Museum shops and cafes: Experience Music Project
EMP has more than 80,000 artifacts, from Elvis Presley records to rockers' stage outfits, interspersed with film clips, photos, recordings and interactive exhibits.
If you want to get some stuff for yourself, head to the museum's store. Or take a break at EMP's Turntable Restaurant. You can go to both without paying the museum admission.
The EMP Store
EMP sells a lot from a relatively small space. The building sprawls over 140,000 square feet; the EMP Store takes up about 1,000 square feet on its lower level.
Offerings: CDs are a big item; shelves packed with them take up about a quarter of the store.
Other music-themed offerings include posters of musicians and books on the history of jazz, blues and rock plus biographies of musicians. Low-priced knick-knacks range from postcards of rock stars to guitar-shaped shot glasses.
Want to wear EMP? Get a T-shirt or other clothing emblazoned with the EMP logo. Some T-shirts are vacuum-packed in the shape of a guitar or microphone; they sell for $19.95 and are among the store's most popular items.
Intellectual factor: The EMP Store is right in tune with the museum, with almost everything music-themed.
It's a good place to build a CD collection, from obscure blues to standard rock, since informative comments about the recordings are posted.
It's not a place for upscale gifts (although you could splurge on coffee-table books). Instead, it's got something for everyone at mostly moderate prices, with most items less than $20.
"Most people are looking for souvenirs," said retail manager Jessica Bowman.
Fun factor: Get your Jimi Hendrix stuff here, thanks to Paul Allen, the co-founder of EMP (and Microsoft) who's a passionate Hendrix fan. Hendrix stuff includes CDs, T-shirts and a sports water bottle emblazoned with the late rock guitarist's face.
My favorite item: A Metallica "onesie" shirt, a $22.95 heavy-metal outfit for a toddler, will make him or her stand out in the play-group crowd. The one-piece outfit is jet black with the Metallica band's logo in neon colors.
Shopkeeper's favorite: An $8.95 battery-operated pen that lights up with a strobe effect of psychedelic colors. "It's a best-seller, too," said Bowman.
Turntable Restaurant
EMP's restaurant offers serious, and good, eating from an extensive menu, not quick museum snacks. In sync with EMP's American theme, the 116-seat restaurant focuses on American regional food at lunch and dinner.
Start with Penn Cove mussels ($9.95) and move on to Southern fried chicken ($13.95). Or stay cheaper and lighter with a soup and Caesar-salad combo ($9.95) or pulled pork sandwich ($8.95). Or opt for a hamburger, fish and chips or other salads.
Ambience: Don't expect cozy décor. The soaring-ceiling Turntable is neo-industrial, with exposed concrete and metal and some plain plywood dividers. Tables are bare laminate; banquettes are vinyl. Some will find it hip; I found it bare and cold.
Music videos run on overhead screens, but the volume is low enough to make talking easy, unlike some trendy restaurants. Continuing the EMP theme, some items have music-rooted names such as the Strawberry Fields Martini (fresh strawberries and vodka) and the Little Richard Bouffant Sundae (a piled-high concoction of ice cream, chocolate and spun sugar).
Kid-friendly: Turntable works well for kids, thanks to its casual style, friendly waiters and a kids menu: $4.95 (including milk or pop) for pizza or a grilled cheese sandwich and other favorites for the 10-and-under crowd.
Lunch tab: I spent about $15 for an entree-sized, and excellent, smoked-chicken and pear salad plus a soda.
For lighter food, all sorts of drinks — and no kids — the 83-seat Liquid Lounge is right above the restaurant. There's live music in the evenings.
Kristin Jackson: kjackson@seattletimes.com or 206-464-2271
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