There is great history and tradition here — landmarks such as the Stimson-Green Mansion, Dearborn House and St. James Cathedral; cultural offerings such as the Frye Art Museum and Town Hall. Now, though, two establishments, the Sorrento Hotel and Vito’s, have helped generate buzz around Madison Street and First Hill.

Seattle’s iconic Sorrento Hotel will host a Block Party in the hotel’s courtyard area on select Wednesday nights from 5 – 7 p.m. starting on July 13. The party is free and open to the public and there will be live entertainment. The Hunt Club will offer a special, extended happy hour menu with dishes prepared by Executive Chef Ivan Szilak. To top off there will also be a keg for community members to enjoy.

Cookin’ with Hunt Club’s Executive Chef Ivan Szilak…

Set your alarms for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. As revelers fill Sorrento Piazza, consuming sinful amounts of gourmet food and swaying to live steel drum jams, summer will have truly arrived — rain or shine. The Sorrento Block Party may provide one of the most relaxing, fun-filled evenings of your sunny season — and best of all, it’s free to the public.

In December, Ivan Szilak was appointed the new top chef of the handsome Hunt Club in the boutique Sorrento Hotel downtown [Seattle]. Szilak, who brings more than 20 years of experience to his new post, believes in seasonality and simplicity in the kitchen.

The Hunt Club at the Sorrento, along with its heavily brocaded Fireside Room, has evolved into Seattle’s best spot for cocktail learning. This is thanks to Drinking Lessons, a series of classes and events at which bar luminaries hold forth on everything from sherry cocktails to Pisco brandy.

This century-old Seattle institution draws a hip, intellectually curious crowd to “Night School.” The boozy series offers events like “Chamber vs. Chamber,” which features rock acts and classical musicians in conversation (both literal and musical), and “No Curtain,” in which actors perform scenes from celebrated plays like the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner Ruined..

It was weirdly not weird to read silently in public among strangers doing the same. I brought along my friend David Lipson’s new script that I was dying to read, and it was amazing to just sit and really focus and enjoy it. Enforced reading time might have to become a regular part of my schedule.