Recommendations
I recently re-read Reviewing Ratings with the intent of updating a bit, and this concluding idea stuck out to me:
I’m hoping we can see a resurgence of curated recommendation lists.
I’ve been doing this for more specialized things with my Links and Book Recommendations series, but figured it’s worth establishing a place for more general recommendations, and thus, a new page.
I like supporting local businesses. I lived in Portland, Oregon from 2007 – 2019, and have lived in Olympia, Washington since.
There are no affiliate links on this page. If I am recommending something here, it’s because I use/patronize it regularly and would be very sad if I could not do so anymore.
Consumables
Beverages
I am something of a snob when it comes to coffee, tea, and alcohol; this list is extremely selective.
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Olympia Coffee Roasters (Olympia, Washington) – at least locally, their Morning Sun blended roast is available at Costco.
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Heart Coffee Roasters (Portland, Oregon)
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Encore Teas – in particular their Green Chai with Orange, Maté Cinnamon Chocolate, and herbals Sunset in Olympia and Caramel Nut Rooibos, an instant favorite of everyone I’ve introduced it to.
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Ilwaco Ciderworks – purveyors of adventurously spiced dry and sweet ciders
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Ilk Beer - they have a mostly rotating selection, but everything I’ve tried from them has been outstanding.
Household
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Simply Good Coffee’s THE BREWER - Glass - we tried a number of automatic drip brewers after my partner got tired using a Chemex, and this is hands-down the winner. Ours has given us four years of trouble-free service, it uses readily-available descaling solutions, and its brews are an easy satsifice against buying individual cups at the local shop.
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Whisker Litter Robot - I don’t like having things which require an app – and our model technically doesn’t, but this thing is more than worth the trouble.
Olympia, Washington
Restaurants & Bars
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Octapas Cafe - a family favorite for dining out.
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Hash - holds their own against any brunch in Portland. Family favorites include the Orange Chicken & Waffles, Biscuit Brisket Benedict, and Cinnamon Roll French Toast.
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Ilk Lodge - in addition to their own beer (mentioned above), they have the best burgers in town.
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Herfy’s Burgers - Second best burgers in town; though many people disagree and rate them first.
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Wicked Pies - home to a number of Twin Peaks-themed pizzas, they have some excellent off-menu seasonal slices, and a few other savory pies including Khachapuri and Turkish Pide.
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Huicholitos - when my partner told me “so apparently this really good Mexican place in a gas station out by the auto mall”, I didn’t believe her. I was wrong.
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Sofie’s Scoops - artisanal gelato, and Sofie is a great person.
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Filibuster Lounge - a small, quiet cocktail bar, with a variety of excellent takes on the Old Fashioned.
Events
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Luminary Procession & Procession of the Species - a wonderful pair of parades which happen during the spring ArtsWalk, and reportedly the Puget Sound’s largest Earth Day celebration.
Music-Making
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Linnstrument - An expressive MIDI controller using a grid. If a guitar makes more sense to you than a piano keyboard, this might be up your alley.
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Touché by Expressive-E - a four-axis CC controller which is easy to setup alongside the Linnstrument.
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Audio Damage - purveyors of some great software synths & effects, all of which are available for Linux & iPadOS. I contributed presets to Other Desert Cities and Axon, and am making some preset packs for Continuua and Quanta.
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Felt Instruments - One of their pianos has made it onto nearly everything I’ve published and nearly everything that is pending publishing. Kolor is a part of my mixdown channel strip.
Computer
Software
The brevity of this section is probably a testament to how much I detest most software.