Gastrolust

So Starbucks is again trying to jump into the hot chocolate market, following the failure of their indulgent Chantico drink. Today they start selling “Signature Hot Chocolate” (along with salted caramel and hazelnut versions). But a recent walk down and around Queen Anne Avenue revealed a number of other options for [...]

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Beard Papa’s finally has opened in Uwajimaya’s food court after numerous delays. Was the cream puff worth the wait?
For a frequent visitor to Japan like me, it was fun to see the familiar yellow signage and the famous Papa face. But my nose immediately knew something was amiss in Seattle. One [...]

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A long line before a restaurant’s opening time often speaks volumes to the quality of the ensuing dining experience.
At the beloved, ballyhooed and boisterous La Carta de Oaxaca, you and your dining companions may have to speak at volumes – large and loud volumes – to enjoy any semblance of a conversation.
Our [...]

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Palin Syrah, that is. Check out the story at Serious Eats.

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We don’t go bonkers for brunch. Why pay ten, fifteen bucks for someone else’s spin on eggs or bubbling of batter when we can easily cook that stuff at home?
But friends recently came to visit from Japan and wanted to take us out for a meal before dashing off to their next [...]

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We usually run from restaurants that have pictures on the menu. They remind us of steakhouse chains from our childhoods or Chinese takeout places where the food tastes like the box in which it’s packaged. But we find endless delight in staring at Malay Satay Hut’s full-color menu. If we could resist [...]

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Last time out, we succumbed to the power of the unappealing Entertainment Book. Could things get worse?
Apparently so. Elsewhere in the car we found a soon-to-expire gift certificate for Applebee’s. In case you don’t know, Applebee’s is a growing chain of nearly 2,000 restaurants in 49 states (Hawaii is the holdout) [...]

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Sometimes we just want a slice of pizza. Not a pie. Not a square. Not a round. We’re talking a slice – one that you can grab with a hand, fold inward, and then tilt downward to watch the grease drip to the paper plate before you take that precious first bite
No [...]

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I love this:

Very funny. And offered in tribute to fellow Cornell alum Keith Olbermann, who I admire even more.

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I had a non-food commitment most of my third day in New York, so during the evening we wanted to explore another area close to our base in Flushing. Somewhat randomly, we reached a verdict and headed to Corona for some old-fashioned southern Italian fare at Park Side restaurant. This is one of those places [...]

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