. The tour is the best part.

Update 4/2: Google made a post on their blog about Google Romance as well.