gonna be in Seattle and Vancouver end of the month - what should i do?

i'll send out emails when i have a better idea of what the dates are we'll be in the cities

vancouver has the world's best sushi. it's everywhere, too. go to Gyoza King or Guu with Garlic for really exciting japanese, or Sushi Garden in Burnaby for the biggest nigiri.

don't go to the naam, it's lousy and overrated. for buddhist vegetarian go to Bo Kong on Main at 23rd or so. most places on the drive are vegetarian too; if not completely, they'll at least have lots of options. except for the memphis blues barbecue house, mind. the Irish Heather in gastown has the best beer in town, and very good food as well. they import their Guinness etc. from Ireland, instead of using the usual NA brewed stuff, and it really does make a difference. Penny cantonese on Hastings and Lakewood is my favourite chinese; they're open until 2-3am, and have a late night menu after 9:30 with small, cheap portions of regular menu items. It's great, because you can get three small dishes for the same price as one normal huge dish, and you get far more variety than a huge plate of chow mein. They do wonderful bean sprouts in garlic and fried squid.

I'd recommend a CD store, but NO-ONE in town currently stocks the albums I want(stina nordenstam, damon + naomi, lilac time), so I'm feeling disgruntled.

The cheapest new CDs are at A&B Sound; they're undercutting list prices by about 20% now, so the top end is about $17-18. They've got a huge amount of remaindered titles too, from between $7-10, incl. the complete Morrissey, MBV, some Stereolab, etc. and lots of greatest hits. Do NOT go to Virgin, at any cost.

I'd be careful of Audiopile; I find his vinyl can be overpriced. If you're on a budget, you're better off downtown. OTOH, he does have selection; I found my entire Martha + the Muffins there for 8$ a pop. His CD selection isn't bad, but the turnaround is low, but I guess that's not a problem for visitors.

when ya coming, Nedlicious?

Star C., you can find out more about my upcoming Seattle doings here -- just a couple more weeks:

The December 2004 Ned-visits-Seattle FAP thread

Yes, in a spaceship-just-crashed in Seattle kind of way. I do kind of like it, but I can't help but feeling like it's going to vacuum me off of 5th when I'm walking under it, thanks to that big overhang kind of thing at the top.

If you want cute boutiques for the lady in Seattle... I can certainly tell you where to spend way too much money. Ian (2nd Ave, not the Cap Hill one for good girls stuff), Sway & Cake on 6th, Moda Express and Kuhlman on 1st in Belltown. There's a cute Marimekko store on 1st just south of the Pike Place market. Fremont has awesome shopping too. And supposedly they are decorating their Lenin statue for Xmas.

..or both!

-- JaXoN (jaso...), December 2nd, 2004 12:11 AM. (JasonD)

nope, i'm not going but austin is coming to me mid-january in a nice turn of events.

Go to the Richmond Night Market (yes, it's at night) for bizarre Asian goods/food and weird scene.

JaXon! Convince your wife to embrace the rock and see the Jello Biafra + Melvins, Evaporators, and Big Business show tonight! (Granted, I'm sure you run into Jello on a regular basis anyway, but but but possibly them doing DK songs is making me jealouz)

make suggestions?

The Asian SAM. The galleries in Pioneer Square and downtown and Capitol Hill (Bluebottle is fun). Walk or bike around Lake Washington down by Madrona Park, or go through the Arboretum. The Sound Garden out on Sand Point/Magnuson Park. Wandering around the International District, esp. eating barbecued pork or duck from Kau Kau and shopping for stuff at Uwajimaya.

http://www.neumos.com/0701.html

but may get back too late from a ballgame in Tacoma.

Vancouver: there's a good record store in Kitsilano, right? I'm staying near Stanley Park, 2 nights. (I'll just miss Canada Day -- alas?)

Zulu records is the one you're talking about. It's on West 4th Ave near Burrard St and is undoubtedly the best place in town. Another good 2nd hand vinyl place has recently opened on West Hastings at Cambie. Think it's called Vinyl Records. It's almost next door to the New Amsterdam Cafe, so you can't miss it. It doesn't have any new stuff or many cds though - just tons of old records. Scratch is quite near there too. It's compact but you might find some hidden treasure there. They stock quite a lot of new vinyl and a new indie stuff, if that's your bag - 726 Richards St.

http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/ripe-n-ready/produce-calendar - summer and the PNW=salmon. also u+k in August are raspberries, peaches, and, in the latter part of the month, huckleberries.

the best weather in seattle is usually at the height of summer - a lot of the festivals in western washington happen between the third weekend of july and the first weekend of august. while september isn't too late, the weather may not be as nice, though i guess the more grey, the more authentic. also, the earlier in summer you go, the longer the days. i'm hoping to go in early-mid August this year, based in part on a guess about mountain snows.

i sort of have a feeling that portland might be nicer in spring and fall.

are the street shots you're looking for supposed to be of fashionable people?

Portland's weather can be really strange, due to air masses coming up/down the Columbia Gorge - it's usually hotter than Seattle in the summer and colder in the winter. A pretty sweet town all around though, more level than Seattle and full of amazing bridges. Seattle weather's been weird this spring - a couple of really too-warm days and a late snow. The past week's been typical though, temperate to cool, some sun, some clouds, some overcast, some rain, a little of everything every day.

gabbneb, will you have time for a get-together when you're here?

quite possibly, but not sure yet if i will in fact show up.

Let me know as your plans firm up - I'm putting together a salume/cheese/wine tasting idea for that time frame (place we store our wine has an event room that would be wonderfully cool in late summer, but it has to be a wine-focused event for us to use it).

jaq we were on the 99 post-soccer game last night and i thought of you because i wondered does your building have roof access?

no, alas. I want to move to the Quilt building or Terry Denny because they have roof decks. But that's going to have to wait another year - I promised Mr. Jaq we'd stay unmoved until fall of 2009. So many people in Brazil shirts yesterday! Did you go to the game?

i did! it was fun. my stepdad is half canadian (it was brazil vs. canada) so we had some real soccer passion going

The city is rezoning a bunch of the area down here for building height, not our block, or the next one down, but all the non-historic buildings, like where the Starbucks is by the pergola and down where FX McCrory is (King Street, by the train station) - limits are 4 stories now and going (I think) to eleven or so. Plans for a whole bunch of new apartment/condos above existing retail space.

Cap Hill is on a hill, but once you're on it, it's definitely a plateau, so if you plan to do a lot of stuff in Capitol Hill and hate hills, you're pretty much fine.. except that one swerve on Olive Way.

Yeah, gabb, let us know what the haps is!

Ai Leen, Andrew, how are you guys doing?

Is the Quiet Village thing at Nectar in Fremont still on?

phil-two, salmon season (and also steelhead) does run into September. It's so ubiquitous here I don't think of it as having a season, though right now is the second week of Copper River. And razor clams will also still be good - the "season", if you want to go clamming yourself in Washington, is just three days in May (there is sometimes a second season in the late fall, depending), but they are shipped down from Alaska through the summer.

are the street shots you're looking for supposed to be of fashionable people?
yeah.... do these people exist in seattle? i looked at the pike/pine blog and the street shots there, well, not so inspiring, but i dunno...

Jaq, sounds great with salmon season! i never particularly liked salmon until once was in SF at a sushi bar with gygax and the chef gave me a piece of copper river salmon and it changed the way i looked at that fish. so so so good.

Did anybody mention this yet?
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/info_desk/route-maps/index.cfm?region_id=4

Possibly, but it bears repeating. The Bainbridge ferry is one of my favorite ways to spend an hour.

phil, I'm wondering if those fashionable people do exist here. I see amazingly dressed people in the ID frequently, but maybe that is more cosplay so not fashion. There are generally well-suited guys getting their shoes shined at lunch out in front of the J&M, but they all look like young republicans. Maybe all the fashionably dressed people are over in Bellevue?

Never lived in Seattle or Portland but I visit both a lot. Seattle is definitely hilly, but I've biked around it and you can kind of avoid the worst if you route around it a bit. Walking to Queen Anne from downtown would probably be pretty rough but getting to Capitol Hill up Pike or Pine really isn't bad at all, especially if the Olympics are visible to the west. I think the hills and water do make Seattle feel more disjointed but it also gives it a much more collection-of-neighborhoods place, especially when compared to the east side of Portland which is pretty much all square grid.

I've never really thought of Seattle as boring, really. Depends where you're from. Also when I'm there I usually end up on Capitol Hill on weekends when it's loud and busy and there are lots of shows going on and such.

And I did the Bainbridge ferry last time I was there, and it was totally worth it in terms of time and money.

phil, I'm wondering if those fashionable people do exist here. I see amazingly dressed people in the ID frequently, but maybe that is more cosplay so not fashion. There are generally well-suited guys getting their shoes shined at lunch out in front of the J&M, but they all look like young republicans. Maybe all the fashionably dressed people are over in Bellevue?

uhoh. my main reason to go to seattle and portland is to get these photos and scout out places to do an exhibition.... i dunno why but i always imagined seattle to be full of cute stylish twenty-somethings with loads of spare cash to spend on frivolous things like $400 shirts. then again i thought the same thing about SF and was sorely disappointed when i finally got around to visiting.

well if SF disappointed you, you're going to be really disappointed in Seattle and Portland. Vancouver is probably your best shot, except all the Vancouver kids are coming down to Seattle and Portland on the weekends to buy all our shit because of the cheap US dollar..

..wait, I think I just answered your question! If you're in either city on a *weekend*, look for the Canadians!

maybe i'll just come to hang out and eat.. hehe

Jaq, I would think Bellevue would be way more YR-ish than Seattle.

that sounds cool, jaq. if i make it, i'll let y'all know.

yeah, these may not be the droids you're looking for, phil; it's the land of grunge and parkas. there are fashionable young people, but like mackro said it's a bit of a provincial place, so the numbers may not be huge and i think style is kinda muted by the weather. i also doubt that the cool kids have a lot of disposable income. what i said about the best time to go may not apply to fashion.

somewhat more promising evidence here, tho?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11888138@N08
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:NgQ_oZkd4AUJ:iseeseattle.blogspot.com/+iseeseattle&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safari

yeah, the best time to catch fashios is on the weekend when a fashio-friendly band is playing at Neumo's in Capitol Hill somewhere.. then just hang outside the Cha Cha or Via Tribulani. That'll do ya.

If you just want to hang out and eat, then you're talkin'. This city has really stepped up to the chow game just within the past two years. There is a lack of cheap, questionable-health-code, hole-in-the-wall places though if that's your thing, so you'll have to pay, but there's good stuff all 'round.

Has anyone here been to TURF RESTAURANT? You know that place on 2nd and Pine? The place that will never die (although it looks like all living things stroll over there to keel over and die)?

http://www.yelp.com/biz/turf-restaurant-and-lounge-seattle

Damn, I may have had this place all wrong.

I was totally being megan d. at the bottom of the page :(

cheap truck stop/diner food w/ low ambiance + bar = ok, but sketchy clientèle/scary at night factor would limit my solo attendance. Lived across from Caffe Minnie's when it was open (24-hour italianish diner food + bar, but not as low $ as the Turf) and relied on it and like Beth's just fine as well as Mr. D's (greekish place in Sodo). This is like the second or third location for the Turf, I think, always in the same general area though.

I am going to be in the Vancouver airport at the end of the month - what should i do?

i'm in an airport

you probably know this already, but I think Vancouver airport has a cover fee - like $10 or $15CAN, as a way to fund the airport. Just so you know.

Ai Leen, Andrew, how are you guys doing?

Is the Quiet Village thing at Nectar in Fremont still on?

YES. Our plan for Wed. is to go into town & drop Andrew off at the record store, we (me & sis) just can't hang out in there as long as he can! While he's doing that, we're going to try to find a masseuse & acupuncturist -- it's been that kind of trip, geez. After that, we're going to gawk at the library, eat, and then go to Fremont.

We've done quite a bit of stuff in the past couple of days, it's been lovely. But this trip has been very trying, too. There are no words to explain how tired I am. I don't know what day it is. Or what time it is. Yikes, huh?

This eve, we're in Renton @ my uncle's house, resting.

Any recommendations for cheapish massage places? NO HAPPY ENDINGS, PLZ.

It depends on cheap.. but generally, the cheaper the massage, the longer in advance you have to book it. You can get really cheap massages via Bastyr college or various schools in the Greenlake neighborhood, but you have to make an appointment in advance. Sometimes, it might a few days, which doesn't sound like an option.

However, if you just want a 30 to 60 min massage on demand, you could probably call Dreamclinic in Greenlake, and get one the same day. They won't be the cheapest by any means.

You can get a cheap, decent massage here with licensed folks, but it's definitely a word of mouth thing and more of a setup-in-my-space-or-house type thing, and generally speaking, the more you pay, the better it is. I wish I was a good word-of-mouth guy for that. Maybe others here are?

i knew mackro has plenty to say about tons of things, but i had no idea massages was one of those things.

I've gotten inexpensive student massages at Brenneke (now called Cortiva apparently) on lower Queen Anne: http://www.cortiva.com/locations/seattle/clinic/ The place I get my hair cut used to have walk-in specials on Wednesdays, but I can't find any info on their site now so maybe it was a limited time thing. They do an hour for $85 (http://www.ethereasalon.com/ethereaspa/). There's a new place that opened across the street from me that does an hour for $79, their webaddress goes to someplace in Singapore though - but here's their #206.264.1192 (1st Ave S, near Elliott Bay Books)

Thanks, you guys! It's been a lazy day. We slept in, ate the things we bought from Viet Wah & the (Eastern) Euro food store & did some thrifting. This rain is making me sleeeeepy. I LOVE IT!

My uncle's house is nice, the only thing I don't like about it is that he has no pets. It's weird to be in a home with no pets! It's kinda awful!

Lookin' forward to tomorrow, guys!

http://seattlest.com/2008/06/02/dishin_back_to.php

Ai, Andrew, glad you're enjoying the rain. This is probably the heaviest rain we've had since last November, wtf.

Ai Lien, if you guys are still in town on Monday, I'm having a birthday thing at Smith. Lingbert, I don't have your e-mail address, but you're welcome too. Jaq, I invited Robert but Evite rejected your address. Please come.

We're gonna be there, but R will be late due to piano lesson that isn't over until 7:30.

what time are you guys going to smith? i have finals that week and a friend will be in town, so i don't if i'll be able to make it, but i'll see what i can do.

Asking for the long table for 6:30, so 6:30-close? (kidding, i hope...)

Unfortunately, I'm working until 7:30 that night and don't have a car, so I'm very doubtful.

Ai Lien, if you guys are still in town on Monday, I'm having a birthday thing at Smith.

Dang, we leave on Saturday. Thank you for the invite! And Happy Birthday!

Thanks much. See y'all next time, I hope.

so, what's the plan tonight? Is it just the Quiet Village show? Or will there be something going on before the show?

We've got plans pre-show, so it's just QV for us. So, who will be wearing the rose in their lapel? Hee.

Man, I feel so sluggish! Someone explain!

We had a really good time @ Nectar last night! If any of you guys were there, I'm sorry for not introducing myself, I don't know what any of ya'll look like!

We had a really good time thanks to all of the helpful hints and advice!

xx

I'll be in Seattle just before thanksgiving, what's there to do?

go to the museum of flight and the boeing tour and the seattle asian art museum and the burke museum and maybe the pacific science center (for kids, really). car required for the first two, afaik.

There's a few bus routes that go to the Museum of Flight (174, 154, possibly others). You could watch the Seahawks struggle against the Redskins if you're here on 11/23. Come down to Sake Nomi (http://www.sakenomi.us/index.html), sake tastings, movies to drink sake by on Saturdays, Wii bowling nights on Wednesdays.

Thank you gabbneb -- do I go to the http://www.empsfm.org/

someone else should answer that - my guess is it's not all that special, but if you're there in late Fall and have the time, might as well

http://www.uwajimaya.com/gift.html