From Seattle party planner Casey L:
Ruemara is coming to Seattle, so of course we’d love to do a meetup in her honor. I’ve been emailing her some ideas for where to eat in downtown Seattle, and there are too many choices. She has suggested I try to poll the Seattle BJ community for preferences, along these lines:
1. Needs to be downtown, as Ruemara will not have a car.
2. We’d like to stay in the $20/person range.
Leave a comment here, or email me at C E Leichter [at] gmail [dot] com.
Yutsano
Sazerac again? I don’t recall it being too expensive.
There is also Thai Ginger in Pacific Square. Not the best for a crowd but quite delicious.
Mike J
Pike Brewing is decent and about as central as you can get.
Beautifulplumage is our brewpub expert though.
Yutsano
@Mike J: Pike has the advantage of decent relatively cheap parking at the SAM across the street.
zhena gogolia
Wish I could be there. Good eating in Seattle.
Ferdinand
I’m looking forward to joining in. Took the ferry over from the Kitsap on Sunday with the wife and eldest son in from out of town, and prowled Pike Market and the Seattle Art Museum. Have not yet been to Pike Brewery, but was looking at the window (“America’s Best Museum of Micro Brewing Here!”) and their Kilt Lifter Ale is my current favorite beer. So that sounds grand.
We ended up in Chinatown for dinner though (Kau Kau this time) because you can always find a funky Asian restaurant in the district with good prices and vegetarian options along with empty tables. So, I’d suggest anything in the International District as well.
My personal favorite hangout restaurant in Seattle is the Aldstadt, near Pioneer Square. Central location, big wooden tables, decent prices and the best damn German food I’ve ever had.
ruemara
I have no particular prefs. I’m just here for the museum & PodCon Sat & Sun. So Friday probably would be best and I have no green balloons.
Ferdinand
@ruemara: Which museum?
ruemara
@Ferdinand: Chihuily & Seattle Art. I get one day to sightsee so I have to make it local.
Ferdinand
@ruemara: Heh. My son was just in from Santa Fe, where he works for a crazy cool and popular art fun house company called Meow Wolf. (Started with the help of Santa Fe homeboy George RR Martin.) When we got talking about museums in Seattle worth visiting, we settled on SAM but the strong second choice was the Pop Art Museum, by the Space Needle. Haven’t been yet myself, but looking at their website I sure want to.
https://www.mopop.org/
Current exhibitions include ones on Marvel, David Bowie, Star Trek, Jimi Hendrix, and indie gaming. Certainly sounds like a good fruitful museum for me these days!
ruemara
@Ferdinand: You had me at Bowie. Within walking distance, so I will definitely add that to my agenda.
hitchhiker
Friday the 8th of December, right?
One good place near there is Italian Family Pizza — a NYerish place with good food that’s not usually crowded. You can get to it on foot or on the #12 bus that goes up Madison, maybe a 15 minute walk from the convention center at 7th and Pike, headed up hill from downtown.
Or, Mama’s Cantina, formerly known as Mama’s Mexican Kitchen, which is down at 2nd Ave and Bell St, also walkable from the convention center. It’s a neighborhood staple since the 70s, closed a couple of yrs ago and reopened.
Jeffro
coughNOVAcough
K-to-the-Jane
Depending on the day I’d like to meet-up. The Lodge Sports Grille in Pioneer Square has a great beer selection.
hw3
A couple of options I’d add:
The new Pike Place Market Expansion has a promising new option called Old Stove Brewing Co.
http://oldstove.com/
Also, the Six Arms McMenamins up on Pike is a good standby for inexpensive and decent for groups:
https://www.mcmenamins.com/six-arms
Cckids
@Ferdinand: I was just to MoPop last week; it was a blast! The Jim Henson exhibit was especially wonderful, I cannot recommend it highly enough. And it is maybe a block from Chihulily.
Also, which day is the get-together?
ruemara
@Cckids: I think Friday evening, the 8th, but I’m open to Thurs or Saturday. This is a bit of an “interested Juicers please state a pref, thanks”, post.
Mike J
@hw3:
Haven’t been, but all of the pluses for Pike apply to it. On the other hand, their web site looks like a do it yourself at home after using the do it yourself at home lobotomy kit. This is true even when you take into account that every single restaurant web site in the world is a fucking war crime.
Sphouch
Flat stick pub is fun, as is rhein haus
Ferdinand
Friday the 8th sounds lovely. Having just moved to the Salish Sea from the Denver region this summer, I’m game for a wet evening out whenever that weekend. This’ll be my first face-to-face encounter with the BJ tribe. I’m an epic lurker. Considering I’ve been reading Cole practically daily since he was a Republican (his journey aided mine deeply) I probably only average like a comment or two a year. Such is life.
CaseyL
Friday the 8th I might not be able to join y’all until 6:30 or so, as getting downtown from the U District on a weeknight is… quite a slog. (Lightrail isn’t much help, as the station is on the other side of campus from me.)
So far, the consensus seems to be Pike Place Brewing, which is in the heart of downtown, and right close to where ruemara will be staying.
I’ll probably ask Anne Laurie to post another reminder early to mid next week, but for now let’s plan on Pike Place Brewery, Friday December 8th, at…. how does 7:00 PM sound?
opiejeanne
@ruemara: SAM has the Andrew Wyeth retrospective right now. I need to go see it while it’s still here.
MoPop, formerly known as EMP, is fun to visit. I’ve been so many times that I’m a little jaded but we still take guests from out of town. Permanent JImi Hendrix and Nirvana exhibits as well as a sci-fi horror collection. They have interesting traveling exhibits that change every few months.
opiejeanne
@ruemara: @CaseyL: Sounds good for us. I think we might plan our visit to SAM for the same day since it’s a bit of a slog across from the East Side.
Beautifulplummage
Hi all! I would love to have the meetup at Pike Brewing. I worked in the brewery in the early days and can vouch for the beers, which come in a variety of styles to match most preferences. They also have a couple of ciders on tap. The owners, Charles & Roseanne Finkle were early adopters of the slow food movement & the food reflects this.
I just checked on a hypothetical reservation for 10 on the 8th around 6pm and plenty of times are open. I agree that there is convenient parking next door & under SAM, as well as in the market garages off Western. Plus transit.
If there is interest in a brewery tour prior/during/after the meetup I can see if that’s available to a valued former employee and guests. The already d9 regular tours, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
And, you haven’t seen beer artifacts until you’ve seen Charles’ collection….
Beautifulplummage
@CaseyL: Hi CaseyL. I missed this while I was composing my post. 7pm on the 8th is good for me. Are you planning on making a reservation?
Halcyan
@ruemara: Saturday makes it possible for non downtowners to come without taking 8 hours in traffic.
Beautifulplummage
@ruemara: @Halcyan: oops, missed these. I’m also open to other days.
My apologies for the assumptions & oversights in my posts. I’m juggling stresses at work & with family. I’m on board for whatever day & time the group decides on.
CaseyL
@Beautifulplummage: Thought I’d wait until next week (we’re planning for Dec 8) and get a more-or-less final count.
@Halcyan: I agree, but it depends on what’s best for ruemara. If Saturday looks as good as or better than Friday, that would be easier on we-who-commute.
No One You Know
@ruemara: Hoping for Saturday, myself, as Friday is a work day for T.Lodger…