Gastrolust

I went a little cooking crazy last weekend.
It was all part of an extended birthday celebration, an excuse to have friends over, and then a guest visiting for New Zealand. I need more such excuses.
In addition to a root beer cake and orange-Szechuan peppercorn ice cream (a David Lebovitz recipe), I made four soups:

mushroom (an [...]

[Read more →]

Alright, it’s safe to say that Vietnamese is the new Thai. I can’t quite keep up with all the openings. Moxie is now The Signature, Tamarind Tree’s owners have opened Long in the former Qube space. And there’s finally pho in Fremont.
 
Coinciding with the Vietnamese boom is the breakout of restaurant business at 1st and [...]

[Read more →]

Recall that we’ve been up and down Queen Anne in search of a good burger. A snowstorm apparently extinguished Flame the night we originally wanted to go, so we wandered into Hilltop Ale House that night, and Dick’s the following day. Another time, we gave Peso’s a try. Still not satisfied, Seattlest finally made it [...]

[Read more →]

Okay. I think I’ve finally digested all the pork I pigged out on at Cochon 555. With clear head and calm stomach, I’m happy to submit this report.
What a fascinating event! Cochon 555 is in the middle of an ambitious, ten-city tour, with five ambitious chefs cooking five heritage pigs (and five winemakers doing the [...]

[Read more →]

Okay, I feel like an immature adolescent for this, but I can’t stop laughing at this Cheeto fail, courtesy of FailBlog.
Besides, it seems like an appropriate posting to follow the previous one, about breastaurants.

[Read more →]

Oh, it’s tempting to find a visual to include with this posting, but visuals enough (including a video) at this report on Nightline about the booming business of Hooters, Twin Peaks, Bone Daddy’s in the midst of this struggling economy. It surely isn’t about the food, though some (including some women) say they go to those restaurants because [...]

[Read more →]

Congratulations to Rachel Yang (and Seif Chirchi), as their precious Joule was included in Friday’s Wall Street Journal article “The Hot New Cuisine: Korean.”
The article makes mention of Kogi, the Korean taco truck that’s all the rage in Los Angeles (when do we get one of those in Seattle?), the popularity of Korean frozen yogurt (Pinkberry, Red [...]

[Read more →]

Did I just have a meal re-run?
Several months ago, I reported on Lobsterpalooza at Waterfront Seafood Grill. Recently, the fine folks at WSG invited me back to sample from their “Cult of the Crab” menu, which is running the month of March. (It may extend into April.) I feel like I can almost reprint the [...]

[Read more →]

Cochon 555 meant five chefs cooking five heritage pigs, with five winemakers pouring. I pigged out on pig, but just what am I doing there between Jason Franey, executive chef at Canlis, and Armandino Batali, father of Mario and founder of Seattle’s Salumi?

Stay tuned for a fuller report. I’ve got tons of photos to sort [...]

[Read more →]

Olivar’s been getting rave reviews since opening in the Loveless building on Capitol Hill, and starting today, they’re introducing brunch service that looks to be a winner.
No batter dishes here; Chef Phillippe Thomelin is doing the egg, cheese, potato and bacon thing with his uniquely Spanish flair (with French and Italian influences thrown in for [...]

[Read more →]