Don’t Cry for Me

Today I celebrate nine years of sobriety. I have just finished reading the article “ How Dry I Am ” (Back Fence, June 2009), by Kathryn Robinson, who makes being sober sound like a total drag.

She expresses her deep compassion for the recovering alcoholic. Please…really…don’t. My life today as a woman in recovery is amazing—I’m a successful business owner and have a life that’s full and fun. I attend regular AA meetings because that’s what has worked for me for the past nine years. I attend many gatherings where alcohol is served and am pretty sure that I’m the opposite of a “buzz kill.” I don’t address anyone else’s drinking habits—so hopefully I’m not making people feel terrible about themselves simply because I choose to have a tonic water rather than a glass of wine.
Mary Jo Thomas
Seattle

Food for the Masses

Not to be rude, but really? How does a Best Burgers list (cover story, June 2009):

1. Have a veggie burger on it? WTF? Better not offend the veggie-vegan readership, huh? How “Seattle” of you. Weak.

2. Exclude obvious stellar, old-school benchmark burgers like Scooter’s in Ballard and Dick’s? C’mon, burgers are ghetto food, and these two are the kings.

3. Stumbling Goat Bistro and Jak’s Grill —if they can’t make a great burger, they should jump in front of a moving bus now.

4. The whole idea of recommending upscale places that charge over 10 bucks for a burger is wrong. The burger is to food what beer is to beverages: common, dependable, satisfactory in a pinch, comfortable…not pretentious.

Your list is lacking and misrepresentative of what Seattle has to offer burger lovers who don’t drink champagne with their pinkies out.

John Tufano
Seattle

Exotic Meats

I adore the food articles in your publication. However, I am quite surprised that Lunchbox Laboratory was not mentioned for Best Burgers (cover story, June 2009). Not only has the owner, Scott Simpson, had many successes in Seattle, such as the late Fork and Blue Onion Bistro, but he’s created a tasteful array of burgers that towers over all other competitors.

The only other burger place in town that compares would be Ed’s Kort Haus with its safari-like menu, whose crocodile, ostrich, and bison options would make many a boy a man.
Jennifer Seaman Miller
Seattle

Adventures in Burger Testing

My wife and I, recent transplants from Chicago, often find ourselves craving a good burger made from Midwest beef. We were quite excited when Seattle Met featured the Best Burgers in town (cover story, June 2009). After careful consideration, we opted for the mini grass-fed beef burgers at Stumbling Goat Bistro. We downed pints of Maritime Pale Ale and sampled -pommes frites before our two orders of mini burgers arrived, each plate holding two mini(scule) burgers accompanied by four “jojos” (i.e., French fries). While the Mt. Townsend Creamery Trailhead cheese and sweet-and-tart jam did deliver, the tiny portions left us yearning for more. So we walked down the block and split a Red Mill Deluxe Burger and order of onion rings. This burger was absolutely delicious and left us with the familiar satisfaction that we yearn for when we splurge for a great burger. We only wished we had started our evening at Red Mill.
Matt Saltzman
Seattle

CORRECTIONS

Due to an editing error in the July issue (" A Healthy Dose of Skepticism ”), we noted that the Gates Foundation gives health research organization PATH $1 billion in grants a year. The grants have in fact totaled $1 billion over 10 years. Also in July (Best of the City) we wrote that the Seattle Public Library had an express branch at Crossroads Shopping Center, but the branch is part of the King County Library System.

Contact the Editors

Seattle Met wants to know what you think! Send raves and rants and corrections to [email protected], comment on articles at seattlemet.com, or send snail mail to 1201 Western Ave, Ste 425, Seattle, Washington 98101. Letters to the editor are subject to editing. Please include address and daytime phone number.

Contact the Editors

Seattle Met wants to know what you think! Send raves and rants and corrections to [email protected], comment on articles at seattlemet.com, or send snail mail to 1201 Western Ave, Ste 425, Seattle, Washington 98101. Letters to the editor are subject to editing. Please include address and daytime phone number.