It's almost impossible to nail down the *one* best restaurant, or the *one* best coffee shop in a city this size.
But our partners at Seattle Metropolitan Magazine broke it down into 6 different categories in the July "Best of the City" issue.
They focus on the new and newly discovered: 183 shops, services, activities and eateries.
In each category is a featured "trailblazer," someone making a significant impact in our community.
We caught up with three of them.
The category: "Family and Pets".
The trailblazer is Grisha Stewart, owner and founder of Ahimsa Dog Training Center in Ballard.
Seattle Metrolitan Magazine calls it a zen dog studio because of her philosophy. Stewart's teachings revolve around compassion for your pet.
She says, “We are trying to build up the behaviors that are already in the dog to be the ones that we want and get rid of the behaviors we don't like not by force or correction but by letting those not be reinforced.”
So it's about individualized training... one dog at a time and about positive
re-inforcement.
In the "food and drinks" section, you may not know his face, but you've sampled his cuisine.
Trailblazer Ethan Stowell owns three restaurants including "Union" in downtown Seattle. His mantra is simple flavors, fresh ingredients, and fine dining without the pretentious atmosphere.
He says, “I think the number one thing people appreciate about us is that we put effort into it but we don't make it feel stuffy.”
Stowell's favorite dishes to whip up? Vegetables, seafood and pastas.
This young chef just received one of the highest honors in the culinary stratosphere: one of Food and Wine magazine's best new chefs of the year!
In the "Out and About" section, Weir Harman is the Executive Director of Town Hall Seattle.
Seattle Metropolitan calls him a trailblazer for the impact he and Town Hall have made on this community.
He says, “There's nowhere actually in the country that has our mix of major national and international figures alongside grassroots organizations. And that's a testament to Seattle's breadth and curiosity i think”
Town Hall Seattle offers events in the arts, politics, science and literature. It hosts more than 90,000 visitors and 300 events every year including speakers like Al Gore and Barack Obama. Harman is proud to have inherited an organization that's so beloved.
Read more on all six trailblazers and everything that's "Best of Seattle” in the July issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine.
By the way, the July month issue is in 3-d and includes glasses so you can see the city in a whole new way.