Seattle

Baby Baby Baby

I generally dread the idea of even entering a maternity shop. Frumpy clothes! Smug sales people! Other pregnant ladies! But there are some things every pregnant lady needs and finding them on the internet isn't always possible. For those things, Birth and Beyond is the answer. Granted, it's located in the stroller-mom heavy Madison neighborhood. But when you need nursing bras, you need nursing bras. Who the hell knows what size you are anymore? They do! They carry the big cup sizes in case nature has been a little extra kind to you. They also have a nice selection of cute nursing apparel that's cut to accentuate your changing womanly features instead of making you look like a marshmallow in casual wear. The staff is very knowledgeable and accommodating (Need to change or feed your baby on the fly? There’s a place for that). New to this mommy business and need some tips? Check out their class schedule for an affordable way to bone up on your skills. Of course like with every maternity shop, you can also easily spend a million dollars on baby shit you don't need. But it's absolutely worth the visit for the things do you need.

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Shopping • Capitol Hill (East) / Madison Valley

Down-Home Goodness

Mmm, Kingfish Cafe. The smallish soul food restaurant is discretely located on the outskirts of Capitol Hill, but it has outgrown any form of 'hidden gem' status during its ten-year tenure. Patrons come for the good, reasonably priced food and down-home atmosphere. The place will be packed unless you visit during off times--and Kingfish doesn't take reservations. The brunch, lunch and dinner menus are laden with Southern Comfort favorites like grits, catfish, gumbo and fried chicken all generously portioned too. (Bonus: half-priced bottles of wine on Tuesdays). I like the family-centric focus of the standard Southern food with a little extra sophistication. For dessert, try a gigantic serving of chilled red velvet cake or the sweet potato pie, made exclusively for the restaurant by the owners' mom.

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Restaurants • Capitol Hill (East) / Madison Valley

Chaucer Approved Dive Bar

Few literary scholars know Chaucer's twenty-fifth lost Canterbury Tale, about the wretched hive of scum and villainy known as the Canterbury Ales and Eats. Lack of notoriety didn't stop some Seattle entrepreneur from opening a tribute business. Though located on the north end of Capitol Hill's quaint, huppie-inhabited (hipster + yuppie, ya'll) 15th Ave section, The Canterbury is a true dive bar. Its darkness shrouds ripped upholstery but can't mask the faint smell of human excrement. Most of the staff are surly as hell (apart from the sunny Shauna...does she still work there?). Still, there are untold treasures in its expanse of four rooms! The front room, with its tall booths, is good for large parties, but be prepared to freeze your ass off every time the door opens. On the left, past the juke box, is a cozy sitting room complete with a fireplace. To the right, past the barfly corral, is the vast game room. Here you can challenge another chap to such olde-timey favorites as shuffleboard, pinball, and pool. All this plus great fries and Strongbow on tap! When I lived three blocks away this place was my rec room.

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Nightlife • Capitol Hill (East) / Madison Valley