Food News: Columbia City farmers market opens today, more

Been a bit quiet around here, huh? That's because I'm blogging over at Seattlemag.com most of the time now.

If you aren't reading the food blog over there, so far this month you've missed:
A 2009 Seattle farmers market calendar, with dates for all of the summer neighborhood markets. Check it out to find out when your local opens.

A spring restaurant opening update, including news on when we can expect Delancey, another Skillet Street trailor, and a second Agua Verde coming soon.

And lastly, you've missed out on getting the in-depth scoop on the return of William Belickis. Contributor Lorna Yee got the scoop just yesterday on the fall opening of Mistral Kitchen!

[where: 98118]

Food News: Sitka & Spruce Moving?

Say wha? You heard me: Word is, Matt Dillon's moving Sitka & Spruce to Capitol Hill. More details to come, but read about that and more food news over on my Seattle Mag blog.

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Food News: A New Tom D. Resto is on the Horizon

Yep, Tom Douglas is adding another restaurant to his collection. Read about it and more on Seattle Mag's food & drink blog.


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Eating Seattle: Poppy

I've got a theory about Poppy which I'm hoping you can either confirm or deny. The theory goes something like this: Men hate/dislike/roll their eyes at the place, and women love it/like it/are intrigued by it/find it fun.

Now, I'm already about to throw a wrench into my own simplistic assumption by telling you that I do not love Poppy, and I am a woman. But then again it's entirely possible, and maybe even probable, that I like to eat more like your typical man than your typical woman. I don't know if this is true (more studies must be done, surely), but it's possible.

Anyhoo, my review of Poppy is up on the Seattle Mag website now, and I hope you'll read it to get a more rounded, broad idea of what I think of the place.

But if I were forced to sum up my reason for not loving it, it'd come down to this: I like to get lost in a dish I enjoy. I like for there to be enough of something warm, stewy, meaty, savory and so on for me to actually feel satisfied after eating it. I love a big bowl of pho, a hearty cauldron of ramen, but size isn't all that matters--we can all get our fill of a rich, hearty chili or an intensely clammy chowder in a thick cup of the stuff. I just like to take my time, taste it a bunch of times, really get to know my food.

At Poppy I was frustrated by all the little dishes that neither added real value nor enhanced the other dishes. But mostly I was frustrated by the tiny portions at the heart of the thalis, because, when they were good, I just wanted to get lost in them, and I couldn't. Have you ever been to a mediocre (or even worse) restaurant, eaten a full meal, but left feeling like you just didn't scratch the itch? You're belly was full but you were far from satisfied?

So Poppy doesn't curl my toes. What about you?

[where: 98115]

Eating NYC: Reports from Momofuku Ssam, Tailor, more

I'm plain tired of traveling. I know, I should just zip it. After all, it's pretty gloomy outside right now, and NYC was gloriously sunny and chilly. I don't want to make you cry, but we even got SNOW during our 3-night trip. The Gods were smiling on us.

But now I'm just full. And tired. So please, do me a favor and head over to read a little about my trip (and what I ate) at the Seattle Mag blog. I'll be back. After a nap.


[where: 98101]

Eating Detroit: A report from Rock City

We're back in town for a few days before making another trip: This time, we're heading back to NYC for the first time in two years! Got recommendations for me? Send 'em. We've only got one night undecided at this point--figuring a walk-in at Gramercy Tavern or Babbo, although Corton (Paul Liebrandt's newest) is compelling. Lunches, tho, are relatively wide open.

Otherwise, head over to my Seattle Mag blog to read about everything we ate during our trip to Detroit. Includes one Iron Chef and one local bbq joint.



[where: 98101]

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.

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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.

Food News: Anita's Crepes gets a home

I absolutely cannot resist Anita's ham, egg and Estrella cheese crepes whenever I can make it to the Ballard Farmers Market, so I'm really looking forward to having a place to get 'em whenever the craving hits me.

Head over the my Seattle Mag blog page to read about Anita's new space, and to find out when (and where) she'll be opening the shop.


[where: 98101]

Bourdain, and the Corson Building's maiden dinner

I've been curious for months to know what Matt Dillon (Sitka & Spruce) and Wylie Bush (Joe Bar) would do with one of the most interesting buildings in industrial south Seattle, the Corson Building. So when I heard that the Corson's first "official" dinner would be a pre-show feast with guest-of-honor Tony Bourdain, I knew--though I'm not a big enough fan to dole out hundreds of bucks to join in--I knew I'd want to hear about it on the flip-side.

Did a quick search and found this short recap of dinner with Bourdain on a guy named Larry Jordan's livespace blog. The pictures he includes at the bottom of the page are definitely worth a look--check out that hot red meat slicer!

Did any of you go? I'd love to hear more about that dinner.

In the meantime, I just noticed that there's now an email address to reserve space for Corson Building's Sunday suppers on the Sitka & Spruce website. Game on!


[where: 98108]

Food News: Woodman Lodge Steakhouse about to open

Long time no see, right? Lo siento, my amigos. It's been a whirlwind. We took a long weekend and headed up to Roche Harbor for the wedding of two dear friends that met at our wedding. It was wonderful, and Roche Harbor is relaxing times ten.

Onto the food news-o-the day. I usually have to sit on my scoops for a few weeks, sometimes months, and this one is an example of the latter. Head over to my blog on Seattle Mag to read about the new steakhouse in an historic lodge in Snoqualmie.

And start holding your breath now, kiddos, because I have a really good scoop I'm gonna serve up later this week.

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Food News: Whym to open in Minnie's locale

Sometimes when I'm working on my Insider column for the magazine, I know I'm writing about stories others will break before the issue publishes. That's the way it goes when you're working 3 months ahead of publish. For instance, I'm working on our August issue right now. Talk about a mind melt: YOU try to write about tomatoes when it's 43 degrees out.

But I digress. The reason I'm bringing this up is because this exact thing happened this morning. Mark Fefer wrote a little blurb on Minnie's becoming Whym on Voracious today. He didn't have much info on the news, but I do!

That's because I talked with Bridget Scott (the new owner) a month ago, when I wrote about it for our July issue.

So, since Fefer broke the story, I figure I'll fill you in on what I know. Read all about Whym, the soon-to-open 24-hour diner on my Seattle Mag blog page.


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Food News: The fall of Gypsy

If you're a chowhound, foodie or just love a good meal in a non-chain most of the time, you've probably already heard the news: Seattle's first well-known underground restaurant, Gypsy, has been closed down.

Read more about it on the Seattle Mag blog.

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Food News: Hebberoy's new fish shack

Yep, you heard right: Hebberoy, of the forthcoming Kill the Restaurant tome, is opening a restaurant. And that's not all (there's a pretty exciting pasta place opening too).

Head over the Seattle Mag to read all about it.

RELATED: NY Times on how Hebberoy screwed Portland

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Food News: Mistral to close at end of month

Big news in restaurants today! First I read Nancy Leson's column on the new St. Clouds Cafe at the NW African American Museum--excellent news! And that the pair from Pair are opening another place. More good neighborhood restaurants...life is good.

But with the good news comes the sad news that Mistral, perhaps Seattle's most unique fine dining restaurant, is closing. Head over to SeattleMag.com for the scoop.

Also closed: The Wellington in Columbia City, which I never made it to. There's also papered-over windows one block south of the Wellington on Rainier. Anybody know what's moving into that space?

[where: 98118]

Eating Portland: Lorna Yee on P-town

Head over to the Seattle Mag blog to read Lorna Yee's (of Cache fame) inside scoop on her upcoming Portland article.

We sent Lorna to Portland because we wanted to know if that city lives up to all the NYTimes hype its gotten of late. Lorna's a big-time foodie--the girl won a charcuterie competition the first time she made it, fer christsakes--so her insights are incomparable. Check it out.

And keep an eye out for the Best Restaurants issue, which will be on newsstands in about a week!! I worked my tail off on that thing--I think our first meeting was way back in mid-October--and I'm really happy with it. So don't miss it.

Oh, and one last thing: Stalkerish types should read my drive-by Corson Building update. It's getting a little ridiculous, I know, but it's fun (literally) watching the progress.

Food News: 4 restaurants open in Ballard in 2 months

What's going on over in Ballard? Seems like anyone and everyone with an itch to open their own restaurant has decided Ballard is the place. Unless I'm missing one (which, hey, it's possible), there have been four new, interesting restaurant openings since the new year. Curious? Sorry...you're gonna have to click here (I wrote about it over on Seattlemag.com).

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Food Event: Dine for Darfur tomorrow, March 4

Here's my plan: I'm going to wake up, get Ruby dressed, get me dressed, and head to the new Caffe Vita down by the PCC near Seward Park for my morning coffee.

We're meeting Ruby's friend Leo (a younger man! He's only 13 1/2 months; Ruby's 14 months) and his mom at the zoo, so I'm thinking lunch'll be at Irwin's, the hippity-dippity place on 40th with the Adirondack chairs out front. We used to live in Wallingford, and we'd trek down to Irwin's for bagels on weekends, so it'll be an old-times-sake thing for me.

We've got a family dinner planned at our house, so I won't make it out for dinner, but I think two DFD meals is pretty good, dontcha think?

But if I had my way, I'd go to Serafina for dinner (I've been hearing really good things the last several months), or order a pizza from Pagiacci, or--lordy me--have a beer and an oyster po'boy at the Jolly Roger.

Where are you going for DFD?

Eating Seattle: A Tom Douglas restaurant crawl

I made my parents take me to Palace Kitchen 12 years ago to celebrate my 21st birthday. It'd just opened, and I was just beginning to follow the restaurant scene around town. I'd caught the bug, the thrill of the news that a restaurant would be opening, the research of where the chef had cooked before...I love all of it, and I guess I was just starting that love affair back then.


Anyways, SCORE! My parents were footing the bill (birthday and all), so I chose Palace. It was, to me, a fancy place. I mean, it was DOWN TOWN. Parking was NOT EASY. It was a thrill to be in that room. I loved the horseshoe-shaped bar (still do, actually). It was a great meal. I had a pumpkin risotto. It was amazing.

Fast-forward to last Tuesday night. Ed and I had been given a gift certificate to all of Tom Douglas's restaurants for Christmas, and since most of our dining out is now focused on whichever (usually new) restaurant I'm covering for Seattle Magazine, we thought we'd use the GC to enjoy a night out that I wasn't going to have to write about later. And it just happened to be our anniversary. Ed hadn't been to most of Tom Douglas's restaurants (and I usually just hit Palace for a drink once a year or so), so we decided on a Tom D restaurant crawl.


We started the night at Dahlia Lounge, sat at the bar and ordered a raw bar sampler, plus a martini for him and a glass of Prosecco for moi. We were excited, in a celebratory mood, so the fact that the bartender was a complete and utter dud (who clearly had a boner for a chick at the bar, because he pretty much ignored everybody else) was a major bummer.


The food, though, was really good. We loved the kanpachi, which had a little shiso and crisp pear; the smoked salmon, which was fantastic!; and the sesame tuna. The only exception was a squid-potato salad--the potatoes were very undercooked, so the whole thing had a terrible raw-potato texture. Unfortunately, our bartender was busy making googly eyes at the chick; when he finally checked in with us and I told him about the potatoes, he just kind of shrugged and said, "oh, sorry." Ugh. We left.

Off to Etta's, which hasn't really been my favorite throughout the years. Maybe it's because I worked at Pike Place Market for so many years, and everyone in the market is always telling every tourist they talk to to go to Etta's for seafood. But Ed had never been, and I felt like I needed to give it a chance. So, to Etta's.


Again, we copped a squat at the bar at Etta's. The bartender there was great--he's worked there for 12 years (seriously!) and I remember saying to Ed that he had a friendly ease about him. Like, "this job is easy and fun," you know, cause really, it kind of is if you like being a bartender. He poured me two wines to taste (so nice when they just do that without making it a big deal).


So we ordered the mini crabcakes, which come with a little dish of tomatillo salsa. Yum. Ed said these were the best crab cakes he'd ever had (and, bonus: I found the recipe so now I can make them at home). The room is dated, but it's also comfortable. We had a good time at Etta's.

Back up that steep hill to Lola. Again, we sat at the bar, debated whether we should order the goat tagine (entree) or the lamb kabobs (appetizer), and decided on the lamb (hey, we still had Palace Kitchen to go, so we had to keep it quick and relatively light). We also ordered skordalia (a garlicky dip) and feta with fresh pita. The kabobs arrived on a hot platter, all savory and lamby. This was delicious. It made me want to go back and get the "big dinner" which is like a greatest-hits 5-course feast.


Off to Palace Kitchen. After eating three dishes at three restaurants (and, uh, more than a little vino), we were moving a leetle beet slower, but remember: I'm a professional!

We'd asked the bartender at Lola for his faves at Palace, and he told us he always gets the wings. Wings? Really? Well, we went for it, and these wings were fan-f*cking-tastic. First off, they're real wings, not those grody fat globules fried in day-glo chili sauce. These were, you know, chicken wings like the ones you see when you look at a roast chicken. I asked one of the cooks what they put in the marinade, and he said it's a long list, including soy sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, and so on. I'm telling you. Order these.


Then we shared the hamburger. Locals know that the Palace hamburger has a cult following. But honestly? While the burger was good, the fries kicked the burger's ass. These were fantastic fries, left to get nice and dark in the fryer. I'm not even a fry person, really, and I loved these. Anyhow, didn't the burger used to be served on a 2-tiered thingy? It wasn't, and I was somewhat disappointed. It was a good, respectable burger, but really, those wings and those fries...yum.

Oh, and a little shout-out to Sandy, the bartender who was charming and sweet. He's been at Palace for a dozen years (which means he was working there when I came in for my birthday). That's--count 'em---two bartenders out of four who've been working for Tom D for over a decade. They both made our night. We had a great time--thanks S & P!

Dahlia
Etta's
Lola
Palace

[where: 98101]

Food Throwback: Gael Greene ala 1968

Say what you will about Gael Greene (or, maybe I should say, does anyone in Seattle know/care who Gael Greene is? She's been a restaurant critic off-and-on for NY Mag for four decades, plus she did the you-know-what with some famous people I think. I can't remember/don't care). Where was I? Oh, Gael Greene--she's one hell of a writer. Her recent stuff definitely throws off a heavy whiff of old lady par-fume, but back in the day she penned this And it's a masterpiece.

New York Magazine is celebrating its 40 year run by re-publishing some old reviews, and it's incredibly fun reading. Gael's review of Orsini's has such rhythm to it...it's just beyond great (seriously, it's worth scanning just to see the prices!)

A couple other pieces to check out on your lunch break: A story on Manhattan real estate, stating that people should--shudder!--consider buying in Brooklyn, where "an entire brownstone full of Victorian details costs as much as a half-floor loft in the Village—about $20,000." If only.

And a completely un-1968 (and warning--kinda irritating and snotty) piece on what that lady who wrote French Women Don't Get Fat (or whatever it was called) eats in a week. Skinny bitch. Bonus points for whomever can count how many times she says "French." Cuz it's aLOT.

Finally, head over to Seattle Mag to read about the chef scandal at Artemis! Ok, I made up the scandal part, but it is fishy when your exec chef leaves within 6 months of opening, especially when he earned raves.