CHECKING IN WITH THE BEST >>>

For three years running, Weekly Volcano readers voted Jamie Lee & Company the "Best Salon" in the Best of Olympia issues, including this year.

Why?

Is it the two resident cats, Otto and Smithsonian? Is it the colorful décor? Is it the kid-friendly salon station? How about its cruelty-free products?

Yes, but at its core, the best salon can turn a gray day into one with internal sunrays, melt work stress away, and give you ramrod posture the better to highlight your new do, eyes, and cheekbones. Jamie Lee & Company does all that, and more.

The downtown Olympia salon also makes you comfortable while offering what you need, and employs cool stylists with their personalities shining through their stations in the form of pictures of their dogs, artwork and friends lining the walls. 

"Everyone who works here is unique," says owner Jamie Lee, whose salon has called Fourth Avenue home for nearly 18 years. "I have total confidence in them. They are very talented and not afraid to go outside the norm."

Jaime Lee employees seven hairdressers, two massage therapists and an astrologer.

"We're all so eclectic that we have clients that range from young punks to little old ladies," says Lee.

Lee also attributes their reputation to the community support the salon displays, through donations to various local fundraisers, including Stonewall Youth and Animal Services.

JAMIE LEE & COMPANY, 10 A.M. TO 7 P.M. TUESDAY-SATURDAY, 309 FOURTH AVE. E., OLYMPIA, 360.786.6027

LINK: 2013 Best of Olympia

2013 BEST OF OLYMPIA ISSUE ONLINE >>>

Hey South Sound! Want to have the Best day ever? The 2013 Best of Olympia issue is now online. The Weekly Volcano has hand-crafted your day with picks and suggestions from the issue. Enjoy.

THIS MORNING

Masaala Chai Café

Masaala Chai Cafe opened its doors Jan. 7 offering flavorful concoctions such as Indian espresso and coconut lattes. That's right, Indian espresso. And Wowie! The Indian espresso is a steaming concoction of espresso, sugar and milk. The milk was delightfully whipped into a velvety foam and sprinkled with dark chocolate powder. The coffee itself was a vivid balance of nicely roasted beans and sugar. Not syrupy sweet. It reminded me of warm comforters and watching television with my Granny.  9323 Martin Way E., Lacey - Jackie Fender

LUNCH

Eastside Big Tom

From its advertising gimmicks to its over-the-top Halloween and Christmas decorating, Eastside Big Tom has what it takes to make your drive-thru experience a blast - in person and online. Known for giving away swag such as iron-on patches and key chains, the employees also solicit creative milkshake concoctions from the community (avocado anyone?) and incorporated a rock band into its menu (Dirty Birds chicken sandwich). Eastside Big Tom also has creative quips on its Facebook page and posts pictures of staff dressed up in mad scientist lab coats, perhaps preparing its famous - and secret - Goop recipe. 2023 Fourth Ave. E. - Nikki McCoy

SHOPPING

State Surplus

The state surplus store in Tumwater holds a variety of left-over government goodies from blackberry phones, liquor company swag, pocket knives, historical photos, computers, restaurant equipment, and as mentioned, prison instruments. This warehouse is a picker's dream. The hours - 12:30-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday - aren't always convenient, but its online auctions are. 7511 New Market St. - NM

AFTER NOON CHILL

Classic Winemakers Micro Winery

OK, this beautifully appointed storefront is actually a micro-winery offering small batch wines, wine tastings, and - what pops their cork the most - teaching the art of winemaking. After sampling some of its 50 wines, the staff will don lab coats and match your preferred tasks to produce your ultimate wine. After 4-6 weeks, you have your own wine. That's all fine, but what the Weekly Volcano enjoys most at Classic Winemakers is its comfy, leather sofa facing Fourth and Adams Street. Grab a glass of Cabernet and watch life collide at the intersection. Hello guy wearing macramé hat riding ridiculous tiny bicycle. Hello Bike Stand employee wearing shorts during winter. Hello tall guy staggering out of China Clipper's Pagoda Room at 5 p.m. Hello lady picking her nose at the stoplight. 325 Fourth Ave. E. - Ron Swarner

HAPPY HOUR

Swing Bar Happy Hour

"We just try to stay out of the debates!" says Swing Bar owner Nicole Butigan, with a laugh, after being named Best Spot To Find A Politician Drinking. Butigan says they see a lot of government faces during session -  from senators to interns - and occasional private meetings are held downstairs. The daily Lush Rush happy hour is 4-6 p.m. - except Monday, when, thank God, happy hour lasts all night. 825 Columbia St. SW - NM

DINNER

Ricardo's Restaurant

For lover's of dry-aged, marbled, gristly, lean, thick, rubbed, marinated, tender, juicy, robust, blue, well-done, or anything in between steak, Ricardo's is most certainly the place for this glorious, diverse piece of meat. Ricardo's steaks are from heaven. 5211 Lacey Blvd. SE, Lacey - NM

DANCE

OlyBlues

Remember that sudden swing dancing craze about 10 years ago? I was living in Hollywood at the time, and my roommates were regulars at the Brown Derby, so I enjoyed a crash course in the lush life. That craze left town before I did, but its timeless, elegant beauty lives on at OlySwing. You could visit the Beginning Swing lessons every Tuesday, or you could learn swing's Africanist cousin, blues dancing on Thursdays at the Olympia Eagles Ballroom. Blues dancing derives from the so-called "Black vernacular" of Southern dance styles and includes such moves as the Lindy and the irresistibly named "Funky Butt." Worst case scenario: you have two left feet but get to listen to Nina Simone. - Christian Carvajal

DRINKS

Bartender Dawn at King Solomon's Reef

Dawn Gillnett, voted Olympia's Best Bartender, is a bit nervous having her first newspaper interview, but when asked to talk about her work mixing drinks and befriending customer's at King Solomon's Reef, she opens up.

"I LOVE it," she says. "I love the schedule. I love being around the people. You get to feel like you're part of the scene. You feel like you're going out and being social without going out and being social."

And Gillnett's customers love her, too.

"She's been doing this for over a decade," says Jason McIntyre, who owns the Reef. "She's absolutely professional. She's a super-cute lady, super-friendly, makes really good drinks, makes everyone feel welcome." 212 Fourth Ave. E. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Dawn Gillnett.

LINK: 2013 Best of Olympia issue

GOOD TIMES >>>

Wednesday's 2013 Best of Olympia Awards Party was - to put it as professionally as possible - awesome. The Weekly Volcano's annual celebration of its Best of Olympia issue drew the biggest crowd yet - this year held at the Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia. Because of the Capitol Theater's professional sound, lighting and stage, the party was more of a show, including emcee Elizabeth Lord introducing acts, telling stories, running the raffle with hyper-local prizes and keeping the show moving. There were some special moments: Lord singing the "Kids Must Go To The Lobby" song before every TUSH! Burlesque performance, the guitar work by band Science!, Mosquito Hawk rockin' faces off including the two super fans up front, "Best Arts MVP" Stephanie Johnson giving props to the Olympia community, watching Pappi Swarner run up and down the aisle with the raffle box and, of course, the lovely ladies of TUSH!.

Above all, what makes Best of Olympia Awards parties, well, the best are the award winners and people who attend. Olympia is a tight-knit community with everyone cheering each other on, hugging, sharing beers and discussing their next collaborative ventures. It's a wonderful vibe.

One love, Thurston County. xo   

LINK: 2013 Best of Olympia Awards Party photos

BONUS: "Best Music Video Producer" Red Williamson snapped photos too

Holy shit.

Wednesday night's Best of Olympia party at the Capitol Theater still has a hold on a few Weekly Volcano staffers. That, and we are wading through 1,000 party photos. Seriously. We hope to post photos of the shindig over the weekend. Please stay tuned. ...

A LITTLE SLOW TODAY >>>

Last night was the annual Best of Olympia party hosted by everyone's favorite free alternative weekly, Weekly Volcano. And what a party it was. Held at the Capitol Theater, it was our largest Best of party to date. In fact, a better name for the shindig would be the Best of Olympia Show. Emcee Elizabeth Lord entertained, Science! and Mosquito Hawk rocked, TUSH! Burlesque dazzled, winners were celebrated and prizes were doled out.

The Weekly Volcano staff worked its ass off — both at the show and at the after party inside King Solomon's Reef. We're a bit slow today. Please stand by. ...

In the meantime, please grab a copy of the Weekly Volcano and check out the 2013 Best of Olympia issue. It's freakin' killer.

HEY YOU!! >>>

All those exclamation points mean business, yo! This is serious!

It's your LAST DAY to vote in the Volcano's Best of Olympia 2013 Readers' Poll!

We wouldn't joke about such a thing. It's true.

Go here to VOTE NOW!

The Volcano's Best of Olympia 2013 issue hits the street Thursday, Feb. 21 - less than a month from today. This means here at the Volcano we better kick it into high gear (just kidding ... kind of), and you better mark Wednesday, Feb. 20 on your calendars. The Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia Party will go down at the Capitol theater starting at 6 p.m., featuring raffle prizes, emcee Elizabeth Lord, TUSH! burlesque troupe, bands Mosquito Hawk and Science, and more.

LET'S PARTY >>>

The Weekly Volcano's annual Best of Olympia party is one month away, which means you need to hit the "+" button on your electronic calendar and set Wednesday, Feb. 20 as the night you will be partying with the Olympia community. Type in "Capitol Theater" as the Location. Select 6 p.m. as the Start Time. Select 9 p.m. as the End Time. In the Notes field, type: "This is a free event featuring the Tush Burlesque Troupe, emcee Elizabeth Lord, bands Mosquito Hawk and Science!, films, beer and wine, raffle prizes, Best of Olympia winner announcements and more." 

There, you're set. You'll enjoy a cornucopia of Olympia culture packed into one early evening. Bonus: You'll know the 2013 Best of Olympia winners before the rest of the world. We'll announce the winners and distribute copies of the special issue the night before it hits the streets.

The 2013 Best of Olympia Readers' Poll will remain open until this coming Thursday night. The important thing to remember is the 2013 Best of Olympia Readers' Poll is your chance to give recognition to the people, places and things in Olympia and Thurston County that deserve it. Vote now!

LINKS: Scenes from the 2011 Best of Olympia Party and 2012 Best of Olympia Party

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment of the day comes from J.J. Syrja in response to KAOS 89.3FM being named "Best Radio Station" by readers in the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia 2012 issue.

J.J. Syrja writes,

Thanks to all who voted for KAOS--please visit the website, kaosradio.org, to get show times for your favorite music, news and public affairs programming.
Nearly 40 years on, we've still got an incredible array of shows and DJs--we call them programmers--who care deeply about their audience. Pass it on.

FROM WHAT WE CAN REMEMBER >>>

Last night was the annual Best of Olympia party hosted by everyone's favorite free alternative weekly, Weekly Volcano. And what a party it was. Held at the 4th Avenue Tavern, this year's event had many things working in its favor: the venue sports a kick ass music room, a laser show decorated the floor, $2 Oly beers, pool and arcade games, and there were lots of people enjoying themselves on a rain-free Olympia night.

It took an hour, but eventually the joint filled with award winners and partiers. Thanks to the Weekly Volcano's awesome Street Team, you couldn't walk past the 4th Ave Tav without noticing the hoopla.

Inside, it was the best of both worlds: A who's who of the Olympia music and arts scene pounded drinks and chatted in the main bar area, while Glass Elevator and Scott Taylor & the Fond Farewells rocked those in the music room.  In between bands, Olympia-raised Sean Peterson ran the raffle and tossed Olympia trivia into the crowd. Team Brotherhood Lounge took home the most trivia prizes.

Every half hour throughout the night, the 4th Ave Tav crew exited the music room with a towering stack on pint glasses.

Special thanks to musical director/sound engineer Ben Hawkes for lining up an awesome night of music. Glass Elevator tripped the light fantastic with an amazing, rockin' Floyd-like set. You could hear each talented musician. Scott Taylor and his Fond Farewell – the entire band dressed in white suits but individually-selected footwear - took the crowd to the other side of the '70s - the pop side. Besides worthy renditions of Michael Jackson, Hall & Oates and the Beach Boys, the band performed a brilliant version of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" that packed an, well, amazing crescendo. A few couples made out during Scott Taylor's rendition of "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp.

A big thanks to the Best of Olympia 2012 winners who dropped by for their awards and the $2 Olys. The Weekly Volcano crew will distribute the remaining awards over the next few weeks.

We'll post the Best of Olympia 2012 issue on our website Monday. In the meantime, the issue is nestled inside the Weekly Volcano from Federal Way to Tumwater.

Below are a few shots from last night's party.

Thanks for the fun time Oly!

CAT FIGHT >>>

The Best of Olympia 2012 is on the street, the 5,000 pint glasses from last night's Best of Olympia Party have been through the 4th Avenue Tavern's dishwasher and the pink Pepto bottle has disappeared off Editor Matt Driscoll's desk.

In a nutshell, there's a calm inside the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters - if you ignore preparations for next week's annual Music Issue.

However, there IS anger on the streets of Olympia - specifically, at Olympia bookstore Last Word Books. The Weekly Volcano named Orca Books' resident cat, Henry, the "Best Bookstore Cat" in this year's annual issue. It seems that honor pissed off another Olympia cat.

"As the resident feline at Last Word Books, I must take umbrage at your selection of Orca's Henry as the best bookstore house cat. Sure, He's a booji kitty stuck in a booji bookstore, but I am the mighty Basil. I can out-nap, out eat and scatter more kitty-Litter-ature then anyone. Thus I demand satisfaction. DEADLY HAIRBALLS AT FIFTY PACES!" - Basil the Cat (as told to Tim Jarrett).

Hang in there kitty.

P.S. The Best of Olympia 2012 will post online Monday, Feb. 20. If you follow bestofolympia2012.com you'll reach gold.