FOOD NEWS: James Beard Award Semifinalists

Photo Credit: James Beard Foundation

Last month the James Beard Foundation announced the 2015 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists. As always, Washington state has a good representation of outstanding chefs and restaurants. Here is a list of the Washington state Semifinalists. The finalists will be announced on March 24th, 2015, at the James Beard House in New York City.
  
Outstanding Baker
Evan Andres, Columbia City Bakery - Columbia City, Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program
Canon - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Chef
Holly Smith, Cafe Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restaurant
Canlis - Queen Anne, Seattle

Outstanding Restaurateur
Ethan Stowell, Ethan Stowell Restaurants (Staple and Fancy, How to Cook a Wolf, Anchovies & Olives, Chippy's, MKT., Red Cow, Rione XIII, Tavolata, Ballard Pizza Company) - Seattle

Outstanding Wine Program
Wild Ginger - Downtown Seattle and Bellevue, WA

Rising Star of the Year
Jay Blackinton, Hogstone Wood Oven - Orcas Island, WA

Best Chef: Northwest
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek - Fremont, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins - Wallingford, Seattle
Jeremy Hansen, Sante - Spokane, WA
Nathan Lockwood, Altura - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Garrett Melkonian, Mamnoon - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table - Fremont, Seattle
Jason Stratton, Spinasse - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island - Lummi Island, WA
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule - Wallingford, Seattle

A full list of all the national Semifinalists can be found at the James Beard Foundation website.

Congratulations to all the Semifinalists and good luck!

FOOD NEWS: James Beard Award Semifinalists

Photo Credit: James Beard Foundation

Last month the James Beard Foundation announced the 2014 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists. As always, Washington state has a good representation of outstanding chefs and restaurants. Here is a list of the Washington state Semifinalists. The finalists will be announced on March 18th. The winners will be announced on May 2nd and 5th in New York City.

Best New Restaurant
Aragona - Downtown Seattle
Bar Sajor - Pioneer Square, Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program
Canon - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Chef
 John Sundstrom, Lark - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Neil Robertson, Crumble & Flake - Capitol Hill, Seattle

Outstanding Restaurant
Canils - Queen Anne, Seattle

Outstanding Restaurateur
Rick and Ann Yoder, Wild Ginger - Downtown Seattle and Bellevue

Outstanding Service
Cafe Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Chris Weber, The Herbfarm - Woodinville, WA
Blaine Wetzel, The Willows Inn on Lummi Island - Lummi Island, WA

Best Chef: Northwest
Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Walla Walla, WA
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek - Fremont, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins - Wallingford, Seattle
Jason Franey, Canlis - Queen Anne
Nathan Lockwood, Altura - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Brendan McGill, Hitchcock - Bainbridge Island, WA
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table - Wallingford, Seattle
Ethan Stowell, Staple and Fancy - Ballard, Seattle
Jason Stratton, Spinasse - Capitol Hill, Seattle
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule - Wallingford, Seattle

Congratulations to all the Semifinalists and good luck!

FOOD AND WINE: Taste Washington

This weekend is the nation's largest single-region wine and food event, Taste Washington! This event features over 225 wineries and over 60 restaurants from all over the state. Taste Washington offers the best experience to sample great food and wine all in one place. Two days filled with the best wine and food Washington has to offer! Check out the event's website for all of the participating wineries and restaurants.

Taste Washington
March 23 and 24, 2013
CenturyLink Field Event Center
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tickets: One-day $80, Two-day $125

Event Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter

FOOD NEWS: James Beard Foundation Announces 2012 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists

The James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists in the 2012 Restaurant and Chef Awards. The finalists will be announced on March 19th in Las Vegas. Here is a list of the semifinalists from Washington state. Congratulations to all the semifinalists, and best of luck on March 19th!

Best New Restaurant
Altura - Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program
The Zig Zag Cafe - Seattle

Outstanding Chef
Holly Smith - Cafe Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restaurant
Canlis - Seattle

Outstanding Restauranteur
Tom Douglas - Tom Douglas Restaurants - Seattle

Outstanding Wine Program
Canlis - Seattle

Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional
Alex Golitzin - Quilceda Creek Vintners - Snohomish, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Blaine Wetzel - The Willows Inn - Lummi Island, WA

Best Chef: Northwest
Chris Ainsworth - Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Walla Walla, WA
Matt Costello - The Inn at Langley - Langley, WA
Matt Dillon - Sitka & Spruce - Seattle
Renee Erickson - Boat Street Cafe - Seattle
Jason Franey - Canlis - Seattle
Ethan Stowell - Staple & Fancy Mercantile - Seattle
Jason Stratton - Spinasse - Seattle
Rachel Yang & Seif Chirchi - Joule - Seattle

OPENING: Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco & Ting Momo

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

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

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