Gastrolust

This week, the James Beard Foundation whittled down its list of nominees, announcing finalists for culinary distinction. For cookbook awards, locals made the list in three categories. In “Baking and Dessert,” Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance are finalists for The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle. Nathan Myhrvold (whose lecture I attended a little over [...]

[Read more →]

In this installment of Tabletop Wrestling, Jay Friedman spars with himself about the issue of religion in restaurants. Religion in Restaurants? I Stay Away. When I used to fly on Alaska Airlines, I’d always ask for the oppression-free meal. Most flight attendants would nod knowingly, offering empathy, some later telling me in the galley how [...]

[Read more →]

Yesterday, Serious Eats posted my report on Cochon 555 in Seattle. An excerpt: This was true nose-to-tail eating, most prominent in the long-cooking broths with head parts, the ubiquitous use of lardo, the addictive chicharrones, and the appearance of pork in the desserts. Judges sometimes received more “courses” than the general public, giving more to [...]

[Read more →]

New Year celebrations may be behind for most people, but I’m still looking forward to my favorite of the year: Chinese New Year. It’s about a month away, and as with Thanksgiving day and Christmas day, I’ll likely spend it in a Chinese restaurant in Seattle. Or, more likely, Bellevue, as that’s where the better [...]

[Read more →]

As the year comes to a close, seems like everyone is compiling their Top 10 restaurant lists for 2012. Meanwhile, throughout the year, people take to Twitter and Facebook to scream that “this” or “that” is the best—making your pick more like the worst. I feel fortunate for any opportunity to eat out, and prefer [...]

[Read more →]

About once per year, something called the Celebrity Chef Tour makes a stop in the Seattle area. A benefit for the James Beard Foundation, it’s been held in recent years at the Columbia Tower Club, with the host chef opening up the kitchen for one or more guest chefs to wow an audience of appreciative [...]

[Read more →]

One of the most fascinating aspects of last weekend’s spectacular Feast Portland festival was the Dinner Series and its intriguing teaming of chefs. Matthew Lightner (Atera) with Sean Brock (Husk and McGrady’s), for example. Or how about Jenn Louis (Lincoln and more) and April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig and more) with Hedy Goldsmith (Michael’s Genuine [...]

[Read more →]

Yesterday, Serious Eats posted my “Best Bites from the Feast of Fields on Vancouver Island” article after attending the event this past weekend in Duncan. An excerpt: Nearly 60 restaurants, breweries, wineries, and producers were there: at the “interactive” crab boil, firing pizza all afternoon, and serving zany black pepper raspberry s’more macarons for dessert. [...]

[Read more →]

There’s an interesting allure to the secret (and not-so-secret) dining scene, with its underground restaurants and supper clubs and the like. Especially in Seattle, the in-crowd wants to be in-the-know and on-the-list for culinary events. The craze is partly why events like Foodportunity and Baconopolis and Feedingtubetopia (okay, I made that one up) are so [...]

[Read more →]

Cha-kaiseki made me realize that I’m not Japanese. Of course, I already knew that, but many of my friends have joked that I must be Japanese, as there’s so much I appreciate about the cuisine and the culture. Or so I thought, until I encountered cha-kaiseki. Actually, in discussing my cha-kaiseki experience, I’ve come to [...]

[Read more →]