We're suckers for end-of-year countdowns. Heck, we're suckers for any countdowns but really love the approaching new year because it gives all sorts of sources an excuse to count stuff off. NWSource.com (which is run by the 'Seattle Times Company representing the Seattle Post-Intelligencer' -- whatever that means) joins the parade with the tried-and-true 'best of your city' formula -- NWS 2005 People's Picks
Unlike a lot of the 'Best of' lists in Seattle which leave us wondering how many people from Bellevue vote, NWS's 2005 list actually has some intelligent, thoughtful picks. Usually, we can only depend on the non-vote-driven Stranger list for legit 'best' choices but NWS seemed to get a smart response pool this year. We'll take their word for it that these were truly the choices of the 'people.' Maybe the 'people' are getting smarter! yay! Also, good to see nearby venues take the top slot in movie house, dive bar, and art gallery.
--j
Tags: uptown, seattle, bestof2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Adios 'Pompous' Room! Now stop parking in public spots
We've already danced on the grave of carcinogen-soaked nightlife in Seattle but we can't resist one more jab at an old enemy. Normally, we try to focus on the things we like here in Uptown. But we don't have anything nice to say about El Gaucho.
So, what's our beef with the psuedo-swank steak mill? We guess it's the way they treat the 'little' people. There is a stinky old-fashioned air of superiority about the operation that has manifested itself in plenty of ugly ways over the years. I got my best look at it when I lived on the other side of the alley behind the place for two years. There have been a handful of ugly incidents between staff 'bouncers' and civilians -- nothing more than somebody being forcibly shoved to the sidewalk but still not the kind of interaction I've ever seen at another restaurant in this city.
Before you blame this kind of thing on the kind of upper-crusty-wannabe clientele the place attracts, I can also say I've had my own run-ins with the staff and management over the years. And I wasn't even a customer (so they didn't push me down). I complained because it seems El Gaucho's eager valet boys have been told it's OK to use the city streets to park Richie Rich's Humvees and Escalades. Now, call me a rule follower, but that ain't right. The street parking is for the people -- not to further the business of the Pompous Room. So, between their disregard for their neighbors and their version of customer interaction, I'm not sorry for El Gaucho in the least. We take extra special pleasure in knowing the overpriced, under-classed joint has a big empty living room where once was a pretentious cigar lounge. Adios, Pampas Room. Maybe you can reinvent yourself as a vomitorium to fully round out the decadence. (OK, tht's just mean but it's good to get it out of our system!)
--j
Tags: uptown, seattle, elgaucho, restaurants
So, what's our beef with the psuedo-swank steak mill? We guess it's the way they treat the 'little' people. There is a stinky old-fashioned air of superiority about the operation that has manifested itself in plenty of ugly ways over the years. I got my best look at it when I lived on the other side of the alley behind the place for two years. There have been a handful of ugly incidents between staff 'bouncers' and civilians -- nothing more than somebody being forcibly shoved to the sidewalk but still not the kind of interaction I've ever seen at another restaurant in this city.
Before you blame this kind of thing on the kind of upper-crusty-wannabe clientele the place attracts, I can also say I've had my own run-ins with the staff and management over the years. And I wasn't even a customer (so they didn't push me down). I complained because it seems El Gaucho's eager valet boys have been told it's OK to use the city streets to park Richie Rich's Humvees and Escalades. Now, call me a rule follower, but that ain't right. The street parking is for the people -- not to further the business of the Pompous Room. So, between their disregard for their neighbors and their version of customer interaction, I'm not sorry for El Gaucho in the least. We take extra special pleasure in knowing the overpriced, under-classed joint has a big empty living room where once was a pretentious cigar lounge. Adios, Pampas Room. Maybe you can reinvent yourself as a vomitorium to fully round out the decadence. (OK, tht's just mean but it's good to get it out of our system!)
--j
Tags: uptown, seattle, elgaucho, restaurants
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Uptown Condo 4-Sale
We weren't kidding around when we said we were leaving. Here's proof. As they say in those 'everything must go' commercials, our loss is your gain. We're moving out of Uptown and leaving our cute lil condo behind to go build a nest up on Capitol Hill.If you're interested in owning one of the last chunks of downtown housing selling for less than $400-per-square-foot, here's the craigslist listing.
Note we sold out and listed the 'Downtown' condo as being in 'Belltown' -- we had to admit that too many people just wouldn't know exactly where Uptown is. It is downtown and it is in Belltown. But it's uptown too. Oh well.
Also note that we didn't mention this added bonus -- the place comes with a blog you've probably heard of.
--j
Tags: uptown, seattle, condo, realestate
Where to celebrate the smoking ban
It's hard not to feel vengeful. We admit it. We want to dance on the grave of an edangered species. Seattle smokers, after midnight tonight, will no longer be a direct part of our nightlife. What else to say but... yipee!
So the real question is where to celebrate? Our first instinct is to mark this event in the (formerly) smokiest of Seattle's bars. A place like the 5 Point or the Noc Noc seem perfect if we were really seeking to rub it in. But I'm not sure we're ready for the human element. Are we prepared to see the pittiful huddles of used-to-be bar smokers shuffling around aimlessly? It might be too depressing. And, worse, we could find ourselves in the middle of a smoking protest -- don't want to be anywhere near the 5 Point when jack-booted riot police show up.
So we'll probably take a different tack -- why not celebrate at one of the places that was there for you all along and now face a new environment for their businesses. We're thinking about ringing in the new nightlife in an always-smoke-free bar like the Virginia Inn. Think of it as a reward for all the fine work they did through the years giving us a nicotine-free option. Of course, if we're feeling really vindictive (and we have a large enough posse of pals) we probably won't be able to resist laughing it up at an ex-smoking joint. We're talking years of pent-up anger here, folks. And dry cleaning bills. And lung tumors, etc.
-- j
So the real question is where to celebrate? Our first instinct is to mark this event in the (formerly) smokiest of Seattle's bars. A place like the 5 Point or the Noc Noc seem perfect if we were really seeking to rub it in. But I'm not sure we're ready for the human element. Are we prepared to see the pittiful huddles of used-to-be bar smokers shuffling around aimlessly? It might be too depressing. And, worse, we could find ourselves in the middle of a smoking protest -- don't want to be anywhere near the 5 Point when jack-booted riot police show up.
So we'll probably take a different tack -- why not celebrate at one of the places that was there for you all along and now face a new environment for their businesses. We're thinking about ringing in the new nightlife in an always-smoke-free bar like the Virginia Inn. Think of it as a reward for all the fine work they did through the years giving us a nicotine-free option. Of course, if we're feeling really vindictive (and we have a large enough posse of pals) we probably won't be able to resist laughing it up at an ex-smoking joint. We're talking years of pent-up anger here, folks. And dry cleaning bills. And lung tumors, etc.
-- j
Bloggers gets busy with real world, Seattle moves forward
This blog ain't our day job (lucky for us) so we've been away tending to life bidness. We're happy to poke our nose back into the world and find a few good things have happened -- even without our valuable input!
As we noted recently, the Stranger's Slog has been both a) one of the coolest local blogs going and b) frustratingly lamely executed from a geek-tech perspective. While we were away, the Slog rolled out a key piece of goodness -- integrated comments with each post. We'll waste 2 more hours there every day now... 3 if they change design so you can view each post and associated comments on a single screen and click back through the post stream. Go, Stranger geeks, go!
And, for things that truly matter, it's great to see the City Council looking for a way to put some teeth in the management of liquor problems downtown. While we have general reservations about infringing on the liberties of man, we also don't think it's a slippery slope. Banning problem alcohol types from problem areas (and identifying those 'problems' using cold hard datasets) is an important part of the equation. There are going to be plenty of other substances to abuse and we'll need to figure out responses beyond curbing the sale of malt liquor but we're cool with progress. And we didn't even have to write about it to make it happen. Magic! :)
-- j
As we noted recently, the Stranger's Slog has been both a) one of the coolest local blogs going and b) frustratingly lamely executed from a geek-tech perspective. While we were away, the Slog rolled out a key piece of goodness -- integrated comments with each post. We'll waste 2 more hours there every day now... 3 if they change design so you can view each post and associated comments on a single screen and click back through the post stream. Go, Stranger geeks, go!
And, for things that truly matter, it's great to see the City Council looking for a way to put some teeth in the management of liquor problems downtown. While we have general reservations about infringing on the liberties of man, we also don't think it's a slippery slope. Banning problem alcohol types from problem areas (and identifying those 'problems' using cold hard datasets) is an important part of the equation. There are going to be plenty of other substances to abuse and we'll need to figure out responses beyond curbing the sale of malt liquor but we're cool with progress. And we didn't even have to write about it to make it happen. Magic! :)
-- j
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