Belles of the Sound

First off, contrary to what that title may have you believe I am not a hoarder or an animal hoarder.  I just really enjoy both books and cats.  Though I am not much interested in books about cats.  Though, they would be better than books about horses.  I don’t understand some peoples’ horse obsessions.  I am not a horse person.  Anyway…I’m getting off topic.

Seattle is a city that loves to read.  We are one of the top ten cities with the most bookstores and one of the most literate cities in the country as well.  Seattle has also been on multiple lists as one of America’s most pet friendly cities.  It is no surprise then that sometimes these two things collide.  There are many bookstores in town with their own feline mascots to help you pick something out.  I am particular to the two cats that live at Ophelia’s Books in Fremont. (more…)

Did you know…

…Every Saturday the Century Ballroom puts on an indoor flea market (11am-3pm)?

According to the event’s Facebook page, the year-round market will happen every Saturday and feature Seattle’s designers with their clothing and artifacts, collectors and sellers of vintage wares and attire, and Century is large enough to host a weekly gathering for those who want to share and purchase these treasures.

The idea for the market is to give more exposure for small businesses, and to create a centralized area (like Parisian flea markets) where people know they will find anything and everything from baubles and trinkets to antiques and new designs.

However, don’t come for lunch, because Capitol Hill is filled with amazing restaurants there will be no food vendors at this market.

If you are interested in selling your own good reserve your space now, vendors will have the opportunity to reserve space up to three months in advance. Booth fees will run $30-$40/booth per week, depending on size.

More information on booth rental is available on the Facebook page.

It never fails.  Every time the sun peeks out here in Seattle for more than I few hours and I find myself driving down 45th Street in Wallingford there is the telltale line.  It comes out of the door of Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream and often up the block and around the corner.  If the temperature is rising, the line seems to be growing…and with good reason.  The ice cream is delicious.  The first shop opened in 2008 and we mentioned it here exactly one year ago so by  this time you have probably tried their stuff.

However, if by some chance you have not, it really is time.  The flavors are wonderful.  I fully recommend the Scout Mint (which has ground up Girl Scouts Thin Mints cookies in it) or the Vivace Coffee, ooh or the balsamic strawberry, or the salted caramel…or really I’m sure all of he other flavors are delightful as well.  Molly Moon (and yes that is her real name) prides herself on using as many local ingredients as possible ( if that’s something you’re into).

You have to admit, there’s not much quite as summery as the smell of waffle cones being made.  It’s just a fantastic smell.  It ranks up there with fresh cut grass, barbeques, and that wonderful smell you get when it starts raining (that’s my favorite).  So hop on over to their Wallingford or Capitol Hill location and really enjoy yourself.  I promise you the line is worth it.

BUT, BUT…here my friends is the really spectacular news.  Sometime around Labor Day  Molly Moon’s will be opening a shop in Queen Anne!  It’s going to be on Galer between Top Pot Doughnuts and Via Tribunali.  That is fast becoming a very dangerous (and tasty) block.

(Also, you can spend some time stalking their mobile ice cream truck, Leo, on facebook and twitter if you get really obsessed.)

I’m the first person to admit that I do not find enjoyment in dining or entertaining in Capitol Hill – I always seem to get myself lost, I have poor luck finding street parking, not to mention I’m never really sure where Capitol Hill begins or ends – which causes me to feel like I’m in this strange euphoria of wine shops, novelty pet stores, eclectic restaurants and a random selection of car dealerships with no way out. BUT, I have found a new love: Bar Ferd’nand.

Photo courtesy of www.ferdinandthebar.com

Bar Ferd’nand is located inside the Melrose Market, a rustic indoor marketplace with barn-like high ceilings, carefully lined with vendors serving enticing eats, from cheeses and sandwiches, to delectable bites from Sitka and Spruce and a graphic display of meats from a full service butchery featuring all local meats and house-made charcutiere. The atmosphere of this building is just charming. The original buildings were once two automotive warehouses built back in the early 1920′s, respectively. Today, the market prides itself on serving some of the best locally-based, sustainable fare in the city.

While dining at Bar Ferd’nand, the people watching is at its best as shoppers and eaters swing in to pick up dinner’s main course from the meat counter, a quick sandwich on the run or a lesson on the perfect wine from Bar Ferd’nand’s wine shop.

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Where can you get pizza, handspun milkshakes and Ding Dongs all in one place?  Capitol Hill of course which it home to the newest MOD Pizza location. A perfect fit for the neighborhood’s hipster, artsy counterculture, MOD Pizza opened its doors yesterday on Broadway to a packed house.

The first MOD Pizza was launched in November 2008 in downtown Seattle and was, “inspired by the early 60’s fast food combined with the speed and style of the British subculture known as the “MODs”…young, retro and slightly irreverent.” Hip fast food, I dig it. (more…)

For the next several weeks I’m going to be bringing you a series on the best bites around Seattle. From Ballard to South Lake Union (and everything in between), we’ll be giving the short and sweet lo down on the most buzzed about places and local favorite places to nosh. So without further ado, let’s head to Capitol Hill – my hood J Capitol Hill has an eclectic mix of restaurants and bars of all types of cuisines and styles and it’s quickly becoming (in my opinion at least) a culinary mecca for up and coming chefs.

Here are my picks for the best bites in Capitol Hill.

• Panevino – A newcomer to Capitol Hill, Panevino has a fantastic (albeit big) menu of clean Italian classics. Set in a modern dining room with an al fresco patio and black and white photos of the owner’s family, Panevino is a fresh take on the traditional Italian restaurant. In addition to the reliable food, Pane Vino also has a fantastic happy hour from 3 to 6pm and 9pm to close with $3 beers and wines by the glass, $5 martinis and food specials that range from $3 and $5.
• Olivar – This was one of the first places I tried when I moved to the neighborhood and it certainly set the standard. Olivar is housed in the quaint Loveless Building across from the Harvard Exit Theater and boasts a menu of Spanish and French-inspired small plates. Olivar also hosts brunch on Sunday which I’ve found to be quite lovely and a nice change from the standard hang over brunch fare found at many places around Seattle.
• Spinasse – If you’ve never been to Spinasse, you are truly missing out on something special. Set in small space on 14^th avenue, Spinasse specializes in food from the Piedmont region of Italy, it is known for heavy, rich dishes with truffles and cream sauces, and Spinasse is certainly a decadent experience. I know what you’re thinking, another Italian restaurant Melissa? This is different. The chef, Jason Stratton was selected as one of Food and Wine’s best new chefs in the country and he’s rightfully earned his badge. My favorite dish? Anything with pasta. Stratton hand rolls his pasta to thin that you would swear you are eating melted cheese with sauce, it’s that amazing. Reservations highly recommended.
• Unicorn – I’ve covered this place before, but it’s worth mentioning again as it is one of the most unique places in the Seattle. In fact, fellow Belles Jeanine finally checked it out and loved it just as much as I did. Two things that stand out – the crazy décor (think vintage circus meets the 80s) and the food. I call it gourmet carnie food, you’ll call it delicious. Think corn dogs, funnel cakes, elephant ears, popcorn, food on sticks – but with a twist! Unicorn hand dips theirs own corn dogs and has everything from traditional corn dogs to potato dogs with sour cream, even a corn dog taco!

Didn’t see your favorite place listed? Shoot me an e-mail at missy@bellesofthesound.com or follow me on Twitter @foodiecritic and I’ll check it out.

It’s not just any party – it’s the Capitol Hill Block Party. And this year’s line up is better than ever. Not only have the organizers secured some great big names but they’ve added a third powerful day of independent music and culture.

Comes see huge musical names such as MGMT, The Dead Weather, Atmosphere, Blue Scholars and many more. Check out the full line up here.

This year’s Block Party is July 23-25th 2010. After 13 years of being a two-day festival, community support and a never-ending supply of talent opportunities initiated the addition of a third day, Sunday July 25th. Advance three-day passes and single-day tickets are available on The Stranger website here . As always, Capitol Hill Block Party ticket prices make the event one of the most affordable music festivals in the country.

The main entrance to the Block Party is at East Pike Street and 12th Avenue. At this entrance you can purchase tickets, pick up your will call tickets, and it’s where the guest list lives. You can also enter on East Pine Street at 10th Ave by Odfellows Hall. At this entrance you can get in if you have an actual hard ticket or wish to purchase a ticket.

The Capitol Hill Block Party is about music and culture, but it’s also very much about the unique neighborhood of South Capitol Hill. There are tons of clubs and bars in the neighborhood, but also a lot of retailers. They support the Block Party and without them the festival wouldn’t happen. So please, in return, visit these neighbors and support them.

The abundance of crazy movie theaters with interesting histories in this town pretty much astounds me. Landmark Theatres, the company that owns (in my opinion) the best and the brightest around the city, purchases architectural gems throughout the Emerald City, and turns them into pieces of (different) history.

In particular, The Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill takes the cake as one of the most unique places in Seattle to experience film.

Independent film, foreign language, documentary and oft-forgotten classics are the bread and butter of this one-of-a-kind movie house. The building is strait out of the 1910s (built in 1915), and has been operated by Landmark since the late 80s. In the early 80s, it became one of the sites that played host to the Seattle International Film Festival, and hasn’t changed its festival ways since.

The first thing you notice about the Egyptian is its plain and unassuming exterior. If you happen upon the theatre on the night of a particularly popular midnight movie, though, it is anything but plain.

You may wonder what all the fuss is about. You might head home from a night of clubbing downtown or on Capitol Hill and think to yourself, “Why is there such a line? It’s LATE for goodness sake.” Well, I’ve been one of those late-night people, and it’s an experience to say the least.

My first late-night screening was (stop judging me) for a Buffy musical episode Sing-A-Long. They gave out favors to use to each patron, and it was a truly memorable night.

It seems like a normal theater when you purchase your ticket, but when you step into the auditorium, you realize the difference. The inside is decorated and painted like the inside of an Egyptian tomb (hence the name), with ankhs and hieroglyphs throughout.

Whether you’re catching the latest cool independent film, or re-watching a memorable oldie like Jurassic Park, you can’t deny the charm of this Seattle classic.

Picture it. North Capitol Hill. A rainy spring night. A small, but warm bistro that I’ve driven by a million times but am only now just stepping into.

Entering Tidbit Bistro is like stepping into a good friend’s home. The smells of garlic and olive oil coupled with a warm greeting by John the host, assures you you’re going to be in good hands for the rest of the evening.

Tidbit Bistro offers a unique selection of tapas and entrees from Spain and Italy (more specifically, Madrid and Napoli). After perusing the extensive and somewhat overwhelming menu (which is divided into Spanish and Italian dishes, tapas, full size entrees and even vegan fare), we rely on our very knowledgeable waiter to guide us through the best of what Tidbit has to offer.

We started off with a grilled chicken Caesar salad – now this may not seem like anything special but I assure you it is. Tidbit grills the Romaine lettuce, which gives it a smokey sweet bite. The dressing is made with white anchovies, which is less fishy tasting than traditional anchovies. The result? One of the freshest, most satisfying Caesar salads I’ve ever had.

For the next course, my dining companions selected the maccheroni al gratin while I went with our waiter’s suggestion and tried the baked cod. The gratin was a mix of rigatoni and four cheeses including mozzarella, parmesan, goat cheese and gorgonzola and stands proud next to the city’s best macaroni and cheese dishes. But the star of the evening was the baked cod, which was perfectly baked, topped with garlic breadcrumbs and accompanied by roasted grape tomatoes, olive oil and parsley. So simple in that charming Mediterranean way, this dish was my passport that transported me back to the Amalfi Coast with one bite.

We rounded off the meal with the chocolate tartufo and a glass of the Spain’s finest prosecco.

You can tell that Tidbit Bistro is a neighborhood favorite populated mostly by locals who come here frequently. The staff knows all of the regulars and treats them as they do first-time visitors – like one of the family. But this gem is planning a move to Central Capitol Hill this summer in order to accommodate its growing clientele and offer more parking. The new location is scheduled to open in August and will be located at Broadway and East Union Streets.

Whether you visit its current home or new location later this summer, Tidbit Bistro is one of Seattle’s best kept secrets…for now.

After writing my post last week on SAM museums, I stumbled upon two other Seattle Art events coming up.  Well that’s not entirely true.  One, the Capitol Hill Arts Walk called Blitz, I really didn’t know anything about and found it on the SAM website.  The other, the Fremont Art Walk, I have been to once before and thought it would be appropriate to mention because it takes place THIS EVENING!!!  So let’s begin there.

The Fremont Art Walk is a very cool event that takes place the first Friday of each month.  It is an art walk (if you hadn’t guessed already) where certain designated businesses throughout Fremont (ranging from hair salons to coffee shops) display a local artist art work in their shop for views to enjoy.  Sometimes the artist is even there.  It’s a great way for local artists to get their name out and get more exposure, as well as attract customers to small businesses.  And you get to enjoy some really cool art!  (There are often light hors d’oeuvres at each location as well.)  The event is being held today from 6-9pm and you get a map so as not to get lost wondering around Fremont in the dark.  I know this is last-minute, but if you see this in time today and are at all interested, it is really a cool and I would encourage you to check it out.

If today just isn’t good, don’t worry, it will be back again next month…

The second art opportunity is an event on Captiol Hill called Blitz.  The event is held on the second Thursday of each month from 5-8pm and will be next held on June 10th.  I personally have not been yet, but it looks like an exciting event because it features musical performances, movie screenings, and book readings among other things.  The website mentions nothing about an admissions fee, so that would lead me to believe that it is free, but if you happen to know otherwise, please speak up.

So there you have it, two more art spectacles to check out in Seattle!