Chow Down Seattle

BAKING: Mike's Amazing Cookies!!

2012-02-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

Chow Down Seattle Logo

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to my good friend Mike who made these amazing cookies of my Chow Down Seattle logo! He is amazingly talented! Check out some of his other cookies pictured below. They look so good you don't even want to eat them, but they do taste good too. Each cookie he makes has amazing detail. Michael has a very cool blog showing how he makes his cookies. You can check it out at www.semisweetdesigns.com. Thanks again, Mike! I love the cookies!

Chow Down Seattle Logo

Arizona Cardinals Logo

Xbox Controllers

Ninjas & Thowing Stars

Oregon Ducks Hoodies

Sock Monkey Cookies

Indy & Toby Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas Light Bulbs

Rustic Christmas Spice Cookies

RADIO SHOW: Seattle Kitchen

2012-01-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

Seattle has a great new radio food show starring two local food scene celebrities. Seattle Kitchen features Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau. Both are well known restaurant owners and James Beard Award winners. They review Seattle restaurants, and offer recipes with a weekly ingredient. They also take listeners' questions on the air. Listen to them on 97.3 KIRO FM on Sundays from 10:00am to 11:00am. You can also download their podcast from the iTunes store.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY: Christopher Boffoli's "Big Appetite"

2012-01-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

Northwest artist Christopher Boffoli combines miniature, hand-painted figurines from Germany with staged arrangements of food and beverages to create clever photographic vignettes. Inspired by an unusual combination of magazine food photography and the 18th century fable Gulliver’s Travels, Boffoli explores how inverting the proportions of people and their surroundings create unexpected points of interest. Often juxtaposing activities that would normally cause little notice with likewise ordinary food items, Boffoli instantly draws a curious eye to both. This reoccurring cultural fascination with shrinking people and then re-releasing them into their natural surrounding to create dramatically altered realities can also be found in movies like The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Fantastic Voyage.
Boffoli’s images portray witty, comical or sentimental gestures as the small, animated figures engaged in routine actions and interact with the comparatively mammoth displays of food. These creative scenes evoke an uncanny, albeit theatrically portrayed, likeness to the world at large.

Capturing a sense of humor found in everyday life, viewers are able to draw on personal experiences, memories or pastimes to further connect with each photograph. These quirky snapshots of people toiling in their own little worlds are revealed to be more than meets the eye.

Boffoli’s work has been shown throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. For more information, please contact Megan Des Jardins at (206) 652-5855.

Christopher Boffoli's work is currently on display at Winston Wächter Fine Art in Seattle from January 10th through February 23, 2012. The gallery is located at 203 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, WA.

OPENING: 8oz. Burger Bar

2012-01-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought Seattle had enough burger joints, 8oz. Burger Bar is opening on Capitol Hill. Their grand opening will be Monday, January 16th. There will be a "soft" opening starting Thursday, January 12th. This new burger place is located in the old Tidbit Bistro space on the corner of Broadway and Union. The space has been completely remodeled. You can find out more info about 8oz. Burger Bar on their website.

FOOD EVENT: Burger Brawl

2012-01-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Do you love burgers? Well then bring your appetite to Seattle Magazine's Burger Brawl! Participating restaurants will offer slider-sized samples of their delicious burgers. Tickets are $40, which includes burger samples and 2 drink tickets for local brews and wine.

Burger Brawl
Thursday, January 26, 2012
6:00 - 9:00pm
Bell Harbor Convention Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66

Check out more info at their website.

Participating Restaurants:
Brave Horse Tavern
Charlie's Buns n' Stuff
Palace Kitchen
Quinn's
Skillet
Spring Hill
Tavern Law
Zippy's
... and more to come!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS!

This event is for 21 and over.

COFFEE: Free 8oz cup of Seattle's Best Coffee on Jan. 4th!

2012-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Mittens aren’t the only way to warm up your hands this winter. On January 4, Seattle’s Best Coffee will warm the hands of Seattle residents who visit their local cafe with a free small (8 fl. oz) cup of brewed coffee.

Those ready to trade hats and coats for leis and flipflops can also enter for a chance to win a trip to be whisked away to a tropical paradise. Seattle’s Best Coffee will be giving away a deliciously awesome 7-day trip for two to Hawaii – including airfare and hotel accommodations. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Details on how to enter and official rules will be available at participating Seattle cafe locations January 4-February 14.

Cafes Participating in Free Coffee Day on Jan. 4:

1530 Post Alley
Seattle, WA 98101

400 Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98101

1100 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101

365 Renton Center Way South
Renton, WA 98055

621 2nd Avenues
Seattle, WA 98104

SeaTac Airport Concourse A, D & South Satellite

A store locator is available to find a Seattle’s Best Coffee cafe near you. More information about Seattle’s Best Coffee can be found at http://www.seattlesbestcoffee.com/ or on Facebook.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Chow Down Seattle! I hope 2012 is filled with delicious food, tasty drinks, and great company!

RECIPE: Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-28T20:48:00.001-08:00

Today I decided to bake some cookies. I usually bake my favorite chocolate chip cookies, but I had some butterscotch chips in my cupboard, so I added them to the recipe. I used the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Martha Stewart Cookie Book. The cookies turned out delicious! I cut the amount of chocolate chips in half and substituted the butterscotch chips. I will be making these from now on. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Makes about 3 dozen.

HOLIDAY: Respect the Bird!

2011-11-17T23:39:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the fact that Thanksgiving is all about being with your family and friends to enjoy a great dinner, and to give thanks for all the good things in your life. It's not about going into debt buying a bunch of useless gifts. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is slowly being overrun by Christmas. Retail stores are putting up their Christmas displays earlier every year. Some stores have their Christmas items out before Halloween!

The Friday after Thanksgiving is known as "Black Friday". This name was given as it indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black". It is typically the busiest shopping day of the year. Retailers open their stores very early on Friday morning. Some open at 4am or 5am, and now this year some are opening at Midnight! That is ridiculous! Now the store employees you have to work that shift will miss out on most, if not all, of their Thanksgiving holiday, since they will need to get to bed very early to be well-rested for their work shift. Where will it stop? Will retailers be open on Thanksgiving Day next year? Is it really worth it? The over-commercialization of Christmas is threatening Thanksgiving.
I'm not the only one who feels this way. Below is a press release from Allrecipes.com.

Allrecipes.com Community Leads Movement to Protect Thanksgiving; Home Cooks Pledge to Savor Day of Food, Family and Thankfulness

SEATTLE, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Is Thanksgiving as we know it an endangered species? With Halloween's ghosts barely banished, each year retailers push the Christmas season upon consumers earlier and earlier – and all at the expense of the Thanksgiving holiday. But the Allrecipes.com community is out to turn that around. Inspired by community member Doug Matthews' November 2010 blog post lamenting the commercialization of the holiday season, Allrecipes, a Reader's Digest Association (RDA) company and the world's #1 digital food brand, today announced its "Respect the Bird!" campaign: a grassroots movement to savor the true meaning of Thanksgiving and tune out the distractions of Black Friday that have intruded upon Thanksgiving week.

A national survey from Allrecipes found 82 percent of home cooks think Christmas is marketed too early and that the Thanksgiving holiday gets too little attention as a result. Moreover, 42 percent admit being frustrated by Christmas shopping sales that begin before Thanksgiving while 39 percent just try to ignore them.

Allrecipes has created a dedicated site, www.RespectTheBird.com, where Thanksgiving enthusiasts can rally support for the movement. Here, consumers can take the Respect the Bird Pledge, a promise to fully enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and not begin shopping for the December holidays until after November 24, and get recipes and tips for their Thanksgiving festivities. The site and complementary social media channels (Respect the Bird Facebook community and Respect the Bird on Twitter - @RespectTheBird) will make it easy to spread the movement among friends and family.

"Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday and I believe I was speaking for a lot of people when I wrote the blog post last year about Respect the Bird," said Matthews, leader of the Respect the Bird movement. "I am thrilled that Allrecipes is taking Respect the Bird to a new level with this campaign and I hope it sets a precedence that the holiday be celebrated by sharing thanks and good food with friends and family, not Black Friday shopping!"

With thousands of top-rated Thanksgiving recipes from classics such as Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way to exotic side dishes such as Holiday Cranberry Chutney, Allrecipes will be the go-to resource for Thanksgiving meal planning, expecting 28 million visits the week leading up to Thanksgiving day – a 35 percent increase over 2010.

"Allrecipes.com thrives on its vibrant user community of more than 25 million passionate home cooks like Doug Matthews," said Lisa Sharples, President of Allrecipes. "When we saw how our community responded to Doug's blog, we knew we had to help that community express its appreciation for what we all think is truly the best day of the year."

FOOD EVENT: Seattle Center Mobile Feast: Urban Hops & Harvest

2011-10-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Join the mobile food movement at the first-ever Seattle Center Mobile Feast: Urban Hops & Harvest on Saturday, Oct. 29, 11am – 6pm at Fisher Pavilion and the South Fountain Lawn. More than 20 food trucks will be at Seattle Center with a delicious array of cuisines including Mexican, Thai, Indian, Cuban, Greek, American, Caribbean and Fusion. Choose from BBQ, gourmet burgers, smoothies, vegetarian dishes, sandwiches, custom desserts, organic ice cream and more.

Enjoy a beer garden inside Fisher Pavilion, plus eclectic music mixes produced especially for this event. Indoor and outdoor seating will be available, admission is FREE and all ages are welcome – just bring cash and your appetite.

Click here to view the event map and guide.

Participating Food Trucks:

Where Ya At Matt
Big Food

Boyd’s Fuel Truck

Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff

Dante’s Inferno Dogs

Barriga Llena Torto Mobil

Fusion on the Run

Raney Bros. BBQ

Kaosamai Noodle Truck

Street Treats

Curry Now

The Bistro Box

Athena’s Gyros

Damiana’s Blue Truck Special

Snout & Co.

Veraci Pizza

Big House BBQ

Pretzelwagen

BUNS

Saffron Street Vending

Parfait Organic Artisan Ice Cream

Skillet Street Food

Al's Gourmet Sausage
Taqueria Taco Gol

Net proceeds from the Mobile Feast will benefit Seattle Center Foundation, producer of The Next 50, celebrating in 2012 the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

FOOD NEWS: Food Day

2011-10-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.

Find out more about Food Day on their Website.

FOOD EVENT: 3rd Annual American Lamb Jam

2011-10-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bell Harbor International Conference Center

(2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66 Seattle, WA 98121) Sunday October 23, 3-6pm

The third annual American Lamb Jam produced by the American Lamb Board is coming to Seattle on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at Bell Harbor International Conference Center. This ultimate taste-off will feature twenty top Seattle chefs and their creative preparations of lusty lamb dishes accompanied by award-winning Washington State wines. Media judging will include awards for Best of Show, 1st Place Awards for Shoulder, Leg of Lamb, Shank and Loin tastes. Guests vote and determine the People's Choice winner. People's Choice Award for 2009 and 2010 went to Bobby Moore from The Barking Frog in Woodinville.

FOODBUZZ: Tastemaster with Peet's Coffee

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I received two bags of Peet's Coffee and a travel tumbler from Foodbuzz.com. These gifts were received as part of their Tastemaster program with Peet's Coffee. All participants were asked to pair the coffee with a brunch or dessert item and post about it in our blog.

I decided to create a Pecan Coffee Cake. I paired the coffee cake with Peet's Cafe Domingo Coffee. The coffee is smooth, balanced and medium-bodied. I thought it would pair well with the coffee cake. I decided to add a tablespoon of the ground coffee to the coffee cake mixture to give it a slight coffee taste. The coffee cake is quite delicious and it goes well with Peet's Cafe Domingo coffee.

Peet's Coffee would like me to pass along a coupon worth up to $3.00 when shared with three friends. Click here to take advantage of this great offer!

Here is the recipe to my Pecan Coffee Cake:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Peet's Cafe Domingo Coffee grounds
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sour cream, then beat in sugar and Peet's Cafe Domingo Coffee grounds. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. By hand, fold in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Spread batter into prepared pan.
To make the Pecan Topping: In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter in pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, and remove foil.

FOOD EVENT: The Northwest Chocolate Festival

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

This year's Northwest Chocolate Festival is being held at Seattle Center in the Northwest Rooms. The festival is Saturday & Sunday, October 22nd & 23rd at 10:00am to 6:00pm each day. Festival admission for one day is $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Festival Two-Day Pass is $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

What should I expect at the festival? Taste after taste of amazing chocolate, hand-crafted fine chocolate, artisan quality chocolate desserts, slideshows and storytelling by chocolate makers, tasting a fresh cacao pod, crushing nibs and tasting freshly conched chocolate in workshops, live music and dj's for entertainment, culinary kitchen demo area with classes and award winning instructors, wine-beer-cocktail garden for the 21+, coffee and chocolate cafes, kids zone! and more tastes of chocolate than you can possibly eat in one day ~ that's why the festival goes for two fun days!

More info: Website, Facebook, Twitter

OPENING: The Local Vine Opens 2nd Location Today at University Village

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Local Vine Wine Bar opens its second location today at University Village! The Local Vine's first location (originally in Belltown) is located on Capitol Hill at 12th & Madison. They offer over 100 wines by the glass, as well as, a selection of small plates for sharing. They have been voted Seattle's Best Wine Bar two years in-a-row. The Local Vine offers a comfortable place to enjoy wine, food and friends.

FOOD NEWS: Five Seattle Restaurants Make OpenTable's National Top 50

2011-10-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Five Seattle restaurants have made it on OpenTable's Diners' Choice Awards for the top 50 restaurants that are "fit for foodies." The list of winners is derived from more than 10 million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Cascina Spinasse, MistralKitchen, Spur, Staple and Fancy, and Tilth made the list. Seattle tied with Boston and New York with five restaurants. San Francisco (with ten) and Chicago (with six) were the only cities to have more restaurants on the list.

REVIEW: Cuoco

2011-10-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I had dinner at one of Tom Douglas' newer restaurants, Cuoco. This Italian restaurant is part of three new eateries in the Terry Building in the heart of South Lake Union. Cuoco sits on the first floor below Brave Horse Tavern and Ting Momo, a Tibetan Dumpling House. Mr. Douglas did a great job fully restoring and renovating the old Terry Building. The restored exposed brick shows off the buildings history, and the beautiful wood work throughout the restaurant add a nice warmth to the setting. When you first walk into the restaurant you have a open view to the kitchen and the pasta work station. All the pasta is made fresh on-site.

To start the dinner, I sampled Cuoco's weekly wine flight. This week's selection included three Italian Reds: Primonero '08, Passamante '09, and Pezzo Morgana Riserva '07. The wine flight menu does a great job describing the taste of each wine. The taste I experienced was exactly the taste they described. All three were very delicious.

For my salad, I went with the Simple salad. This was a perfect start to the dinner as it was very light and had perfect flavor. It contains josh's greens, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon, sea salt, and young goat cheese.

For my main course, I ordered the Lasagna with bolognese sauce, besciamella and parmigiano. I was surprised at the size of the serving. It was huge! The lasagna was very tasty and had good flavor. I wish it came with a little more sauce, but otherwise it was good, that is, until I took a bite from the center of my lasagna. It was very cold. the outer portions of the lasagna were hot, but not the center. It's as if the center of it was refrigerated. I mentioned this to our server. I told him the lasagna is delicious, but the center was surprisingly cold. he came back a few minutes later to let me know that they were not going to charge me for the lasagna. I wasn't looking for any discount or free food when I mentioned it to him, but I was very pleased they were not going to charge me for it. I of course still paid my full amount and left a very generous tip. Just the fact that they were going to take care of it for me, showed me that they care about their food and their patrons. So I was happy to pay full price for the lasagna. It still tasted great!

For dessert, I ordered the chocolate gelato. This was a generous scoop and it was delicious. I would recommend trying out Cuoco. They have good food, good wine, and excellent service!

OPENING: Altura Restaurant opens on Capitol Hill

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by Suzi Pratt

Eater Seattle reports the opening of Altura on Capitol Hill. Chef Nathan Lockwood, formerly of The Ruins Private Dining Club, and his wife Rebecca Lockwood have started service at their new Italian restaurant located on North Broadway. Altura Restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 10:30 pm. Find out more information on Altura Restaurant at their website.

FUNNY: Tricia & Johanna: Yelpers

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tricia & Johanna: Yelpers - watch more funny videos

FOOD EVENT: Seattle Restaurant Week

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

10 days. Over 150 Restaurants. 3 courses for $28.

Dine out and celebrate the fall run of Seattle Restaurant Week, October 16-27, 2011 (excluding Friday, Saturday and Sunday brunch). More than 150 local restaurants are serving up three-course dinners for just $28 - and many of them are offering three-course lunch for $15.

Find out more info on the event's website, Facebook, & Twitter.

FUNNY: Coffee Snobs

2011-10-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Coffee Snobs - watch more funny videos

FOOD NEWS: Seattle's Best Coffee new Pumpkin Crème Latte

2011-10-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Seattle's Best Coffee introduces their new Pumpkin Crème Latte! It is the perfect accompaniment for any fall activity. The Latte is an irresistible combination of pumpkin spice flavors, white chocolate, espresso, and velvety steamed milk topped with a sprinkle of pumpkin spice.

Seattle’s Best Coffee is offering $1 off a medium Pumpkin Crème Latte at cafes in the Seattle area through November 6. For additional savings, check in to your local Seattle’s Best Coffee in Seattle on Foursquare to save an extra 50 cents off a medium Pumpkin Crème Latte.

Find a Seattle's Best Coffee café near you at their website.

FOOD EVENT: Mobile Chowdown VI

2011-09-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is Mobile Chowdown VI! This time the food trucks are headed West, to West Seattle.

Date: Sunday, October 2, 2011

Time: 11 am – 5 pm

Entry Fee: Free!
Location: West Seattle Junction – California Ave between SW Oregon and SW Edmunds St. (Alaska St will still be open to through traffic)

Food Trucks: A Lunch in Hand, Andrae's Kitchen, Beloved Mexico, BigFood Mobile, BUNS, Charlies Buns N' Stuff, Dante's Inferno Dogs, El Camion, Fusion on the Run, I Want Curry Now, Kaosamai Thai, Lumpia World, Marination Mobile, Maximus Minimus, Molly Moon's Ice Cream, Pai's, Parfait Ice Cream, Pretzelwagen, Raney Brothers BBQ, Skillet, Snout and Company, Street Donuts, Street Treats, The Bistro Box, Veraci Pizza, Where Ya At Matt

More Info: Website, Twitter, Facebook

Bring your appetite and check out all the great Food Trucks!

FOOD NEWS: Happy National Coffee Day!

2011-09-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

Today is National Coffee Day! Two national chains are offering free coffee today. You can get a free medium coffee from 7 to 11 am at participating 7-Eleven stores. You can stop by the closest Krispy Kreme store or drive-thru anytime on Sept 29, 2011 for a free 12 oz cup of their new House Blend coffee.

OPENING: Dick's in Edmonds to open before Thanksgiving

2011-09-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Dick's newest location in Edmonds will open before Thanksgiving. The fast food restaurant chain would like its fans to be a part of the grand opening! Dick's will be hiding 12 orange tickets throughout the city of Edmonds. Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 14, 2011, clues as to where and when you can find an Orange Ticket will be posted on the Dick's Drive-In Facebook page and on Twitter. Orange Ticket holders will be VIPs at the Edmonds Grand Opening ceremonies and be among the very first fans to eat at the new Edmonds drive-in. Check out the official rules at their website.

FOODBUZZ: Tastemakers with Peet's Coffee

2011-09-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today I received this great package in the mail from Foodbuzz.com! As part of their Tastemakers program, I received a bag of Peet's Café Domingo coffee and a bag of Café Solano coffee. Both are medium roast blends. Café Domingo is described as "a blend of Central and South American coffees that is smooth, balanced and medium-bodied with more pure coffee taste." Café Solano is described as "a blend of African, Indo-Pacific and South American coffees that is lively and aromatic." Peet's experts describe it as a world blend with floral notes and a subtle fruit essence for a lively, yet rounded cup.

I also received a coffee tumbler! Now I need to come up with a good brunch or dessert pairing for the coffees to post to the blog. I'll probably lean more towards a dessert, as I already have a few good ideas. This package arrived just in time for National Coffee Day which is this Thursday, September 29th!

TV SHOW: Top Chef has four Seattle hopefuls

2011-09-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

The ninth season of Top Chef is taking place in Texas. Bravo has released the names of 29 possible contestants. 16 of those 29 go on to compete on the popular Bravo reality show. Four of those 29 "hopefuls" are from Seattle!

The four Seattle hopefuls are: Simon Pantet of Capitol Hill's 22; Colin Patterson of Wallingford's Sutra; Nina Vicente of Belltown's Spur Gastropub; and Ashley Villaluz, who is listed as a Sous Chef in Seattle. Top Chef: Texas premieres November 2nd. The entire list of all 29 hopefuls can be found at Eater National.

I'm a huge fan of Top Chef and I wish all the Seattle hopefuls the best of luck!

FOOD PRODUCT: Skillet Pumpkin Sauce

2011-09-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Fall, Skillet has introduced their new Pumpkin Sauce. You may know Skillet for their famous Bacon Jam, or their great food from their airstream trailer, or their new Skillet Diner. Now you can use their Pumpkin Sauce as a ketchup on a burger or your favorite food. Skillet's Pumpkin Sauce comes in three unique flavors: Brown Sugar & Apple Vinegar, Thai Coconut, and Chipotle.

FOOD NEWS: Happy National Cream-Filled Donut Day!

2011-09-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today is National Cream-Filled Donut Day. Get out and get some!

FOOD NEWS: Happy International Chocolate Day!

2011-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Eat some chocolate! Celebrate!

FOOD EVENT: Mobile Food Rodeo

2011-09-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, September 17th, is Seattle's premier mobile food truck festival, the Mobile Food Rodeo! 25 mobile food trucks from Seattle and Portland will be competing for the 1st Annual Wagon Wheel Awards. The Rodeo will be circling its wagons at Interbay, 1600 West Armory Way between Queen Anne and Magnolia. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will be on hand to present the awards. The 1st Annual Mobile Food Rodeo will feature Seattle food trucks Maximus/Minimus, Skillet, Kaosamai Thai, and a lot more! Check out the full list of Seattle and Portland food trucks, and all the event's info at their website, Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

The Mobile Food Rodeo is already planning two more Rodeos next year. One will be in Bellevue in the Spring, and the other in Seattle in late Summer. Round up your family and friends, and mosey on over to the Mobile Food Rodeo!

NAME CHANGE: Campagne to reopen as Marché

2011-08-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

Eater Seattle reports that Pike Place Market's Campagne will change its name to Marché. Campagne has been closed for renovations since January. Chef/owner Daisley Gordon plans to reopen as Marché on September 1st. Marché will continue to offer French cuisine, but it will also include other European and North African fare. Downstairs, Cafe Campagne will continue operations as normal.

CLOSING: Tidbit Bistro

2011-08-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

According to Nosh Pit News in the Seattle Met Magazine, Capitol Hill's Tidbit Bistro will be closing its doors on Saturday, August 27, 2011. Both owners, John van Deinse and Nicola Longo, are planning on moving out of the restaurant business. They opened Tidbit Bistro four years ago. They moved from their 10th Avenue location to Broadway on Capitol Hill last year. Stop in for a bite, and bid the owners a fond farewell!

FOOD NEWS: Congrats to The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard!

2011-08-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ballard's The Walrus and the Carpenter for being chosen by Bon Appetit Magazine as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2011!

RECIPE: Homemade Vintage Lemonade

2011-08-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love lemonade, especially in the Summer. Whenever I go out to eat, if I'm not having wine, beer, or a mixed drink, I will order a lemonade. Some restaurants make fresh lemonade (very few) and others just use Minute Maid lemonade from the soda gun behind the bar. I searched online for a good recipe for homemade lemonade and I found this recipe. It came from "Aunt Suzie" from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients
5 lemons
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 quarts water

Directions
1. Peel the rinds from the 5 lemons and cut them into 1/2 inch slices. Set the lemons aside.

2. Place the rinds in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Let this stand for about one hour, so that the sugar begins to soak up the oils from the lemons.

3. Bring water to a boil in a covered saucepan and then pour the hot water over the sugared lemon rinds. Allow this mixture to cool for 20 minutes and then remove the rinds.

4. Cut the lemons in half and use a reamer to squeeze the lemon juice out of the lemons into another bowl. Pour the juice through a strainer into the sugar mixture. Stir well, pour into a pitcher and chill in the fridge. Serve with ice cubes. Enjoy!

Adjustments
You may need to adjust the lemonade to taste. You might want to add more water or more sugar.

OPINION: Hey chain restaurants, stay off of my streets!! Leave Food Trucks Alone!

2011-08-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

Some cities like Los Angeles, New York and Portland have rich food truck histories. Their food trucks are part of their food culture. In the past several years, the food truck craze has been spreading across the country. Seattle is a good example. The number of food trucks keeps multiplying each year. So much so, Seattle has been the host of several Mobile Chowdowns, which even featured food trucks from Portland. I'm a huge fan of food trucks and have attended a few of the Mobile Chowdowns.

Now some of the chain restaurants want to get in on the food truck action. Jack In The Box introduced its Jack's Munchie Mobile back in March in Southern California. Does Jack In The Box really need to get into the food truck business? Jack In The Box has over 900 brick-and-mortar restaurants in California alone! Do we really need a food truck like this showing up at food festivals, block parties and neighborhood blocks when you can find a Jack In The Box restaurant just about wherever you go?


Jack In The Box Munchie Mobile

Applebee's in Colorado rolled out its first food truck at its Colorado Burger contest. The Applebee's food truck is going to travel across Colorado. Yet again, do we really need an Applebee's food truck? Just like Jack In The Box, there are plenty of Applebee's restaurants throughout the country. In my opinion, any chain restaurant should stick to their brick-and-mortar restaurants. Chain restaurants and fast food chains make mass produced, processed, unoriginal food. Most of the food is bland and very unhealthy. It's bad enough that a lot of people drive to these places and eat this food, but now these chains are going to be driving through our neighborhoods trying to sell this slop to us? Most Americans are overweight as it is. Do we really need to make the access even easier to this fatty food? I think not.

Applebee's executive chef Shannon Johnson in front of Applebee's Colorado's new food truck.

Seattle has a lot of great food trucks: Maximus/Minimus, Marination Mobile, Skillet, Where Ya At Matt, El Camion, Pai's, Rancho Bravo Tacos, and many, many more! These food trucks offer fresh ingredients that are turned into amazing, original, and very tasty meals. Not to mention, they are all local businesses. Last month, the Seattle City Council approved a bill that allows food trucks to do business on the street. Previously food trucks were only allowed on private property. The bill also allows food carts to sell more kinds of food. This is all good news to food truck owners in Seattle. Hopefully this will spur on even more food trucks, just not already established fast food chains and other restaurants who have no business moving into town with their own food trucks.

Skillet

Maximus/Minimus

Marination Mobile

REVIEW: Hudson

2011-08-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

Just south of downtown Seattle is an often overlooked neighborhood called Georgetown. This neighborhood has a lot of cool and unique bars and restaurants. One of these cool places is Hudson, a restaurant right off of Highway 99 (East Marginal Way). Hudson is from the owners of Smarty Pants, another restaurant in the heart of Georgetown. My friends and I were traveling to Portland, and we decided to stop in to Hudson for some breakfast.

Hudson is not a large restaurant, but they do have a cool horseshoe-shaped counter giving the place the traditional diner feeling. The space is very bright with huge windows with booths and tables located around the diner counter. The building itself is a renovated brick building.

I ordered the Federal Scramble. It is made with three eggs, button mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and parmesan cheese. The scramble is served with hash browns, and your choice of bread, muffin or biscuit. I went with the biscuit. The scramble was delicious. It had an over abundance of mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach. I wish it had a bit more parmesan cheese, as I love cheese. So next time, I will ask for extra cheese. Still, the scramble was very tasty! The hash browns were cooked perfectly golden brown, and the biscuit was delicious with a huge slab of butter.

My friend Penny ordered the SODO Breakfast. It comes with two buttermilk pancakes served with two eggs any style and two pieces of Zoe's bacon. Penny ordered her eggs basted. The pancakes were quite large and browned perfectly. The pieces of Zoe's bacon were thick slabs of pork goodness.

My friend Shay ordered the Breakfast Tacos. The two tacos were made with scrambled eggs, seasoned sausage, cheddar cheese, pico de gallo and spicy sour cream. The tacos came with hash browns. I had a taste of the breakfast tacos, and they were pretty good. The sour cream is definitely spicy. All three of us enjoyed our meals, and were happy that we came upon Hudson. Our server was very friendly, and so were all the other servers there. We will definitely be back.

Front of Hudson off of Marginal Way.

Hudson is open seven days a week. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sunday Brunch is served until 3 p.m. Happy Hour is 4-6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight.


Entrance to Hudson.

SHORT FILM: EAT

2011-08-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

= a trip of a lifetime.

Check out their two other videos, and EAT!!

REVIEW: Le Fournil

2011-07-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I finally made a visit to Le Fournil French Bakery. The bakery has been in the Eastlake neighborhood by the University Bridge since 1997. The owner, who is originally from France, wanted to bring the French bakery experience to Seattle.

I ordered a chocolate/orange tart with a vanilla latte. The tart was ridiculously good! It was very rich, and had just a hint of orange flavor. Half of the tart was dusted with cocoa powder. The latte was pretty good on its own. I love French bread, so I also purchased a loaf to take home. The bread was very tasty. Le Fournil offers a full menu of sandwiches, quiche, salads and soups. Not to mention, their dessert case is full of delicious looking pastries that changes seasonally. I highly recommend visiting Le Fournil for all that they have to offer!

Happy Bastille Day!

2011-07-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Bastille Day from Chow Down Seattle!!

FOOD EVENT: 30th Annual Bite of Seattle

2011-07-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite food events takes place this weekend. The 30th Annual Bite of Seattle starts Friday, July 15th at Seattle Center. Each year this event gets bigger and bigger. Although one thing is getting smaller this year. All restaurant booths will offer a Just a Bite! item (a smaller portion of one of their popular menu items for a lower price). So now you can sample a variety of restaurants, instead of getting full after just one or two food booths.

One of my favorite foods to try is the grilled corn on the cob. The line for this is always dozens of people long, but it's well worth it! Nothing is better than an ear of corn grilled in its husk, peeled, and then dipped in melted butter. YUM!!

As always, the Bite will have entertainment for the entire family. Stop by and check it out. This is a great opportunity to try some of the best food Seattle has to offer!

July 15-17, 2011

FREE ADMISSION
Seattle Center
Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
www.comcastbiteofseattle.com

FOOD NEWS: Seattle is One of America's Best Beer Cities

2011-07-10T00:19:00.000-07:00

Travel + Leisure magazine recently conducted a poll of its readers to determine the Best Beer Cities in America. Seattle ranked 3rd on their list! The Emerald City is known for its coffee, but it is also known for its great beers! Seattle has a lot of great breweries. Below is a list of just some of them:

Big Al Brewing
Big Time Brewing Company
Elliott Bay Brewing Company
Elysian Brewing Company
Fremont Brewing
Georgetown Brewing Company
Hale's Brewery
Maritime Pacific Brewing Company
Naked City Brewing
Pike Brewing Company
Pyramid Brewing
Redhook Brewery
Schooner Exact Brewing Company
Six Arms Brewery
Two Beers Brewing Company

Do you have a favorite beer? Microbrew? Brewery?

REVIEW: Brave Horse Tavern

2011-07-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

This week my friend and I paid a visit to one of Tom Douglas' new eating establishments, Brave Horse Tavern. This is one of three new eateries in the Terry Building located in the heart of the new Amazon.com campus in South Lake Union. I have heard a lot of good things about this place, so I was excited to try it out. The day I visited was nice and sunny, so we decided to sit at one of the picnic tables outside.

I have heard a lot about the hand-made pretzels, so I tried one out as an appetizer. You can choose to have a number of dips with your pretzel. I went with the sour cream and crispy onion dip. This pretzel was delicious! It came to the table nice and warm. It had a perfect amount of sea salt dusted on top. I could have easily had three of these for lunch. Brave Horse Tavern also has a great selection of beers.

After my pretzel appetizer, I ordered the fennel and chili rubbed pork shoulder sandwich. The pork was served on a ciabatta with garlic rapini and green sauce. This sandwich was very tasty, although it was quite messy to eat. I didn't add the green sauce to my sandwich, as it would have made my sandwich soggy. Otherwise, it was a good sandwich. I look forward to going back for some more pretzels!

REVIEW: Cicchetti

2011-07-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

My best friend recently moved back to the Eastlake neighborhood. We have both lived in the neighborhood years before and have always loved the area, so I was very happy when he moved back. We decided to walk on over to Cicchetti, Serafina's sister restaurant. It is located directly behind Serafina. Cicchetti is a perfect addition to the Eastlake neighborhood. Cicchetti has great outdoor seating. On this visit, we sat at the bar. The bar is great. All the liquor bottles are shelved up against large windows that face West, so as the sun is setting all the bottles glow in the sunlight.

We arrived just in time for Happy Hour (5pm - 6:30pm). Cicchetti has a great Happy Hour menu with $5 specialty drinks. One of the drinks I tried is called "The Rumbler". It is a refreshing rum based drink.

Next we ordered some small plates. We started with the Truffle oil popcorn for only $1. I love popcorn and I love Truffle oil, so this was a match made in heaven. I could have easily eaten a jumbo-sized bucket of this stuff. We also tried the Kalamata olives with feta. These were also very tasty.

Next we tried the Margherita Pizza, which is only $5 during Happy Hour. The pizza was delicious. It is cooked in their wood fire oven. The crust was perfect!

Lastly, we had our main course of Hanger Steak. The steak was tender and juicy, and served on a light salad. I highly recommend! Overall, I love this place! Right off the bat, our Server was very friendly. Our Bartender was great. He made great drinks and always made sure we were happy with our food and drinks. The rest of the staff at Cicchetti was just as friendly. The place has a very laid-back vibe about it. Cicchetti is a perfect neighborhood restaurant/bar. I can't wait for my next visit to Cicchetti!

TRAVEL: La Velvet Margarita Cantina - Hollywood, CA

2011-06-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I went down to California with my best friend to visit our friend Jill. She took us to this excellent restaurant called La Velvet Margarita Cantina. The decor alone is awesome in this place. They have cool skull painting on the wall, sombreros on the ceiling, and cool metallic wallpaper throughout. I started my meal with the VMC House Salad. It was a nice mixed greens salad with mama Carmelita's special vinaigrette orange dressing. This was a very tasty and refreshing salad. For my entree, I had the Chicken Asada Taco Platter. This consisted of grilled chicken served open faced on corn tortillas topped with salsa, guacamole, onions and sour cream. The tacos were served with rice and beans. All of the food was delicious.

One of the drinks I had with dinner was their Pina Colada which was served in a shaved coconut. This was honestly one of the best Pina Coladas I have ever tasted. It was so smooth and creamy.

The second drink I had was their Velvet Margarita. This was served in a fresh pineapple. This too was one of the best margaritas I have tasted. I highly recommend it!

OPENING: Stopsky's Deli on Mercer Island

2011-05-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Stopsky's Delicatessen, a traditional Jewish delicatessen, will be opening on Mercer Island on Monday, May 16th!

3016 78th Ave. SE

Mercer Island, WA 98040

Hours: Mon-Fri 7-7, Sat-Sun 7-5:30

Contact:

Toll-Free: 855-STOPSKY

Phone: 206-236-4564

Fax: 206-236-4565

Email: info@stopskysdelicatessen.com

Find out more at: www.stopskysdelicatessen.com

REVIEW: Poquitos

2011-04-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Friday I met up with some friends for drinks and dinner after work. We decided to go to Poquitos. It's a new Mexican food restaurant on Capitol Hill in Seattle that just opened last month. Poquitos is from the owners of Bastille in Ballard. They picked a great corner spot for their new restaurant. It is right in the heart of the bustling Pike/Pine corridor on Capitol Hill. This area is already well known for some other great restaurants and pubs. The interior of the restaurant is beautifully done with Mexican tiles on the walls to huge iron chandeliers.

Poquitos was already packed when we arrived. The circular bar was over-flowing with people enjoying some of Poquitos custom cocktails. We sat in one of the booths off the bar. I started with one of Poquitos drinks called an Alabanza (Tequila Manhattan) – Anejo tequila, Carpano Antica, mole bitters and angostura. This drink was very tasty! Good enough that I ordered another. It was garnished with a cherry on a stick.

For dinner I went with their Carnitas. The pork came with guacamole, cilantro, onions, lime, salsa verde, and they were served with beans and flour tortillas. The Carnitas were good and flavorful. There were a few pieces of pork that were pretty tough, but overall it was good. The serving size was just the right amount to fill me up. I was a little disappointed in the beans. They were pretty bland. I was hoping for some spice or flavor to be added to them.

OPENING: Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco & Ting Momo

2011-04-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Tom Douglas has added three new eateries to his already impressive lineup of restaurants. Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco and Ting Momo are all located in the up and coming neighborhood of South Lake Union in Seattle. All three are located in the historic Terry Avenue Building in the heart of Amazon.com's new campus.

Brave Horse Tavern has 24 taps, handcrafted pretzels, and burgers. Cuoco is an Italian restaurant with house made pasta. Ting Momo offers Tibetan dumplings with a twist. All three are now open. I hope to be able to try all three soon to offer up a review of each.

REVIEW: Flying Saucer Pizza

2011-04-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

Today I tried out Flying Saucer Pizza in Redmond for lunch. First off, I love the name, and they have pretty cool pizza boxes. Flying Saucer Pizza specializes in personal-sized pizza. Their menu is filled with cleverly named pizzas. Some of the names include: Asteroid Belt (loaded with Italian sausage), The Big Bang (all meat pizza), Black Hole (pepperoni & black olives), The Red Planet (pepperoni & more pepperoni), and many more!

Moons of Jupiter 8 inch pizza

I went with the Moons of Jupiter pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms & Italian sausage). The pizza was delivered and it arrived nice and hot! The pizza was delicious. It had the perfect amount of toppings, and the crust was perfectly crispy. Their personal pizzas come in two sizes: 8 inch and 10 inch. I went with the 8 inch personal pizza, and it was plenty of pizza for me. I was perfectly full. I'm a pretty picky pizza eater, and I'm hard to impress, but I was pretty impressed with Flying Saucer Pizza.

Flying Saucer Pizza is located in Redmond, WA. You can either dine-in, take-out or delivery. You can call in your order, or place your order online through their website.

FOOD NEWS: James Beard Foundation Award Semi-finalists

2011-03-12T23:17:00.000-08:00

The semi-finalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards has been announced. The Pacific Northwest has a good showing in each category. The nominations will be announced on March 21, 2011. Below are the lists of semi-finalists from Seattle and Washington state.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT
Staple & Fancy Mercantile - Seattle, WA

OUTSTANDING CHEF
Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita - Kirkland, WA
Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy - Seattle, WA

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT
Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA

OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR
Tom Douglas, Tom Douglas Restaurants (Dahlia Bakery, Dahlia Lounge, Etta's, Lola, Palace Kitchen, Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie, and Serious Pie) - Seattle, WA

OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Canlis - Seattle, WA

OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE
Canlis - Seattle, WA

OUTSTANDING WINE & SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL
Alex Golitzin, Quilceda Creek Vinters - Snohomish, WA

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn - Lummi Island, WA

BEST CHEF IN AMERICA
Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Walla Walla, WA
Seif Chirchi & Rachel Yang, Joule - Seattle, WA
Matt Dillon, Sitka & Spruce - Seattle, WA
Ethan Stowell, Staple & Fancy Mercantile - Seattle, WA

REVIEW: Endolyne Joes

2011-03-12T22:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to Endolyne Joe's since they opened. Tonight I had dinner there with some friends. I have been to all the Chow Foods restaurants and I like them all. Chow Foods likes to have menu themes at their establishments. The theme at Endolyne Joe's right now is Route 66. They do a great job decorating the restaurant with the theme.

Tonight I had the buttermilk fried chicken dinner. The dinner comes with three pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw and a buttermilk biscuit. The buttermilk fried chicken was delicious. I'm really picky about my fried chicken, and this was really good. The chicken skin was fried perfectly. It wasn't over-fried. I don't like it when it is too crunchy. The chicken itself was very juicy. Let's just say that all that was left on my plate was a small pile of chicken bones. The mashed potatoes were okay. They could have been a little bit more creamy. The coleslaw was good and crisp.

The service tonight was great. Our server was very attentive. He was very informative of the specials and made some good recommendations. I like the atmosphere of Endolyne Joe's. It's a comfortable restaurant. You feel "at home" there. It is also a very family friendly restaurant, which was evident by the number of children who were there tonight. I wish my parents took me to a restaurant like this when I was a kid!

FOOD NEWS: Dine around Seattle is back!

2011-02-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

Get your forks ready! The bi-annual food event everybody loves is back again! Starting March 1st thru 31st, you can enjoy a 3-course dinner for just $30 at some of the Seattle area's top restaurants. Plus many offer lunch for only $15. The dinners are available Sundays thru Thursdays. The price does not include beverages, tax and gratuity. Reservations are highly recommended.

This is a great event that comes around every March and November. It gives Seattle food fans the opportunity to try out some of Seattle's best restaurants without breaking the bank. Below is a list of the restaurants participating in Dine around Seattle. Check out Dine around Seattle's website for more info.

35th Street Bistro
ART Restaurant & Lounge
Barking Frog
Barolo Ristorante
Barrio Bellevue
Barrio Capitol Hill
Beach Cafe
Bin on the Lake
Blueacre Seafood
Cafe Campagne
Chandler's Crabhouse
Chez Shea
Cutters Bayhouse
Earth & Ocean
Eva Restaurant
Hunger
Hunt Club
Lecosho
Lot No. 3 - Bellevue
Mamma Melina Ristorante & Pizzeria
McCormick & Schmick's - Harborside on Lake Union
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant - Bellevue
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant - Seattle
McCormick's Fish House
Monsoon East - Bellevue
Monsoon - Seattle
Nishino
Palisade
Palomino - Bellevue
Palomino - Seattle
Ponti Seafood Grill
Purple Cafe and Wine Bar - Bellevue
Ray's Boathouse
Redfin
Salty's - Alki
Salty's - Redondo Beach
Shuckers
Spazzo Italian Grill & Wine Bar - Redmond
Stanford's - Northgate
Stanford's - Southcenter
Steelhead Diner
Stumblilng Goat Bistro
SZMANIA'S
Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge
Urbane

REVIEW: Paddy Coyne's

2011-02-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

If you love fish and chips you have to try out Paddy Coyne's. Located in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Paddy Coyne's is one of Seattle's great Irish bars. Their fish and chips is Alaskan cod dipped in Paddy's own ale batter and rolled in bread crumbs. The coating is perfectly crispy and the fish is flakey and tender. I highly recommend checking them out, especially if you like a good Irish bar. The service is always great, and you can pet the owner's dog who is usually hanging out on the sidewalk by the front door.

FOOD NEWS: Text My Food

2011-01-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago NPR had a story about a bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts that allows customers to communicate to their server via text messaging. Charlie's Kitchen is one of the first restaurants in the country to offer this service. You can read the NPR story here: Chk Plz: Restaurants Try Texting To Speed Service.

What do you think of this type of service offered by TextMyFood? What do you think about the advantages and disadvantages of this service? Would you use this service if it was offered at your favorite restaurant?

FOOD NEWS: Dick's Special

2011-01-24T22:55:00.000-08:00

Dick's Drive-In is offering two great specials this week!

2 for 1 Cheeseburgers!

What: Buy 1 cheeseburger or 1 regular hamburger and get a second for free!
(limit of 3 free burgers per customer)
When: Tuesday, January 25th from 2:00pm to 6:30pm only
Where: Any of the 5 Seattle area Dick's Drive-Ins

10 Cent Cokes!
What: Any size Coca-Cola drink (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Root Beer, Lemonade) for just 10 cents!
When: All day Friday, January 28th
Where: Any of the 5 Seattle area Dick's Drive-Ins

FOOD NEWS: Chewsy - New iPhone Restaurant Food Review App

2011-01-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

How many times have you gone to a new restaurant, but didn't know exactly what was good to eat on the menu? Well now with the help of Chewsy and other's reviews, you can click on the iPhone app, select the restaurant, and then check out reviews of specific items on the menu. Chewsy is a new food app available for the iPhone that allows you to go beyond which restaurant is good or bad, it allows you to review and suggest (or not to suggest) items on a restaurant's menu. The only downfall of this app is that it is only as good as the reviews that are posted for each restaurant. Since this is a pretty new app, there are limited number of reviews for restaurants.

This is a free iPhone app available for download from iTunes.

FOOD NEWS: Really Starbucks? The Trenta size?

2011-01-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Do we really need a super-sized ice coffee? When fast food chains are under scrutiny for their unhealthy meals and over-sized drinks, Starbucks decides to join the gluttony parade. Starbucks announced today it will be rolling out a 31oz drink size called Trenta. The new size has been test-marketed in Phoenix and Tampa since March 2010. Now the new size will be available nation-wide starting this May. Does Starbucks really need to offer a size larger than the Venti, which is already 24oz? 75% of American adults are overweight or obese. The size of the Trenta is the equivalent of 2.5 cans of soda. The Huffington Post has an illustration showing how the new size compares to the human stomach.

I like Starbucks coffee and I get myself a tall latte most mornings, but I could not imagine gulping down a 31oz iced coffee. Starbucks seems to be getting further away from the Italian coffee experience it once was trying to bring to the U.S. Italians don't drink 31oz coffees, they drink small espressos. The Trenta is larger than a bottle of wine! This is just another way for Starbucks to make more money. Just like how Starbucks does offer a "short" size coffee, smaller than a "tall", but they don't list it on their store menu. Oh well, I guess the U.S. will continue to be known as the country where everything is larger, even our waists.

FOOD NEWS: COCHON 555 - 5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers

2011-01-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

COCHON 555 is a culinary competition and tasting event. The event features 5 chefs, 5 pigs and 5 winemakers. The purpose is to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs. The competition will be visiting ten cities across the country, which offers local farmers the opportunity to connect with like-minded agriculturalists, renowned chefs and the pork-loving public. The goal of COCHON 555 is to help family farms sustain and expand their businesses and to encourage breed diversity. This is the only heritage breed pig culinary competition in the country.

The Seattle COCHON 555 will feature five amazing, local chefs:

John Sundstrom - Lark

Holly Smith - Cafe Juanita

Rachel Yang - Joule/Revel

Ethan Stowel - How to Cook a Wolf

Jason Stratton - Spinasse

The five pigs are still yet to be selected from local farms.

The five Winemakers at Seattle COCHON 555:

Syncline Wine Cellars

The chefs will each prepare a 150-175 pound heritage breed hog from head to toe for this friendly competition. Guests and local judges will determine a winner based on presentation, utilization and overall best flavor.

Seattle COCHON 555 will be held at The Westin Seattle at 1900 5th Avenue on Sunday, February 20, 2011. General admission starts at 5:00pm, VIP admission starts at 3:30pm. You can purchase tickets here.

The other nine locations of COCHON 555 are: New York City, Boston, Napa, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and San Francisco.

More info can be found at the COCHON 555 website.

FOOD NEWS: Pie Shops Top the Trend list for 2011

2011-01-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

Move over cupcakes, there's a new tasty treat in town! 2011 will be the year of the pie. Andrew Freeman, of Andrew Freeman & Co., consults on marketing for restaurants and hotels nationwide. He predicts the number one trend of 2011 will be pie shops. Just how cupcake shops have been very popular over the past several years, now pies will be the next big thing.

It seems as if Mr. Freeman's prediction is right on the money. Seattle now has two brand new pie shops that just recently opened. High 5 Pie opened it's shop in the Trace Lofts building on 12th Avenue on Capitol Hill. Dani Cone, of Fuel Coffee, is the owner of the pie shop. High 5 Pie offers all types of sizes and flavors of pies. Their Piejar is a mini pie baked right in a mini mason jar! The Flipside is a handheld turnover for pie-on-the-go. They also have 7 inch and 9 inch pies. You can even take a pie home and bake it in your oven! They also have Piepops, which are pie lollipops! Find out more about High 5 Pie at their website http://www.high5pie.com/

The second new pie shop in Seattle is simply named Pie. It's located in Fremont at 3315 Fremont Avenue. Pie is co-owned by Jess Whitsitt and Renee Steen. This pie shop offers mini pies. Pie isn't your average pie shop. Jess and Renee bake sweet and savory pies. Their offerings include all sorts of meat pies, vegetable pies, ground turkey pie, a smoked salmon with goat cheese pie, and pies with sausages in the pie crust. They will also offer sweet pies. All pies are freshly baked between 7:00am and 3:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to 3:00pm on Saturday. Pie has a late night window for walk-up purchases. The window hours are 8:30pm to 2:30am on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. So now you can grab a few mini-pies to take home for dessert after dinner.

If pies become as popular as the recent cupcake and ice cream shops, we just may see a few more pop-up around Seattle. Now go get some pie!

REVIEW: Angelina's Trattoria

2011-01-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

Over the years I have been to Angelina's dozens and dozens of times. I've been there for both brunch and dinner. The last time I was there was over a year ago. During that time, Angelina's has changed ownership. The new owners have renovated the restaurant and added a full bar. This past week I finally made a visit back to one of my favorite Seattle restaurants. I must say, I was very impressed with the renovation. The addition of the full bar is really nice. The look of the restaurant is more modern and clean. I was very excited to see one of my favorite servers still working there.

I decided to order one of my favorite entrees I used to order a lot over the years, Chicken Picatta. I noticed that the entree no longer comes with a salad. This was no big deal as most restaurants nowadays charge extra for a side salad. When the entree arrived it looked very tasty. This Chicken Picatta tastes much better than those I have had in the past. The only thing I would change is the amount of capers on the chicken. I like the flavor capers give to the chicken and sauce, but I usually scrape them off and pile them up on the side of my plate. Next time I will just ask for less or no capers. Other than that, the meal was delicious. The pasta was cooked perfectly and had a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese, which I love.

If you haven't been to Angelina's since the new ownership and renovation, I highly recommend it.

FOOD NEWS: Maria Hines of Tilth to open 2nd restaurant - Golden Beetle

2011-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

James Beard award winner and Iron Chef Champion, Maria Hines, will open her second restaurant, Golden Beetle, in late February. Maria is the chef and owner of Tilth restaurant in Wallingford. Tilth, which features New American cuisine prepared with certified-organic ingredients, was called one of the best new restaurants in the country in 2008 by the New York Times.

According to the official press release, Golden Beetle will be located at 1744 NW Market Street in Ballard. The new restaurant will focus on the flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Hines prides herself in serving locally organic and seasonal products. Her current restaurant, Tilth, is only one of two Oregon Tilth certified restaurants in the country. This certification ensures that 95% of what is purchased will be organic. Golden Beetle will seek this certification also. It is said that the menu will focus largely on small plates.

The press release states that the name, Golden Beetle, comes from a 27 ingredient spice mixture from Morocco, ras al-hanout, which includes dried golden beetle, a Spanish fly that is considered an aphrodisiac. Keep an eye out for more news on Maria's new restaurant in February.

FOOD NEWS: Tom Douglas Strikes Again! And Again! And Again?!

2011-01-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

The ever-growing South Lake Union neighborhood, a.k.a. Paul Allenville, has seen a lot of changes in the last few years. Amazon.com has moved its headquarters from Beacon Hill to the South Lake Union spot. Paul Allen, through his Vulcan Company, has built some condos, apartment buildings, and other commercial/corporate buildings.

Along with all this new construction comes some great restaurants. Flying Fish and Re:Public have already opened up. Now they will be in great company. Tom Douglas plans to open his second Serious Pie restaurant next week. It will share a space with Soul Wine owned by Michael Teer, who also owns Pike & Western Wine Shop at Pike Place Market. Soul Wine has just recently opened last week. The new Serious Pie will be slightly larger than the original in Belltown. According to Tom Douglas' Blog, the first pizza at the Westlake Serious Pie has already been fired up! This past week they had a "soft opening". I'm sure this Serious Pie will be just as popular as the original.

Leslie Kelly, from the Seattle Weekly Blog Voracious, met up with Tom Douglas at the new Serious Pie location. She was also given a tour of Tom's highly-anticipated new restaurant in the Terry Avenue Building. This large space will be the home of a new Italian restaurant on the main floor, with a tavern and a Tibetan dumpling cafe both sharing the second level. The Terry Avenue Building is set to open in March.

Back in November, SeattleMet.com reported Tom Douglas would also be opening a second Dahlia Bakery in the same space as the Westlake Serious Pie and Soul Wine. So it seems like Mr. Douglas is making his mark on the South Lake Union neighborhood. I'm looking forward to the opening of all his new ventures!

REVIEW: Brunch at Jak's Grill in the U-District

2011-01-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Chorizo Benedict

I've been to Jak's Grill in the U-District plenty of times for Brunch. Yesterday I went there and had their Chorizo Benedict. I've had most of their Benedicts and Scrambles, but the Chorizo is one of my favorites. The poached eggs are stacked on Chorizo patties and bread with hollandaise sauce and pico de gallo salsa. The benedict is served with a side of Jak's potatoes.

The poached egg and hollandaise sauce are good, and pretty much what I would expect in a good Benedict. What I really liked about this Benny is the flavorful Chorizo and the pico de gallo salsa. I suggest trying the Chorizo Benedict over the Crab or Classic Benedict, especially if you're a fan of Chorizo. I have always had good service at Jak's Grill. The staff is very friendly and attentive to your needs.

Visit to Jill's English Toffee

2011-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jill's English Toffee Shop in Redmond

I had the pleasure of visiting Jill's English Toffee and meeting Jill herself! Jill just recently took over the old Brown Bag Cafe location in Redmond. I visited Jill's shop at the height of the Holiday season, so there was much activity making toffee and preparing orders for shipment. There were also a good number of customers coming into the shop to sample some of the toffee and make some purchases.

Jill Esau

In-between helping customers and preparing toffee orders, I had the opportunity to chat with Jill about her English Toffee. Jill has been making her delicious toffee at home for many years. She would give it out as a Christmas gift to friends. After discovering how popular her English Toffee was among her family and friends, Jill decided to go into business for herself.

Jill offers seven flavors of her English Toffee. They come in: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate/Pecan, Mocha (made with Starbucks Via Coffee), Hawaiian (made with Macadamia nuts), Stadium (made with peanuts and sunflower seeds), and Soy Nut (for those with nut allergies). I have sampled all seven flavors, and I can honestly say they are all delicious. My personal favorite is Mocha, as I'm partial to anything with a coffee flavor.

Freshly-made toffee

Jill gave me some samples to share with my friends over the Holidays, and the English Toffee was a huge hit! I had to make sure to grab a few pieces for myself before it was all gone. I highly recommend visiting Jill's English Toffee shop in Redmond at 8412 164th Ave. NE. You can also visit her website at http://www.jillsenglishtoffee.com/.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Chow Down Seattle! May 2011 be filled with great food with great friends!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas from Chow Down Seattle!

2010-12-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

FOOD NEWS: Zagat's Best Restaurant Service in Seattle for 2010

2010-12-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Zagat has published it's list of the best restaurant service in Seattle for 2010. Below is the Top Ten:

1. Herbfarm (Woodinville)
2. Canlis (Lake Union)
3. Cafe Juanita (Kirkland)
4. Rover's (Madison Valley)
5. Dulces Latin Bistro (Madrona)
6. The Georgian (Downtown Seattle)
7. Il Terrazzo Carmine (Pioneer Square)
8. Corson Building (Georgetown)
9. Four Swallows (Bainbridge Island)
10. Bistro Turkuaz (Madrona)

These are all exceptional restaurants. Do you agree with the Top Ten? Is there a Seattle restaurant you would like to rave about?

REVIEW: Jill's Olde World English Toffee

2010-12-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

Today I received a gift of a bag of English Toffee. I love English Toffee, and this was some of the best I have tasted. The toffee I received is Jill's Olde World English Toffee from World's Best Treats located in Redmond, WA. I checked out their website and they offer four varieties of their English Toffee: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate/Pecan, and Mocha. I've now tasted the Milk Chocolate, and I really want to try the Mocha flavor next.

Jill's Olde World English Toffee can be purchased at select Whole Foods locations, Blazing Bagels in Redmond & Safeco Field, Issaquah Farmers Market, and Sammamish Farmers Market. They are currently in the process of setting up an online ordering system on their website, but you can send an email to jill@oldeworldenglishtoffee.com to place an order.

This toffee would make an excellent stocking stuffer this Christmas!
You can find out more information about this delicious English Toffee at their website http://www.oldeworldenglishtoffee.com/.

FOOD NEWS: Zagat's Most Popular Restaurants in Seattle for 2010

2010-12-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

Zagat has released their list of the most popular restaurants in Seattle for 2010. Below is a list of the Top Ten.

1. Wild Ginger (Downtown Seattle & Bellevue)
2. Dahlia Lounge (Downtown Seattle)
3. Canlis (Lake Union)
4. Cafe Juanita (Kirkland)
5. Rover's (Madison Valley)
6. Metropolitan Grill (Downtown Seattle)
7. Cafe Campagne (Pike Place Market)
8. Etta's Seafood (Pike Place Market)
9. Ray's Boathouse (Shilshole)
10. Serious Pie (Downtown Seattle)

All of these are fine restaurants in the Seattle area. Do you agree? What's your favorite restaurant in Seattle?

REVIEW: Ristorante Machiavelli

2010-12-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

The other night I went to dinner at Ristorante Machiavelli. This is one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. I have been here a dozen or so times. One of the many things I love about Machiavelli is the bar. The bar is tiny, and is usually filled to capacity with patrons waiting for their table. Machiavelli does not take reservations, so there is usually a wait for a table. I don't mind the wait. My friends and I will grab a glass of wine and wait in the bar. The bartender is always friendly and very attentive to everyone's needs. After waiting for about 20 minutes or so, our table was ready. To enter the dining area, you must walk up a set of stairs. The dining area is a pretty small room with about 15 or so tables.

Every time I have been at Machiavelli the service has been great. Right after we are seated, we are greeted by one of the servers with water and a basket of bread. Another server quickly arrives to go over the nightly special and asks if we would like some more wine. After briefly looking over the menu, we place our orders. I ordered one of my favorites, Chicken Picatta with a side of spaghetti with marinara sauce. I also ordered a mixed green salad to start.I love their salad. I get mine with Gorgonzola. The mixed green also comes with a beet slice, which I also love. Right after we are done with our salads, our entrees arrive. The Chicken Picatta is cooked perfectly. The lightly browned chicken cutlet is perfectly drenched in a sweet butter sauce with fresh lemon and capers. The chicken is tender and has perfect flavor. The spaghetti is a perfect side to this entree and hits the spot. We request an extra basket of bread to dip in our various entree sauces.

If you like good Italian food, I highly recommend Machiavelli. Be prepared to wait a while for your table. Just grab a glass of wine at the bar, and hang out with your friends. The wait is worth it!

RECIPE: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2010-12-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

This year my company decided to have a Holiday Dessert contest. I had recently came across a recipe for some Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, so I decided to give them a try. They turned out pretty good. This is a very simple recipe.

The ingredients

1 cup Butter (2 sticks) divided
2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 cups Powdered Sugar
2 12oz cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Preparation

Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, powdered sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. This will make a stiff dough.

Spread dough in a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan. Press down evenly.

Melt the remaining 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Add chocolate chips and keep heat very low. When chocolate is soft, stir gently. Continue heating until lumps are all melted. Stir, and then spread this mixture over the peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 24 servings.

FOOD NEWS: The Sporkful

2010-10-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of The Sporkful Podcast. I personally don't consider myself a foodie. Yes, I love food. I love to try out new restaurants, and I love to cook, but I consider myself more of an eater than a foodie. I've always considered foodies to be somewhat snobby (no offense). Some of my good friends are foodies, but I consider myself more of an eater.

The Sporkful podcast is hosted by Dan Pashman and Mark Garrison. As their blog states, their podcast is about food, but not so much about cooking or recipes or restaurants. Dan and Mark tackle a new food subject each week. One week they will talk about bagels and another week they will discuss beer serving techniques. Some other topics include: cereal, poutine, waffle toppings, baked potatoes, and s'mores.

Dan and Mark will take each weekly topic and discuss it in detail. They are always "seeking ways to eat more, eat better, and eat more better." If you love to eat, you have to check out their podcast. You can download it for free at iTunes, or you can listen to them on their website at http://www.thesporkful.com/.

FOOD EVENT: Mobile Chowdown 5

2010-09-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

For this installment of the Mobile Chowdown, it's moving to the other side of Qwest Field, and it's all grown up and going West Coast! This event will be held in the evening and it will be a 21+ event. There will be live bands, beer and a lot of great food vendors from all over the West Coast to choose from!

When: Friday, October 1, 2010, Gates open at 5:00pm

Where: Qwest Field North Parking Lot

Price: Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased at the box office located at the NW

corner of Qwest Field Events Center. Tickets are available now through October 1st.

For a complete list of vendors, check out the official website: http://themobilechowdown.com/

REVIEW: il Bistro

2010-08-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I went to il Bistro. A quaint, little Italian restaurant hidden in Pike Place Market. I have wanted to go try this place out for years. It was well worth the wait. I had the best lasagne I have ever tasted! Lasagne is one of my favorite dishes, and I have had it hundreds of times, and this was the best so far. The menu says their Lasagne is traditionally prepared with ground veal and lamb with imported Italian cheeses. The veal and lamb were cooked perfectly, and the imported Italian cheeses are what made this a perfect Lasagne. If I wasn't already stuffed from eating my Lasagne, I could have easily eaten another serving. I higly recommend trying their Lasagne. I want to go back and try some of the other items on their menu that looked just as good!

REVIEW: Blue Star Cafe & Pub

2010-08-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Blue Star Cafe & Pub is a place I have been going to for many years. I usually go there for breakfast or lunch, which are both very good. Recently I went there for dinner for a couple of friend's birthday dinner. I love the fact that Blue Star has outdoor sidewalk seating in the summer. The night we went was perfect for sitting out in the nice weather and enjoying a great meal with great friends.

One of my friends ordered the nachos for his meal, and believe me, this nachos platter is definitely a full meal. The plate was huge! They serve it up with the perfect amount of toppings. I like nachos, but I can't stand it when they coming completely covered in cheese and the tortilla chips get all soggy. That wasn't the case for Blue Star's nachos. The chips were crisp and they were perfectly covered with tomatoes, olives, peppers, cheese, sour cream, onions, and season chicken. They were delicious!

For my dinner, I ordered one of my all-time favorite dishes, Chicken Marsala. I have never had it at Blue Star, and I was quite surprised that they even had it on their menu. I always like to try it out whenever I see it on the menu. I must say I was quite impressed with Blue Star's Chicken Marsala. The two generous chicken breast portions were sitting upon a bed of fettucini noodles with mushrooms and Marsala sauce. The sauce was perfect. It wasn't too watery and there was just enough sauce to be able to enjoy all of the noodles. The dish was topped off with some fresh grated parmesan cheese. The dish was accompanied with a little watermelon wedge garnish. At first I thought it was odd to have watermelon garnish for a Chicken Marsala dish, but on a warm, summer night it was the perfect little treat at the end of the meal. Now I have another reason to come back to Blue Star.

FOOD EVENT: Kirkland Uncorked

2010-07-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Wine & Dine on the Kirkland waterfront. Sample some of Washington's finest food and wine. Also featured at the event is some of the best art the Northwest has to offer. 17 Washington wineries and some of the best restaurants in the Northwest are featured. Also check out the grill off competition and grilling demostrations. This event benefits the Hope Heart Institute.

Kirkland Uncorked

25 Lakeshore Plaza

Marina Park, Kirkland, WA

July 16-18, 2010

Friday 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Saturday 1 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Sunday 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Admission

$25 General Admission at the Door, a commemorative glass and 10 tasting tokens

$15 Non-Drinking/Designated Driver Admission

FOOD EVENT: Take a Bite out of Seattle!

2010-07-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 28th year of Bite of Seattle. The popular Seattle food festival hosts over 50 Seattle area restaurants and more than 30 food product companies. The Bite has five outdoor beer gardens and Wine & Jazz, a wine-tasting exhibit promoting nine West Coast wineries. The weather is supposed to be great, so grab your appetite and head on down to Seattle Center!

The Bite of Seattle

Seattle Center

July 16-18, 2010

Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sunday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

FREE ADMISSION!!

OPENING: Sitka & Spruce Opens Today

2010-05-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sitka & Spruce closed back in December 2009 at it's original location on Eastlake Avenue. Today, they open in their new digs at 1531 Melrose Ave. East. The restaurant has moved into the renovated building known as Melrose Market. Below is the letter posted to Sitka & Spruce's website. This building currently houses The Calf & Kid, Marigold & Mint and Rain Shadow Meats.

The CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that Matthew Dillion, owner of Sitka & Spruce, will also be opening Bar Ferdinand at Melrose Market. CHS also reports that a Mexican restaurant will take over the space that was supposed to be Terra Plata. Check out the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog for more info!

GARDEN: Tomatoes, Cilantro & Basil

2010-05-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

I figured I would try and grow some vegetables and herbs on my balcony. I received four sungold tomato plants from my manager at work. I sampled some of his tomatoes last summer and they were some of the best tomatoes I've ever tasted. I really liked the sungold tomatoes. They are small, round, and golden orange in color.They are very sweet in taste. I could eat them like candy. Here are some pictures of my vegetable & herb garden so far. I'm planning on adding more.

FOOD EVENT: Seattle Restaurant Week

2010-04-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Seattle Restaurant Week starts tomorrow, Sunday, April 18th and lasts until April 29th. More than 100 local restaurants are serving up three-course dinners for just $25, and many are offering three-course lunches for $15. For a complete listing of all the restaurants participating click here.

REVIEW: Full Circle Farm

2010-04-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

This past week I received my first shipment of produce from Full Circle Farm. I can't tell you how excited I was to recieve my first box of fresh, organic produce! It was like opening a present on Christmas morning. After reading a few books and watching a few documentaries about the food industry, I have made it a priority to change what I eat and where I purchase my food. Above is a picture of the box I received.

A few weeks ago a representative from Full Circle Farm came to my office to show what the farm has to offer. I figured I would give them a try. I pay $30 every two weeks and I get a box full of fresh, organic produce. I can customize what I receive. The best part is that it's delivered to my work. I will be receiving my next box next week, and I have finished off all the fruits and vegetables from my first box. This service definitely forces me to eat more fruits and vegetables as I don't want to waste anything that I receive. Below is a picture of one of the salads I made from the veggies I received from Full Circle Farms. Check them out at http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/.

REVIEW: Barrio Brunch

2010-03-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had Brunch at Barrio restaurant in Seattle. I have been to Barrio once before for dinner and it was pretty good, so when I was told their Brunch was really good I decided to try it out. I ordered the Breakfast Taco. It is served make-your-own fajita-style, which I really like. It is served with tortillas and includes scrambled eggs, housemade chorizo, habanero salsa, Manchego cheese, guacamole, fresh tomato salsa, and house hot sauce. You also receive a side of fried potatoes.

I really liked the Breakfast Tacos. Lately I have been really loving chorizo and Barrio's homemade chorizo is very tasty. I like the make-your-own style tacos. That way you can put as little or as much of the ingredients as you wish. The scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly and the hot sauce had just enough kick to wake me up. If there was one thing I had to choose that I didn't like, it would have to be the fried potatoes. I like my fried potatoes to be crispy, but these fried potatoes seemed to be a bit under-cooked. A nice touch to the meal were the three little slices of lime that were just the right size to squeeze some fresh lime juice on each breakfast taco.

The Breakfast Taco meal costs $13.00, which I feel is a fair price for the amount of food you get, and the meal is pretty filling. The service at Barrio was excellent. Our server was very attentive, but wasn't over-bearing. I will definitely go back to Barrio for Brunch.

http://www.barriorestaurant.com/

RECIPE: St. Patrick's Day Ambrosia Salad

2010-03-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

We had a St. Patrick's Day potluck lunch today at work, so I decided to make my favorite potluck dish, Ambrosia Salad! I grew up in the Midwest and we used to have Ambrosia Salad all the time at potlucks, BBQ's and pretty much any other dinner event. Ambrosia has got to be one of the easiest foods to prepare next to toast. For St. Patrick's Day I decided to make my Ambrosia a bit more festive, so I added some green food coloring to the Cool Whip.

The next key ingredients are the mini marshmallows and shredded coconut.

The next ingredients include Crushed Pineapple, Fruit Cocktail, Mandarin Oranges and Maraschino Cherries. I just love how all the ingredients for this dish come in either a bag or a can. Probably not the most nutritious, but it is mighty tasty and it is so easy to make.

The first step is to let the Cool Whip thaw a bit since it is stored in the freezer section of the grocery store. Once it has thawed a bit, empty the Cool Whip in a large mixing bowl. Since this is my special St. Patrick's Day recipe, I added 3 to 4 drops of green food coloring. Mix well.

Now comes the easy part. Start dumping all the other ingredients into the bowl and mix well. I usually add about 1/3 cup of milk to make it a bit creamier. After you have mixed all the ingredients together, place the bowl in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight. You can serve and eat as soon as you have mixed all the ingredients together if you don't have the time to chill it in the fridge, but it tastes better if you allow it to set and chill for awhile in the fridge.

I can't count the number of times I have made Ambrosia Salad. I lovingly like to call it "White Trash" salad, because Ambrosia just sounds too 1980's Dynasty to me. But no matter what you call it, be it Ambrosia, White Trash, or fruity-coconutty-cool-whippy-salad; I guarantee you your friends will love it!

Ambrosia Salad Recipe

1 (15.25 oz) can fruit cocktail
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges
1 (10oz) jar maraschino cherries
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple
2 (8oz) container frozed whipped topping, thawed
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup milk

1. Add thawed whipped topping to a large mixing bowl. Add 3 to 4 drops of green food coloring to the whipped topping and mix well.

2. Drain and rinse the fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, and crushed pineapple. Once drained, add the fruit to the whipped topping.

3. Add miniature marshmallows and shredded coconut to the mixture and mix well.

4. Place bowl in the fridge and let the salad set and chill for a couple hours or overnight.

5. Serve and enjoy!!

FOOD EVENT: Mobile Chowdown III Rundown

2010-03-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

This installment of the Mobile Chowdown took place today next to Safeco Field in Seattle. My very good friend Penny and I arrived shortly after it started at 10:00am. We wanted to be sure to arrive before the lines got too long. There was already a good amount of people lined up at some of the trucks when we showed up. The Seattle Mariners tickets went on sale today across the street, so I'm sure some of the Mariners fans came over for a bit to eat after they purchased their tickets. The Mariner Moose was making his way through the crowd of street food fans.

This Mobile Chowdown is the first to include some street food vendors from Portland. The vendors who made the trek up I-5 included: Burgerville, Potato Champion and Koi Fusion. Whiffies was suppose to be in the line-up, but I got word that they never arrived? So I'm not sure if that was the case or not. I know they weren't there when I was there shortly after the Mobile Chowdown started. Koi Fusion and Potato Champion already had pretty long lines early on.

The street food vendors from Seattle included: Marination Mobile, Anita's Crepes, Skillet, Kaosamai Thai, Hellava Falafel, El Camion, Top Pot Doughnuts, Dante's Inferno Dogs, Gert's BBQ, Here & There Grill, Veraci Pizza, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. Marination already had a long wait when we got in line, but that didn't stop us. We wanted to sample some of their great sounding food. Penny and I tried the corn tortillas tacos with sweet & savory kalbi. We also sampled the sliders. I tried the shredded kalua pork slider, and Penny went with both the pork and Spam sliders. All of the food from Marination was very good! The pork was delicious and the signature slaw on the sliders was the perfect topping. I haven't had Spam since I was a kid, but it never tasted as good as their Spam sliders. The corn tortillas were very tasty. The kalbi tender short ribs are marinated in Kamala's version of the iconic Korean recipe.

So far I have not been disappointed by any of the food I have had at the Mobile Chowdowns. According to Mobile Chowdown, they twittered that the next Chowdown will be in July at Seattle Center. Could this be the street food version of the Bite of Seattle? If so, bring it on! See you all at the next Mobile Chowdown!

Were you at the Mobile Chowdown today? If so, which street food vendor did you try out? What did you like? Didn't like? Leave me a comment.

FOOD NEWS: New Tom Douglas Restaurant

2010-03-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

The Puget Sound Business Journal and Tech Flash have both reported that Seattle Chef Tom Douglas will be opening more than one new restaurant in the South Lake Union neighborhood on the new Amazon.com campus. The new restaurants will be in the Terry Avenue Building. Douglas hasn't said how many restaurants will be opening, but expects them to open in mid-2011.

Located on Terry Avenue North between Thomas and Harrison streets, the two-story brick Terry Avenue Building was originally built in 1915 and designated a historic landmark in 2008. Once completed, the renovated building will connect to the site's scenic outdoor public plaza and pedestrian-friendly streetscape, with outdoor seating available for customers on both floors. (Source: Tom Douglas Restaurants Press Release)

Tom Douglas and his wife Jackie Cross own five of Seattle's most popular restaurants in downtown Seattle: Dahlia Lounge, Etta's, Palace Kitchen, Lola, and Serious Pie. Tom & Jackie also own Dahlia Bakery, Tom Douglas' Catering and Events, and the Palace Ballroom. Tom has helped put Seattle on the national culinary map.

FOOD EVENT: Mobile Chowdown - Round III

2010-03-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

Most sequels are never as good as the original. Well I also think this sequel will not be as good as the original, it will be even better! Actually, it's a three-quel. Mobile Chowdown is back for its third installment! Not only will this Chowdown be at a new location and have even more vendors, but it will also include street food vendors from Portland! Portland is well-known for its street food, so I can't wait to sample some of their food. This round will include a showdown between the Seattle vs. Portland vendors.

The new location is in SODO district right next to Safeco Field. Parking is FREE at the Safeco Field garage on Edgar Martinez Drive. 103.7 The Mountain will be there from 11pm to 1pm, playing tunes and giving away swag. DJ Joy will perform afterwards.

Date: Saturday, March 13, 2010

Time: 10:00am - 3:00pm

Location: Occidental Ave. S., Between Edgar Martinez Dr. & Massachusetts St.

The Seattle Vendors include:

Chipotle Mexican Grill

... and more!

Portland Vendors include:

... and more!

This round of the Mobile Chowdown is sponsored by Seattle Magazine and Suzuki + Chou Communimedia. This will be the biggest chowdown to date!

Bring your appetite and sample some of the best food Seattle and Portland has to offer!

Chow Down Seattle will be there!

The Stanley Farm

2010-01-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine, Dave, owns a small farm outside of Olympia, WA. I have visited the farm a few times over the past several years. My boyfriend and I drove down and spent a weekend on the farm helping Dave out with some chores. Dave decided to buy this farmhouse and land several years ago. During that time he has purchased some animals for the farm. He currently has chickens, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, cows, sheep and pigs.

Dave's good friend Steve helps him out quite a bit on the farm. Steve is an excellent cook. For Friday night's dinner we had Lamb, turnips and sweet potatoes, and salad. We also had some homemade bread with goat cheese. All of this, of course, came from the farm. All of the food was delicious! It was definitely nice to have some fresh food from the farm.

Steve and Dave even brew their own beer! Friday night we enjoyed a dark Porter they brewed. The beer was very tasty!

Saturday morning Steve made a delicious French Toast Casserole with Plum preserves. The eggs and plums are from the farm, and the bread that was used is from the homemade loaf. This casserole was so tasty. It always feels good to eat a good meal with fresh ingredients straight from the farm.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and eat more fresh, organic foods. I'm going to visit more local farmer's markets and purchase my fruits, vegetables and anything else they have to offer that I can use in my meals. I want to support local businesses and farms.

Saturday night, my boyfriend made us dinner. It was just as delicious as the other meals. We had breaded pork chops and mashed potatoes with carrots. The pork, potatoes and carrots are of course from the farm.

After reading the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, and watching the documentary "Super Size Me", I made it a point to eat healthier. I'm currently reading two books, "Plenty - Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet" by Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon; and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I'm only half way through both of these books, but I already want to switch all of my food purchases to local farmer's markets. Both of these books are further encouraging my New Year's resolution. I'm going to even start to grow some of my own herbs to use in my cooking. When eating food straight from the farm, you can definitely taste the difference from the store bought food. Farm food is fresh and you know that none of it contains any hormones or pesticides. Plus you know that the animals that are providing the food are fed properly and are treated well. You can feel a more direct connection with the food, and that is something I want to experience with every meal.

I can't thank Dave and Steve enough for allowing us to spend a weekend at the farm and enjoy spending time with them and the animals. Not to mention to be able to enjoy delicious food and beer! I can't wait for our next visit!

RECIPE: Yellow Chicken Curry

2010-01-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

I love Thai food and I'm always eating out at Thai restaurants, so to try and save some money, I decided to try and make some Thai food at home. My first attempt is with Yellow Chicken Curry. This dish turned out pretty good. There are a few tweaks I will make the next time I make this dish, but overall I was really happy with it.

Here's the recipe I followed:

3 medium White New Potatoes

1 can (13.5oz) Coconut Milk

3 tablespoon Basil

3 cups Steamed White Rice

1 can (8oz) Bamboo Shoots - drained & rinsed

2 tablespoon Minced Ginger

3 cloves Garlic minced

3 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 Red Bell Pepper 1/2" diamond shapes

1 medium Onion sliced on bias

2 tablespoon Salt

2 whole Chicken Breasts sliced thin

2 1/2 tablespoon Spicy Curry Powder or Curry Powder plus Red Pepper Flakes

Prepare the Steamed Rice

Prepare potatoes: Peel the potatoes, dice them into even, 1/2" cubes. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a rolling boil. Boil for about 4-5 minutes, until firm with a fork, do not overcook. Run potatoes under cold water immediatelly for a couple minutes to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Wash and dry the chicken breasts. Slice them into thin, bite-size pieces.

In a small bowl, create curry paste by mixing together the minced ginger, minced garlic and curry powder until blended. Add salt.

Bring a large saucepan to medium-high heat; add vegetable oil. Saute the sliced onions and red bell pepper together for about 2 minutes until just tender, add the chicken. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat until opaque, not brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the curry paste and stir it in rapidly. Add the coconut milk, stir to mix well, add the potatoes, and cook over medium heat.

Serve over rice and top with basil.

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T18:42:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year from Chow Down Seattle!!

I hope the New Year is filled with great food and friends!!

Thanksgiving 2009 Revisited

2009-12-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to uploading some of the pictures from Thanksgiving. I figured I better do this before Christmas arrived. I had a great time with great friends and a lot of delicious food! I'm very grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. Nothing is better than sharing a great meal with close friends. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

RECIPE: Hershey Kiss Cookies

2009-12-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite holiday cookies are Hershey Kiss Cookies. I always seem to see these around the holidays, so I decided to try and make a couple dozen myself.

First the ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Hershey Kisses, 1 for each cookie

Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream together butter, both sugars and peanut butter. Add 1 egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt.

Form dough in walnut-size balls. Roll them in white sugar and place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Press Hershey Kisses into each cookie when fresh out of the oven.

Place the cookies back in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to soften the Hershey Kisses to give them a nice smooth glaze. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Roy Street Coffee & Tea

2009-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

I paid a visit to the new Roy Street Coffee and Tea (Starbucks). This is the second of two new neighborhood coffee shops owned by Starbucks. The first is located on 15th Avenue on Capitol Hill. Starbucks is trying to go back to its roots of being the local neighborhood coffee shop. I haven't visited the 15th Avenue location yet, but I was very impressed with the Roy Street location. First off, you wouldn't know the place is owned by Starbucks except for the "inspired by Starbucks" on the front door and on their white, non-Starbucks looking cups.

The coffee house doesn't look anything like any of the typical corporate-looking Starbucks coffee houses. The Roy Street coffee house is very inviting. The decor is very Northwest with large, over-sized wood furniture. All the light fixtures are very old-school. They are large clear glass vessels with exposed light bulbs. The coffee house itself is rather large. There is a lot of space. To help soften up all the wood furniture, red drapes are hung all throughout and add some good color to the place.

As for the coffee, I was impressed. I have heard a lot of bad reviews about the coffee at the 15th Avenue location, so I was pretty skeptical. The one nice thing about these two coffee houses is that the Baristas actually pull their own shots, rather than having the ultra high-tech coffee machines dispense the shot like they do at all the regular Starbucks. I personally like Starbucks coffee and I've had my fair share of lattes. I definitely like the taste of the lattes from the Roy Street Coffee and Tea. They taste more like the lattes you would get from one of the independent coffee houses, although I think the independent coffee houses still taste better.

So if you're one of the many Starbucks haters out there, give Roy Street Coffee & Tea a try.

The Calf & Kid

2009-12-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Calf & Kid Artisan Cheese Shop just signed a lease in the new Melrose Project! Sheri Lavigne made the announcement last Friday in her blog. The Melrose Triangle Project consists of a triangular block of historic automotive buildings constructed in 1919 and 1926. The buildings are located in the west end of the Pike-Pine neighborhood. The Melrose Project will also include Sitka & Spruce, a very popular Seattle restaurant currently located in Eastlake.

I can't wait for The Calf & Kid to open its doors at its brand new location. I'll be sure to follow-up with another post after my first visit.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy a wonderful dinner with close friends and family.

Washington Wine Named Best in the World

2009-11-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

Wine Spectator magazine has named Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as the #1 wine in the world for 2009. The Washington Cab beat out 17,000 other wines to win the prestigious honor. The final selection was based on the wine's quality, value, availability and excitement.

This is the first time a Washington wine has placed #1 on the list of the top 100 wines. Wine Spectator has been making the list for the past 21 years.

Columbia Crest, founded in 1978, is part of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, which accounts for more than half the wine produced in Washington. The winery's ability to combine quality and value has earned it 14 spots in the Top 100.

List of Top 100 wines of 2009

Sunday Pot Roast Dinners

2009-10-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember growing up my family has had pot roast on Sundays for dinner. As a kid pot roast wasn't exactly my favorite food, but as I got older I learned to appreciate just how delicious pot roast really is. I would eventually look forward to our Sunday dinners.

My Dad was usually the one who cooked dinner when I was a kid. I would remember him sitting at the dining room table peeling the potatoes and carrots. My Dad would always prepare mashed potatoes, cabbage, carrots, new potatoes, gravy and biscuits to go with the pot roast.

After all these years I've been wanting to carry on the tradition of pot roast Sundays, so I finally went out and purchased a roast and prepared one of my favorite family dinners. I grew up in the upper Midwest, so we rarely called dinner, dinner. We always called it supper. I can remember always asking my parents, "What's for supper?" To me dinner meant going out to eat at a nice restaurant. Now after living on the West Coast for so long, I now call my supper, dinner.

The one thing that I love about pot roasts is that they are pretty easy to prepare. I cooked the roast the same way my Dad would cook it. He would use one of those roasting bags, so I purchases a Durkee Pot Roast seasoning packet and it came with a roasting bag. I placed the roast in the roasting bag with some baby red potatoes and carrots. I also threw in some fresh, chopped garlic and onions. I added the Durkee seasoning and a half cup of water. I placed the bagged pot roast in a baking dish and placed it in the oven. I cooked the roast for one hour at 350 degrees. I made some brown gravy to pour over the roast and potatoes.

The one thing that I always remember about the great pot roast dinners my Dad would make were the biscuits. He would buy the Pillsbury biscuits and put them in the oven as soon as the roast came out so that they would be nice and hot when he served them on the table. I did the same and baked some Pillsbury biscuits. They are just as good now as I remember when I was a kid.

I will definitely make more pot roasts on Sundays. I would like to change up the seasoning and perhaps how I prepare the roast. What are some of your favorite pot roast recipes? I would also love to hear what other sides you might prepare with your roast.

Pork & Gourds

2009-10-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

If you didn't have a chance to sample any of the local street food vendors at the Mobile Chowdown, you're in luck! Maximus/Minimus, Skillet, Kaosamai Thai, Parfait Ice Cream, and Dantes Inferno Dogs will be at Pork & Gourds, the Halloween Street Food & Farmer's Market. Before you take the kids out trick-or-treating, stop by for some great food.

Get more info at www.qafma.org.

Mobile Chowdown Rundown

2009-10-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Mobile Chowdown at Interbay. This was the first, of I hope many, street food vendor gatherings in Seattle. The street food vendors included Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Marination Station, Gert's BBQ, Parfait Organic Ice Cream, El Camion, Dante's Inferno Dogs, and Kaosamai Thai. I had the pleasure of attending this event with my best friends Shay, Penny & Scott. The event started at 11:00am and was scheduled to go until 3:00pm, or until they ran out of food. I'm pretty sure all the vendors ran out of food before the 3:00pm deadline.

When we arrived shortly after 12:00pm, there were already long lines snaking from each vendors' trailers. I'm not sure the organizers of the event nor the vendors themselves expected shuch a large turnout for the event. Seattlites love their street food! When we approached the crowd of people it was hard to determine where any of the lines ended for any of the vendors. All the lines seemed to all be blended together. So we just stood behind some people who looked like they were in line and hoped it led us to some good food.

As we slowly advanced through the line, we found out that we were in line for Skillet. This was good news as I have always wanted to try their food. When we approached the Skillet airstream trailer, we were able to get a glimpse of their menu offerings, which just so happen to be written on the side of the airstream trailer with a black marker. Shay and I chose to go with the Skillet Burger and French Fries. Penny selected the Thai Chile Burger.

Now I must say, I love hamburgers and I have had my share of bad burgers and great burgers. I would have to say that the Skillet Burger was by far one of the best burgers I have ever tasted! The hour and a half wait was well worth it! The Skillet Burger isn't just a burger, it's an experience. It consists of grass fed beef grilled and topped with bacon jam (yes, bacon jam!!), arugula, cambazola and served on a butter toasted macrina soft roll. The hand-cut french fries were tasty too! Shay agreed with me that the Skillet Burger was very good. Penny also really enjoyed her Thai Chile Burger. If you haven't checked out Skillet yet, do it! They have a weekly calender on their website of where the airstream trailer will be located. Scott decided to try out Dante's Inferno Dogs and he seemed to really enjoy their hot dogs.

I would have loved to have tried out some of the other vendors food, but waiting another hour or longer in line didn't seem like all that much fun. Although after seeing some people walking around with the Parfait Organic Ice Cream, it was very tempting. This event was a huge success. I'm sure this will become an annual event. There's already a rumor that next year they will offer a beer garden and live music. I'm guessing next year there will be even more street food vendors participating. This event was sponsored by Seattle Magazine, Sorrento Hotel and Tilth Restaurant.

Mobile Chowdown

2009-10-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, October 10th from 11:00am to 3:00pm is the Mobile Chowdown in Interbay. This is the opportunity to try out some of the best street food vendors in Seattle, all in one location! The event is free, except of course for the food that you purchase from each vendor. The organizers of the event encourage people to bring their own chairs and hang out with other street food foodies.

Vendors include Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Marinatin Station, Gert's BBQ, Parfait Ice Cream, El Camion, Dante's Inferno Dogs, and Kaosamai Thai. You can follow Mobile Chowdown on Twitter @mobilechowdown where they are hosting a trivia contest where you have a chance to win dinner at Tilth, a night at the Sorrento Hotel, and a year's subscription to Seattle Magazine, all of which are co-sponsors to this event.

Here are the details to the event:

When: Saturday, October 10, 2009 from 11:00am to 3:00pm

Where: 1616 W. Bertona, Seattle, WA in Interbay (vacant lot)

Why: To enjoy food from some of the best street food vendors in Seattle!

Bring your appetites!

Top Chef: Las Vegas

2009-08-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

The new season of Bravo's Top Chef starts Wednesday, August 19th, and this season it has some local flavor! Not one, but two local chefs will be competing on the popular chef competition show on Bravo. Robin Leventhal and Ashley Merriman will both be representing Seattle when the new season premieres.

Robin Leventhal is the former owner of Crave, a popular Seattle Bistro. She is currently helping to raise money for Lymphoma research and is closely involved with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. I have had the privilege to have eaten at Crave a few times before it closed down, and Robin was our server. Crave used to be located on 12 Avenue on Capitol Hill. The food was amazing and the little bistro was always packed full of customers.

I also had the privilege to attend one of Robin's Copper Cure Charity Auctions last year to help raise money for cancer research. The auction included copper molds, gift baskets, and private chef dinners. Above are some pictures I took from last year's event.

The other local chef on the show is Ashley Merriman. Ashley is the current chef at Branzino in Seattle. The restaurant is located in Belltown on 2nd Ave. She also used to work at Tilth. Unfortunately I have not visited Brazino yet, but I definitely want to check it out. I'm sure they will be busy with the exposure the restaurant will receive with their star chef being a contestant on Top Chef. Ashely has been recognized as one of the Seattle culinary scene's brightest new talents.

I'm a foodie, food blogger (Chow Down Seattle Food Blog) and a huge fan of Top Chef. I'm really excited to have two very talented and creative Seattle chefs on one of Bravo's most popular reality-competion shows. I will be watching every episode each week, and I hope both Seattle chefs make it to the finals! I wish both Robin and Ashley the best of luck on the show!

Top Chef: Las Vegas will air on Bravo! TV Network starting on Wednesday, August 19th at 9:00pm PST.

Let the cooking begin!