Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/299622
46 g o i n g p l a c e s | s u m m e r 2 0 1 4 worker, sculptor, letterpress printer), artists are now living and working in Tacoma much like in the storied birthplace of glassblowing, Murano, Italy. The small island off Venice has been the mecca of glassblowing since the 10th century, explains the docent at Hotel Murano in Tacoma (yes, the hotel is named after the Ital- ian hotbed and has its own docent and curator for an extensive private glass-art collection). It's why she's so proud to share that "our native son, Dale Chihuly, was the fi rst to go and work with them in Murano." She points out pieces by internationally celebrated artists through- out the four-star proper ty, such as the 158-kilogram Murano-glass chandelier in the lobby and the 25 mini galleries, each floor devoted to a different artist. I gape at the museum-like showcase of glass – little wonder the hotel is on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List of "Best Hotels in the World." Just outside the hotel, we continue on the Chihuly trail by taking in some of his public art pieces. ere's a self-guided tour through the Museum District, from the Chinook Red Chandelier in the University of Washington to the Eight Venetians in The Swiss Pub. And, this being yin-and-yang Tacoma, it makes sense to order a pint of local brewery 7 Seas' Ballz Deep Double IPA while under the spell of the Venetians. We take a beer break and savour the IPA's bitter blast of fl avour, cour- tesy of the sought-after hops from nearby Yakima Valley. Seems everything here gets an artistic twist. Another local brewery, Harmon, part- nered with the Tacoma Art Museum to create the limited-edition Hop Art Ale alongside the Warhol fl ower exhibit. It's the brewery's signa- ture Point Defi ance IPA, aged with rosehips, hibiscus and chamomile in homage to War- hol's love of fl ora. Across Commencement Bay, Heritage Distilling Company is producing spirits with another twist: "soft gin" distilled from grapes. And in Tacoma's newfound cre- ative mode, the distiller y also offers the bespoke "My Batch," in which any wannabe whiskey distiller can cask their own version. e food-and-drink scene in the city (popu- lation 200,000-plus) is its own art form. Local mixology master Chris Keil started a craft- cocktail movement with his innovative botani- cal infusions, written up in the New York Times as "some of the most fascinating apothecary cocktail work on the West Coast." He's now opened Hilltop Kitchen in Tacoma, where the bitters are house-made and ice spheres are hand-chipped. It's home to, as one patron gushes to us, "the best old-fashioned – ever." Back at Hotel Murano, we lounge in the art-filled lobby bar and sip on a robust rum concoction, Owen's Beach, named for a local sandy shoreline and a one-time regular: a brawny "original Bourne" heartthrob, as the bartender describes. Post-drink we dig into farm-to-fork fare in the hotel's Bite Restau- rant, which features local Dungeness crab, charcuterie, de rigueur wild salmon, even grilled tofu, as well as a daily farmers' market special. Each day, chef Matt Stickle creates a dish from produce sourced within a seven- minute radius of the hotel. He grew up on a local farm – part of another side of Tacoma's hands-on industrious past – and knows how to castrate and dehorn cattle. "My fi rst word was cow," he says. It's why Stickle is so passionate about maintaining a tie to those who work the land here. One of those fellow farmers is Terry Carkner of Terry's Berries organic farm. " is is some of the best soil in the world, and it should be a crime to cover it up," says Carkner. barb sligl p42-47Tacoma.indd 46 14-04-10 2:28 PM