This post proves that one person's culinary curiosity is another person's comfort food. Yesterday I was shopping for lamb shanks at the combo meat/seafood counter my (very) friendly neighborhood grocery store. (I'd tell you what I did with the shanks, but afraid it's for a magazine article later this year, along with [...]
As promised in a post last week, I picked up some sunchokes at the Full Circle Farm stand at the West Seattle Farmers Market Sunday. It follows in the heels of an event I attended where Andrew Stout from Full Circle joked that everyone in the room needed to develop five [...]
I just got a press release from Food & Wine Magazine announcing the 2008 winners of their coveted "Best New Chef" recognition. Of course, I'm always thrilled when Seattle chefs gain recognition nationally. An ovation goes out to Ethan Stowell, chef/owner of Union, Tavolata and the new How to Cook a [...]
I went to a Chef's Collaborative event here in Seattle on Monday night. I really love the crowd at these member meet-and-greet gatherings. Can always count on seeing pals from the food and beverage world, including Charles and Rose Ann Finkel from Pike Brewing Company and Pub; Fernando and Marlene Divina from [...]
I rarely muster much enthusiasm for restaurant promotions. You know, restaurant-fests the likes of Dine Around Seattle (formerly "25 for $25"), Boston's Restaurant Week, Dine Out Vancouver. I certainly covered Seattle's restaurant promotions a lot while food editor at Seattle Magazine. I'm sure they've got legs as a means for restaurants to fill [...]
“You gonna to eat your tots?" --Napoleon Dynamite I tried making it through the movie Napoleon Dynamite a couple of times. I just never quite got it, the humor and the appeal of this indie flick. But in missing the point of ND, I clearly also missed something of a [...]
Ok, I'm just going to come out and say this. I know that as a professional food writer, I'm supposedly above such cursed impulses and wanton indulgences. But I really like pizza. Of all kinds. Preferably delicious, wood-oven, Naples-esque pizzas (see my recounting of pizza in Naples here). But when [...]
A few things are starting to surface this week that I've worked on in recent months. It's a funny thing about freelance writing. With the varied lag times between submission and publications, there can be a momentary surprise when something does show up in print. First, I have a brief piece [...]
For the general population, it was the ninth annual OTBN, but here at my house it was just the second year we'd joined in the fun. OTBN is a sort of unofficial wine holiday, brilliantly dreamed up by the wine writers from the Wall Street Journal who grew tired of [...]
Sundays are kind of a mixed bag around here. Some weeks it's all Up to read the paper!! Do the puzzle with Will Shortz on NPR!! Go to the YMCA when it opens at 10:00!! Get a little gardening in before lunch!! Then there are Sundays like today. When I [...]