43 (More) Things Seattle Is Missing

A recent archives search bubbled up this practically ancient (2006) post on "43 things Seattle is missing." It was part of a series of "43 things" posts, inspired by the Amazon-friendly social networking project of the same name.

Some entries were prescient, like the desire for street food and an MLS team. Many things have changed since then (we'd argue that we've got a good crop of heirloom tomatoes and that local writer Peter Lewis offers up some engaging local noir thrillers), while others have not. The desire for soft serve still ranks high among Seattlest writers' wishes, though voters last week decided that "serious booze" shouldn't be sold in grocery stores.

We thought it was high time to update our catalog of things that would make this city ever so much better. What are we missing? Let us know in the comments.

1. An actual light rail network. It's allegedly going to happen but it should have happened years ago.
2. More soft serve locations.
3. More places open 24 hours.
4. Keychain bar codes for our library cards. San Francisco does it and it means one less thing in your wallet and never finding yourself without your card.
5. Xiao long bao. This absence should be remedied any day now, but why is this Shanghai favorite so hard to find around here?
6. In-N-Out. Why so stingy, Southern California?
7. An NBA team.
8. Alternately, an NHL team because fuck the NBA, they had their chance.
9. Roller coasters, goddammit.
10. A formal, full-time newspaper restaurant critic as befitting our city's food scene (Sorry Sheehan). Michael Bauer, Sam Sifton, Phil Vettel--these are the go-to voices in other dining cities.
11. Public transit that runs later than 1:30 a.m.
12. More food carts. Oh wait, we're getting more food carts. What about a comprehensive cart-tracking website like this one?
13. A local politician who's not afraid to be unpopular if it means getting things done. See Daley, Richard.
14. Interesting architecture. You can only mention the Central Library to visitors so many times.
15. A revival of the Q Patrol to maintain some order in Capitol Hill late at night.
16. A truly iconic Seattle food. Philly has cheese steaks, Chicago has its colossal pizza and LA its burritos. People in other cities apparently think we just drink coffee all the time. This leads us to...
17. An undisputed best teriyaki joint in the city, which can help make it the nationally known iconic Seattle dish it could and should be.
18. The Seattle Spirit.
19. More all-ages music venues. Or at least non-prehistoric alcohol laws that let underage folk attend shows without preventing the 21-plus crowd from having a beer.
20. Knowledgeable baseball fans who don't need to be told when to cheer by the scoreboard.
21. And/or, baseball fans who don't need bobblehead giveaways as an incentive to attend games.
22. An antiques and used books district.
23. More waterfront or rooftop drinking venues.
24. A Seattle accent.
25. An official in-motion solution for that damn viaduct.
26. Burgerville. So Centralia merits your onion rings but not us?
27. A roller rink.
28. Happy hours that you can actually attend.
29. A great sports rivalry.
30. Shake Shack. Are you sensing a theme? We like burgers.
31. A cultural center that's actually, um, central. Seattle Center is a good start, but most of the city's major venues are scattered around downtown.
32. Bloomingdales. Not everyone here wears track pants out to dinner. Plus you can't beat their sales.
33. Seattle-specific Foursquare badges. That Starbucks badge doesn't cut it. How about one for visiting every Tom Douglas restaurant? Or actually being a regular light rail patron?
34. 24-hour fast food downtown.
35. Light rail on the 520 bridge. Lose a few acres of arboretum and gain a reduction in carbon-spewing cars idling in bridge traffic.
36. Corner taverns. Not too loud, always a seat and at least one interesting beer on tap. And most importantly, always nearby.
37. A TV show that's gorgeously set in Seattle and isn't Grey's Anatomy.
38. A nationally renowned pizza place that takes reservations. Sure, we brag about Delancey and Serious Pie, but the scary waits deter us from going there. Maybe this guy can show us the way.
39. A great paper and craft store.
40. Check, Please! Promote local restaurants and garner new, young public television viewers all at the same time.
41. The regional, non-alumni love for Husky basketball that Husky football has had for generations.
42. A group of small ferries that we could call the "swarm of bees" or "shitflies" or "mosquito fleet".
43. Potbelly Sandwich Shop. We can't resist the little cookies around the milkshake straws at this Chicago-and DC-area favorite.