Some phrases that make my heart hurt: “We got there and we were tired, so we just ate at the hotel” “I didn’t know what anything was, so thank god there was a nearby” “We wanted to eat where we could see the .” The average tourist decision, anywhere in the world, on where to eat goes like this: Joe Schmoe spends hundreds of dollars on flights and hotels to get to EXCITINGVILLE! He spent the whole flight reading the guidebook entry for FAMOUS PLAZA. When he got there, he...
1/8/13 Okay, people, listen up. I went to the French Laundry, and obviously I’m the most qualified person to offer this review, even though there are fifty one-star reviews already on the site, because this is going to be the first person to give a ZERO star review! FIRST ONE HERE! Also, I actually went to the restaurant, so that puts me a leg up on more than half of those silly one-star people. I thought this place, was, like, super exclusive, or something? I was extremely angry that I got the exact day and time I...
I never clean up as I go. Rumor has it, that’s what the cool kids do. That’s what the organized, methodical, by the book cooks do. The people who clean as they go probably also set up their mise en place and follow recipes too. All things which I’d love to be the type of person who does. But I’m not. I’m me. Being me means that I’m a bit of a hurricane, whooshing into the kitchen, chopping, stirring, mixing, cooking, racing against the imaginary clock of getting one thing done before the heat on the stove demands the...
Half a decade ago, I wanted to be a food writer. A local food writer I admired gave me the advice to start a blog. This blog has improved my life in more ways than I could ever count. I’d love to break bread with all of you and tell you the reasons, but I’ll share a few here for now. One recent morning the food world was abuzz about Amanda Hesser’s article Advice for Future Food Writers. In reading it, I was disappointed in some of it. In the way it dashes dreams. Little kids hope to...
Two weeks into my gall bladder being on the fritz, I decided to go all Paula Deen on it. If I simply refrained from eating fat or consuming alcohol, I prevented the attacks, which were more painful than a lifetime sentenced to eating Kwanzaa Cake. But I was hosting book club that night. And we were reading Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, one of my favorite books. An array of home-cooked Chinese dishes peppered the table, wowing me with the skill of my friends: beef tongue, celery, and pig ear from Tiffany, egg tarts from Snacking in the Kitchen, and dan-dan noodles from...
I’m back from Mexico with fresh cooking tips from an Abuela (grandma), a passion for pambazos (think tortas, but soaked in chile, then fried) and a few imbibe-able souvenirs. Before I start in on my posts about those, I wanted to give you the opportunity to win a little travel adventure of your own. As self-indulgent as this lovely blog is, I couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to help out by participating in Passports with a Purpose, to help raise money to build libraries in Zambia. “Zambia? Books? That doesn’t sound like food?” You might be saying. And...
This picture, folks, is the ultimate in chicken and waffle cuisine. Not familiar? Neither was I. I was dubious, to say the least, as all of my friends urged me to try Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles while I was on vacation in Los Angeles. I like fried chicken as much as the next person, and well, who can dislike a waffle, right? But together…I narrowed my eyes in wary judgment. How wrong I was! Now, I’m reduced to chasing this delicacy up the coastline, in search of the same succulence. Seattle restaurant owners, I issue you this challenge:...
With the upcoming departure of Jason Sheehan from the Seattle Weekly, there comes one of the few openings in the area for a full time, dedicated food writer. Specifically, a restaurant writer. This excites me. Despite the fact that I made it no secret that his writing was not my favorite, it is not his departure in itself that makes me happy–in fact, it sounds like the circumstances surrounding it are sad, and I am not one to take joy in that. Rather, I am excited because I love to read about food. I love the long form review...
As many of you know, the FDA is working hard to shut Estrella Family Creamery down and they have been unable to sell their cheese for quite some time. This is tragic, not only because I have to live without the incomparable Caldwell Crik Chevrette, but because it is indicative of what government agencies are attempting to do to great cheese-makers around the country. Washington has already lost too many great cheeses to ridiculous regulations, and I refuse to let the best cheese I've ever had go down to government regulations to. So people, I implore you, please help...
One Burner Bitch is the theoretical name I came up with for my imaginary blog about the week I’ve had without a stove. This little guy in the picture above has been my only heat source, and I tell you what: It has made me bitchy. So first, the situation as it stands now: I would show the ‘before’ picture but it made me cry, so I don’t want to have it hanging around the blog. Long story short? I dropped my KitchenAid mixer onto the glass top stove. It was ugly. I had bread in the oven...
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