Pizza Brava

This is one of the eight-million-and-six pizza joints on the ave. It is definitely not the best. The pizza (post oven re-heating) has an odd, gummy texture. There is some seating, but it's not particularly comfortable, kind of a high-school-cafeteria vibe. It is, however, cheap, so that's a plus in a pinch.

Sure Shot Coffee

The atmosphere is somewhere between stoner and WOW-er: dark, with acid trip style sci-fi art on the walls. The clientele features a lot of oddly colored dreadlocks, and laptops. The guy behind the counter is really nice, and will chat with you if you want. If you're not convinced yet (but, really, how could you not be?), the espresso is amazing! It is surprisingly lively, with berry flavors and almost a peanut-buttery body. I was astonished.

Zokas University District

This place is great! The lobby is huge and conducive to study, hangouts, or whatever. Furthermore, they make the best mocha I've had in quite some time. The espresso here is great, and the mocha that they use is just the right level of sweet and bittersweet. High praise for the foam art too. Free wifi and unabashed music selections also make this place pretty primo.

Check it out, I say!

Yummy Bites

It is, in fact, yummy. It's on the ave. It is cheap-ish. They have lots of vegetarian items (I recommend the tofu yakisoba). It is basically small and busy, not too noisy, and service is quick. That's all I've got.

Henry Art Gallery

The Henry Art Gallery is the sort of place you could lose yourself in, and I don't mean that in the blissful, well-stocked-used-book-store kind of way. The layout is confusing; it's difficult to know where you can/should/are allowed to go. Sometimes there is a doorway that seems as though it should be accessible, but is covered by a curtain velcroed on both sides. Only a slight deterrent, perhaps, but for me at least, it would be terribly awkward to get kicked out for walking into a supply closet.

The upside is that, if you go without a specific piece or exhibit in mind, the things that you will stumble upon are beautiful and intriguing. I don't necessarily consider myself to be one of those people who "gets" art, but I truly believe that it is essential to expose yourself to beautiful, thought provoking things on a regular basis. Life is just better and more complete that way.

Also, if you do it right, the enrichment is free. Every Thursday you can get in without paying, and if you're a UW student, it's free all the time.

Cafe on the Ave

This particular cafe came highly recommended (by those sorts of sites I am trying to provide an alternative to). It has a classy, hip look, and fairly decent espresso. I can throw my recommendation behind the tomato basil soup, it was absolutely lovely, with just the right amount of texture (I'm not into the whole stewed-tomatoes-in-a-bowl bit). The bread that came along was obviously from a bag, and needed to be drowned in soup to cover the preservative flavor. My least favorite aspect, though, was the atmosphere. This is perhaps a place you would come to study by yourself (there were people on laptops everywhere), but the vibe does not encourage the meeting of new people, or even much animated conversation with people you already know. I know that many Seattle-ites pride themselves on respecting each-other's privacy, not engaging in unwanted conversation with strangers, or even exchanging glances on the street. However, I want to walk into a coffee shop and at least feel that people wouldn't bite my head off if I were to say hello. Studying alone is why god invented libraries.