A conversation with Seattle
It’s awards season, and the Seattle food scene is again abuzz about the just-announced James Beard Award nominations. Today we learned who the semifinalists are, with that list getting whittled down to finalists on March 19, and winners announced on May 7. Continue reading Semifinalists Announced for 2012 James Beard Awards
When pig ear salad (shown here with the pickles of the day) was the first dish that Chino’s served me during a recent media preview, they had my attention. And respect. It’s been a while since I’ve recommended a new Asian restaurant to my food-loving friends, and I’m looking forward to their feedback, and seeing how this one evolves. Continue reading Chino’s is Porkcentric and Promising
Get David Nelson’s liquor expertise on the cheap, as he’ll be working Tommy Gun’s daily happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Barkeep, make me something fancy! Continue reading David Nelson Tends Bar at Tommy Gun Tonight
I just got back from visiting Clyde Common and the Sapphire Hotel, and can vouch for Portland’s cocktail scene being lively enough to keep a Seattleite from missing home. Liberty’s Andrew Friedman directed me to Clyde Common, the home of Jeffrey Morgenthaler, saying that if I wanted to try barrel-aged cocktails, I needed to start there. Continue reading Portland Expedition Idea #321: Cocktail Week is October 20-23
Steven Han’s new Capitol Hill venture Momiji opens to the public as of dinner tonight. The restaurant’s space, in the gutted Dawson Plumbing Building on 12th at Pine, is as much of a story as the food itself–not many restaurants send out press releases touting their landscaper, woodworker, and lighting installation artist, along with the chefs and bartender. The SunBreak was on hand for a preview dinner on Monday night, and here’s some of our thoughts. Continue reading First Impressions of Momiji
Last Thursday, the Metropolitan Grill hosted its second annual employee Manhattan contest. So The SunBreak attended the private event, in which VIP guests and celebrity judges–a.k.a. Ronald Holden and local TV anchors–sampled the five cocktail finalists and voted for their favorite. The winning Manhattan was created by head bartender Rob Nokes and will be featured on the Met’s menu for the next year. Continue reading The Metropolitan Grill Has a New Manhattan Champion
Do you drink Hendrick’s Gin? Such a question–as a sophisticated, worldly lady and/or gentleman, of course you do. It’s a most unusual, curiously different gin, after all. And what makes it so different? BOTANICALS, son. That, at least, was the take-away lesson from our visit to Hendrick’s Gin Cocktail Academy, held at Tavern Law. Jon Santer, mixologist-turned-brand ambassador for Hendrick’s was on hand to teach a room of mostly drunk girls how to make gimlets. And if drunk girls who RSVPed for an event via Yelp/Facebook can figure out how to do it, then you can too. Continue reading Back to School with Gimlet Recipes at Hendrick’s Cocktail Academy