Turkey Day Leftovers

We're flying to 36 (but feels like 24) degree Detroit Rock City tomorrow for Thanksgiving, which, sadly, means no Thanksgiving at our house.



We'll be doing a little cooking though, since we'd feel like we didn't really get to have a Thanksgiving if we didn't get to participate.



And I'll probably make my way into the kitchen to come up with some mushroom pate too, since it's the best thing in the entire world.

Anyhoo, since we're kind of half-assing things this year, I thought I'd just own it and pull the lamest of lame blogger tricks: I'm sending you back to the posts of yesteryear.

Perhaps you'll pour yourself a nice glass of whatever tickles your fancy and read about our feast from last year.

Or join me in my cheese consumption by watching this masterpiece.

Or, lastly, this post, in which I basically call my parents bad cooks and claim to be a martian from a foodie planet far, far away. See how ungrateful I am? Don't be like that. 'Tis the season to be thankful for what you've got. And you--you incredibly good looking devil you...



Well, you've got a lot to be grateful for. Happy Turkey Day.

[where: 98101]

The Best Thing You Ate All Year

I don't think it's letting the cat too far out of the bag to tell you that our April Seattle Magazine issue is our Best Restaurants issue. The thing that might surprise you is that I'm already knee-socks deep in the planning (and EATING) that goes into that issue.

We actually started talking about the issue in September, and so far I've been to handfuls of older restaurants to check out which ones are worth including in the issue. We always cover new restaurants, and since those are so fresh in my mind, that part's usually a cinch.

The tricky part comes in choosing the best restaurants that aren't new. Many of Seattle's best restaurants are 5, 10, 15+ years old, but a girl can only eat out so often. Yep, even a "food editor" has geographic and gastronomic limitations. I'm not saying I have foods I won't eat; I'm game, so that's never really been an issue for me. The real issue comes in having the time to eat everything I want to eat, in neighborhoods that might be 45+ minutes from my home while still, you know, working and keeping clean clothes on my kid's back. In the course of a year I eat in an embarrassing number of great (and not-even-close-to-great) restaurants, but by the time the Best Restaurants issue comes around again, my knowledge is already 6 months, 9 months, a year old or older. So you see the problem here.

So here's where you all come in: Tell me the ONE single best thing you tasted all year. It doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, most of the time the tastes that linger for me aren't fancy at all.

the awesome fig tart at Columbia City Bakery...the best thing YOU ate all year?

There's a Calvin Trillin quote that I've always liked. He wrote that, whenever he'd ask strangers in a strange city for restaurant recommendations, he'd always say something like, "Don't give me the name of the rotating-continental-restaurant-in-the-sky, tell me the first place you'd eat when you just got home from war." THAT's what I'm looking for. The one dish you crave constantly.
Please leave your ideas in the comments. And thanks.

End of autumn, in pictures

The sun surprised me today, so I took a walk up to Columbia City to grab a coffee and get the dog out of the house. Took the camera, too, and shot some pretty pictures along the way...


La Medusa, oldie but great-y













[where: 98118]

Food News: Five new pizza places

Hi y'all
Been a fun couple of weeks. I've been eating my way through the city--Le Pichet last week (that place is just so right--terrific food, easy atmosphere), Matt's in the Market a couple weeks back (still great, although one of the chefs is finishing sauces with way too much lemon and it's distracting).
But even more news: Five new pizza places have opened (or are on the verge) all around the city, from my hood (Seward/Columbia City) to northern Ballard. Check it out on my Seattle Mag blog page.

OH, and take a minute to look our new website over! Way more links, and now (get this): EVERYTHING from our issue is available online, including my review of the Corson Building. Thanks, yes, it does feel good to join you all in the 21st century ;)



[where: 98101]