Culture Crawl

Seattle's best music, books and independent coffee houses

GET BUZZED

BAUHAUS BOOKS AND COFFEE
301 E. Pine St., Capitol Hill, 206-625-1600
The coffee: Good and strong
The space: Two well-worn levels, a wall of (never used?) reference books, Po’ Boy hat-wearing patrons.

ESPRESSO VIVACE
321 E. Broadway Ave., Capitol Hill, Espressovivace.com
The coffee: Heavily roasted—they’re known for dry, Northern Italian-style espresso
The space: A kiosk, with three bistro tables on the sidewalk.

TOP POT
609 E. Summit Ave., Capitol Hill, 206-323-7841, plus two other locations; Toppotdoughnuts.com
The coffee: Weak—their hand-forged doughnuts are better
The space: ’30s-style diner with WiFi.

VICTROLA CAFE AND ROASTERY
310 E. Pike St., Capitol Hill, 206-624-1725, plus one other location; Victrolacoffee.com
The coffee: Exceptional. They favour Cup of Excellence beans, have direct relationships with cooperatives and roast in-house
The space: Spare (this location had opened only a week before our visit). Picture white walls, concrete floors and a dozen tables overlooking the glassed-in roastery.

ZEITGEIST COFFEE
171 S. Jackson St., Pioneer Square, 206-583-0497; Zeitgeistcoffee.com
The coffee: Average (Seattleites may disagree; they voted it the city’s best cup of coffee in 2000) The space: Huge, with soaring ceilings and a 1966 edition of a Random House English language dictionary on hand for those who use the place as an office, and they are many.—Rosemary Poole

SEATTLE SOUND

JIMI HENDRIX
Sound: Rock, blues, general guitar mastery
Download: “Star Spangled Banner”—sufficient electricity for the two-hour drive.

HEART
Sound: Folk-Rock
Download: “Magic Man”—the first major hit from Ann and Nancy Wilson, the masters of harmony.

MELVINS
Sound: Heavy rock
Download: “Honey Bucket”—the root-source of the grunge movement.
Green River Sound: Grunge Download: “Come On Down”—title track from Seattle’s first grunge album.

NIRVANA
Sound: Definitive grunge
Download: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—familiar? Sure. Could we exclude it? No.

DAMIEN JURADO
Sound: Contemplative indie rock
Download: “Lion Tamer”—best single from his best full-length album.

MODEST MOUSE
Sound: Pop-influenced indie rock
Download: “Dashboard”—jangly first single off their just-released album.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
Sound: See Modest Mouse
Download: “Soul Meets Body”—best tune from the most hyped-up Seattle band in years.—Lucas Lee

READING LIST

BLACK HOLE
Written and Illustrated by Charles Burns
This Harvey-award-winning comic book series chronicles Seattle teenagers battling a plague in the suburbs of the city.

HALF ASLEEP IN FROG PAJAMAS
By Tom Robbins
Another wild tale from the former Seattle Times writer. Unlike his other (better) novels, this one’s set in Seattle.

LOSER: THE REAL SEATTLE MUSIC STORY
By Clark Humphrey
A comprehensive history of the city’s music scene accompanied with vivid photographs and illustrations.

SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS
B y David Guterson
This lush portrait of a small fishing community in Puget Sound won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.—Lucas Lee

READ MORE IN THE SEATTLE SERIES:

36 Hours in Seattle: Where to eat, drink, shop and sightsee.

Bed Check: Reviews of three very different Seattle hotels.

A Tale of Two Cities: Which city's wealthier? Safer? Healthier? Seattle and Vancouver by the numbers.

The New Seattle: What Vancouver can learn from its Pacific sister.