I'm going on a business trip to Seattle on
March 12. I'll be staying in a downtown hotel and have the evenings free. Any suggestion about what to do/see at night? I'm interested in economic restaurants, live music (eps. jazz, classical), theaters, cultural attractions, bars. I'll also have 1 and a 1/2 days friday and saturday to go around and I'll probably rent a car. Any suggestion about where to go, what to see?
To the Seattle residents my solidarity for
the earthquake (from a San Francisco resident).
Thanks everybody, Matt.

Being downtown, I would recommend a favorite Martini bar w/ free happy hour buffet, the Mayflower hotel's lounge "Olivers." A few blocks away south is the Wild Ginger for tasty Asian fusion eats.

There is the Jazz Alley and the King Cat for entertainent and dining, but a fairly upscale. However, you get what you pay for altho I would recommend getting an advance ticket either on either website or a ticket master outlet (~30$ for a show?). DSinners will run arund $50 depending on your wine ...

On the other end of the spectrum, head to Queen Anne to grotty Floyd's for a late night stiff drink and an impressive pianist from the Rat Pack era. The fun rock star diner/bar, "Mecca" is across the street for counter grub and liberal amounts of second hand smoke.

If you love Japanese food as I do, head up to Capital hill to either Chinoise (on the backside of the Hill) on Madison St. or down Broadway to Aoki's. Come to think of it, you should definately try Siam across the street from Aoki's for some great Thai food as well. These joints are about 15 min from downtown and easy to get to by cab or bus and great values.

If the weather's nice, you might want to think about taking a ferry to a nearby island, Vashon or Bainbridge, (Whidbey you'd need a car). Beauty views of the city.

Jazz Alley usually has big-name national or international acts and a cover charge that reflects that. I've seen some great acts there, but it's not an inexpensive evening. Tula's (on 2nd Ave in Belltown) is more low-key with more local acts.

One of my favorite local jazz/funk/soul bands, Maktub, will be playing at EMP on March 17...I'm sorry I will be up at Whistler that weekend, as they are fantastic and EMP is a marvelous SMOKE-FREE place to see a show!

I think the Symphony will be performing during your stay; our new symphony hall, Benaroya, is absolutely marvelous.

Check out a site like seattle.citysearch.com or seattleweekly.com for more entertainment/music suggestions.

Noodle Ranch (also on 2nd Ave) is probably my favorite downtown "cheap eat". Jason, you might be interested to know that a new branch of Chinoise has just opened at Uwajimaya Village in the International District. I ate there about a month ago and it was quite good. They had a good happy hour deal going on for appetizers, too.

Thanks a lot guys, very useful suggestions! Anybody else?

While Jazz Alley offers great music, I would hardly rank it as an inexpensive evening. Often there is a $30 per person cover charge, but a few drinks. You'll soon be up over $100 for a couple and yet that doesn't cover dinner. Check the local entertainment paper to see if there's anything going on in town when you're there. I've been fortunate enough to hear some of Ray Charles' musicians at a jam session, as well as coming across some great talent in local bar lounges.

Consider making the drive to see Mt. St. Helens. We were there last summer, and almost decided it wasn't worth the trip. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen - obviously this is not an evening activity!