Food & Drink
Read More ›
Simple Goodness
Plum Bistro chef and owner Makini Howell’s new cookbook makes vegan recipes easy
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Seattle magazine.
Plum Bistro restaurant owner and chef Makini Howell recently created some tasty vegan recipes for Stevie Wonder. Now she wants to do the same for you — sort of.
Howell, who launched the popular vegan restaurant in Capitol Hill 20 years ago, just released a new plant-based cookbook, Simple Goodness: No-Fuss, Plant-Based Meals Straight From Your Pantry. The book features more than 140 recipes home chefs can easily create, and even includes a chapter on kid-friendly meals such as breakfast and packable school lunches.
Recipes include chipotle plant-beef and bean tostadas; barbecue tofu steaks with roasted yams; and sweet Georgia peach pie. You can also catch Howell on KING 5’s Evening every month on her show Makini’s Kitchen.
Wonder even wrote the foreword for the book.
“Makini’s cooking will excite and satisfy you,” Wonder wrote. “She can teach you how to become vegan for the rest of your life if you desire. Her ways should be passed on from generation to generation, for generations to come.”
The book was published by Hatchette last month and is available on Amazon and other sites.
Editor’s Note: Makini Howell sold the restaurant in January 2024.
Follow Us
Restaurant Roundup: 3 Pearls and Restaurant Week Redux
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
When something tastes good, you gotta go back for seconds—and that’s exactly what we’re doing for this fall’s Seattle Restaurant Week, Oct. 18-31. Building off a successful spring spread, this edition brings back curated menus at various price points ($20, $35, $50, and $65) at restaurants, bars, cafes, and pop-ups across the greater Seattle area….
House Special: A Taste of Ecuador at Bad Chancla
Chef José Garzón brings a coastal Ecuadorian classic to his 335-square-foot Capitol Hill kitchen, where he hopes to introduce more dishes from home.
There is not much room at Bad Chancla. The bright pink walk-up on East Olive Way seats a handful of people elbow to elbow, mostly outside, and the kitchen behind the counter is small enough that chef and co-owner José Garzón can talk to you while he cooks. Garzón grew up between Guayaquil and the…
Opening Night: GoodMart Makes Lunch Feel Like Luxury
Victor Steinbrueck, owner of Fremont’s acclaimed Local Tide, opens his second seafood-centric restaurant in the heart of Ballard.
On a Thursday afternoon I was able to walk right up to the counter at GoodMart on Ballard Avenue and order lunch, which surprised me. GoodMart is owned by Victor Steinbrueck, who opened Local Tide in Fremont during the height of the pandemic (August 2020) and built it into one of Seattle’s most acclaimed seafood…
Where to Warm Up With a Drink This Fall and Winter in Seattle
From swanky speakeasies to a cozy literary bar, these spots serve inventive cocktails and zero-proof options.
Seattle’s drearier days are slowly arriving, but it’s not all gray and gloom from here. Finding a cozy spot to warm up is part of the trick to enjoying the darker, colder months. The right place lets you bring a friend, a book, a journal, or simply yourself, and let time pass by. Whether you…