Welcome to the future, a place where salmon is printed in a lab and served for several times the cost of its farm-raised counterpart. Seattle’s The Walrus and the Carpenter is now the third restaurant in the country to offer Wildtype’s cell-cultivated salmon, although the movement is still swimming against the current — seven U.S. states have implemented a ban on this kind of protein. The manufacturer insists it has achieved that buttery, melt-in-your-mouth flavor, containing omega-3s and other nutrients without parasites or mercury, all while “taking pressure off our oceans.”

Would you give it a try? If not, here are some great alternatives.

Bao bao, chick, chicka-chicka

That’s the catchy sound of a new Chinese restaurant coming to downtown. Bao House is on track to open next spring in The Olivian’s first floor space, which was left vacant last October when Slices pizza shop moved out. Aesthetics and authenticity will be a priority here — guests will be able to watch chefs through a glass wall as they prepare steamed buns and noodles of southeast China.

Speaking of Chinese food…

Has anyone noticed the growing giant that is Bellevue’s Chinese food scene? Pay no attention to the bland name of Bellevue Marketplace — it belies the explosion of flavor you can find at the shopping mall’s Taiwanese bakery, Hong Kong-style boba cafes, hot pot restaurant, and more. With the other recently opened Eastside eateries, offering dishes like spicy bullfrog and whole roasted pig, you could spend days digging into the culinary diversity.

Treats to keep you up at night

Seattle just got its second Insomnia Cookies, but the Philadelphia-based chain known for delivering sweets to your door late at night is looking to expand with 1,800 new stores in the next 10 years. And it has its eyes set on the Emerald City. This aggressive growth is fueled by an influx of cash from Verlinvest and Mistral Equity Partners, an investment fund that also took a big bite out of Krispy Kreme last year. No figure has been set for how many locations we could see locally, but CEO Seth Berkowitz says most major cities will reach double digits. We, for one, welcome our chocolate chip overlords.

Fast casual curry

The Roll Pod, an on-the-go Indian eatery with three food trucks and two restaurants, will open a third brick-and-mortar location in the Session apartment building at 1717 22nd Ave. The opening date remains unconfirmed, but we’re already drooling thinking of the kathi rolls.

Here’s to 48 years

Acclaimed chef Greg Atkinson is calling it a career after nearly half a century doing his part to push Seattle’s culinary reputation to the prominence it now enjoys. His emphasis on local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients — which developed out of necessity while starting in an Irish pub on the remote San Juan Island — seeped into his lessons at Seattle Central’s Culinary Academy and his many cookbooks, winning him a James Beard Award in 2000. Atkinson has closed his Bainbridge Island restaurant, Marche, but it will be replaced by Sweetwater Tavern, set to open later this year and serve oysters and other seafood.