Gastrolust

Sometimes a stroll through Pike Place Market yields lots of snacking, but still space in the stomach for something more substantial. That happened to me recently, so with my memory of the pizza at Serious Pie in mind, I thought a slice at DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine would be perfect.
At the cafe just inside [...]

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Can Tom Douglas do pizza? His congee comforted me recently, so it was time to venture around the corner from Dahlia Lounge to have a try at Serious Pie.
Given all the topping combinations, I recommend happy hour as the best time to try as many as possible. Weekdays from 3 to 5pm, half pies are [...]

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Too much time is elapsing since my trip to Portland. I’m anxious to write it all up, but life is, as it sometimes does, getting in the way.
I know a number of people who’ve made the trip down there in the past couple of weeks, so it’s been fun to re-live the experience through them. [...]

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Many people asked, so I did it: a list of restaurant reviews by category. You can find this permanently posted in the right column.
It’s a work in progress. I’ll keep it updated, but if you find any problems or have any suggestions, please let me know.
Compilation was a bit of work, but now that it’s [...]

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I’m playing catch-up on my May trip to Florida, so hopefully this post will capture the highlights/lowlights.
I’ve already written about Naoe and Seasons 52, which came in the middle of my trip. My first meal out was at a place called Fuji, which was a family pick. Keep in mind that integral to the Boca [...]

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“I don’t like bad cookies, and I don’t like big, oversized cookies,” explained Mei-I Funtanilla. “They’re gross and disgusting.”
So it’s only natural that this former pastry chef at Serafina started her own gourmet cookie company and called it Sweet Miniatures. Funtanilla, who also tends to dislike soft cookies (”it’s a texture thing”), found a formula [...]

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“My partner and I are flying to Florida this weekend to do the dad visit. This means he’ll make endless attempts to convince us to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory—his favorite place. He likes the big portions (and the big calories, I think). I, on the other hand, frankly have not been a big [...]

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We’re still remembering (and likely digesting) all the great food we ate in Portland recently. Look for a report on that soon. We hit too many restaurants in too few days, failing to leave stomach space to sample from the incredible number of food carts scattered about the city.
It was time to catch up on [...]

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Gastrolust sends out congratulations to not one, but two gifted chefs from Seattle who’ll be appearing on Bravo’s Top Chef Las Vegas, premiering August 26. Check them out among all the competitors in this video:

Ashley Merriman (who I hope to feature in an upcoming Sound Dish-Off) is the chef at Branzino in Belltown, while Robin [...]

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“Yeah, right.”
That’s what I said when I heard that Dahlia Lounge was cooking up congee for brunch.
Monkey bread? Makes sense. Eggs Benedict? Elegant. But congee? Can it be any good?
In a word: Yes. I often complain about the quality of Chinese food in Seattle, so it’s sort of strange that Chef Tom Douglas is the [...]

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