April 1, 2005
The vibe at Alexandria's
Come to Alexandria's on Tuesday or Thursday night to hear some of the best jazz in Seattle. Without any fanfare, it's the legendary Deems Tsutakawa and his gang.
Not often you see so many Asian musicians in one group: Deems, wearing a funky hat, is on keyboard, David Yamasaki on guitar, Marcus Tsutakawa on bass ... All the more reason to mention Kevin Boyd, who's Caucasian, on vibraphone. Without showboating, he quietly dazzles the room with his technique.
March 30, 2005
Sexy Syrah at Salty's
Over two dozen Washington wineries turned out at Salty's on Alki for this year's Sexy Syrah tasting produced by wine entrepreneur David LeClaire. Sexiest label: Wilridge Winery's 2001 Syrah from Elephant Mountain vineyard in the Yakima Valley. Tasted ripe and rich.
Wilridge winemaker Paul Beveridge shared a table with John Bell, who started Willis Hall Winery after he retired from Boeing; he makes a tasty drop, too. Paul and John have something else in common: both make wine in their garage, just like the French garagistes!
Happy Sushi & Sake
Ordered a cute little bottle of sake at U Wa Kitchen last night: Nama, in a six-ounce bottle, from the largest domestic sake producer, Takara in Berkeley.
Paired this fresh, full-bodied, draft-style sake with a couple of Happy Hour bites of sushi, $1 each. Great little snack.
March 27, 2005
Hot Soup, Hot Licks
"Open Mic" night at Nana's Soup House in Ravenna last night. Tasty soup duo: a creamy baked potato and a mild chicken fiesta. MC was Jed Myers, psychiatrist by day, poet and folk singer by night. Best act: gang of 8th graders, including Jed's son Jonas, most of them members of the award-winning Washington Middle School jazz band.
The players, from left: Jonas Myers, Andrew Morale (who's actually in the Eckstein Middle School Jazz Band), Sam Koelle, Carl Majeau, Jed, Eli Rumpf (hidden behind Jed), Gabe Martin (orange jacket).