Fufu, the shared starch of West African cuisines, is a soft pillow of slightly stretchy dough from which eaters pull chunks to use as a utensil and blank canvas for spicy soups. It represents the long traditions of pounding tubers — plantain, cassava, taro, or others, depending on where and by whom — even when prepared from flour on the stove top. For the West African community in Seattle…

When the sun brings all the vitamin D, it’s time to seek out vitamin I: ice cream, shave ice, soft serve, or anything else cold, portable, and tasty. These are our current favorites in town. 

Seattle doesn’t have one reigning sandwich, but that hasn’t ruled out sandwich shops from taking root and becoming key players in our food scene…

Each time I return, for the mortadella sandwich with whipped ricotta and “pistachio jazz” at lunch or the black garlic knots at dinner, I marvel that the massive crowds of Seattle dining scenesters have yet to find it.

Jollibee, the largest Filipino fast-food chain, is opening at Rainier Valley Square in Mount Baker June 7. Known for its crispy Chickenjoy fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, and the iconic peach mango pie, Jollibee has amassed a cult following worldwide.

Diaspora Cafe Yaupon Espresso roasts, serves, and sells yaupon, the only native North American caffeinated plant — and along with it, a message of celebrating Indigeneity. The dried green leaves, roasted, ground, and brewed like espresso, produce a drink somewhere between coffee and tea.