Gentle Snark
Joel VandenBrink is likeable for several reasons. The 27-year-old South Lake Union resident is immediately approachable, polite and soft-spoken. His axiom for work and play is stitched on his ball cap: "Take some time." He's always smiling, or looks like he's just about to smile. And he makes darn good beer.
By Geoff Carter | July 1, 2008
Life Behind Bars
Located inside the space once occupied by Ballard Hardware (the faded letters of the former occupant's sign are still visible) and between longtime Ballard Avenue magnets Hattie's Hat and the Tractor, King's Hardware is the rarest kind of new bar: From its hardwood fixtures to its wall festooned with tacked-up vintage photos, the place feels as old as the hills. If I were visiting this part of Ballard for the first time, I could easily take King's Hardware for Old Ballard – simply a no-nonsense bar with a pool table, a Skee-Ball machine (why not?), a giant outdoor seating area and a killer menu of burgers 'n' brews. Plus, it has an adjoining door with a new branch of Rudy's Barbershop - so not only can you get a snappy new haircut nearby, but you don't have to walk far for a celebratory, post-shearing cocktail.
By Geoff Carter | September 6, 2006
Life Behind Bars
By Mark Shaffer NWsource staff GEOFF CARTER Il Bistro bartender Rick Rawson lights Stroh's rum on fire to create the aroma of toasted marshmallows in his signature Spanish coffee --> I have a dilemma. I love wine, but I'm...
By Mark Shaffer | April 11, 2006
Life Behind Bars
By Lori Hinton Special to NWsource Drive by quickly and you might miss it. Walk by and you might wonder, "Has this place been here forever and I'm just NOW noticing it?" Hooverville, located adjacent to the Premier nightclub...
By Lori Hinton | April 4, 2006
Life Behind Bars
Seattle barflies seem to disregard the Eastside, but just over the 520 Bridge are some swanky new clubs and long-time favorite taverns. Whether you're after a dive bar where you can listen to Pat Benatar or a place to be seen with your Prada purse, there's a perfect spot for you outside of the Seattle city limits.
By Katherine Sather | March 6, 2006
VICTORIA, B.C. — "I came in here, saw there was no television and decided this was my pub!" a British accent chirped into my ear.
I had to bend down and lean in close to hear Joan's voice over the band. Seventy-nine years old, with a blunt Bette Davis haircut, the diminutive denizen of Swans pub barely reached my shoulder.
She'd been a regular for eight years, six nights a week, coming to hear music and make new friends, she explained. "I meet so many lovely people."
By Heather McKinnon | April 1, 2005
The outing:
For the holiday-frazzled, here's a Saturday outing that comes with its own mellowing agent: beer.
By Brian J. Cantwell | December 30, 2004
Gas prices keeping you close to home this vacation season? Through Labor Day, Northwest Weekend is offering weekly ideas for close-to-Seattle getaways you can get to and back on 10 gallons or less of gas. And just to make it more "real world," our tips are fine-tuned to whether you own a big SUV or a gas-sipping hybrid electric.
July 15, 2004
WHITE ROCK, B.C. At the Blaine border crossing, in too many of the cars headed north, among too many Washington residents who ought to know better, the conversation goes something like this:
"What's that?"
"What?"
"That!"
Everyone looks left, out across the waters of Semiahmoo Bay.
"I don't know. Vancouver?"
"It can't be; Vancouver's way off that way."
"What way?"
"Never mind."
By Terry Tazioli | October 21, 2001
