August 2010
Spotlight: Kate Whoriskey
Intiman's new artistic director and her theatrical family settles into Seattle
In the lobby of the empty Intiman Theatre, an adorable child is in hot pursuit of a ball imprinted with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince. It’s an apt plaything for Rory, age 2, who, only a few days before, moved to Seattle from New York City, after a stint in Paris. While Rory is…
Tasting Through Woodinville
An insider’s guide to this booming—and ever-expanding—close-to-home wine region
Although vineyards are scarce, Woodinville is the closest piece of “wine country” we have, long anchored by Chateau Ste. Michelle, DeLille and a few others. But in just the past five years, the number of wineries and tasting rooms in this little town just 30 minutes from downtown Seattle has grown from a dozen or…
Local Authority: Mant Versus Nature
A colony of Seattle artists builds a life-size ant farm for Burning Man
Mant Versus Nature How much difference can one “mant” make? A group of Seattle artists called the Sober Free Society aims to find out at Burning Man (8/30–9/6), the annual festival held on an ancient desert lakebed in Black Rock City, Nevada, where hundreds of Seattleites flock each summer to construct and experience art installations. Burning…
Bisato is Affordable Brilliance
It seemed out of character when, in January, chef Scott Carsberg closed his revered fine-dining dest
It seemed out of character when, in January, chef Scott Carsberg closed his revered fine-dining destination, Lampreia, after 18 years. Even more of a shocker: He reopened the same corner space just a month later, serving his version of an Italian cicchetti-style (small-plates) menu. Gone (and, if you ask me, not missed) are the hushed…
Restaurant Review: El Pilón
“Homespun” may have become a ubiquitous term, but at Marta Vega’s 5-month-old restaurant, El Pilón,
With the help of son Luis, Marta Vega realized her dream of cooking the Puerto Rican food her neighbors and family have loved for years. In a snug space between Columbia City and Hillman City—with room for just six red vinyl booths—families share Vega’s specialty, mofongo, a soulful, comforting mash of plantains and slow-cooked pork…
Elliott’s Oyster House Pleasantly Surprises
Does Seattle’s premier tourist-friendly seafood restaurant deserve a better reputation?
Every August, our guest room fills up with friends from out of state betting on seeing the Seattle I swear exists: the one that doesn’t require an umbrella. Planning their itinerary, they ask the inevitable: “Where should we go for the best seafood?” And…hmm. For the seafood-focused Best Restaurants issue of Seattle magazine in April,…
Seattle’s 48 Best Sandwiches
All hail the sandwich!
Is there anything better than a BLT on toast? A Reuben on rye? A grilled cheese on a rainy day? Sandwiches are the Barcaloungers of comfort food—and Seattle has some spectacular specimens. So sit back, relax and salivate at the prospect of enjoying one—or all—of the 48 sandwiches we’re delivering this month. Chips not included….
Meet The Producer: Hermosa Mexican Foods
That’s a wrap: Hermosa Mexican Foods brings Mexico to the Eastside with its authentic tamales
Hermosa Mexican FoodsAbout seven years ago, Southern California natives Karyn and Ernest Moreno sated their hankering for authentic Mexican fare by forming Hermosa Mexican Foods (425.208.2933; hermosamexicanfoods.com). After perfecting recipes from Ernest’s mother, a native of Hermosillo, Mexico, in a small commercial kitchen in the Snoqualmie Valley, they launched their tamale and tomatillo salsa creations…
Restaurant Review: Nettletown
Sitting at the four-seat counter inside petite, robin’s-egg-blue Nettletown, which opened in the old Sitka and Spruce space in March, I had the urge to cancel my entire afternoon so I could sit sipping chef/owner Christina Choi’s homemade herbal tea and work my way through everything that sounded delicious on that day’s specials menu. Like…
Seattle’s 48 Best Sandwiches: The Bucket List
Before you kick it, you simply have to try The 5 Best Sandwiches in Seattle at least once...or twice
Porchetta SalumiDowntownThere is no better place to praise the lard than at Salumi, Seattle’s own temple of pork, where the Batali family prepares overstuffed sandwiches for the patrons snaking out the door of their charcuterie/restaurant. The Porchetta is a behemoth crammed full of juicy chunks of pork shoulder with braised carrots, fennel, celery, onions and…
Food We Love: Green Giant
It’s a simple green salad at Le Pichet. And we’re simply nuts about it.
Green GiantIt is always tricky explaining how something so seemingly forgettable as, say, a green salad can be one of the most formidable menu items—and one of my favorite things to eat—in the entire city. But there you have it: I’m smitten with the salade verte ($5) at Le Pichet (Pike Place Market, 1933 First…
Shelter: Green Houses
Do you know your LEED from your Living Building? Deciphering local green-home certification is the f
Green HousesMost of us “green” our homes with the same scattershot methods we use to improve our diets (organic apple here, “natural” energy bar there). We buy an Energy Star dishwasher, blow in some extra insulation and build our deck with wood stamped with a logo that looked sustainable under the sallow CFLs of Home…