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Red Star Taco Bar is a fun place. I came here for Taco Tuesday, where select tacos are two dollars all day long. However, they also do Margarita Mondays ($6 margs and trivia) and Movie Night Wednesdays (movies played on the TVs and projector).

I ordered three tacos: Tequila Lime Chicken, Breakfast, and Carnitas. All three were great, but my favorite was the Breakfast one. The tacos were medium sized and these are normally $3 or $4 dollars each. I thought three tacos were a good portion for lunch. I might try different tacos next time, just to mix it up.

I came here with four other people and it is a great place for groups. We sat in one of their nice booths and it was super easy for us to split the check at the end. I would definitely recommend this place.

I love Fran's Chocolates. It is a nice Seattle-based, family-owned business. I think their confections are extremely elegant and very delicious.

I definitely couldn't afford these chocolates every day, but they are the perfect indulgence for special occasions and they make great gifts. President Obama used to give Fran's sea salt chocolate caramels to his special guests at the White House!

The Downtown Seattle boutique is located on the street level of the Four Seasons Hotel. It is quite spacious and they have beautiful displays where you can see what goes inside the various chocolate assortments.

Customer service was excellent here. Upon arriving, I was quickly offered a free sample, which was neat. I decided to buy Fran's Assortment (a mix of gray/smoked salt caramels and milk/dark chocolate truffles). I didn't like the color of the box (bright green), but they happily transferred everything to a champagne colored box for me, which I really appreciated.

They tied the box with a beautiful satin ribbon and wrapped it in tissue paper. They put it in a cute little bag for me and they also have some really nice looking little cards where you can write a short note.

The best part is they offer a 10% discount for UW students. Go dawgs!

Raney's Bar & Grill is a hidden gem in the Industrial District. This cozy little place has really great food and excellent customer service. I highly recommend this spot.

I ordered a BBQ sandwich with beef brisket (the other options are pulled pork or smoked chicken). The sandwich comes with 1/3 pound of meat, grilled onions, cheese, and red cabbage slaw on an artisan roll. It is served with your choice of seasoned fries, mac salad, potato salad, or slaw.

My sandwich was delicious. The meat was really tender and it was cut like a piece of steak (not shredded), which was interesting. The owners of this place also own the Raney Brothers BBQ food truck which you may have seen in Downtown Seattle. They definitely have a lot of experience doing barbecue!

The interior of the restaurant is pretty small. It is basically one room with a large raised bar and a few separate tables. There is only one bathroom.

When we were there, the bartender A.J. was taking care of everyone. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and he did a great job of walking over to our table to check on us. I overheard him talking to some other customers and he knew everyone's name! He also seemed to take great pride in his place of employment, which was really cool.

The Dirty Apron is an awesome cooking school! My husband and I took "The Best Brunch Class," which was four hours long and $170 CAD per person. I thought it was worth every penny. Make sure you book early because these classes always sell out.

They let you check in up to 30 minutes before the class starts. When we got there, we were greeted by Ashanti, our event host. She treated us well and gave us really nice black cloth aprons (which you get to keep)! She also offered us coffee/tea while we waited for the rest of the students to arrive.

Our cooking class had three courses: Double-Smoked Bacon Eggs Benedict with Sun-Dried Tomato Hollandaise and Herb Potato Rosti, Cinnamon Brioche French Toast with Grapefruit Riesling Sabayon, and Smokey Tomato Cheddar Scones.

Chef Takashi was our teacher. He is really good at explaining things and gave us some great tips and tricks. For each course, the teacher does a cooking demo, you cook the dish at your station, and then you have time to eat it in the dining room. Pay attention during the demo! During your cooking time, the teacher will walk around to check on you, but you need to be mostly independent.

This is the fanciest cooking class I've ever taken and I was amazed at my results. Everything tasted fantastic and I learned a lot. My fellow classmates were all really cool, so it was fun getting to know them while we ate our creations. It was a generous amount of food and we also received drinks with each course. Everyone ended up taking the scones home because they were too full. I highly recommend taking a class here!

I love Highstrike Grill! It is my favorite place to eat breakfast in West Seattle. The restaurant is technically located inside a bowling alley, but the food is really excellent.

I've had breakfast here several times and I've always had a good experience. The food is served hot, it is well seasoned, and it is always perfectly cooked. I think it tastes like a high-end restaurant.

On the regular menu I like the Chilaquiles, which is served with eggs and sausage. However, sometimes I order their daily special, which is usually pretty interesting. At my last visit, they had an Apple Pancake Special, which was a skillet pancake with apple compote, eggs, and sausage patties. I also order a coffee, which is pretty tasty there too.

Highstrike Grill is conveniently located for me. It is near the West Seattle bridge and really close to Trader Joe's. There is usually plenty of parking on the street (except when there is a bowling tournament).

The restaurant has several comfortable booths and a few tables. The servers are always friendly, quick, and do a great job of keeping my coffee cup full.

I've never been to the bowling alley (West Seattle Bowl), but if you eat breakfast here on a Sunday, you get two free bowling games for the same day.

I love Meeples Games! It is definitely the best game store in Seattle. The owners and all of the staff members are true board game geeks! They are passionate about the industry and they have actually played a lot of games, so they are super helpful and give awesome recommendations.

Meeples has an extensive game lending library. You can pretty much borrow almost any game they sell and play it in the store. They have a cafe area with tables, so you can order food and drinks while you play. They have flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, salads, coffee, tea, beer, etc. I really like their ginger cookie!

I've come here several times with my husband. It is an excellent place for date night or to hang out with your friends. The place is very easy to get to and they have a free (90 minute) parking lot. There is also free street parking in this area and there is a bus stop nearby.

The games at Meeples are reasonably priced and they also have a sale section. They have a great selection of games on-site, but if they don't have something in stock, they can usually order it for you. Sometimes I can find games a little bit cheaper online, but I really enjoy supporting a local, small business like Meeples instead.

Meeples also has a back room with tables which is called the Thunderdome. They regularly host Pokémon, Magic, and Dungeons and Dragons events there. I'm not into any of those, but I love that they give tweens a safe place to hang out and play games.

My husband and I had a pleasant experience at this Nexus Enrollment Center. I would highly recommend it to others and it is currently the only location for Nexus interviews in Washington state.

You need to make an appointment through the Trusted Traveler Programs website in advance. I don't think there are any "walk-in" appointments available. We wanted to go on a Saturday, so we had to schedule ours a few weeks out. If you are flexible, you should be able to get in much quicker.

They pretty much run on schedule here, so there is no need to show up more than 10 minutes before your appointment. If you show up really early, you won't be seen any earlier. If you need to use the bathroom, go to the public restroom at the strip mall (it is really close). They don't have one at the Nexus office.

Once you enter the building, you should take a number (one per family). The display is huge, so you can't miss it. When they call your number, walk up to the window and hand the officer your identification (passports, drivers licenses) and your conditional approval letters. After that, you have to sit down again and wait for your name to be called over the loudspeaker.

When it was our turn, we met with a U.S. officer and a Canadian officer. Both were very pleasant. They asked us questions, took digital fingerprints (no ink), and took our photos.

This office also offers iris scanning, which is optional. If you wear contact lenses, you should take them out before you arrive. They don't have a good place for you to do this once you are there. The initial scan needs to be done without your contacts in, but after that, you should be able to wear them when you use the kiosks at the airport.

We live in Seattle, so it took us 2 hours to drive to this office. We thought it was worth it because the Nexus card is awesome and valid for 5 years. We turned the whole thing into a day trip. We had lunch in Blaine and also went apple picking at a nearby orchard, which made the drive more worthwhile.

What a fun and unique place! This is now my favorite dessert spot in Seattle!

I highly recommend the Snowdaes. They are hard to describe, but they basically take sweetened pureed fruit + milk and freeze it into a block. Then, they shave that into thin ribbons and serve it with some toppings on the side.

It kind of tastes like ice cream, but the shavings make it really light and fluffy. I had the Taro Mein Mein Ice, which was like a deconstructed bubble tea. It was a mountain of taro shavings garnished with tapioca balls and diced fruit. It was heavenly.

My husband had the Mango Mein Mein Ice, which was also good. That one came with pieces of fresh mangoes and strawberries.

The lady at the front counter was really nice (even though we needed help ordering) and there was plenty of seating available inside. They also have an extensive menu with many other types of desserts.

The only downside is the price. Snowdaes are kind of expensive at $7.95 each. However, you do get a huge portion (enough for two people to share). I had no problem scarfing one down by myself though, because they are really delicious and way better than ice cream, shaved ice, or bubble tea!

My husband and I have watched clips of Mat Franco on America's Got Talent, but it was really different and exciting to watch him perform live in Las Vegas! Mat is a talented magician with a charming personality and a great sense of humor. He is an excellent entertainer and it was a really fun show.

Mat uses audience participation for several of the tricks, so the performance really feels personalized for each group. I was really lucky and got picked for one trick, which was really cool and made the experience even better!

I suggest sitting as close to the stage as possible. We had a great view from Row CC, Seats 3 and 4. There was a small side table between our seats, which I thought was weird, but not a big deal. There is a camera and TV screen for some of the close-up magic tricks.

The theater is located on the 3rd floor of the LINQ hotel. They have pretty good signs around the hotel. Go to the bathroom before you go into the theater. I highly recommend showing up around 30 minutes before the show. Ushers escort people to their seats, which is a nice touch, but takes time.

The drink service is slow, which is another reason to arrive early. They don't take orders during the show, so ask for all of your drinks at the beginning. The show is about 90 minutes long with no intermission. You can't take photos during the performance, but we got some after the show and outside of the theater.

I had a very positive experience at Honda of Seattle, so I would definitely recommend this car dealership!

The location is pretty convenient, since it is close to I-5. They have a nice showroom with several new cars in the lobby. The rest of the cars are located upstairs in a covered parking garage, so it is easy to go car shopping, even when it is raining. :-) They also have a comfortable waiting room with TV, Wi-Fi, coffee, and muffins.

Honda of Seattle is a "no haggle" dealership, so they are very upfront about their pricing and the employees don't work on commission, so there is no sales pressure. Their website is pretty useful because they keep it updated with their current inventory and you can see actual pictures of the car or read the Car Fax.

I wasn't ready to buy a brand new car, but I was also worried about the reliability of a used car. I ended up getting a certified car instead, which was a good compromise. Honda certified cars go through a thorough 182 point inspection and any worn parts are reconditioned or replaced. They also come with a 7 year/100k mile limited powertrain warranty and 1 year/12k mile limited non-powertrain coverage. I don't think my car is going to break down anytime soon, but I feel better knowing that I have some kind of warranty.

I visited this location several times, so Breland, Francisco, and Anthony helped me on different days. They were extremely professional, helpful, and patient, so I enjoyed working with all of them. Even though I bought a used car, they worked really hard to answer all of my questions and made sure that everything was perfect. I've been doing my research, so I think the car I chose was priced very reasonably, which made everything really easy. Also, when I went to pick up the car, it was detailed and had a full tank of gas, so I felt like I was leaving with a brand new car. Thank you for all of your help guys! I'm really happy with my car and I look forward to coming back for my regularly scheduled car maintenance. :-)

My husband and I met Nash Fung at the Weddings in Woodinville event. We never planned on getting a magician for our wedding, but we absolutely loved Nash's personality, sense of humor, and his impressive magic tricks. We hired him to perform at our cocktail hour and he was a total hit with our guests. Nash did close-up magic tricks with common objects (playing cards, coins, marker, floss, etc.).

Nash is an excellent magician and he performs tricks that I've never seen before. For examples, you should go to YouTube and search for his performances on Penn & Teller: Fool Us (Driver's License Trick) or Evening Magazine (Gum Wall Trick).

Besides providing wonderful entertainment, Nash was also a great ice breaker. He's really good at mingling with strangers and introducing people to each other. Many people at our wedding had never met before, so Nash's magic was a great way to bring various groups of people together. Nash also performed a special trick for my husband and me, which we loved.

Nash has really classy magic tricks, so his act is definitely not cheesy. He is good at entertaining adults, but he is also family friendly. We had about 90 adults at our wedding and two children, but everyone loved him. Even my guests who couldn't speak English were amazed!

I've also been to his stage show and he is skilled at entertaining large audiences. Besides weddings, Nash performs at colleges, birthday parties, and corporate events. We are so glad that we booked Nash for our wedding because he really made our special day more memorable!