El Sabroso

Seattle is newly replete with food trucks. The new laws passed by the city in July 2011 made it much easier to be street food vendor in this town, and the payoff has been huge. At any lunchtime in most neighborhoods - and on most major corners - you can find trucks selling sushi, felafel, french toast, udon noodles, crepes, bibimbap - pretty much any street food from any corner of the globe.

For my two bucks, the best "taco trucks" are still taco trucks. Long the only street food vendors of any note in this town, the many Mexican families selling cheap tacos, burritos, tortas and tamales out of their converted panel vans are the people who have long since perfected this art form. And in this Dogg's humble opinion, El Sabroso on Beacon Hill remains the ne plus ultra of taco trucks. This family-owned business was founded by Daniel Perez Jimenez - born in Oaxaca and schooled in cooking in Mexico City. Arriving in the U.S. in 1999, Perez helped open the kitchen of Tango Tapas Restaurant in Seattle, moved to San Antonio for a stint, then came back to Seattle in 2006 to direct a kitchen on Capitol Hill and open his taco truck in his family's Beacon Hill neighborhood.

The menu at El Sabroso doesn't vary greatly from standard Mexican street fare - tortas, tacos, burriots and horchata - but the ingredients are always fresh, there is always seafood on the menu in addition to the usual meats, and the chef's special quesadilla "La Sabrosota," filled with bacon, sausage, ham, egg and cheese - is a masterpiece.

The truck itself is gorgeous as well, with a spray painted mural of Emiliano Zapata and the slogan "La Tierra es Para Quien la Trabaja" ("The land belongs to those who work it") painted high above the serving window.

El Sabroso can be found every day at the corner of Roberto Maestas Festival Street and 16th Ave. S., in front of El Centro de la Raza.

Pedaler’s Fair

This weekend brings the second annual Seattle Pedaler’s Fair to the Underground Events Center in Belltown. This is very smart and sexy marketplace for Washington based, bicycle-inspired small businesses with a little bit of everything. Dozens of exhibitors include Hinderyckx Bikes, High Above, Swift Industries and many more with lots of cool bike gear for sale. Plus beer, food and workshops throughout the weekend. Coming up this Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21, from 11am-5pm both days.

Suyama Space Garage Sale

The Suyama Space Benefit Garage Sale is a wondrous and completely irregular event in which the eccentric architecture firm Suyama Peterson Deguchi clears out its curiously curated attic, basement and gallery space. After a two year hiatus the sale is finally back, and includes an incomprehensibly weird and satisfying mix of objects including (but hardly limited to) one of a kind handmade furniture, taxidermied animals, transistor radios, foreign language typewriters, splendid textiles, objets d'art and many more unnameable treasures.

The sale takes place this weekend only, on Friday from 9 to 5, Saturday from 10 to 4, and Sunday from 10 to 4. At 2324 Second Avenue in Belltown. Bring cash!

Book Marker

In the 1950's, the hugely influential filmmaker Chris Marker, who died earlier this year, worked for the publishing house Editions du Seuil and, among other projects, he was responsible for Seuil’s series of travel books, Petite Planète.

The books bear telltale signs of both Marker's wonderful sense of design and his eye for suggestive narrative details. In 2006 Marker collected a copy of each book that he designed for display at an exhibition titled Having Been Described in Words. After the show, Marker decided to produce a poster depicting the covers of the Petite Planète guides from 1954-64. A rare edition of the poster is currently for sale on the site Light Industry. Even if you're not in the market for a poster, take a moment to look at the hypnotic image created by all of these lovely books in one place.

The Big Dig

If you're looking for me tomorrow afternoon, I'll be at the Big Dig Record Show on Capitol Hill, 'cause you know I need more records. This is a well planned annual event with 20 music dealers from around the region converging on the Vermillion Gallery and Bar for a few hours. It's a well stocked one-day record store, open to all ages, with a full bar and DJ's all day. From 3-8 pm, and admission is just $3. See you there!

Pedaler’s Fair

This should be good - the first Seattle "Pedaler’s Fair" takes place this weekend, April 21st and 22nd, at the intersection of NW 49th street and 14th avenue North, three blocks from the Burke-Gilman Trail in Ballard. The fair is a first-ever market dedicated to bicycle related goods manufactured by independent Washington businesses. This two-day event highlights products and crafts from over twenty businesses, representing an amazing array of local projects dedicated to bikes. Sponsored by local bike heroes Swift Industries and Go Means Go, along with Central Coop Madison Market, & Seattle Bike Blog. A great chance to outfit yourself for summer, plus music, workshops, and beer. From 11am–5pm Saturday and Sunday.

Stasia Burrington

The Punk Rock Flea Market happened over the weekend, and it was a hell of a thing. I'll post a full update in a minute, but I first want to highlight one of the vendors who was selling work there. Stasia Burrington is an illustrator here in Seattle, and I just love her work. There's so much to enjoy here - The super cute figures have feelings that run very deep. Her clean clean lines reveal wonderfully complicated ambiguities. And the characters somehow maintain their innocence despite living in a sexy and violent world. Punk rock? Maybe not. Hopelessly romantic? Without question.

Baby Nico really liked this one. For myself, I picked up a pocket-size 2012 calendar with an illustration for each month. Lovely. See more of her work here, and go shopping on her Etsy site right here.

Yelping with Cormac McCarthy

Did you know that novelist Cormac McCarthy reviews his favorite shopping spots on Yelp? For example, here he is at the local Whole Foods:

The riders watched as the women left their station wagons and strollers and encircled the outlaw. As if some ancient instinct united them. Silent as wolves and staring intently at the broken man standing there. He saw his mistake and called out to the riders reaching toward them with his one good arm but was struck down with a savage blow from a rolled yoga mat.

Heaven help me, but this is why the internet was invented. Much more here.

Let's Ride

A beautiful and timely cover adorns the latest issue of The Ride, a journal of writing, art and bicycling out of the United Kingdom. The image is by I Love Dust, and you can see their gorgeous covers for issues 1 through 4 right here. As always, the new issue is a stunning combination of fine writing, lush photography, and brilliant illustration, all themed around bicycles of every conceivable form and style. A must-read for us literary biker types. The Ride #5 is available on their website or at a small handful of American cycle shops. You can download pdfs of issues 1 and 2 if you want to take a look before spending your hard earned dosh. Or you can just take my word for it.

Seattle Bike Swap

This Saturday brings the annual Seattle Bike Swap. Lots of great deals from parts manufacturers and bike shops looking to sell off stock and clear out old merchandise before bike season really gets going. Tons of new and used bike-related goods, from complete bikes to small parts. One day only, Saturday February 27, at Magnuson Park Hanger #30. Admission is $5 from 9 am to 1 pm and free from 1 to 2 pm. Kids enter free all day. Most dealers are not taking credit cards, so bring cash or things to trade if you mean to go shopping!

Superheroes! Now on Sale!

January is rolling along, and it's the perfect moment to pick up a bargain calendar. For example, the non-profit org New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) out of New York is now selling off their stock of Dulce Pinzon’s 18-month “Superheroes” Calendar. Pinzon's Superheroes series features color photographs of Latino immigrant workers dressed as Mexican and American superheroes in their work environments. According to Pinzon, his work means to raise questions regarding our definition of heroism and bring attention to widespread ignorance and indifference to the workforce that fuels our economy. The calendar is now just 12 bucks and all proceeds go to benefit NICE. Buy it right here. More of Dulce Pinzon's work can be found here.