Chris S. Nishiwaki
Seattle Restaurants Kick It Into High Gear For Cruise Ship Season
Don’t leave these great options just for the tourists
Cruise ships started arriving on the Seattle waterfront earlier this month. That means many local businesses, including restaurants and retailers, are off cruise control and kicking it into high gear to prepare for the influx of visitors. Port of Seattle Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa says the cruise ship industry contributes more than $900 million to the local economy and…
Scramble for a Table
Where to eat Easter brunch around Seattle, even with the egg supply running low
Egg dishes are in high demand during Easter brunch. This year, that demand is running into a national egg shortage. Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho used to run Seven Seas Export, an international trading company that once shipped 2.5 million pounds of eggs to countries like South Korea during Asia’s bird flu outbreak in 2016….
Three Local Restaurants Named James Beard Finalists
Atoma, Archipelago, and Houlme were selected in different categories
The husband-and-wife team of Johnny and Sarah Courtney said they named their Wallingford restaurant Atoma after the word for “invisible.” The Courtneys came up with the name during a 35-hour drive from Baja back to Seattle. Not quite a year-and-half since opening, Atoma has been very visible, amassing local and national recognition. Add James Beard…
Seattle Restaurant Week’s Feast Fest Kicks Off March 30
Diners can explore the city’s diverse food scene
Restaurant industry veteran Gene Dexter, wine specialist at Charlotte at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seattle, has labored over his share of Restaurant Weeks since its inception in 2010. Dexter has also worked at places such as Monsoon, Ba Bar and the now defunct Union Square Grill. Participating restaurants, food trucks and pop-ups will offer menus at $20, $35, $50, and $65…
A Recipe for Romance
Three celebrity chef couples discuss the ultimate taste test
Many chefs and restaurateurs in the Seattle area have their own take on the popular axiom “Eat, Drink and Be Married.” They work together. They live together. They’re life partners. They share a passion for hospitality, endure long hours and intense schedules, and rely on teamwork and collaboration for emotional support in a close-knit work…
Hoops and Hops at Seattle Bars During March Madness
Many have special hours during the NCAA Tournament
Jen Barnes, who owns the Ballard sports bar Rough & Tumble, is a fourth-generation Seattleite who grew up cheering on University of Washington sports. So, when the University of Washington women’s basketball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 she celebrated. It also meant a boom to her business, the first women’s sports bar in Seattle. Sports fans and…
How To Enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day in the Emerald City
Irish pubs plan a special day of events
Did you know that the bucolic green often associated with Ireland and the patron saint historically was not affiliated with that color? The Order of St. Patrick is associated with the color blue. And Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Wales. “Also, Saint Patrick is not the only patron saint of Ireland,” says Paula Stokes, a native of Ireland now living in…
Taste Washington Celebrates 25 Years
Annual event is for ‘every palate and personality’
Since its inception in 1998, Taste Washington has attracted wineries from boutique producers such as Trothe (fewer than 300 cases of tightly allocated boutique wines annually) to Chateau Ste. Michelle, which produces more than 3 million cases a year. Now the largest single region consumer wine event in the country, it will celebrate its 25th birthday (minus two pandemic-induced cancellations) this week with several days of…
Expect The Largest Comic Con Ever This Weekend
Attendance is estimated at 90,000 during the four-day run
Tony Morigi recalls the first Emerald City Comic Con back in 2003. It was a one-day affair that drew about 3,000 people. Flash forward to today, and the Comic Con at the Seattle Convention Center is expected to draw upwards of 90,000 people. “It’s been attracting bigger celebrities,” says Morigi, who has been working at …
Try These Emerald City Elixirs During Seattle Cocktail Week
Annual spirits soiree kicks off this Sunday
Seattle Cocktail Week founder Amy Faulkner is doubling down on the “Seattle” in Seattle Cocktail Week this year. The week-long festivities kick off Sunday, March 2 with an Oyster Happy Hour at Vinnie’s Wine Shop in Belltown from 2 p.m-10 p.m., and “Jimmy Jams,” a karaoke and cocktail competition at Belltown Yacht Club, also on Sunday from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Seattle Cocktail…
Most Influential: Rico Quirindongo
Director at Office of Planning and Community Development, City of Seattle
Rico Quirindongo received an email from then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan in August of 2020 in the throes of the pandemic with the subject line, “I want to talk to you about the future of the city.” “I thought it was spam,” Quirindongo recalls with a chuckle. “Then I realized this is actually her email and…
Most Influential: Yasuaki Saito
Restaurateur, Advocate
Restaurateur Yasuaki Saito rolls the dough at three locations in Seattle. And, the financial dough keeps rolling in, with a fourth location set to open in 2025. Saito owns and operates Post Alley Pizza in downtown Seattle, Saint Bread in Portage Bay, and Tivoli in Fremont. Wayland Mill is expected to open this spring on…
Celebrate Black History Year-Round, Not Just In February
And don’t forget restaurants during Black History Month
There was a time when events like “The Soul of Seattle” were the only ones of their kind in the city, where the Black population is less than 7% of all residents. Enter restaurateur and provocateur Donna Moodie. It was Moodie, who opened the third version of Marjorie in Midtown Square in Seattle’s Central District last…
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