January 2008
Indulge in Brunch at Fiddlehead
Sunlight pours through south-facing windows, bouncing off spring green accents in West Seattle’s homey new lunch spot. Opened in March by Carrie Duncan (maker of Alki Girl granola) and Dana Moreland, Fiddlehead attracts a mishmash of parents and tots, and small groups of elderly friends, gathering to lunch on a fine BLT made with thick-cut…
Give Branzino Another Chance
With Chef Garrett Michael Brown at the helm, the restaurant adds some nuance to the big-boned menu.
When Branzino opened in 2008 to much acclaim, its chef, Ashley Merriman, was clearly a star on the rise; she later went on to compete on Bravo’s Top Chef before moving to New York City, where she now heads the kitchen at Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter’s Waverly Inn. Her departure put Branzino on the…
Bitterroot Knows BBQ
Home of the best plate of ribs in Seattle
Montana may not be known for world-class barbecue, but that doesn’t mean Grant and Hannah Carter, who met in Big Sky Country in college, don’t know their ’cue. Boy, do they! Their slim restaurant—housed in Ballard’s old Acme Rubber Stamp building, its interior stripped back to expose old brick walls, with reclaimed barn wood—serves the…
Bainbridge’s Marché is Fine Dining with Small-Town Appeal
Greg Atkinson's splendid new eatery is well worth the boat ride
Congratulations: You’ve survived the punk rock era of food. In the decade just past, we saw the demise of the entrée; instead, we’ve pieced together meals by sharing a slew of side dishes and small plates (tapas of every ilk!). We bid adieu to careful, precise service and, instead, bussed our own tables or poured…
Ripe Melon with Prosciutto
Only during the very hottest days of summer is this fruit at its ripest.
Here in the Northwest, it’s rare to taste a perfectly ripe melon. Only during the very hottest days of summer is the fruit at its most sublime, its fragrance humid and thick in the air; tropical, seductive. For a few short weeks, farmers schlep fragile melons from their hot eastern gardens to our local farmers…
Sweet and Spicy Padrón Peppers
Top summer burgers with Lorna Yee’s sweet and spicy peppers.
What they are: Padrón peppers are small, green peppers with a sweet, mild flavor. Occasionally, the odd rogue pepper can grow particularly hot and spicy, making eating a dish of these peppers (often fried or roasted in olive oil) almost a game of Russian roulette. The peppers that grow later in the season, in August…
Where to go for Great Gyros
Gyros get a signature finish at these Seattle restaurants.
Usually stuffed with zesty ingredients like crisp veggies and succulent meat and topped with zingy tzatziki sauce, gyros get a signature finish at these local restaurants. Aladdin Gyro-ceryTake a magic carpet ride to Aladdin Gyro-Cery for a lamb gyro, filled with lettuce, tomatoes and green peppers, drenched in either a fiery tahini sauce or creamy…
Strange Fruit from Collins Family Orchard
Collins Family Orchard experiments in sweet new tree fruits.
Since 1905, Collins Family Orchard has produced a wealth of fruit, including Rainier, lapin and Bing cherries. Now, the family-owned farm also has a science project on the side. Third-generation farmer Calvin Collins and his son, marketing manager Brian, devote three of their 63 acres in Selah to creating about 20 brand-new varieties of tree…
Five Delicious Summer Salads
Ah, don’t you just love salad days? It’s summer and we cannot get enough nicely dressed greens, pickled veggies and the unexpected appearance of wild cards like fruit, not to mention exceptional salads served in unexpected places. (Yes, maybe they should rename Safeco Field…of greens.) Here are five salads that get us hot: 1. If…
Volunteer Park Conservatory Fights for Another 100 Years
The Volunteer Park Conservatory celebrates its centennial as supporters ensure it lives another day.
When the Volunteer Park Conservatory opened its doors in 1912, there was no art museum, no “Black Sun” sculpture, no Shakespeare in the Park to keep it company. For 100 years, the Victorian botanical garden, built of cast iron and 3,426 panes of glass, has been treating visitors to rare bromeliads, ferns, palms, cacti, succulents…
Zipwhip’s Espresso-making Robot
A Seattle start-up takes its coffee to high-tech heights.
What began as a search for a better coffee machine in a local start-up’s break room has evolved into the perfect Seattle combo: coffee and robots. Last winter, the employees at ZipWhip (zipwhip.com), a Queen Anne-based company focused on “cloud texting” (i.e., taking text messaging beyond the bounds of mobile devices and onto all Internet-connected…
Leavenworth in Summertime
Getting There: From I-405 north, take exit 23 to U.S. 2 east and follow it to Stevens Pass Highway and Icicle Road. Where: Leavenworth, Washington. Why: For the Icicle Creek Theatre Festival’s New Play Festival (8/19. $12–$20. Canyon Wren Recital Hall, 7409 Icicle Road; 509.548.6347; icicle.org), at which playwrights debut new works. This time, the fest…