Entrepreneur life means working out of coffee shops often. But sometimes I'm plugging away at work and the morning fades into afternoon. By then, I'm just not in the mood for coffee anymore but I'm not ready to pack up just yet. Last year, Starbucks introduced it's Evenings menu in Seattle, Portland and Sun Valley. I was invited by the team to their new Terry & Republican location on the new Amazon headquarters campus to sample their brand-new Starbucks Evenings menu, including appetizers, wine and beer.

The Starbucks team hand-selected various local wines for its new menu, stocking Bergevin Lane and Chateau Ste. Michelle among others. Each glass served at Starbucks Evenings comes with a small bowl of pumpkin seeds!

At the menu tasting, we sampled: goat cheese & artichoke flatbread, rosemary & brown sugar coated cashews, bacon-wrapped dates, crudites and smoky chipotle hummus, chocolate fondue, truffle mac & cheese and brie with raisin bread

So where can you enjoy Starbucks Evenings? Right now, just at the five Washington and one Oregon locations below and after 4:00p.m.:

• Olive Way (1600 E. Olive Way, Seattle 98102)
• 15th Ave. (328 15th Ave. E., Seattle 98115)
• Terry & Republican (442 Terry Ave. N., Seattle 98101)
• Madison Park (4000 E. Madison Ave., Seattle 98112)
• Issaquah Meadows (1460 NW Gilman Blvd., Issaquah 98027)
• Brewery Blocks (1039 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209)

Starbucks has remodeled most or all of these in the past year, with more community tables and seating for large parties and individuals alike. In mid-October, Starbucks Evenings will kick off local winemaker visits and live entertainment on Friday evenings.

I am partial to the sparkling rose and truffle mac & cheese myself! Hope you can enjoy a Starbucks Evening near you soon.