No one noticed, but last week the King County health department raised the stakes in the city's war on smoking by suing two bars for failing to comply with the nah-they'll-never-enforce-it rule that prohibits smoking within twenty-five feet of the doors, windows, and vents of bars and restaurants. You may have noticed that the twenty-five-foot rule generally isn't enforced, and smokers seem to wander as far afield as twenty-five inches from the door of most bars before lighting up. Check outside Neumos between sets, the Tractor on weekends and most neighborhood bars any time at all where it's not unusual to see patrons straddling the threshold of a back door; Manny's just inside the bar, American Spirit just out. more ›

We were mid-bite on our Bratwurst Sandwich mit Pommes Frittes ($8) when Spain's Fernando Torres scored the sole goal, and we celebrated quietly with a swig of Franziskaner Dunkel Weissbier. A friend of ours whooped and threw her hands up in the air. She suddenly felt very alone, she mentioned later. more ›

A few weeks ago, we watched the first half of the Champions League Final at Pyramid. Each shot or diving save was met with indifference by the lunch crowd—we quickly found the game slow and boring. more ›

The Euro Cup starts this weekend-- it's just like the World Cup except there is more overt racism, and the fans have free health care. more ›