Tag Archives: art

The Buzz Cafe & Espresso Bar

I’ve been here several times before and thought it was a unique cafe with the gallery combined. I had my instructor from art school exhibit here and it’s a nice size and venue. But it had been a while since returning.

The staff are friendly and the selections of drinks and food is alright. The furniture on the other hand needs some upgrading. They all seem to be something that was picked up from Craigslist that was up for grabs for free. We sat on two sofas around a small coffee table, in which the cushions were so flattened out that there wasn’t any support for your bum. It wasn’t comfortable sitting on springs/coils, nor were they clean.

We moved into a private area that was sectioned off which had two tables, several chairs and a big sofa. Again, the furniture was mismatch and the sofa looked like 50 years old (not in the lovely Victorian-old, but a cheap sofa that’s been used forever in someone’s basement).
One guy said that his cake was pretty good.

Overall, I was left with a ‘meh’ impression this time. Unless I wanted to bring a friend that was totally into paintings (which were really nice by the way…wanted some, at the same time, inspired me that I should get back into it again…lol) don’t really know if I’d come back as it seems run down now.

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Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle

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305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11am – 8pm
Friday & Saturday: 10am – 8pm

GENERAL ADMISSION *Tickets purchased at the door are $1 more than below stated prices.
Ages 13-64 $19
Senior Ages 65+ $17
Youth Ages 4-12 $12
Child 3 and Under Free

So I had seen several of my friends post photos from Chihuly on Facebook and was amazed each time I saw them. I knew that the next time I went to Seattle, it was a must-go attraction. Unfortunately, for Sheepie who hadn’t seen any photos needed some convincing from me that the $20 admission was going to be worth it. I even said I would go alone and he could wander around outside. LOL. It turns out that he was pretty amazed and loved the place – and he’s a hard to impress guy.

As you can see, lots of great, colourful glass – fantastic for taking photos (but don’t forget to admire them with your own eyes too!). I’d never seen anything like it with glass – the use of colours, light and the scale! Each room you walked into never failed to amaze you.

If you have time, there is a small theatre that shows a film of how the glass are made, including interviews with Chihuly himself.

The exhibit does not end just indoors. Go out into the ‘garden’ to see the glass pieces integrated into the environment. With the lit Space Needle in the background, it’s a beautiful and awing experience.

A must see in Seattle!!!

Entrance to Chihuly

So pretty!!

Amazing craftmanship!

Nothing like it elsewhere… Take home your own Chihuly glass! Ummm…if you have $5000 each for these small approx 10 inches glass work.

Chocolate Arts Cafe

Very modern and high end looking cafe. Located a bit in a inconvenient place and out of pedestrian traffic, the cafe is quiet with little customers.

The staff are very friendly and patient with the group of people we had brought along to the cafe. They carefully explained the chocolates so that they would understand.

It was not cheap! 4 chocolate pieces were about $1 each. The small macchiato (espresso) came to $3 with taxes – a bad decision as I was unable to sleep after that till 6am the next morning…(I’m quite sensitive to caffeine T_T). It was really bitter and strong. Actually it’s my fault for making the mistake. I thought I was getting a ‘latte’ macchiato…my bad… It came with a small piece of dark chocolate.

$3 (with tax) machiatto

The chocolates are equally strong, and super rich. I’m not a chocolate person but it scored alright on my analysis chart – lol.

Anyways, nice slick cafe, though it’s a bit ‘cold’ or lonely without much customers. They close either at 6 or 5pm, so no late coffee at this place.
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday 10:00–6:00 PST
Sunday 10:00–5:00 PST
Holidays 11:00–5:00 PST

Christmas Review:

So, we’ve been back several times to Chocolate Arts Cafe, but none was more exciting (probably the most excited was Sheepie – a chocolatier hobbyist) than around the time we went at Christmas. Greg Hook, the chocolatier and owner of Chocolate Arts Cafe, who usually is not at the cafe on weekends was busy making chocolate on a Sunday due to the high volume of chocolates needed for the Christmas holidays.

Greg Hook giving us a tour where all his chocolates are made!

When he heard the the ‘Vancouver Chocolate Club’ which was started by Sheepie on Meetup.com last spring, he came out to greet us and even offered a special tour of the back despite his busy schedule. He said he was making about 70,000 chocolate a week during the holiday times. Wow…

He even tried some of Sheepie’s creation, and gave him constructive feedback, as well as advice and suggestions. While Sheepie was busy with Greg with the feedback, the rest of us enjoyed some free samples of their eggnog ice cream. Mmmm!! delicious!

We were quite pleased and honoured that Greg took so much time with us. Thank you Greg!

More…

Yes, we were back again with the Vancouver Chocolate Club, and Greg came out to talk about his travel to France and showed us some raw beans. Thanks for the lesson!

Chocolate Arts was presenting it’s new 71.2% Allure – a new product that Greg had come out with after going to France. He had a little workshop going with how the product was being used in new desserts – and we got a taste of it. It’s great to see someone who is not only passionate about this creations, but taking the time and effort out of his busy schedule to share them with the community.

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