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Professional and reliable bartending service
Bartending services are expensive, but if you are having a big party and don't want to man the bar all night, it's well worth it to hire a bartender. I've used Pour Girls & Some Guys twice. They have...
Bartending services are expensive, but if you are having a big party and don't want to man the bar all night, it's well worth it to hire a bartender. I've used Pour Girls & Some Guys twice. They have been very reliable and a big hit. Partygoers love having a bartender. You'll love the bartender even more because you won't have spills and messes to clean up. Pour Girls employs a fairly small circle of bartenders, so if you want to use them for a big holiday event, you have to plan ahead.
The bartenders from Pour Girls have been friendly, professional, and helpful. The last bartender we hired arrived early, set up the bar area from scratch in a very creative fashion, and even helped clean up a bit afterward. They come dressed in basic black and white attire, provide their own bar tools (shakers, pourers, etc), and bring ice to ice down beverages before the party. However, you provide your own alcohol and mixers.
Don't forget to pick up a banquet license!
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Come here for fresh bread, a light lunch, or coffee and dessert!
You can't even imagine how happy I was to have this place open up in my neighborhood. Judging by the steady stream of customers from day one, I'm not the only person who felt this way. It's...
You can't even imagine how happy I was to have this place open up in my neighborhood. Judging by the steady stream of customers from day one, I'm not the only person who felt this way. It's especially busy on weekends when lots of families and couples stop here for lunch or brunch.
I had been to the Fremont Essential Baking Co. during dump runs and knew I could make this place a habit if only it were closer to home. The Madison location lacks the charm of the warehouse in Fremont, but it does have more of a seating area.
I really enjoy their rotating menu of cold and hot sandwiches and salads. I especially love that they serve cornichons with their sandwiches. It's a small thing, but not to someone who loves cornichons! All the ingredients they use are fresh and taste great. I'd recommend you get a side salad with your sandwich because it only costs marginally more, but you get lots of bang for your buck.
Their balsamic vinaigrette dressing is perfect. The sandwiches are just a hair too expensive because they're really not that big. Their crepes are a little skimpy on fillings, but otherwise good. The boutique-y selection (ginger beer, Honest Tea, etc) in the drink cooler is fun, but a lot of people just have coffee drinks with their meals. It's also fun to pick out dessert (gourmet chocolates, tarts, or cookies) while you're waiting in line to pay. Their cookies are big and wonderfully chewy, but we've had stale tiramisu (which they happily exchanged).
The place is small for the amount of business it gets, but tables turn over steadily. After you've ordered, just hang out and wait because a table will open up before your sandwich is ready. If you've dressed warmly, the tables on the patio are often open, especially on rainy days.
Also worth mentioning: I've noticed a distinct (yeasty?) smell clinging to my hair and clothes when I leave. It's pretty strong, so hopefully you can head home right after to shower and change.
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Excellent variety of sandwiches, generous fillings
The number of sandwiches that they offer is great. I salivate over the detailed descriptions in each section of the menu and want to try something new every time. I have yet to be disappointed with...
The number of sandwiches that they offer is great. I salivate over the detailed descriptions in each section of the menu and want to try something new every time. I have yet to be disappointed with what I order. I like The Chairman because it has sprouts in it. (No one seems to make a sandwich with sprouts anymore!) The hunk of turkey, creamy avocado, and crunchy sprout combination are my favorite in a sandwich. I love that it's on their menu and I don't have to custom order that combination of ingredients. The Italian I had last time was also great, with thick slices of salami, bologna, and mortadella and gooey with melted swiss and provolone. They make their own bread. I love that you're not limited to a white, wheat, or sourdough roll like other chains. The Italian, for example, is on focaccia.
My only complaint is that the sandwiches are so chock full of goodies, seriously overflowing, that they kind of fall apart a bit when you eat them. The paper wrapper for each sandwich is big and of high quality, though, so you've got a way to catch everything.
Their cookies are to die for, although I haven't tried any of their other sweets. I've been craving the chocolate chip cookies for weeks. I also haven't had any of their salads or soups even though the soups seem popular.
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Friendly stylists who are well-educated about hair
I love Margi David Salon. For awhile, almost everyone I knew was going there! Margi David's stylists are hip, but approachable, friendly, and easy to talk to. They have an ongoing education program...
I love Margi David Salon. For awhile, almost everyone I knew was going there! Margi David's stylists are hip, but approachable, friendly, and easy to talk to. They have an ongoing education program that I think helps to attract great talent and helps to ensure that you're seeing very capable people. They are open until 7pm Tuesday through Friday, which helps if you don't have time to stop in in the middle of a workday. Saturdays, they are only open until 5pm, so it can be hard to get a weekend appointment.
I see Marissa and I love what she does with my hair. My hair can be difficult, but Marissa's given me great cuts and perms. To help, I bring in photos of what I want and we talk about what appeals to me in the cuts/styles I ask for. Also, I've noticed that the stylists aren't afraid to consult one another, which I really appreciate. I prefer to have a stylist who is fully informed and weighs all options instead of having one who just acts like they know what they're doing.
Another thing I like about Margi David is that you see all types of customers in there. I never get the feeling that I'm too young/old/uncool to be there and that's very important to me.
My only gripes about the place are related to the prices. It wasn't so bad when I was just getting cuts, but this place is not for the faint of heart if you're getting multiple services (like a cut and color or cut and perm). Seeing Marissa has gotten more expensive as she's been promoted over the years (the salon has a graduated scale for services based on the experience of the stylist you see), but I enjoy coming in to see her so much that the miser in me stomachs the prices. It's markedly cheaper to see New Talent. Also, keep in mind that there are many places where you can pay even more and not get service this good. Also, they carry Bumble&bumble products, which aren't marked with price stickers, but don't come cheap.
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Soak and unwind, but don't expect quiet
I prefer my spas to be serene, so Banya 5 is less than perfect. You have your Russian families, but you also get what I call the Abercrombie set. They're young and their chattiness makes it hard to...
I prefer my spas to be serene, so Banya 5 is less than perfect. You have your Russian families, but you also get what I call the Abercrombie set. They're young and their chattiness makes it hard to get fully immersed in what should be a peaceful experience.
However, Banya 5 is conveniently located and its parilka (dry sauna) is scorchingly hot (200 degrees F), so it gets plus points for that.
The facility is smaller than I thought it would be, but the hot tub is smaller still. So much so that it seems like an afterthought. Maybe the hot tub is not a key feature in traditional Russian baths? With four people in the hot tub, you are practically sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.
I do like the local touches. The tepid salt pool is kept at the same degree of salinity as Puget Sound. It accommodates many more people and is an interesting feature. The cold plunge (55 degrees F) is kept at the same temperature as Puget Sound and is deep enough that you can submerge most of your body quite easily just by slipping in. It's also small, but no one spends too much time in there.
The steam room is really nice. It uses just enough eucalyptus to get your nasal passages clear. It also gets steamier than any other steam room I've ever been in, which is a pretty cool effect.
However, my favorite is the dry sauna. It's like an oven, from the heavy Brothers-Grimm-style wood door to the stone fireplace that occupies a quarter of the room. The sauna is huge, though only one side has a bench wide enough to allow you to lay down comfortably. It gets hotter than any other dry sauna I've been in and really lets you feel like you're getting cooked.
The free teas and the nap room upstairs are nice touches. I also really enjoy the twenty minute, thirty dollar honey/oil/salt scrub.
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They really are Seattlest - Seattlest.com touches on everything Seattle
If you're interested in getting a nice, broad look at what's going on in Seattle, read Seattlest.com, a website about Seattle from the perspective of five regular bloggers and a bunch of other...
If you're interested in getting a nice, broad look at what's going on in Seattle, read Seattlest.com, a website about Seattle from the perspective of five regular bloggers and a bunch of other contributors. The writers are engaging and the editors manage to keep the blog from feeling disjointed. Pages have a nice layout. Each entry has a clear title and an image or two. This makes it really easy to pick and choose what you want to read on a given day. They've also got categories on the left-hand navigation if you want to read only about politics or theatre or sports. Even better is their Links in the left-hand navigation. You'll get links to the more well-known Seattle blogs, links to King County Services, Craigslist Seattle, and all the Seattle news outlets.
The best thing about Seattlest, though, is that they're able to cover so much ground in their blog entries because there is more than one person doing the writing. As proof, the most recent entries in Seattlest include coverage of: trivia night at The Irish Emigrant pub, grocery shopping via Amazon.com and QFC, snippets from headline and page-two news with external links, Lincoln Park and pool in West Seattle, Golden Gardens beach, a concert series going on in West Seattle, art installations on the streets of Bellevue, a diatribe about the Mariners' manager, the Pride parade, a review of a local blogger (how meta!) who writes about his comic books, and a review of a concert by Brazilian artist Seu Jorge.
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The best Half Price Books store is on Capitol Hill
In my opinion, this is the best Half Price Books store in the area because they have the biggest selection. I rarely have a problem finding the books I want and usually end up buying at least half my...
In my opinion, this is the best Half Price Books store in the area because they have the biggest selection. I rarely have a problem finding the books I want and usually end up buying at least half my book club books from this store or the Crossroads (Bellevue) location. I love coming here to browse for nothing in particular. They have a lot of super-cheap books. They also have a huge selection of journals/diaries lately. There are some great random finds in the CDs/records and magazines. They even have a rare/collectible books case, which I don't think I've seen at any other Half Price. Downstairs is where they keep most of the fiction, including the $1 book tables where they sell the books they have too many copies of. The other day, I picked up Cold Mountain and The Pilot's Wife for a buck apiece!
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Professional and friendly service
Steve Belew, manager of AAA Roofing/Skylights, and his team (two other guys) did great work for me and my husband. They installed four skylights for us in one day. We only had them do skylight...
Steve Belew, manager of AAA Roofing/Skylights, and his team (two other guys) did great work for me and my husband. They installed four skylights for us in one day. We only had them do skylight installation and no drywall/finish work, so I can't say what the cost would be for them to do all the work, but I'm confident it would be at a competitive price. Steve visited our house before the job and gave us an accurate estimate. He kept up good communication via email, answering my many questions, giving me a detailed estimate, then a workorder/invoice that was always up-to-date in reflecting any changes I requested along the way.
Steve was able to give us a discount on the retail price of the skylights. If he doesn't mention it in his estimate, you might want to ask about it. He was so nice to work with that I can't imagine he'd deny you there.
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