Long layovers happen to all of us at some point. Most airports have upgraded enough to include a hotel or two, maybe a spot for a shoulder massage or a few restaurants with better-than-mediocre food. If you’re flying through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) with a long layover ahead, leave your luggage in storage and enjoy the best of Seattle’s southside.
Montreal has long been on my must-visit list. A metropolitan mix of Canada and France, the Quebec destination delivers an endless array of food, drink, history, and arts for visitors of every age and interest. A climb to the top of Mont-Royal offers a full city view for those willing to make the trek while local neighborhoods like the Quartier des Spectacles and the Village feature all the nightlife and entertainment you’ll need while visiting this beautiful city.
Amid the upstate areas where vacationers flock, Saratoga Springs is a popular pick. To some, it is the home of horse racing, where folks dress in finery and peer over papers as determined steeds propel past. To others, it is a performing arts destination, and its annual New York City Ballet season the most anticipated event of them all.
![Willows Lodge, Woodinville, Washington [dailyblender.com]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Woodinville-330x220.jpg)
Even after two decades in the Pacific Northwest, I still had the idea that Woodinville wine country was a far off place in the distance somewhere on Seattle’s Eastside. Across the bridges, past Mercer Island, over Kirkland and Kenmore, beyond Bothell. In a galaxy far, far away. But it’s closer than you think.
![Vancouver's Chinatown [dailyblender.com]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/chinatown-330x220.jpg)
As we embark on a tour of the city blocks one sunny spring morning, historian Robert Sung gives an impassioned pitch for his Chinatown neighborhood. In the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia, the area still hums with activity, even after the sixty or so years he’s seen of its evolution.
There is a spiritual vibration in the mountains surrounding Sedona even before you set foot in the city. From the hillside walls of the Chapel of the Holy Cross to the misnomered Montezuma Castle, the miles of green scrub brush and sprawling landscape have seen many a hoof and foot over the years.
On deck in the original show, amid traditional male forerunners Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sulu, appeared the stunning Lieutenant Uhura, played by actress Nichelle Nichols. Though Nichols was considered a supporting character, her poise and perfection, along with a surefire, commanding voice, made her a highlight of every episode.
If you didn’t know who you were looking for, I’m not sure you would’ve even noticed him standing there on the sidewalk. Pacing back and forth along the curb, a phone pressed to his ear, he had a black cap pulled tightly over his head, black jacket, black shirt, black pants.
As a Midwest kid who grew up in a faith-heavy community, it almost felt a little sacrilege to read Christopher Moore’s Lamb. The story of Jesus’s teen years as told by his best friend, Biff, Lamb spins the story of the Messiah’s early life, before the healing and the leading and the fishes and the whatnot.
Soulfully eclectic, musically magic, LA-based Fitz and the Tantrums has taken the music scene by storm – and singer Noelle Scaggs couldn’t be happier.
Born and raised on Maui, chef Isaac Bancaco embarked on a grand adventure to begin his culinary career. Growing up in a family, and a culture, where food and history are so revered, Bancaco made the early decision to pursue a life on the line.
Where does one even begin when writing about Anthony Bourdain? A chef whose fame has had more to do with sharp wit than kitchen skill, he is outspoken, unapologetic, and controversial.
![Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei [novofogo.com]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/SF24-at-Hitchcock-062421-13-330x220.jpeg)
Novo Fogo’s latest efforts include the introduction of the Tree-Keeper initiative. In partnership with one of Seattle’s top athletes, Seattle Sounders goalkeeper, Stefan Frei, Novo Fogo will donate $100 to the Un-Endangered Forest project for each save made by Frei and his goalkeeping counterparts.
Like so many others in the food industry, Grigg and her business partner, Clara Veniard, have been immersed in the chaos of 2020. Only a few years into their ownership, the pair launched Salumi’s new sister brand, Coro Foods, at the tail end of 2019.
![Chris Hannah, New Orleans [Denny Culbert]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ChrisHannah_NewOrleans-scaled-e1622135392405-330x220.jpeg)
Bartender Chris Hannah is one of the millions of industry workers navigating these uneasy waters. Hannah, a long-time staple of the New Orleans bar scene, is co-owner of two properties in the Big Easy: Manolito and Jewel of the South.
Before Jean Thompson took the helm at Seattle Chocolate Company a decade ago, the scene wasn’t too far from her regular duties wrangling young kids at home. Communication was strained, facilities were in disarray, and opportunities to advance were being missed.
There was a collective heartbreak this week as news spread of the loss of the great Rocky Yeh. Friends from every corner of the world gathered online to share stories of Yeh’s love and laughter; remembering moments that made Rocky such an extraordinary force in so many lives.
![Portland Cocktail Week [dailyblender.com]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PDXCW-330x220.jpg)
When the door finally opened on the Portland Cocktail Week tiki event at miniature golf mecca, Glowing Greens, guests streamed down the stairs into the dark of the black light. Bartenders from Seattle’s Rumba were glowing with neon paint, ready to shake and pour for the rush of crowd. As we packed ourselves in for the wait, perusing menus and adhering light-up bracelets and necklaces to ourselves and our accessories, conversations began between friends and strangers.