We're in Seattle
Decided to go to Seattle for a few good reasons: 1) We wanted to cover DB (Decibel) Fest because some of my favorite L.A. electronic people are playing; 2) We've never been to Seattle; 3) We found a pretty good deal on airfare and a hotel.
We arrived at Seatac sometime Thursday afternoon. This was my first impression of Seattle:
Trees. Lots of lush green trees. I took this photo from the cab window as we made it through some interchange that, as in Southern California, bridges the 5 and the 405. Unlike Southern California, though, there are trees here.
I spent my life in the midst of concrete, palms and jacaranda. This sort of dark green foliage seems exotic.
Having gone most of the day on three mini-pretzels culled from a complimentary airline package, we were pretty hungry. Fortunately, we're walking distance from both a grocery store and a handful of non-chain restaurants. My one rule for travel is to avoid eating anything that I can easily acquire at home.
We found a place nearby called the Hurricane Cafe, which reminds me of a less posh version of Fred 62 in Los Feliz. This place also has a gormet mac'n'cheese, although I have yet to try it. Feeling sort of ravished, I opted for a hamburger with bleu cheese and mushrooms. The order was massive. Even on my empty stomach, I couldn't finish the meal. The plus side of this restaurant is that Sirius radio plays over the system. When we were there, Swedish Egil, yes the dude formerly of KROQ, MARS and Groove in Los Angeles, was playing the Lightning Seeds. The restaurant also boasts a jukebox, which is notable for a Jesus and Mary Chain greatest hits album that, oddly enough, doesn't have "Head On" on it. The service, though, is pretty slow and the prices are fairly high.
On a trip to the grocery to pick up some toothpaste and shampoo, I learned that, sadly, sales tax is 8.9%. In all, that's not much more than California tax, but it is enough to make a major difference when I try to budget things in my head.
That night, we went to Neumos, a bar on Capitol Hill, to check out Simian Mobile Disco, Switch, Diplo and others. I'll save the music reviews for later, so let's just talk atmosphere. Capitol Hill is essentially Seattle's version of Silver Lake. Our cab driver pointed out the plethora of gay discos in the area, which mixed nicely with the indie clubs and other young hip things. We noticed a very large record store that boasted vinyl in the window, but it seemed to be closed.
Despite the hipster-ness of the neighborhood, it's not quite like L.A. You can pretty much walk to every club in the area. Additionally, the clubs and bars all seem to have nondescript brick exteriors. We only went to one club, Neumos, and the inside was quite impressive. It is much less of a dive than our usual indie haunts in L.A. However, the bathrooms still boast the usual alcohol-induced scrawls of graffiti. In another breach with L.A.'s indie scene, Neumos' doorpeople are extremely friendly. Culture shock, dude.
To be continued...
We arrived at Seatac sometime Thursday afternoon. This was my first impression of Seattle:
Trees. Lots of lush green trees. I took this photo from the cab window as we made it through some interchange that, as in Southern California, bridges the 5 and the 405. Unlike Southern California, though, there are trees here.
I spent my life in the midst of concrete, palms and jacaranda. This sort of dark green foliage seems exotic.
Having gone most of the day on three mini-pretzels culled from a complimentary airline package, we were pretty hungry. Fortunately, we're walking distance from both a grocery store and a handful of non-chain restaurants. My one rule for travel is to avoid eating anything that I can easily acquire at home.
We found a place nearby called the Hurricane Cafe, which reminds me of a less posh version of Fred 62 in Los Feliz. This place also has a gormet mac'n'cheese, although I have yet to try it. Feeling sort of ravished, I opted for a hamburger with bleu cheese and mushrooms. The order was massive. Even on my empty stomach, I couldn't finish the meal. The plus side of this restaurant is that Sirius radio plays over the system. When we were there, Swedish Egil, yes the dude formerly of KROQ, MARS and Groove in Los Angeles, was playing the Lightning Seeds. The restaurant also boasts a jukebox, which is notable for a Jesus and Mary Chain greatest hits album that, oddly enough, doesn't have "Head On" on it. The service, though, is pretty slow and the prices are fairly high.
On a trip to the grocery to pick up some toothpaste and shampoo, I learned that, sadly, sales tax is 8.9%. In all, that's not much more than California tax, but it is enough to make a major difference when I try to budget things in my head.
That night, we went to Neumos, a bar on Capitol Hill, to check out Simian Mobile Disco, Switch, Diplo and others. I'll save the music reviews for later, so let's just talk atmosphere. Capitol Hill is essentially Seattle's version of Silver Lake. Our cab driver pointed out the plethora of gay discos in the area, which mixed nicely with the indie clubs and other young hip things. We noticed a very large record store that boasted vinyl in the window, but it seemed to be closed.
Despite the hipster-ness of the neighborhood, it's not quite like L.A. You can pretty much walk to every club in the area. Additionally, the clubs and bars all seem to have nondescript brick exteriors. We only went to one club, Neumos, and the inside was quite impressive. It is much less of a dive than our usual indie haunts in L.A. However, the bathrooms still boast the usual alcohol-induced scrawls of graffiti. In another breach with L.A.'s indie scene, Neumos' doorpeople are extremely friendly. Culture shock, dude.
To be continued...
Labels: Leaving L.A., Seattle
posted by liz o. at
7:19 PM
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