Gastrolust

Yesterday, Serious Eats posted my “First Look” at The Whale Wins. An excerpt: The Whale Wins can be found in the Fremont Collective along with the relocated Joule restaurant and Evo’s flagship store—selling skis, skates, and snowboards. (Word is that there’s a skate park in the basement.) While there will soon be patio space out [...]

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Whenever Seattle Restaurant Week rolls around, I wonder which of the many restaurants I’d like to give a try. This week and next, Sunday through Thursday, there are over 150 restaurants participating. All offer a three-course menu (appetizer entree, and dessert) for $28 (drinks, tax, and tip are extra); even better, a good number will [...]

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This week, Serious Eats also posted my story about Collections Cafe. An excerpt: “A feast for the eyes” may be an overused expression, but it’s certainly relevant to the new Collections Café at Chihuly Glass and Garden in Seattle. In the shadow of the Space Needle at the Seattle Center (site of the 1962 Seattle [...]

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Early last year, I was dining at the counter of a favorite sushi restaurant with a couple of food writers who were seated to my left. The conversation was pretty passionate, as we were bantering about best and worst places to eat in the Seattle area. It turns out that a diner immediately to my [...]

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Back in the summer, I was lucky to experience two wonderful meals on successive days, both “in the fields” far from Seattle. The American Lamb Board sponsored a wonderful dinner at Russell’s in Bothell. A barnful of fabulous chefs were on hand to create dishes from various parts of the lamb, including host Russell Lowell, [...]

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I should have seen it coming. The folks at Fresh Bistro, the new West Seattle restaurant from Herban Feast, throw fresh into all that they prepare. We took our fresh lemon and vanilla bean-infused Gin & Yang (get it?) drink to our dining room table, where Chef Dalis Chea sent a bunch of plates enhanced [...]

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Congratulations to Maria Hines of Tilth for winning the James Beard award for Best Chef Northwest, announced just yesterday. You’ll recall that Maria was part of the amazing, collaborative dinner featuring all of the nominees. Her Skagit River Ranch pork cheek with trotter cake, charcroute, and parmesan broth was fabulous, and illustrative of her local, [...]

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Oh, I can tell you about the sandwich I savored at FareStart recently: warm apple-braised pork shoulder topped with beer-battered onion rings on potato bread, with sherry vinaigrette apple slaw and a side of spicy chipotle aioli. It was good, but it’s where the $9.25 cost goes that’s even more impressive. I knew that FareStart [...]

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Another restaurant closing to report: After 20 years, Yarrow Bay Grill will be closing shop, as its ownership group has decided not to renew its lease. The restaurant will be serving its last meal on Thursday, April 30, so there’s still a little time to enjoy this delightful spot on Carillon Point, where I’ve enjoyed [...]

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Can you stand just one more post about burgers for now? How about a quick report? Let’s drive down Queen Anne Avenue, past Hilltop Ale House and Peso’s and Dick’s (sites of our past burger reviews), and after a little left and right turn, 1st Avenue eventually takes us to BOKA Kitchen + Bar, where [...]

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