I hate fancy things, too.

I'm not sad to see the Lusty Lady go. Good riddance. Just because something is old doesn't make it a Seattle icon worth keeping.

@2 Please explain further, I am intrigued.

BJC -

A minor quibble, but it gets tiring to see the old saw about 'local' being the difference in carbon footprint. This article in the NY Times regarding Sweden's Carbon Footprint program shows that in many cases transportation of the finished product is a very small component of the overall picture, and that other factors such as soil type can easily make a local product have a larger carbon footprint.

@6: Very interesting NYT article—I hadn't seen it, thank you. Though you may be correct, the article doesn't indicate that transportation is a "very small" component of food carbon footprint, just that there's more to it than that (unless I'm missing something):

"Earlier studies of food emissions focused on the high environmental costs of transporting food and raising cattle. But more nuanced research shows that the emissions depend on many factors, including the type of soil used to grow the food and whether a dairy farmer uses local rapeseed or imported soy for cattle feed...

These [numbers] take into account emissions generated by fertilizer, fuel for harvesting machinery, packaging and transport."

Clearly local-ness isn't the only factor in food carbon footprint, but if all other things are equal, it would make the difference. Both Salumi and Biellese source meats regionally and nationwide (nationwide in order to get the nice fatty Berkshire pork they need to make awesome products). It would be a complicated calculus to account for all the factors of all their suppliers... But Fonte's choice to ship salumi from New York (and Europe, which they also do) involves additional energy vs. transporting it from Salumi in Pioneer Square 10 blocks away.

Gina at Salumi says they try to source in the Pacific Northwest with the exception of the Heritage Berkshires, and that "The way we approach carbon footprint is that we only purchase what we need and we use everything, from the leftover skins to make chicharones, to the trim for our meatballs."

Just to be clear, the green certification that Fonte received doesn't have to do with sourcing product, but with using energy-saving light bulbs and compostable etc. in the cafe. And, just to be clear, I'm not a maniac insisting that everything everywhere always be local—I just thought it was an interesting point in considering Fonte.

One of the millions of reasons I adore you, Betheny, is I never know what you will focus on next in your Bar Exam. Whatever it is, it's contemporary poetry.

As an aside, my former roommate (we used to live on 4th Ave. together; well, he still does but now he's an anorexic) once attended the Lusty Lady, out of curiosity. He says. I'll miss the marquee for sure, the only sign of life downtown anymore.