Category: Eat + Drink Articles   Beat the blues by picking some of your own at one of the many blueberry farms within a peach stone’s throw of Seattle. July is peak season, and many of the berries are organic, so you’ll be able to eat copious amounts of them right out of your baskets…

Category: Tasting Notes   Cheese and wine is a match made in heaven. The only thing better might be enjoying some of our best local cheeses that are actually made with wine—washed in wine, to be exact. Kelli Estrella of Estrella Family Creamery (Montesano, 659 Wynoochee Valley Road; 360.249.6541; estrellafamilycreamery.com) makes several washed-rind cheeses by…

Category: seattlepi.com teaser headlines   Makes one 9-inch pie Kate McDermott’s Blackberry Pie FillingIngredients: 1 recipe for double pie pastryThe Pie and Pastry Bible’s recipe on Epicurious.com is a great option.  Filling:6 cups fresh picked (about 1 1⁄2 lbs.) blackberries3⁄4 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp. for sprinkling on top of pieA very small grating or…

Category: Tasting Notes   Tucked away in the hills northwest of Yakima, a tiny new winegrowing region is slowly emerging. Naches Heights, eight miles south of Highway 12 in Cowiche Canyon, has long been known for apple orchards and the largest organic raspberry farm in the world. But two wineries—Naches Heights Vineyards, and, more recently,…

Category: Tasting Notes   Eccentric winemaker and original Rhône Ranger (he almost single-handedly popularized Rhône-style wines in the United States over the past decade or so), Randall Grahm made a name for himself with quirky, philosophical labels for his easy-drinking but still top-notch wines. His Santa Cruz, California–based company, Bonny Doon Vineyard, is known for…

Category: Tasting Notes   Norm McKibben gets more done before 6 a.m. than most of us do all day. Whether it’s checking his computer satellite vineyard probes for soil moisture levels or making predawn drives in his truck to check on the ripeness of a block of Merlot grapes, he is one of the most…

Category: Tasting Notes   Touring Washington wineries doesn’t conjure up images of unadorned warehouses in industrial South Seattle—unless you’re Seattleite Tom Wolken. Wolken, a casual wine connoisseur, was tired of either taking the long drive to Walla Walla or battling traffic to Woodinville every time he wanted to taste wine where it was made, or…

Category: Seattlepi.com featured stories   From a sketch comedy schmorgasborg to reflection and laughter with Carol Burnett, here are our top to-do’s for this Friday, Saturday and a Sunday FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25SketchfestcomedyCareful, you might hurt yourself laughing at The Theater Off Jackson’s annual comedy schmorgasborg. Sketchfest, the six-day comedy festival will feature international, national and local…

Category: Shopping + Fashion Articles   Thread is a showcase of emerging fashion designers and the music and art that rock their world. For demanding fashionistas seeking ‘what’s next’ and the most cutting-edge looks, THREAD is a chance to pick up one-of a kind pieces ranging from hand-stitched frocks to eye-catching jewelry, often at reduced…

Category: Eat + Drink Articles       The brilliant but short-lived dessert café Coco la ti da might have been ahead of its time (we miss you, Sue McCown!) but sweet tooths and carb lovers can still find plenty of treasures. Blogger, baker and eater extraordinaire Lorna Yee weighs in on Seattle’s pastry scene….

Category: Eat + Drink Articles   When chef Don Curtiss assembles a cured meat plate at Ballard’s classiest Italian restaurant, Volterra (5411 Ballard Ave. NW; 206.789.5100; volterrarestaurant.com), he has a philosophy. “I like artisanal salami, things that are not mass produced,” he says. “It’s meant to wake up your palate, so you drink a nice…