James "Prada Boy" E.'s Profile

I don't understand why each Whole Foods market differs in its layout. Okay, so each store has to make the most of the interior space it's given, but why can't the stores have a little consistency in how they present aisles and groceries? The smaller size of this location, in comparison to other stores in the greater Seattle area, doesn't make me pine for the larger stores. But c'mon, Whole Foods, would it kill you to keep access to tofu - excuse me, "meat alternatives" - in the same general vicinity?

And, I can't even believe I'm writing this, it's nice to have such a spacious parking lot!

Any gay bar that plays "Assimilate" by Skinny Puppy as background music automatically has my loyalty.

The second coming of Pony learned some lessons from its former incarnation on Pine Street: I can sit comfortably along a wall-length bench (or outside where the patio is covered); the bar offers more libations than Seattle-cliché PBR; and the interior personifies what it meant to be young, gay, and curious about the back pages of many a gay rag.

A beer and a top-shelf cocktail didn't break the bank, either. Not that I'm naming names (as I look in the direction of a catty neighbor), but it's nice to have a cocktail that doesn't cost $9.

You boys at Pony keep playing the classics and I'll keep comin' back for more. If you take requests, any chance of hearing hiLt or Coil?

Ever leave a Thai restaurant wishing you knew how to prepare those dishes at home? Remember this company: I Love Thai Cooking. Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen - Pranee - is gifted with her culinary abilities in Thai cuisine. This information is crucial in understanding why she's receiving five stars.

Pranee teaches you everything you need to know about preparing traditional Thai dishes. She'll take you to the Asian markets and recommend grocery staples. She'll teach you how to properly prepare and cook Thai dishes. She'll make so much good food that you'll curse yourself for not wearing looser clothing.

Her recipe for grilled eggplants with grilled brown button mushrooms with Thai basil leaf and coconut cream is, in a word, delicious. The ingredients are surprisingly simple but their culmination is a wondrous transformation. A delicate mixture of cool and heat, you feel the curry in the back of your throat long enough to appreciate the coconut cream.

People repeatedly asked for additional helpings and lined up for leftovers.

Pranee will send you home with recipes. Recipes! Like her aunt's recipe for Phuket red curry paste. I'll never return to ready-made curry pastes again.

Did you know that Seattle Waterfront Arcade has a room you can rent for private birthday parties? And with said rental you can also arrange for cups o' quarters for every party guest, along with unlimited rides on the carousel? AND you can bring your own food to the venue?

I'd write a more descriptive review but my dogs are barkin' after playing host for a surprise birthday party for 21 adults who all enjoyed themselves riding the carousel and playing pinball.

Bottom line: you'll have a fun time with friends and family and it won't break the bank.

I really don't want to give Red Chair such a poor rating but my haircut wasn't executed well at all.

The woman who usually cuts my hair was out of town, and naturally my immediate gratification kicked in: I couldn't wait for her return, I needed a haircut right now. I walked into Red Chair and made an appointment for later that afternoon when I returned from running errands. By running errands, I mean biking to and from Costco during Seattle's heat wave.

I arrived for my appointment a hot, sweaty mess. Emphasis on sweaty. Kim was my stylist and she kindly offered to wash my hair using cool water and keeping a cool towel on my neck as she cut my hair.

I want to emphasize that Kim could not have been any nicer. Seriously, her customer service is top-notch.

Unfortunately, my haircut wasn't as great as Kim's customer service. I returned to my usual stylist who took one look at my head and said, "this is gonna take another few weeks to grow out and fix." The bangs on the right side of my head were prominently shorter than the left and large strands of hair were visible from both my temples. My neckline was taken in too short and the sides of my head showed visible hair levels.

I was told to style my hair from left-to-right in the front until my bangs are long enough that they can resume an even level.

A lot of reviews for the salon are five stars so I'm going to chalk up my experience to one of those freak events that only occur during a mercury retrograde and my Saturn return is teaching me a lesson in waiting patiently to see my usual stylist. Sorry, Red Chair. Show owner comment »

I know how I said I'd only eat cheese when it came on a pizza from Madame K's in Ballard, but I'm a dirty lying whore that can't get enough of the good stuff. And that's exactly what I found at Via Tribunali in Georgetown: gooey, creamy cheesy goodness.

We were a party of eight and one of my friends remarked how our server, a bona-fide Sicilian, was able to remember all of our orders without a pen and pad. She was amicable, attentive and answered all of our questions without so much as arching her perfect brow.

There were two gents dutifully preparing all the meals, practicing their ability to spin pizza dough with what appeared to be oversized diaphragms. Not that I know what a diaphragm looks like per se, I've never even seen lady parts outside of photographs. But I digress. When they weren't assembling pizzas or antipasti, the gents were spinning their diaphragms and slicing meats paper-thin with a deli slicer bolted onto the bar.

We ordered the caprese for a starter, four generous slices of buffalo mozzarella atop equally thick slices of tomato drizzled in olive oil. The plate was salted just-right and an accompanying wedge of pizza crust allowed us to soak up the basil-y olive oil on the dish. The plate also had a few smaller pieces of tomato slices that looked like an afterthought in presentation which could've been omitted without causing a ruckus.

The quattro formaggi pizza is much better than the funghi, which doesn't have as much cheese but comes with a not-so-generous scattering of mushrooms. I would have liked our funghi pizza to contain different mushrooms - did I mention the not-so-generous? - its flavor paled in comparison to the quattro formaggi. Every bite of the latter was lactose love in your mouth. I think that had we ordered the quattro formaggi before the funghi, we wouldn't have needed to order the second pizza.

Thank goodness for a refreshing shot glass of limoncello to cleanse the palate and slightly blur the feeling of being stuffed.

I've never eaten at any of the other Via Tribunali locations but I may try the Capitol Hill location for when winter comes and I don't fancy a bike ride to Georgetown for pizza. If there is a location near Ballard, I'll only try it when/should Madame K's closes its doors. I may be a dirty lying whore but we whores stick together.

I biked 10 miles (round trip) from my apartment to Costco carrying a case of soy milk on the back of my bike. As you can imagine, the weight caused my bike tube to go KABLOOEY! No, really, that was the exact sound and all sorts of animated explosion clouds lifted in the air. But I digress.

I took the tire off my bike and walked to 12th Ave Bicycles. The guy who owns/run the shop - I'm a heel for not getting his name - replaced the tube for $16 ($6 parts, $10 labor)! He's made a bike tube customer for life.

Ride your bike on the Burke-Gilman Trail between Fremont and Ballard (Frelard?) and you'll come across a sandwich board outside Gilligan's Brewing Company which currently resides within ActivSpace. I asked if the place was a "'nano' brewery" which the GBC guys took in stride - let's just call it a brewery - and sampled the Chamomile Ale. Maybe it's the alcohol still swirling through my head but that ale is a fantastic brew, especially when you want to take the edge off summertime heat.

The (garage) door's open from 12:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays but check the online calendar to make sure--there was also talk of opening the door on Thursday evenings.

Come September 30, GBC will have to find a new place to make its delicious brews. That leaves me just enough time to buy a home and prepare the garage in exchange for growlers of the chamomile ale.

A growler is only $10 or $14 if you need to buy one to hold the brews! Well-crafted brews that are affordable. Seattle breweries best beware.

I bought two polo shirts from Lazy Oaf when she sold out of Spitalfields Market, they set me back quite a bit on account I'm American and our currency is flaccid in the presence of sterling. I don't regret my purchases in the least, for everywhere I wore those shirts in the States, people always had to ask me where I bought my clothes.

The designs are playful and quirky without trying too hard to be interesting. The combination of colors are terrific and the fabrics last myriad washes.

Pair the shirts with some nice trousers, preferably 3/4 length. You'll be the bees' knees!

Glaswegians, God hath smiled upon thee and delivered unto thee a miraculous experience in vegetarian & vegan fare. Lo, I say, and behold! BEHOLD! A socialist tipped me to this café when I last visited your amazing city. The food was spectacular and to this day I still dream of the tomato soup served there. This place is a gem, and I emphasize that word with as much bold print as possible. When I next return to Glasgow, I shall bring a bouquet of flowers with me and ask Grassroots to go steady with me. If such an act is even legal in your fair city. I wouldn't presume.