Wine Destinations

Escape to Wine Country in Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Plus: Best things to do with kids in Seattle, Microsoft’s 50th birthday, the Basque side of Boise, and our favorite salads.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Keeping Fremont Weird

Gentrification or Not, the Solstice Parade Marches On

Once a year, Fremont recaptures some of its old spirit.

06/18/2025 By Taylor McKenzie Gerlach

Poetic

Three Poems by Troy Osaki

The latest in Seattle Met's poetry series.

04/22/2025 By Troy Osaki Illustrations by Rumi Hara

The Beat Goes On

Inside Seattle’s Longest-Running Jazz Gig

Bassist Phil Sparks has turned Latona Pub into home for more than 20 years.

04/10/2025 By Eric Olson

Child’s Play

25 Things to Do with Kids in 2025

The best places to climb, ride, laze, fly, and have fun in Seattle right now.

04/09/2025 By Naomi Tomky and Seattle Met Staff Illustrations by James Clapham

Eat & Drink

Always in Style

Washington Red Wines to Try Right Now

Our wine expert picks the top five reasons why the state still has red on lock.

07/03/2025 By Sean P. Sullivan

Shade of Pale

Washington’s White Wines Are Having a Moment

Move over, cabs and syrahs.

06/23/2025 By Sean P. Sullivan

Live, Laugh, Lunch

Make Lunch the Center of Your Day in Oregon Wine Country

A European approach to midday meals makes for an essential Northwest experience.

06/17/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Foul Tip

A Menu with No Good Options

Why so many restaurants are switching to service charges—and what that means for diners.

06/09/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Get Tossed

Seattle’s Best Salads Are Looking Crisp

A fresh look at where to find the city’s best-dressed greens.

06/04/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Fancy Freeze

A Dessert with Culture

Hellenika churns out an obsession-worthy frozen treat at Pike Place Market.

05/30/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Working Lunch

The Eastside’s Most Exclusive Restaurant

A top chef, a low price, and all you have to do is know the right person.

05/14/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Hot Topic

Tasty Trends and Fusty Fads

The hottest and nottest in the local food scene this season.

05/09/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Grande Dreams

Miss Café Followed the Mermaid’s Call to Seattle

Meral Embal slowly brewed her love of coffee and Turkish traditions into the Pike Place Market shop.

04/15/2025 By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

Frosted Takes

The Case for Cake Maximalism

Extravagant decorations, over-the-top garnishes, and whimsical touches prove that too much of a good thing is a great thing.

03/31/2025 By Naomi Tomky

Home & Real Estate

Campus Life

Microsoft’s Move to Redmond Reshaped the Eastside Forever

You can feel the repercussions all the way in Renton.

05/20/2025 By Eric Nusbaum

Who You Gonna Call?

Property Watch: Seattle's First Brick Firehouse Reborn as a First Hill Condo

It's BYO fire pole.

01/21/2025 By Zoe Sayler

News & City Life

Represent

The World’s Greatest Ichiro Memorabilia Collector Lives in Florida

Ray Gerkey thought his hobby needed a focus.

07/09/2025 By Eric Nusbaum

Feature

A Midsummer Nightmare

How the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire turned into a nightmare for its volunteer performers.

06/03/2025 By Nathalie Graham Photography by Jovelle Tamayo

Status Symbols

The Meaning of a Microsoft Blue Badge

It’s not just about perks. But yes, it’s about perks.

05/13/2025 By Eric Nusbaum

C-Suite

These Are the Leaders Who Built Microsoft

What would Seattle look like without Bill Gates and his cohort?

05/12/2025 By Adam Willems Illustrations by Òscar Climent Ollet

Interview

Anne Helen Petersen Has Serious Thoughts on Random Subjects

The Culture Study writer made her own niche covering sorority rush, celebrity gossip, and millennial burnout.

05/06/2025 By Allison Williams Photography by Charity Burggraaf

Oops

Here Are Some of Microsoft’s Most Memorably Forgettable Products

Where would we be without the EasyBall?

05/05/2025 By Adam Willems

Lingua Franca

Seattle’s Historic Chinook Jargon Is Having a Moment

The Pacific Northwest’s very own trade language never went away.

04/21/2025 By Bess Lovejoy

Know Your Place

Historic Kerry Hall Was Worth Saving

Part of Cornish College of the Arts until last month, the century-old building will return to its original purpose as a theater and arts space.

02/10/2025 By Meg van Huygen

Style & Shopping

Microsoft 50

How Microsoft Engineered Tech’s Anti-Fashion Workforce

Bill Gates and the rise of the no-style style icon.

05/07/2025 By Zoe Sayler

Travel & Outdoors

One Cork Town

The Massive Charm of Wine Country’s Smallest Towns

Checking in to the state’s most stylish new rural retreats that make Walla Walla seem like the big city.

07/08/2025 By Allison Williams

Bottoms Up

Washington’s Wine Tasting Rooms Have a New Flavor

They’re not where—or what—they used to be. The recipe for success for local wineries is changing.

07/07/2025 By Sean P. Sullivan

The New Old Country

Boise’s Basque Celebration Actually Goes Year-Round

Jaialdi is back, but you don’t have to wait five years for a good time.

07/01/2025 By Allison Williams

Wine, Eh

The Okanagan Valley Hides a Charming, Sun-Splashed Wine Region

Just head for Canada’s desert. (Really.)

06/24/2025 By Allison Williams

Lights, Camera, Plankton

How to See Bioluminescence in Seattle’s Waterways

There’s a natural laser show happening in Puget Sound. But you have to be patient to see it.

06/12/2025 By Taylor McKenzie Gerlach

Shore Enough

Guide to Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula

Sweets, kites, and sand as far as the eye can see.

06/02/2025 By Allison Williams

Making a Splash

Why Does Canada Have So Many Great Waterslides?

In British Columbia, there’s an affordable water park everywhere you look.

05/22/2025 By Allison Williams

Destination Dossier

What You Need to Know About a Trip to Packwood

Washington’s quietest mountain pass has a lot going on.

04/14/2025 By Allison Williams