🔥 Beat the winter blues with these 20 Seattle restaurants

Plus, COVID-19 infections are dropping and Washington’s 2022 Good Food Award winners have been announced.

By Hannah Myrick

Welcome to Friday!

You made it, Seattle! Let’s kickstart the weekend by getting right to it and diving into today’s headlines...

Follow this heron’s gaze and you too will be looking ahead to a beautiful weekend. | Tag @the_evergrey or use #theevergrey to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸: @brendanramseyphotography)

What Seattle is Talking About

📉 There are signs that the latest COVID-19 surge in western Washington is dropping off. This welcome news comes courtesy of Washington state health officials — although King County has seen a daily average of 4,575 new COVID-19 cases, there has been a 27 percent decrease in new infections over the past week. Despite officials’ admission that the reported daily number of cases reported is probably an undercount — as many people test at home and the results don’t get counted in state systems — they’re encouraged that the rate of growth appears to be slowing down. (KUOW)

🔥 Don’t let the winter blues get in the way of your divine outdoor dining. Restaurants all over the city have upped their patio, pergola, and sidewalk game, which is why Eater has gone ahead and assembled a list of spots you don’t want to miss. Bask in the heat of Lady Jaye’s tabletop fireplaces or enjoy the Thai market feel of Bangrak Market and their covered, heated sidewalk seating — there’s plenty to ogle over from these 20 picks. ➡️ (Eater)

🗳️ Latino voters have filed a lawsuit over Washington’s newly redrawn redistricting plan, claiming the redrawn 15th legislative district diminishes voter strength. The suit — which was filed on behalf of several Yakima Valley residents and the Southcentral Coalition of People of Color for Redistricting — argues the new legislative district maps create the “facade” of a majority Latino voter district and violates federal voting rights laws. (Crosscut)

🍫 Great news for folks trying to eat the best food in Washington — the 2022 winners of the annual Good Food Award have been announced! The award celebrates small specialty food and drink producers across 18 specific categories, spanning everything from grains and oil to elixir and honey. You can find the products in this Seattle Met list for order online as well as in stores across the state. (Seattle Met)

🔗 Helping Link, a Seattle-based nonprofit that has served Vietnamese immigrants and refugees since 1993, is struggling in the face of gentrification. The organization will have to relocate from its Little Saigon office before March. The move isn’t entirely without precedent — the past two years have been challenging for Helping Link, and it’s unclear how it’ll move forward amid gentrification and pandemic-related complications. You can reach out to the org to seek as well as offer support at info@helpinglink.org. (International Examiner)

📅 We planned your weekend (and your whole month)

Today, we’re giving our members a specially curated weekend itinerary. From drinking wine and reading books to celebrating a local favorite bar’s 8th birthday, and watching alllllll the theater, we’re running the gamut on making the most of our Emerald City.

Wish we’d made an itinerary for you? We’d be happy to. Join our Evergrey Extra membership program today for just $8 a month (or $80 a year) and we’ll always plan your weekend for you.

Things to do

Tomorrow

🎼 Listen to the the Seattle Symphony’s legacy of Aretha Franklin featuring a powerhouse vocalist and full symphony orchestra through Sunday, Jan. 23 (Downtown)

💦 Join the fun of Punk Rock Aerobics for all bodies and fitness levels, hosted by Cafe Racer (Capitol Hill)

🎶 Listen, dance, workshop and jam out at the Bellingham Folk Festival, through Sunday, Jan. 23 (Bellingham)

Saturday

💄 Enjoy one night of a seven-part drag show series at Queer/Bar, featuring performer Eureka O’Hara (Capitol Hill)

💃 Dance the night away at The Crocodile’s Soul Music Dance Party, where they’ll be playing 100% vintage vinyl (Belltown)

🏃 Swing on by for free parkour lessons at Pier 62, family-friendly fun, rain or shine (Downtown)

Sunday

🎲 Bring out your best game face for board game night at Mox Boarding House (Ballard)

✨ Go pinball-ing at the Ice Box’s Split Flipper Sundays for $5 per two person team (Fremont)

🎹 Join NYC organist-pianist Brian Charette for an evening of Jazz at the Royal Room (Columbia City)

👋 Get schooled in all things gnocchi with Chef Ethan Stowell and have a hand at making it with friends over light refreshments (Downtown)

Monday

📕 Join author Bernadine Evaristo as she talks about her latest book “Girl, Woman, Other” and her upcoming memoir “Manifesto” (Online)

Tuesday

🍸 Learn about Seattle's dive bars, taverns and psychedelic experiences of the past with author Brad Holden (Downtown)

Wednesday

🐱 Get your heckle on at Central Cinema’s showing of Cats, and send your heckles to the big screen using your phone (Central District)

💃 Learn the Tango in a six-week course at the Lowdown Ballroom, running every Wednesday through Feb. 9 (Capitol Hill)

Thursday

🎼 Listen to the Seattle Symphony accompanied by composer and multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi in a performance honoring the stories of Japanese internment survivors (Downtown)

🎤 Chuckle along as you watch a queer friendly comedy showcase at The North Star Diner (Phinney Ridge)

One more thing….

Before you go, here’s a few of my own personal recommendations for your weekend:

☕ Drink the White Hazelnut Latte from Coffeeholic House, a Vietnamese coffee shop with two locations in Seattle. There’s not much of a better way to start (or end) your day.

🎶 Listen to “Somebody New” by Blossom Dearie,” a perfect little tune to kickstart your daydreams.

📽️ Watch Charade, a romcom mystery starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn from 1963. I didn’t know a heartwarming thriller existed, but here it is!