After a particularly hectic, demanding, tiring summer, we were in need of a quick and relaxing get-away late last month. Though the Seattle-area has loads of regional escape plans that radiate out from the city--Whidbey Island, Walla Walla, the ocean coast, Port Townsend, Hood Canal--I wanted to be unwinding sooner than [...]
It's a rather odd phenomenon that occurs when involved in a conference as intensive and engaging as that of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, which just wrapped up this weekend in Austin. The days are long, from that first sip of coffee each morning, chatting with tablemates before heading to the day's [...]
This past weekend, at dinner with friends, some random course of conversation brought up a crazy story that I told the group. It was something I hadn't thought about for a while, but they loved the story and urged me--repeatedly--to write more about stories like it. It'll have be another time that [...]
I sit here at my desk, typing away while looking at the now-sunny Seattle sky, seagulls passing, Olympics peaks just beyond view in the distance. A few days ago, I was working on this same laptop from my desk in the 45th floor hotel room I was staying in, midtown Manhattan, a view of countless [...]
I'm (kind of) sorry to say that I don't have any photos of the food to show you from dinner at Luc on Sunday night. Only kind of sorry, because I was having such a great times with friends, enjoying the food and the conversation and getting into the groove of a [...]
I imagine more than a few Champagne corks will be popping over the course of this month as Seattle's beloved Dahlia Lounge restaurant celebrates its 20th anniversary. Beyond Champagne toasts, they're celebrating too with lots of fun and prizes throughout the month. Any restaurant that survives and thrives to hit [...]
Ok, so where was I? Ah yes, lounging in my Victoria hotel room on a lazy Saturday. This was the view at one point in the morning, typically Victoria: incoming float plane and a Black Ball ferry heading in from Port Angeles. Outgoing whale-watching trip (that bright orange boat center) and [...]
Sure. The definition of "splurge" has changed for many of us in recent months. But still there are, typically, two flavors of dining out. One: the casual "let's go grab a bite" occasions or getting together with friends at a favorite spot. And two, those dinners out for which there's prior planning, scouring [...]
Which presumes I'll actually get to the Part Two portion at some point.... I'll do my best. But with a quiet Saturday morning sitting in my lovely large room at Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria, with the cry of seagulls and hum of float planes outside, I wanted to get [...]
What a phenomenal Saturday morning it was yesterday. It was such an honor to be asked to judge the Ready Set Go...Cook (friendly) competition at the University District Farmers Market, an annual affair that pits two Seattle chefs against each other using their pick of items from market vendors. My [...]