Gastrolust

The Internet, and its readers, love lists. Restaurant lists are especially popular. I get it: These posts generate a lot of hits, a lot of discussion, and a lot of debate. “They liked what?” and “How did my favorite place not make the list?” are among the typical outcries. Read some lists, and you’ll wonder [...]

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Today, Serious Eats posted my “Sugar Rush” article about the Flourless Chocolate Cake at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami. (Hedy Goldsmith, the pastry chef, has again been nominated for a James Beard award as best pastry chef.) An excerpt: I decided to go with the Flourless Chocolate Cake ($10). On the surface, this sounds [...]

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Note: I file this report (about what I hope was just an off-night at this popular restaurant) to show that being a food writer doesn’t always mean special benefits. As a “VIP,” I didn’t expect extra service, but I was surprised that the restaurant didn’t do its best to avoid sub-par service. And even when [...]

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Last week, I stumbled into Dallas in the midst of seven flights in four days. After being in Bowling Green (OH) and Johnson City (TN), I was ready for finer dining. Remembering that Top Chef: Seattle (given the feeble coverage of our city, I call it Top Chef: Supposedly in Seattle) had three contestants from [...]

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This weekend, Serious Eats posted my “Hangover Helper” article about “The Hangover” at Meander’s Kitchen in White Center. An excerpt: The Hangover ($9.50) is just what the carb doctor ordered: “a double order of crispy browns topped with homemade sausage gravy.” Additional protein comes from two eggs, which I ordered over easy so that the [...]

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This week, Serious Eats posted my “Sugar Rush” article about the Orange “Creamsicle” Frozen Soufflé at Rebel House in Boca Raton, FL. An excerpt: The selection of ice cream sundaes tempted me, but further down the menu I found a list of “Composed Desserts” like Sticky Icky Buns and Tuxedo Pie. My choice: Orange “Creamsicle” Frozen [...]

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Welcome to Okashii Okashi. This column will periodically look at Japanese snacks (okashi), typically sweet, that are strange and amusing (okashii). For the inaugural Okashii Okashi column, I turn to Meiji, the Japanese confection company which says “We make the world a little sweeter.” Walking through Viet Wah, I spotted little containers of Yan Yan [...]

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It’s been fun watching the evolution of Mutsuko Soma since the closing of Chez Shea left the chef shopping for new options. She had a (buckwheat) seed of an idea to start serving handmade soba, and saw success in a variety of pop-ups, including the ones I attended at Sushi Kappo Tamura and Miyabi Restaurant [...]

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This week, Serious Eats posted my article about five chocolate treats to gift your Valentine in Seattle. An excerpt: With all the chocolate options around the city, Seattle’s becoming a bit of a chocolopolis. In fact, Chocolopolis is the name of one of our finer chocolate shops, and a must-stop when searching for Valentine’s Day [...]

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Dish: Guay Tiow Tom Yum Place: Pestle Rock, Ballard Price: $12.00 In the bowl: From the specials board: “Thin rice noodles with Carlton Farms ground pork, green bean, bean sprout, onion & cilantro, topped w/ground peanuts and rendered pork belly garlic (sic).” Supporting cast/What to do: This dish is listed as two peppers in spice [...]

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