SeaMeFly

Seattle Premium Outlets is 'ok'...not that great. Unless you're in the market for a new pair of puma shoes... or a burberry jacket. Other than that..well, it's an outlet mall, afterall.

Seattle's shopping is sux is general. Good thing my job affords me to travel extensively. I usually do my shopping in Amsterdam or Honolulu where better shops are located.

I guess it boils down that Seattle invented the 'grunge' look really means something! :-)

Barney's... is a joke. We'll just have to wait until the new shop at the pacific place opens up!

sorry westcoast, but that's just my 2 dimes!

SeaMeFly

not only it's changing format, it changed it's clientelles, too...it's now a straight (straighter than arrows) bar!! eww...

Purr is the only decent one we got now ;( ... I missed BLUE!

what do you think, west, should we open up a FT Bar? caters for both clientelles...FTers and gays!

hmm..

Nado

Had a wonderful stay at the W Seattle and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Was upgraded to a Corner room that had gorgeous views of the city, got wonderful in-room ameneties and was made to feel as if I were right at home. The walk up to Capital Hill and the nightlife was pretty easy. A bit of a workout but it was welcome after a long, BIS trip.

Thanks for the recommendation!

vt2k

Ahhh, The Broadway Grill. When they're cookin', it's hot. When they're messing up, you'll hate the place.

When the service is bad, I usually call the waiter over (normally I have the same one each time I'm there) or the manager (same goes for him) and call out the problems. They usually fix it in the case of poor food or will just take items off the menu.

The Grill is going through another round of staffing changes. It used to be horrible, horrible sevice and they fired most of those employees. Over the past 3 - 4 weeks I've noticed a number of new faces being trained. Troy and Bernice are the best wait staff they have there, plus one guy who's name I can't remember because he's only served my table once. Spencer is another great guy who works there, normally as the night time manager.

The simpler the dishes are that you order, the better likelyhood of it tasted good and to your liking.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there

westcoastman

The 314 Burger is pretty good but at $10 not exactly a bargain. Substitute the sweet potato fries for the cajun ones.

The new gay bar, "Pony," opened this week. It is located in the old Cha Cha bar location next to Manray, whose building will be coming down for more condos in a few months. Their theme is a retro 70's sleazy porn bar. Going to be popular with the hip crowd as the sleaze is totally campy (versus being a real sleaze bar). The walls of this bar feature classic photos of Joe Dallesandro in the buff. Here are some pictures from The Stranger which younger viewers may fine objectionable. Viewer discretion is advised: http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/...p_the_pictures

vt2k

It's scary how much that resonates with my typical M.O. I get the 314 burger about every third trip and always have the sweet potatoe fries subbed out for the cajun ones. ^

Last night some friends and I went to Martin's Off Madison (On 14th Ave between Pike and Union; Same block but on different side from the Madison Pub and Chop Suey.)

The restaurant portion of the place was rather nice. There weren't many people in there (only half full at 7:30pm on a Friday night), but everyone seemed to be having a good time. The piano player can be loud, but the music was great. The wait staff could use a little polishing of manners, but nothing out of the ordinary for Seattle. The food selection was small, maybe 10 choices for entres, but most everything we ordered was good; the lasagna was adequate, but probably not to be ordered again. Drinks were decent, though a tad expensive compared to the Madison Pub.

In short, I'd go back to Martin's Off Broadway, especially for an nice dinner out with the husband. Martin's Off Broadway gets a ^

vt2k

Has anyone been to Sonya's recently? I haven't been there since I moved out of Belltown, but it used to be a quaint little hole in the ground gay bar (not club) that one could go to for cheap drinks in a cheesy atmosphere (colored christmas lights hung up year round) while watching the boat traffic on Elliot Bay go by.

I thought about this place the other day when I was down at the Market, but forgot to stop by on First Ave to see if it's still around.

If it is still around, don't expect too much when you go there. The drinks were good, but the clientele was rather ... lack luster.

westcoastman

On weekdays the place looks pretty quiet but it is very classy and 100% gay so I hope it can survive. However, it is a bit pricy. Go down Madison a bit to 12th Avenue and make a left you will see the recently opened and friendly Cafe Presse. It is a small but bright French Cafe and the menu is pretty good value. Good French wine by the glass is $3.50 - $4.00. If it looks full there is more seating in the back but I prefer the front area.
For those looking for a place to eat personally I would avoid Broadway and there are some good places along Pike and 15th Avenue. 15th Avenue is really exploding with culture. From the creators of Linda's bar comes "Smith" on 15th Avenue which is worth checking out mostly straight but very friendly and the atmosphere is dark and cool with stuffed animal heads on the wall. They serve a reasonable but unique bar food such as venison meatloaf, full bar and premium pitchers of beer such as Stella for under $12.
Further down 15th is the small but very popular "Liberty", one of the best pizza places in town in "Olympia Pizza", one of the best Thai places in town in "Jamjuree." All restaurants on 15th are gay friendly and probably more enjoyable then most on Broadway and it is only 3 blocks from Broadway.

westcoastman

Well the new Barney's opened up last week in Pacific Place shopping center in downtown. They moved from their small "City Center" building location. I asked for a review from my partner who went on the day they opened and he said the selection of the highest end name brand products (Prada, etc.) at relatively reasonable prices was better then Beverly Hills or New York. Not sure if that was special because they had just opened but it at least gives people an alternative to Mario's, which is only a half block away.
Now if we can just get that Neiman Marcus in Bellevue opened some time sooner then 2009. And maybe put in something similar to the "Bar on 4" like at the Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus.

fly4funsea

I was in Mario's a few years back looking for a specific item for a trip/concert I was going to in Miami. The second the bf and I walked in the door all eyes were on us and not in a good way. Staff were rude and extremely unpleasant. We looked around for the specific item I was looking for and when I asked if they carried it they rudely said no and offered no other choice on where I might find it in Seattle. Since I couldn't find the item here in Seattle I went into the brands stand alone store in Miami. Oddly being high end we were treated better and with respect in Miami. ^ I will never step in Mario's again!

fly4funsea

Westcoastman you stated that where Thumpers used to be they are putting up condos. This is incorrect. They are actually putting up apartments in that location. Lets just hope they are affordable ones.

SeaMeFly

Mario IS a joke!! I went there once, walked around, went to 2nd floor and quickly exited out. The new Barney's @ Pacific place is much better! plus, Cartier is next door..hmm.

just my 2 pennies.

98103

I'd like to add a restaurant recommendations on the Hill.

Via Tribunali ^^ does oven baked pizza to order, and does a fabulous lasagne as well. There usually is a bit of a wait, but I've always been offered a glass of wine as I waited for a table to open. The service is good, and the menu offers a little bit of something for everyone.

The Elysian, a brew house on Pine and 13th (head south from the Cuff) is one I can't recommend. I witnessed an exchange from a patron who (I would agree) waited longer than necessary to be acknowledged. I think if the bartender had said something such as, "I'll be right with you" he'd have been fine. He made a comment about the service under his breath. She heard, exploded. He left with her warning, "don't ....ing ever show up on my shift again." It was quite reminiscent of my previous visit when it took 20 minutes to get a drink order taken and we left after waiting 30 minutes for our meals, which we watched under a heat lamp for at least 10.

westcoastman

Seattle Updates:

1200 Bistro Restaurant is temporarily closed while they switch owners.

Neighbours Nightclub still gets pretty crowded around 1 am and later on Fri/Sat. They are open till 3 am on Thursday and draw a decent crowd for their 80's night.

Heard that Pony was pretty interesting and unique in its campy gay 70's theme and decor. Hipsters/scenters. Certainly worth a look.

Manray does not appear to be very crowded anymore but Purr still draws people in early in the evening.

Martin's off Madison is getting a decent crowd after 9 pm on weekends with diners and loungers. They have professional piano players and classic/showtune singers nightly which is probably better suited for some people's tastes.

itsaboutthejourney

Thanks again to westcoastman for his suggestions to those of us attending the SEA DOO. big ^ for Pony.