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1535 14th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 251-7673

Artusi  

Categories: Bars, Italian
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill

4.0 star rating
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here First to Review
As a long time fan of the Spinasse food, but not the Spinasse crush you experience when trying to dine with 32 people in a shoe box (an extremely quaint shoe box, to be sure) I am absolutely delighted to have a large new bar serving up the same quality food at a more casual price point.

Yes, casual price point is a way to say it's cheaper. But, you can't just down a few of their cocktails, come home, and call them cheap. I learned that lesson the hard way.

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1520 15th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 453-5066

Healeo  

Categories: Juice Bars & Smoothies, Health Markets, Coffee & Tea
Neighborhoods: Central District, Capitol Hill

4.0 star rating
5/15/2011 5 Check-ins Here
Surely you'd have to plug your nose and avert your eyes in order to enjoy a "Hemp & Kale" smoothie. Wrong!

The smoothie artists at Healeo have combined these flavors with sweet papaya and creamy banana to make a treat that you could enjoy even if it wasn't good for you. SMRT!

The wheat grass juice is another story. I had to drink this crud when I was little and no amount of understanding how good it is for me is going to make me unscrunch my face and open up my mouth.

Healeo is helping me grow up, one-drink-at-a-time!

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219 Broadway E
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 328-4447

Tacos Chukis  

Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill

4.0 star rating
5/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Would I suggest you battle parking on The Hill to acquire these tacos? I am not sure, it depends on how taqueria deprived your neighborhood is, but from the current state of the majority of neighborhoods in the PNW it looks like a lot of you are going to be practicing parallel parking to land yourself an adobado taco.

Stop by and grab a few mulitas, a couple of the pork tacos, and at least try one of the nopales tacos. Wash it all down with a beer (they have them now, yay!) and don't use all your coins on parking. They only take cash.

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Heathrow Airport
Hillingdon TW6 3XA
UK

Yotel  

Category: Hotels
Neighborhood: Heathrow

4.0 star rating
8/27/2010 1 Check-in Here
You know when you are on a long layover after an even longer international flight and you give up delusions of grandeur for delusions of a more practical nature?

Like, all I want is to lay down on a mattress...a pillow and a blanket would be so luxurious..could you even imagine if this fantastical cocoon I am building in my mind had its own bathroom, free wifi, and a flat screen television?

I am confident this is exactly how the Yotel came to be, a fever dream born of pragmatic visions while trying to curl up on three empty plastic seats found in an airport terminal. Because everything in here is what you need. Nothing more. Nothing less.

You get a little cocoon of your own to rest, freshen up, and steel yourself for yet another day of travel. The 24 hour room service ain't half bad, and the fact that you can rent it by the hour adds to the feeling of ultimate optimization.

There are a few downsides. The Yotel is located in Terminal 4 which is nowhere near any other terminals. For all I know it's not even in the UK. It can be a complete and total pain to get to if your connection is early in the morning and the Heathrow Express isn't running before 6 AM.  The other serious downside is the noise. You can pretty much hear everything that's happening in the hotel in addition to everything that's happening within the plumbing system. That can easily be remedied with a quick pop of Ambien, but for those people who still travel au naturale it could be an issue.

I will be lobbying for Yotels in all major US airports. Please help me keep the dream alive.

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2230 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 374-8717

Umi Sake House  

Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese
Neighborhood: Belltown

1.0 star rating
Update - 5/6/2010
In the past four years this place has gone from a 5 star to 3 star to 1 star.

It was never the best sushi in the whole world, but it was better than average for the price, and the restaurant was somewhat pleasant, and the happy hour really couldn't be beat.

Then, it was a solid 3 star. If you went during happy hour and didn't mind mediocre service you could get a nice meal.

Now, it's just awful. Every Belltown cliche is at work and the hostess will seat you only after she is done making a few phone calls. So weird. After getting completely ignored at the sushi counter we simply left. Never to return.

I'd like to spend some time to make this review a smidgen funnier and even a bit more cool, but it'll have to stick to being as useful as any "Do Not Enter" sign ought to be. Useful, Utilitarian, and Uninspired.

Listed in: Sushi Satisfaction in Seattle, Belltown - Another Seattle…, Seattle Loves Asian Fusion, Getting Lucky in Seattle, Where I Took my Guests in…, Insatiable in Seattle, Healthy Happy Hour in Seattle

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  • 3.0 star rating
    11/21/2006

    Update 4/05/07:
    The service has improved a bit, but the rolls are still leaving something to be desired. Maybe it's because I'm always ordering off the happy hour menu?
    -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ---

    Update 12/19/2006:
    The last few times I've come here the service has been awful, the aforementioned large cubes of tuna in the poke are mere shadows of themselves, and the rolls keep falling apart. Umi Sake is going from 4 stars to 3 until I have a consistently good experience here.
    -------------------- -------------------- -------------------

    Umi Sake House could be called Wasabi Bistro West.

    Same great non-traditional sushi served up in a trendy Asian modern environment. Try the tuna poke, you won't be disappointed, big chunks of bright red tuna, marinated in a flavorful spicy sauce, with a few Japanese cucumbers tossed in, served on a bed of daikon and shiso leaf. Exactly the same as what you get at Wasabi Bistro - curious!

    Another oddity is the tiny store front - don't be fooled. Once you get inside this place you'll have your choice of about 6 different seating areas. Would you like to sit at the sake bar, the lounge, the sushi bar, the dining room, the indoor patio, or the front porch which is indoors and has a longer happy hour!?!?

    The indoor patio seems like a favorite, light, airy, with a few trees scattered here and there, however on closer inspection it kind of reminded me of a mall food court. A nice mall food court, but a food court nonetheless.

    Stop by and try their happy hour, unless you park closer to Wasabi Bistro, then just head over there, it's all the same.

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21106 86th Ave SE
Maltby, WA 98296
(360) 668-2912

Snoqualmie Ice Cream  

Categories: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Cafes

5.0 star rating
Update - 5/6/2010
I've never been so happy to be wrong in my whole life.

They just changed the packaging around, and didn't get rid of the lemon custard, they simply hid it; probably it in an attempt to make me realize how much I truly loved it.

Carry on....

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  • 4.0 star rating
    5/4/2010

    Some of the best ice cream ever! But you'll always be missing a star until you bring back the lemon custard flavor.

    It wasn't tart, but it was flavorful and had a depth and richness that only a delicious eggy custard could provide. That ice cream flavor was one of the reasons that I won't leave the PNW and now you've gone and ripped it from me!

    Usually with a loss of this magnitude I'd go get myself a tub of ice cream...but...well.. .sob...you see the problem.....

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1531 Melrose Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 467-5447

The Calf and Kid  

Category: Cheese Shops
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill

5.0 star rating
5/2/2010
Everyone knows I'm going to give 5 stars to any cheese shop that doesn't sell Velveeta. That's a no-brainer. But, this one sells freshly made burrata! For the uninitiated, burrata is a shell of pure mozzarella surrounding a gooey cheesy center of mozzarella & cream. This easily sends Calf and Kid into the 6 star category.

Then, this new cheese shop is propelled to the infinite universe of stars by selling fresh quince paste!  FRESH quince paste. It's easy enough to find little tubs of quince paste in the greater Seattle metropolitan area, but fresh quince paste has been as elusive as the mythical snipe of our region.

I could go on and on and on about how delicious fresh quince paste really is, or you could stop reading this, give up the hunt for mythical creatures, and find some for yourself.

Don't forget the manchego and enough burrata to equal at least half your body weight. Cheese wrapped in cheese? Genius.

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1521 10th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 624-6600

The Elliott Bay Book Company  

Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill

5.0 star rating
Update - 4/14/2010 1 photo 4 Check-ins Here
IT'S OPEN!!! IT'S OPEN!!!

Shhhhh.....

It might be exciting, but it's still a bookstore.

I never thought they'd be able to port the special biblio-mecca-feel from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill. I'm happy to say, I was wrong. The cedar shelves have been reassembled the exposed brick and rough hewn beams are still in play, and they've made it all better with more natural light.

And, they're lifting the bookstore silence with a Welcome to The Hill block party on Thursday. IT'S OPEN IT'S OPEN!

Listed in: Log on - Free Wi-Fi in Seattle, Coffee in Seattle...duh!, Gifting in Seattle, Reading Rainbow Seattle…, The Best of Michelle's Seattle, Pioneer Square - Where Seattle…, Cozy in Seattle, Perfect Day in Seattle

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  • 5.0 star rating
    3/26/2006

    Simply fabulous. There is always something going on here. Book clubs, author readings, and meetings - it's a book lovers dream.

    The place also smells amazing due to the mixture of the rough cedar shelves, the coffee shop below, and the intoxicant of such a well selected offering of books.

    Add the friendly, and of course knowledgeable, staff to the mix and you might be tempted to move in. But you can't, just so you know, I asked.

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209 Broadway E
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 420-3700

Jup Jup Jup - CLOSED  

Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill

3.0 star rating
3/22/2010
Why three Jups in a row? What does Jup mean? I have decided that it means star and that they have named this restaurant three star Thai which seems fair.

The owners are the same people who own Racha Thai in Queen Anne. So, it goes to reason that if you like Racha you will like Jup Jup Jup. I have decided Racha means mediocre.  

The menu seems relatively promising until you start to realize that there are very few traditional Thai dishes on the menu. I'm all for pushing the palette, but like to have a few safe options to fall back upon. My fallback was the Tom Ka Gai coconut soup which looked good with fancy mushrooms replacing the white button mushrooms and red onion swimming in the bowl instead of the usual yellow onion. But, as we all know, looks can be deceiving, and this soup deceived me. The broth was fairly one note, and the cubed chicken seemed to have been poached in water and added to the broth after the fact which resulted in absolutely flavorless chicken.

The rest of the dishes seemed to follow suit. Overreaching with fusion this and non-traditional that. Perhaps I was there on an off night. I overheard a server tell another table that the chef is only in on weeknights so I'll report back mid-week and let you all know if Jup really means yum!

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Ballard Ave at 22nd Ave
Seattle, WA 98107

Ballard Sunday Farmers Market  

Category: Farmers Market
Neighborhood: Ballard

5.0 star rating
3/21/2010 3 Check-ins Here
As a multi-tasker I appreciate that I'm able to come to the Ballard Sunday Farmer's Market, knock out a little grocery shopping and run into a couple of different groups of friends, plus make a few new ones while I'm standing in the pizza line.

Errands mixed with socializing? I have died and gone to Type-A Heaven!

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Review votes:
8982 Useful, 10270 Funny, and 7459 Cool

Location

Seattle, WA

Yelping Since

June 2005

Things I Love

A Lost Cause, Libraries, Torrents, Daydreaming about Tacos, Documentaries, Initial Descent, Palindromes, Fraggles, Traveling, Skype, Vivace, Surprises, XKCD, Well Disguised Misanthropes

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An airplane, hopefully a 777.

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Seattle, WA

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http://twitter.com/mic...

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Bedlam!

Why You Should Read My Reviews

Because I'll put just about anything in my mouth. I'm farsighted.

My Second Favorite Website

http://explodingdog.com, http://xkcd.com, http://apartmenttherap...

The Last Great Book I Read

Too many to list. You can find them at the library, I (heart) the library.

My First Concert

I wouldn't know - I'm too short to see anything at a concert.

My Favorite Movie

The Painted Veil. W. Somerset Maugham was actually caught on film. Gorgeous.

My Last Meal On Earth

A meal with burnt cheese, a dessert with burnt sugar - Goodbye maillard reaction

Don't Tell Anyone Else But...

I eat an obscene amount of peanut butter & jelly.

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Noctilucent Clouds. A beautiful sign of the impending apocolypse.

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Ampersand after Ampersand