September 2008 Archives

Whoa! Watch out for giant crosswalk spiders. Photo by: Flickr user Kirkryyn

For those of you scratching your head, a mnemonic is a special word, or list of words used to help a person remember something. SeattleBrad from The Capitol Hill Seattle blog reminded us over here at Belltowner that Seattle has it's own well known mnemonic for remembering streets names: "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest." (J = Jefferson, James C = Cherry, Columbia M = Marion, Madison S = Spring, Seneca U = University, Union P = Pike, Pine)

So why doesn't Belltown have one yet? The street names being Stewart, Virginia, Lenora, Blanchard, Bell, Battery, Wall, Vine, Cedar, Clay, Broad.

Any takers?

Ever thought of getting a part time server job? It's an excellent way to make some extra cash on the weekends. Belltown is home to some of the city's swankiest restaurants, and a couple of them are currently on the lookout for a few good servers.

Black Bottle is currently seeking weekend lunch servers.

Brasa is seeking servers with extensive food & wine knowledge.

Click here to check out more serving opportunities in the area.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes on the Discovery channel's famous show Mythbusters? Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage will host an Inside The Scientist's Studio style presentation at The Moore Theatre on Oct. 4. From stories of myths gone wrong and outtakes of segments never seen on air, it's sure to be an entertaining evening. Please note however that the "Behind The Scenes At Mythbusters" show will not include experiments or explosions. It may be a pretty interesting show to check out.

For more information on tickets and show times click here.

Flickr User Versea snapped a photo of a memo in a Belltown apartment building that was posted after a painting previously hung in the apartment hall went missing.

It reads:

"Do you wonder what happened to the painting on the 4th floor by the elevator? It was removed. Apparently, someone didn't care for it.

"I consider Winston our Mascot"
"Winston puts a smile on my face when I leave the elevator."
"Winston makes me happy"
"I like Winston. He welcomes me home."
"I like Winston's bright eyes."
"I like Winston. The 4th floor is his home. He belongs with us."
"I miss Winston. I feel sad that he's gone."

The photographer who snapped the shot of the memo, appropriately entitled the photo, "I think somebody needs a real dog."

The McLeod Residence has set a goal of raising 5000 big ones for the "Obama for America" campaign. Bring your hard-earned cash money (and credit cards) for their silent auction, raffles, Obama merch and special "Obama-inspired" drinks. I wonder if they'll have Obamaritas?

There will be plenty of food and music provided and everyone is invited. This event takes place on Tuesday Oct. 7 from 6 to 11pm at The McLeod.

Click here for more information.

Calling all music lovers. Perhaps you've already heard of Decibel Festival, Seattle's four-day annual electronic dance music festival. All acts are the cream of the crop of the underground electronic music scene. If you're into this genre of music you should most definitely check it out. The festival will take place at 11 venues throughout Seattle including Church of Bass in Belltown. For a complete lineup and to purchase tickets, click here.

That's right, drink while you bid! Seattle Networking group, Seattle Anti-Freeze, is throwing a silent auction at Rendezvous in Belltown next week. All funds will go to support breast cancer research at Susan G. Komen foundation. There is no cost for the event, however donations for the Susan G. Komen foundation are more than welcome.

The auction will take place next Wed October 01 from 8:00pm to midnight. For more information click here.

Seattle Police are saying that crime in the downtown shopping area is at an all time low after nearly $1 million in overtime was spent throughout the last year to increase police presence. A store owner in the area remarks that he has never seen the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street, as well as the nearby streets bordering Westlake Center and Pike Place Market, so trouble-free.

Although this is great news, unfortunately the result has been (as we all know) increased crime in Belltown where there isn't nearly as much police attention. Police acknowledge the problem and say the department is looking at a similar emphasis project in Belltown later this year to address the crime increase.

Sounds promising, let's keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime Txori bartender Brett Paulson is taking matters into his own hands by gathering a 2,000 signature petition to send to the governor in hopes of bringing in outside help to clean up the neighborhood. Anyone wishing to sign the petition can do so at Txori.

Flickr user Gurldogg snapped a shot of this new graffiti which appeared on the Broad Street Underpass over the weekend. I wonder how long it will last.

Great news for bus commuters. Many bus routes in Ballard, Belltown, Capitol Hill, Fremont, Madison Park, Mount Baker, Queen Anne, the University District and Wallingford will be arriving more frequently starting this week. Every 15 minutes or less! And even better, buses on Routes 3 and 4 between downtown Seattle, First Hill, and the Central Area will arrive every eight minutes or less during weekday daytime hours. Hallelujah. There's nothing more obnoxious than arriving only seconds late for your bus and having to wait an entire half hour or more for the next one.

Riders will also notice increased service on the following bus routes: 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14, 26, 28 and 44.

Click here for more information.

Belltown's Brasa restaurant was mentioned today in CNN.com's travel section. "Foodies will want to check out Brasa in Belltown, which rocks 5 p.m.-7 p.m. with specials that include half-off bar menu items like steak frites with cabrales butter for $7 or a lamb burger for $5.50. Don't leave without trying the trademark sundae for $4." reads the article.

Cheap and delicious. Two qualities you gotta love in a meal. Click here to check out the rest of Brasa's menu.

A group of Belltown bar-hoppers seem to have lost a friend last Saturday and are on the lookout to find him.

Their Craigslist ad reads, "Last Saturday, we lost a My Buddy Doll (original 1985 version, black skin) in the Belltown area. We thought it'd be fun to take him out to party, but he was lost amongst the crowd. If you happen to have seen him (red overalls, black curly hair), I would much appreciate any information. He was last seen at Twist. I've had him since I was 2 and am hoping to find him."

Awww. Hits me in the gut! If you have any idea where "Buddy" is, please click here.

You never know, you could be the parent of a little Shirley Temple in the making. Kid Models is holding an open casting call in Belltown for children between the ages of 6 months to 9 years old to be featured in their multi-channel marketing and advertising campaigns.

Children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years should show up on Wednesday Sept. 24 between 9:30am and 2pm., and children 5 to 9 years old are asked to come on Thursday Sept. 25 from 11:30am to 4:30pm.

The casting call will be held at iCandi Studios, located at 2600 Western Ave. For more information please contact Wendy at 206 849-1870.

This photo was taken by Flickr user Joseph. It's a pretty cool shot under the famous 3D bulb of The Lighting Supply store on 2nd ave.

Apparently the owner of Buckley's Pub on lower Queen Anne is planning on opening a larger Buckley's next door to Tavolata in Belltown. In case you've never been, Buckley's is known for being a popular hangout during sports events, as well as a friendly neighborhood pub good for quick satisfying lunches and dinners. The owner insists they attract a friendly and low key crowd. "We have 86'ed some people from here. We don't like troublemakers or idiots, we send them on their way, and that's where I think we do a great job."

I think it should make a nice addition to the Belltown neighborhood. No word on an exact date for when the new Belltown Buckley's is set to emerge, but stay tuned.

Click here to see Buckley's website.

H&M's downtown location finally opens its doors this Thursday. If you're anything like me, you've been looking forward to having one of these stores in the neighborhood. They sell a wide variety of affordable and fashionable clothes.

Although the official opening of the store is scheduled for Thursday, apparently there is a pre-shopping event today featuring celeb DJ Samantha Ronson. I wonder if Lindsey Lohan will be there?

A west precinct bike patrol officer was taken to a hospital Saturday night after a man he was trying to arrest on the corner of 2nd and Blanchard allegedly cut him with a surgical tool.

The officer was attempting to drop a bottle of Jaegermeister from the man's hands when the officer felt his thigh being cut at least three times. The weapon was later determined to be a pair of hemostats. Yikes.

The officer suffered a four-inch cut to his right thigh and had "sharp pain and bleeding" in the same area, according to the report.

The man was arrested and a check revealed him to be in his early 30's on probation with the Department of Corrections.

People getting attacked with surgical tools in the street? Wow. It really is getting to be a rough side of town.

Real Change News in Belltown is looking for donations of plastic grocery bags. Their newspaper vendors need them to keep the newspapers dry while they sell. Bags can be dropped off at 2129 2nd Ave M-F from 9-6 and Sat from 10-4.

Got questions? Call 206.441.3247

Open Circle Theater will now call Belltown its home this fall. The theatre company will be moving into the space next door to the Freehold Theatre on 2nd ave.

Apparently Open Circle recently lost its home of 10 years in South Lake Union to development, but aided by the support of Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. and their property manager CB Richard Ellis, Open Circle had the breathing room to be able to wait for the perfect space. It seems they've found it.

Open Circle plans to premiere the new space with the opening of their original H.P. Lovecraft production, H.P. Lovecraft NECRONOMICON this October. Click here for details.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

The owner of Belltown's Roq La Rue gallery was interviewed by Seattlest this week after the gallery was closed for a month for renovations.

Owner Kirsten Anderson discusses with Seattlest the gallery's huge success despite having had no previous experience running a gallery. She also talks a bit about her current exhibit which begins this Friday and the future of Roq La Rue, Belltown's favorite pop surrealism gallery that has now been running for 10 years.

Click here to check out the article.

On Thursday Sept. 18 there will be a Lock and Key Singles Party at See Sound Lounge in Belltown. Every female attendee will receive a lock, and every male attendee a key. The object is, you guessed it, to find your matching lock or key. For two hours attendees will get to know each other in hopes of trying to match their locks and keys. Once a match is found, their name is entered into a prize drawing and a new lock and key is awarded. The more matches you find, the more times your name is entered into the drawing.

Apparently over 75 people attended the last Lock and Key event last month. Sounds promising!

The event coordinators encourage attendees to be within the age range of 30's & 40's, although something tells me if you show up as a hot 21 year old it won't be a huge problem.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by clicking here.

Dry humored stand-up comedian, actress, political activist, and writer Janeane Garafolo will be in the neighborhood on Saturday at The Showbox. Her performances in films like Reality Bites and Wet Hot American Summer were pretty funny so it may be a promising show.

Although Yelp user Scott comments, "Be warned... when I worked at the Paramount she did the most depressing show I've ever seen... she got up there and started complaining about her life... I kept waiting for her to get to the punch line and it never came... she prefaced the whole show, with "This isn't going to be funny".

Who knows, maybe she'll be in a good mood this time. Tickets are available by clicking here.

It's about time! The Crocodile Cafe is scheduled to reopen sometime in late January or early February 2009 still operating as a live music venue. Investors include Marcus Charles, a Seattle club owner and Capitol Hill Block Party co-producer, and his wife, Sheila, as well as Peggy Curtis (a longtime Pearl Jam associate), Sean Kinney (of Alice in Chains) and Susan Silver (manager of Alice in Chains and former manager of Soundgarden). Quite a group!

Remodeling plans include removing the wall separating the original showroom and cafe, creating a larger space with improved sightlines for live music. Some of the club's original decor, including the devil's head and the snakes on the ceiling, may not survive the remodeling.

"People should not expect a cleaned-up version of the old Crocodile," said event planner and club spokeswoman Kerri Harrop. "Nobody wants to open a Crocodile museum. But hopefully the heart and soul of the place will remain intact."

Former sound engineer Jim Anderson will again be in charge of sound. No word as of yet who will be in charge of booking music.

This is great news! Belltown just wasn't quite the same without the old Crocodile. I think the remodeling plans sound great. The place needed a little pick-me-up. Another interesting new addition will be that Via Tribunali, the local pizza chain, will take over the back bar as an adjoining business.

There's nothing quite like sipping on a coffee with friends on a Belltown patio soaking in a European-like dining experience. In the past it has been quite an expensive and time consuming task for a Seattle restaurant to attain all the necessary permits for a sidewalk dining area. The owner of Belltown's Frontier room says it took him six months of having to get 6 costly permits. "Each ones fairly expensive, each at a different desk, each requires drawing at a different scale," he said.

However, it looks like now the city wants to speed up the process. Under a proposed law, all permits will go through one city department. The cost and the waiting time will be reduced. The Seattle City Council will vote on the sidewalk cafe proposal next week.

For those of you Belltowners that may have questions about the Sound Transit expansion plan that will be on your November ballot, there will be a question and answer session held this evening at the McLeod Residence with Sound Transit's Executive Director of Policy, Planning and Public Administration, Ric Ilgenfritz.

The event is being coordinated by Friends of Seattle and is not intended to be a lecture, but more of an opportunity for attendees to ask questions regarding the proposed investment in our bus and rail system.

There is a $10 suggested donation which includes a drink. Hey, can't beat that. The session starts up this evening at 5:30pm. Click here for more information.

Brett Paulson, barman at Txori, is circulating a petition asking Gov. Chris Gregoire to send in the Washington State Patrol "to help eradicate the open air drug trafficking," according to Seattlest. As we've written earlier, Councilman Tim Burgess is pushing his own initiative that includes more police patrols of the Seattle variety, not WSP.
Find a copy of Paulson's petition at Txori.

Spur Gastropub, 113 Blanchard St., gets a nice write-up in today's Seattle PI. There's a really cool photo of bartender David Nelson literally firing up a drink of bourbon, raspberries, orange juice and bitters, in which he cooks the raspberries in the glass.

Kushibar, a Japanese street food restaurant, had a very busy opening day today.

The place was packed at about 6 p.m. The kitchen staff was juggling a TON of orders, including the tasty seafood flight of grilled tuna, salmon, whitefish, shrimp and eel:

Here's a tip: There are two bars - the traditional drinking kind and the grill bar, where you get a front row seat to watch chef Billy Beach, fresh from Umi Sake house, and his crew churn out dish after dish, like the ika teppo: Delectable squid stuffed with salmon and asparagus that's grilled and finished over oak coals.

The photos don't do the food justice, but what do you expect from a cell phone cam?
There are a number of bites sure to intrigue the more adventurous eaters, including the beef heart (it tastes like rich, chewy beef. Yum.) and various chicken parts including gizzards, skin and hearts.
They've got a way to go to smoothly juggle the press of orders, but if you're not in a hurry, it's a worth checking out for a toothsome spin on Asian food in Belltown.

JPMorgan Asset Management has sold the 128-unit Sidney Apartments to Ken and Roberta Williams, founders of video game developer Sierra Entertainment, for $40.75 million. That's about $318,000 per unit.

The six-story building at 400 Wall St. has five studio apartments, 105 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units.

Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess is championing a 12-point initiative to reduce street crime.

On his city Web page, he relays an anecdote about a recent experience in Belltown:

"I stopped at First Avenue and Battery Street (Belltown neighborhood) to drop off my laundry. It was just after 7 a.m. A group of eight people - six men and two women - were standing near the door of the laundry.

"One man had wads of cash in both hands. He was dickering with one of the women over price. She protested, "too much," and 'more than last time.' Here was an open-air drug market, unfortunately a less than desired yet frequent example of commerce in our city."

According to Burgess, the initiative would primarily:

• Pair police with mental health professionals to respond jointly to incidents


• Create alternatives to jail or hospitalization


• Continue the city's plan to increase the number of police in neighborhoods


• Increase financial penalties for patronizing a prostitute, then use the funds to restore peer-counseling and support groups for women involved in prostitution


• Create safe housing and transition services for children involved in prostitution


• Impose civil and criminal penalties on business owners and property owners who allow criminal behavior to occur and fail to take steps to stop it


• Call for more assertive policing targeted a gangs, illegal weapons, graffiti, and open-air drug markets


• Re-establish the city prosecutor's High Impact Offender Targeting Program


• Return school resource officers to some Seattle Public Schools

"Long before the age of the Internet, and well before the cold efficiency of the assembly line, existed fantastic and terrible machines, run on hope, sweat, and steam. It was a time in which form and function lived in sin, and every man was a revolutionary," reads the promotion for an upcoming show in Belltown featuring 13 artists' alternate steam-driven view of technology and life in general.

The show at Suite 100 Gallery, 2222 2nd Ave Suite 100, runs Sept. 12 - Oct. 3. An opening reception is set for 6-10 p.m., Sept., 12.