Many of the sandwiches on these “best of” Seattle lists were one or two cities removed. Going to Lynnwood for a good sandwich is fine for some people, but it is not feasible or practical for the majority of us in the city. So, when coming up with my own roundup, I stuck to a few rules. The first was that this was a list of terrific Seattle banh mi, and so should stay within city boundaries. 

Nitroy launched Fancy Plants in fall of 2022. Located on the Ave at the intersection between the University and Ravenna neighborhoods, Fancy Plants is a multipurpose shop where Nitroy hopes to create a welcoming environment for plant carers of all experience levels. Acknowledging that “plants are living things, so they can be really overwhelming emotionally,” Nitroy says that her goal with the store is “trying to make growing plants less stressful and more joyful.” 

In the second month of 2023, I started taking testosterone injections once a week. There had been several years of hand-wringing and self-doubt up to that point. Was this the right decision? What if I regretted it (although few actually do)? What if I drowned in ass hair? 

Let’s be blatantly clear. Queerness isn’t going anywhere.

With Trump taking back office at the end of January, I am just a single drop in the queer sea of confusion, disdain, and fear. Through this trying time, I wanted to gather my thoughts, process them, and share my story of how I got here and where I plan to go.

That date, three days before my 28th birthday, is when the US Supreme Court handed down the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that ensured same-sex couples the right to marry. I remember crying as I read the news and saw the videos. I was so ebullient in fact that I took to Facebook, started a post with a link to the news story and wrote out, "Now that I can marry anyone I want, I should get going on this whole dating thing," and clicked Post.

I started taking testosterone in February of 2024, a decision made after years of teetering back and forth between comfort and safety. I wanted to be seen as myself. I wanted to look in the mirror and recognize the person who was looking back at me. But I also didn’t want the inherent danger that came with being trans in public—not the flaunting of my identity, but just the mere fact of my existence in the eyes of others. I didn’t decide it lightly.

On February 28, Seattle band Deep Sea Diver released their fourth album, Billboard Heart, their first release on the Sub Pop label. As part of their promotion of the record, the band performed songs from the album on release night at Easy Street Records in West Seattle and hosted a record signing event for fans after the show.

February 12 was, aptly, a bit of a dark and stormy night. Wet snow dripped onto the sidewalks as people in winter coats trudged into Third Place Books in Ravenna. That night, Tacoma-based writer J. Ann Thomas was discussing her newly published novel, The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall, a Gilded Age romance novel, and her first adult novel. 

Every quarter, SFS hosts the In Focus series celebrating Seattle directors and cinematographers that features shorts, music videos, and more in a diverse range of content. SFS chooses a director who has a strong intention and vision to their stories with robust elements of “framing/staging/blocking, confidence in editing, making distinctive choices, and thematically cohesive style choices,” said the SFS Artistic Director, Marcus Baker.  

February 2025’s In Focus event showcased director and cinematographer June Zandona, known for her work on Penelope, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Special, and I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. The screening featured three of Zandona’s shorts: Dancer, Wedding Video, and This is Concrete. 

I attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day march in Seattle’s Central District on January 20, 2025. That day was also the inauguration of our nation’s 47^th president, Donald Trump. Many Americans are tired of talking about politics and Trump. Well, not everyone. I think there’s something about this coalescence of events that stands to unite us more than divide us. Hope stems from the fact that this march, which at times threatened to be more about Trump than Dr. King, ultimately succeeded to underscore the importance of some of the very radical problems King was putting his lifeforce into trying to solve before he was assassinated.

A.K. Burns’ current show, What Is Perverse Is Liquid at Henry Art Gallery, curated by Senior Curator Nina Bozicnik, uses materiality, speculative fiction in the form of short, multi-channel film installations, and sound to envision a future spawned from our current trajectory. Burns’ work centers the queer capacity to thrive in the face of chaos and persecution, and draws a strong connection between our own human resilience and that of nature. 

This morning, I awoke to the news that one of my favorite authors walked beyond the veil on February 9. Tom Robbins, a prolific novelist, was born in North Carolina in 1932, then relocated to Washington State in the 1960s. He wrote with a bohemian playfulness and humor that often belied his philosophical style and was once most accurately dubbed “The Northwest’s Master of Zen-Punk” by Seattle Weekly writer Roger Downey in 2006.

As they wrapped up the speeches and braced for the ribbon cutting, Savanna Boles was invited to sing. During her rendition of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, it began to snow. At first it was a magical dusting, but as the music swelled, so did the weather. We followed the singer as everyone was ushered inside and out of the cold. A few joked that the ancestors were saying, "Get on with it, it's cold!" Inside the music switched to a vocal accompaniment to “Glory,” and the ribbon was cut. With that, the Washington State Black Legacy Institute was officially open.

It’s no secret that the housing problem facing the city of Seattle has already reached emergency levels, and we absolutely cannot delay action any longer. Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 and 2019 American Community Surveys shows that Seattle rent prices have increased nearly 92% since 2010.  Gone are the days of thinking we can continue with the status quo and hope to achieve a different outcome.

3 weeks, 12 venues, 100+ performances. The San Francisco Sketch Festival (SF SketchFest) is renowned as the largest festival dedicated to stand-up, improv, sketch, and all comedic art forms. The 2025 world-class lineup includes Bill Murray, Kathryn Hahn, Tim Curry, the casts of Futurama and Children’s Hospital, and an anniversary staged reading of Airplane!

After John Oliver’s aggressive campaign for the Puteketeke to become New Zealand’s Bird of the Century, it seemed only right that I follow in his footsteps to elect my own Pacific Northwest Bird of the Century. I may not go so far as to don a giant bird-suit on live television (like John Oliver did on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show), but I’ll happily offer up my own strong opinions of the little flying creatures we see around the Sound. So buckle up for the Top 10 Birds of the PNW, culminating in my pick for the PNW’s Bird of the Century.

I feel fear. I know what it is like to have every aspect of your identity under threat. To realize every day you live that the world you know was specifically designed against your best interest—against the interest of most with the exception of the few in power. Hate is not sustainable, but it’s easier to turn fear into hate rather than love. It’s challenging to see this all take place and not be overwhelmed with fear. 

To keep a level head, it is important to be prepared. We don’t know what the future has in store, but there are basic things that you can do to increase the safety of your loved ones.

Finally! Another Seattle drag queen becomes an official RuGirl!

Arrietty, a local Seattle drag queen, is one of the fortunate queens to make it to the newest season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 17). Having premiered on January 3, 2025, this season is sure to be a refuge in a time when queer people need it the most.

The Beacon is located at the very edge of Columbia City, nestled in a wall of ivy and wedged between nail salons and a neon-illuminated funeral home. The single-screen cinema opened its doors in 2019, boasting an eclectic mix of curated films. Amidst the popularity of Robert Eggers’ new film, it’s only logical for a place like The Beacon to showcase one of its predecessors: Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu: The Vampyre. 

So we have a youthful, impetuous character on our hands. The brash invasion into the city from the forest differentiates him from his fellow Way of the Bird King kin. His stance—crushing a bench under his foot with two open, ready-for-action hands at his hips—seems to invite a challenge. Yet his demeanor is not overtly hostile and resembles more of a teenager's defiance. He seems possessive of the National Nordic Museum, posted at the entrance like a guard.