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Catfight!

Meow!

May 13, 2004: UPDATE in today's Post-Intelligencer. Reporter Mike Lewis has the inside scoop on the duelling covers and offers an insightful look at Seattle's alternative weeklies.

Seattle Weekly's annual guide to local restaurants hit the newsstands yesterday, followed less than 24 hours later by The Stranger's guide ... to Seattle restrooms. Notable because The Stranger's covers usually bear no relation to the paper's content. But look what we have here: a parody of The Weekly's cover. How'd they do that?

Even more pointed is The Stranger's other headline, that Seattle Weekly profits support George Bush's reelection. A bit far-fetched, given the complex web of Village Voice Media's ownership; still, a valid observation.

More fun: the weekly catfight between Seattle Weekly's slutty Date Girl columnist Judy McGuire and The Stranger's Savage Love columnist Dan Savage. Current installment: Judy confesses to a three-way with pictures; Dan reassures a reader that wearing diapers is kinda kinky but not perverted. The restaurant reviews? No particular surprises. The bathroom reviews? The ladies room at Barca gets a top rating. Ho hum.

Overall, though, I'd have to say that Stranger has drawn first blood. Watch your back, Mossback: Savage claws are out! Rowrr!

Warm Up That Coffee!

Hey, it's the big Specialty Coffee Assoc of America trade show in Atlanta this weekend, so I rummaged through the archives and found an article I wrote 12 years ago about the then-nascent coffee culture. My editors titled it "Jitterbug Perfume," which makes only marginal sense, but it's worth rereading for the fascinating early history of Starbucks and giving credit to the crucial contribution of Seattle writer Gordon Bowker to our collective love of latte. To read the full story, please click here.

Ranch BBQ

Birthday party at Highfield Ranch! Happy birthday to my brother the Zebraguy! Terrific barbecued tri-tip steaks, salads, chocolate cake ... and a new baby goat [for petting, not roasting].