Kelly Smith | Made in Seattle

Seattle’s Belltown loses Bada lounge and gains Umi Saki House. We thought we’d check it out. Umi is the same location and owner as Bada was before it. Umi (“ocean” in Japanese) take the place of Steven’s previous restaurant which closed mid-February 2006 after a four-and-a-half year run. Steven isn’t exactly your standard restaurateur—he graduated from the University of Washington in industrial design and worked at Microsoft on user interfaces. “One six-month project was enough for me,” laughs Steven.

The new place is a much more evolved (and improved) affair. There’s an open kitchen, a tatami room, a semi-private dining room, sushi bar and back yard patio. Diners at the sushi bar look through a window into the “back yard” and see trees. Skylights let in natural light. Diners on the patio will look at trees and a shingled wall—the “outside” of the house.

We loved it. When in Seattle check it out.

Tricia and I decided it was time to buy a new car today. We were torn between the Land Rover Sport which is a really amazing car/truck/suv and the Porsche Cayenne. We actually don’t spend a lot on luxuries. I drop her off at work most days and we really only have one nice car between us. In any case, the reality is that the Range Rover Sport is a much cooler looking ride. More luxurious too. But, one drive in the Cayenne and it’s clear what the difference is. The Cayenne may well be remembered as an unnecessary departure for Porsche but enough Porsche genes were infused into this vehicle that it makes other trucks feel like….well…trucks. This is a sports car of a truck. We opted for a V-8 powered Cayenne S though folks with more disposable income (or less sense) can step up yet another level to the turbo model. Personally, a 500HP truck doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Living here in Seattle though, this high performance car shaped like a truck somehow started to make sense. I’ve got a few hardcore car guys in my group and I’m sure to get a bit of ridicule but if I toss them the keys for a tour around the block I think they’ll see what I liked about this crazy thing. The Cayenne is a Porsche experiment that may not withstand the test of time but if you want a SUV type thing that isn’t docile then this is the only thing on the market that really ticks the box. It isn’t the sexiest truck on the road but this truck flies like a Euro sedan.