Glassworks, comics and jets in Georgetown

The hot blocks

Around Airport Way South between South Lucile Street and 13th Avenue South

Georgetown mixes urban grit and history with eclectic shopping and dining along a stretch of Airport Way South. Shops, art studios, bars and restaurants are tucked into century-old brick buildings on the west side. The neighborhood is liveliest on the second Saturday of each month when Georgetown holds its Art Attack studio tours and events (www.georgetownartattack.com).

On the east is a hulking brick building, one of the biggest breweries in the U.S. in the early 1900s (and the original home of Rainier Brewery). Part is restored; much remains derelict. Just behind, freight trains clatter past and traffic roars along Interstate 5. Overhead, planes cruise startlingly low into nearby Boeing Field.

Hot shops

• At Totally Blown Glassworks, watch artists fire glass in a blazing kiln and shape it into vases, bowls and more. Artwork is stacked for sale on metal shelves. Drinking glasses with bright stripes are $25. Bargain find: Shimmering glass floats, 4 inches across, $15. 5607 Corson Ave. S. (at the corner of Airport Way South). www.totallyblownglass.com.

• Useful Vintage Goods, 5531 Airport Way S., brims with offbeat items, such as one-of-a-kind coat hooks made with century-old French wooden shoemakers' forms ($95). Bargain find: 1950s pocketknives embossed with images of buxom, semi-naked women ($12). www.usefulvintagegoods.com.

• Fantagraphics, 1201 S. Vale St., is heaven for fans of comics and vinyl records. Buy almost any Beatles album for $15 to $40. Get four years of Peanuts cartoons in a two-volume boxed set ($49.95). Bargain find: A selection of vintage comics for a couple bucks. www.fantagraphics.com.

Hot lunch

Traffic thunders just a few feet from the windows of the Cutting Board, 5503 Airport Way S., but it's cozy inside the six-table Japanese restaurant. Rib-sticking bento boxes with deep-fried fish, pork or Japanese-style curry are $8.99. www.cuttingboardseattle.com.