Gastrolust

Omakase, like I had at Shiro’s just the other day, is an exercise of trust. If I were to do omakase at an Italian restaurant in Seattle, I think I’d choose Cantinetta.
Earlier this year, I raved about a bowl of brodo with pork tortellini and ramps that I ate at this gem of an eatery [...]

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We didn’t need dessert. Really. Akiko had just taken me for a fabulous sushi dinner to celebrate my birthday, and we were quite full. Plus, at home, should the sweet tooth strike, we had homemade lemongrass ice cream, fudge-like brownies, and other treats.
But as we hustled to the bus stop on that cold, windy evening, [...]

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On 41st, between Wallingford Avenue North and Burke Avenue North. No, there’s no restaurant there, but it’s where I’m tempted to move, as it would be exactly in between restaurants offering some of my favorite meals of late.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Joule, near the intersection of 45th and Burke. I’ve [...]

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This was a big deal. We usually go out for so-called “exotic” food like bugs, tripe, and chicken liver mousse popsicles (dipped in dark chocolate), but for a belated birthday dinner, we wanted to check out the fuss about Cascina Spinasse.
We rarely go out for Italian food, opting instead to make it at [...]

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Per the dictionary definition, a tidbit is a delicate or tender morsel of food…a choice or pleasing bit.
Tidbit, the north Capitol Hill restaurant that’s Italian meets Spanish in a non-fusion fashion, offered us tidbits aplenty during a recent visit. And it was in the tidbits called tapas that we found our favorites—with carryover to other [...]

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What is it about a dumpling that’s so delightful? We love dough that’s filled and then folded or otherwise formed. Dumplings come in different shapes and sizes (recall our reviews of pelmeni, xiao long bao, and har gow, to name a few) and cut across all cultures. Proper preparation requires attention—and the finished product demands [...]

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One of the downsides of being a restaurant/food reviewer/blogger/writer (whatever you call this!) is that when there’s a night off from a planned meal out, I usually want to cook something at home – whether simple or complex. This probably sounds like a strange complaint to some, but I rarely choose my own restaurant and [...]

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The meal I most eagerly anticipated in Louisville, and the one I enjoyed most, was a quick one at closing time at Proof on Main. Just prior to my travel to Louisville, I was reading Esquire’s list of best new restaurants for 2008, and saw that Corbett’s (An American Place) was listed. In researching the [...]

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Last week, we described a soup-er stay at Alderbrook Resort & Spa. This week, we met Soup-erman—a chef who really loves to make soup. As we’ve turned the corner into summer and the weather is warming (at least a bit), what is it about soup that’s captured our attention?
Too many diners overlook salad and especially [...]

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We’ve got fond childhood memories of going to the local pizza joint. We hated delivery, as we wanted to actually GO and see the process, which was mesmerizing: tossing/stretching the dough, spreading the sauce, sprinkling the cheese, shoveling into the oven, retrieving the finished product, and dividing into eighths with the pizza cutter. If we [...]

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