Hat N' Boots

Located in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood is a tiny park, Oxbow, with a really big attraction. This is one of those attractions on Roadside Maps. 

This is Hat N' Boots.

It's a big deal. Seriously, we don't want to downplay this, it's a giant cowboy hat and cowboy boots, and it's a really big deal to our city. To be a true Seattleite you must go and bathe in the looming shadow of the Hat N' Boots, similar to Mecca... but sorta different. 

It's a truly life transforming experience. 

Why does Seattle, a city that was born of the lumber industry, have giant cowboy structures? Wouldn't this be better suited for Texas or Calgary? Well... we don't have that answer, sorry we can't know everything. Educated guess? It was exotic. It's like going to a Tiki Bar or listening to Shakira music.

What do we know? It was built for a destination gas station in the 1950s. The boots were a bathroom, the larger being the men's and smaller, women's. Unfortunately, a bright shiny new interstate, I-5, took traffic away from the small highway it was situated on, and the gas station closed. Hat N' Boots were abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair. 

If you are currently asking yourself if this story is inspiration for a Pixar film, yes, it is. We are thinking a Cars meets Toy Story hybrid. 

Don't worry this story has a happy ending though. Hat N' Boots got a new beginning when Georgetown residents decided to fundraise to restore this glorious attraction to its original grandeur. After some time, money, and paint, Hat N' Boots was looking less like Britney "2007 Meltdown" and a lot more like Britney "2011 VMAs Comeback." In addition to the Hat N' Boots masterpiece, the park also has a jungle gym for kids and a P Patch maintained by residents.

So please, go visit. Take a can of Budweiser and some deer jerky, wear a bolo tie, and salute this masterpiece.

At this point we have done all we can to convince you this is a place to visit, but you might be on the fence, just not sure about whether or not it's going to be worth it. Well, you're a fool, of course it will be worth it, but if you need additional reasons to go, here are four places in the area to up the ante: Katsu Burger, 9lb Hammer, Two Beers Brewing and Via Tribunali. 

Flatstick Pub

Local beer? Check. Mini golf? Check. Dog-friendly with cool art? Check and Check. Flatstick Pub just expanded to Pioneer Square, and we could not be more delighted. This Eastside spot has finally crossed the pond and now all of us Seattle folks can enjoy the fun. Their curated taplist of only the best Washington beers and ciders in addition to the mini golf and (newly invented bar game) duffleboard courses make this a great place to have get togethers with friends (although your friends either have to be 21+ or of the canine variety, sorry kids).

In addition to the entertainment and beer, they also have approximately 1 million TVs to watch the local sporting events (Go Local Sports Team!), and they commissioned our favorite artist, Henry, to decorate the place. Not to mention the large cubbie-hole type seating that gives you privacy and space to gather a group. The vibes are great, the beer is cold, and the people are friendly. What more could you ask for in a night out?

Henry art and colorful balls

Oh wait, there's more! (this is starting to feel like an infomercial, but we are being sincere. Cross our hearts.)

It is only $7 to play mini golf and $3 for duffleboard. That makes this the cheapest fun thing to do in all of Seattle-land. You can't even buy a deck of cards for $3 anymore. And duffleboard is basically the best game to be invented since its cousin, shuffleboard. 

Insider Tip: Yappy Hour ($1 off your beer) is M-F from 6-7PM and all day Sunday. Bring in your pooch for a discount! 

This light-up Space Needle takes your ball at the end of mini-golf. Um...cool.

Seattle Brewery Tour: Ballard

The Emerald City is full of options for trying some of the best beer in America. Washington State has over 200 independent breweries and many choose Seattle as their home. Yakima Valley is one of the biggest producer of hops in the world and luckily it is in our backyard.

Neighbors, just like Seth Rogen and Zac Efron.

The craft brewery industry brought over $6 billion to Washington last year and continues to grow. If you live in Seattle, you've probably noticed. New breweries pop up on street corners as often as Belltown gets a new apartment building, but you won't see us complaining, we can drink beer allll day, every day (we don't because that isn't socially acceptable though unfortunately). But what we can do (all for the sake of research) is spend the next year traveling to every corner of the city to get you all the information you need to make informed decisions about our local beer.

Part one of the craft series is focusing on Ballard, which, in our opinion, holds some of the best beer in the city. Here are our four favorites.

Stoup Brewing

Stoup, named after a Scottish drinking vessel, is fairly new to the brewery scene, opening in 2013. We are a little biased about our love of their beer since 50% of the brain power behind this operation is female. Robyn Schumacher was Washington States first female Cicerone and she is killing it at Stoup. She and her partner built the brewery on their love of science and beer, and you can taste it.

Our favorite: Citra IPA.

Reuben's Brews

Reuben's entered the scene in 2012. Back then it was a lot smaller, with a metal bowl of pretzels and a short list of beers on the wall. Fast forward to today and they are one of the most popular craft breweries in the city. Getting a seat on the weekend in their expanded space is difficult, but the wait is worth it. Sitting in the sun with a Reuben's brew in your hand is a pretty good way to spend a Saturday afternoon...or Sunday...or Monday...or Tuesday... or

Our favorite: Gose Sour Ale

Peddler Brewing Company

Peddler Brewing has great beer, but they win their spot on this list because of their space. For Seattle, this place is yuuuggeee. They have taps in the front, along with seating, but don't stop here, head out back and take advantage of their many games and giant yard full of communal picnic tables. Bond over beers with strangers by playing a game of cornhole/bags/whatever you call it where you are from or giant Jenga under their string lights.

Our favorite: Earl Gray Blonde Kombucha Sour

Hale's Ales

Hale's is the wise old papa bear of breweries in Ballard, hell in Seattle. Mike Hale opened Hale's Ales in 1983, and they are still running as an independently owned shop. That makes them the longest running operation in the NW and for that, we show respect. Their place might not have a modern logo or creative tap handles, but they pour good beer and their brewers know their stuff. 

Our favorite: Supergoose IPA

There are a few other breweries in the neighborhood, but if we have to pick, these are the ones. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Cheers! 

All four breweries within walking distance. Sunday Funday? Challenge accepted.

Moore Coffee

Sitting inside the historic Moore Theater and Hotel in downtown Seattle is a little coffee shop with epic lattes. Moore Coffee has become a destination for a cup of joe in the last year or so due to their creatively cute latte art.

I mean, you saw that picture and your heart melted a little, right? When you combine drawings of adorable animals with really delicious, well done coffee, in a city like Seattle, you are bound for Yelp and Instagram fame. Nice play, Moore, nice play. 

We took our local coffee expert and ex-barista friend, Tristan, on a mission to see if the coffee stood up to standard, or if you are just going to get a cute animal drawn in your foam for an okay-ish latte. As we ordered our coffees we could tell he was cringing at the thought of getting some cutesy animal drawn in his coffee, but our excitement won him over in the end (we think). They delivered the cups one-by-one, and we oo-ed and ahh-ed over each one as it came out (they don't take requests, so the unveiling as you get your order is half the fun). 

"Omg! A kitty!!!" (Tristan trying not to die of embarrassment).

"WOW!! A bear!" (Tristan about to run out of the coffee shop).

"OOo, what's this one?? NO! An elephant. This is too much!" (Tristan resigns to his humiliation and drinks his elephant coffee).

In the end, he admitted they made a decent latte and we enjoyed our cups on their outdoor patio. Now you can go to Moore Coffee with high expectations and the promise that you will not only enjoy the coffee, but the adorable animal drawn in your foam too. AND they don't just make animal lattes, they also have savory and sweet waffles on the menu that look like something we could definitely be on board with. 

So head over to 2nd Ave and just resign to the delight that is having a bear saying hi written in your coffee. You know you want to.