Nosh Pit

Joy of Feeding: Vancouver’s Tribute to the World’s Home Cooks

The passport-worthy foodfest is the pet project of Meeru Dhalwala. And she wants to bring it to Seattle next year.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 17, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

A participant in last year’s festival serves up Zimbabwean cornmeal mash with greens and beef stew. Photo via UBC Farm Blog.

While she will be plenty busy opening her forthcoming restaurant Shanik in South Lake Union, Meeru Dhalwala also wants to bring her Joy of Feeding festival to Seattle in 2013. The gathering of home cooks of various ethnic backgrounds debuted in Vancouver last year, and returns on June 10. It’s an all-day outdoor foodfest that’s absolutely worth a road trip; Seattleites who do venture north can also consider it an introduction to the woman who is about to make a major mark on Seattle’s restaurant landscape.

Most people know her as the wife of chef Vikram Vij, and the culinary force overseeing the kitchen at renowned Indian restaurant Vij’s and its sibling Rangoli. But Dhalwala says Joy of Feeding is even more personal: “If I have one thing on my tombstone, this would be it.”

She’s quick to acknowledge that her livelihood depends in part on Vij’s culinary star power, but Joy of Feeding is Dhalwala’s tribute to the undercelebrated home cooks, most of them women, who keep their families nourished and connected. She hunted up 16 men and women, hailing from places like Syria, Sweden, and Sierra Leone, and charged each one with making a simple, comforting dish.

A $50 ticket buys you a day spent wandering the UBC farm (blankets welcome), sampling a multicultural array of home-cooked food that feels more personal than your average food festival. Dhalwala also hopes that eating a dish from, say, Ghana might, in its own small way, increase someone’s awareness of that country.

All the information on this year’s Joy of Feeding is right over here. Dhalwala says she has already begun talking to cooks for Seattle—now all she needs is a good space and a great cause.

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Tags: Culinary Events, Outdoor Events, Road Trip, Meeru Dhalwala, Joy of Feeding

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Andrew Zimmern puts Seattle on TV, Ethan Stowell, Deming Maclise, James Weimann, and more talk restaurant design.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Jan 30, 2012 at 01:05PM 0 Comments

Let Lisa Dupar plan your Valentine’s Day dinner.

MONDAY January 30

Magnolia Italian spot Mondello hosts a prix-fixe dinner paired with Sozo wines to benefit the Ballard Food Bank. The four-course menu includes house-made tagliarni or papardelle for the primi (pasta) round, and all-natural lamb chops or roasted butternut squash secondi. Dinner starts at 6:30 and costs $65 per person, call 206-352-8700 to reserve your spot.

WEDNESDAY February 1

Founder of California vineyard Bonny Doon Randall Grahm comes to Volunteer Park Cafe for a wine dinner and chat at 7. The $75-per-person menu, by Ericka Burke of VPC, includes a few different meats—seared sea scallops, duck trio, braised beef cheeks—paired with Bonny Doon wines. Make reservations by calling or 206-328-3155 or visiting Volunteer Park Cafe online.

Make this Valentine’s Day a memorable one with a little help from chef and cookbook author Lisa Dupar. The caterer and proprietor of Pomegranate Bistro in Redmond brings recipes from her latest book, Fried Chicken and Champagne, to Book Larder at 6:30 (she’ll also be signing copies). Slated dishes include bourbon braised beef and burnt caramel cheesecake.

FRIDAY February 3

James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award winner and two-time Pulitzer nominee Molly O’Neill talks her newest cookbook, One Big Table, the result of ten years’ research into the variety of food we eat in America. O’Neill shares the demo stage with the makers of Four Sisters Vietnamese Hot Sauce. The event is at 6:30 at Book Larder and costs $10 per person.

SATURDAY February 4

Over 70 Washington-brewed Belgian beers will be on display at the Bell Harbor Conference Center for two sessions on Saturday the 4th. Tripels, dubbles, wits, and more come from all over the state for some serious, beer-focused celebration. The first session runs noon to four and second from 5:30 to 9:30.

MONDAY February 6

This one is easy. Hop on your couch and tune in to the Travel Channel at 9 to catch Andrew Zimmern’s Seattle episode. Watch for Nathan Myrhvold of Modernist Cuisine and geoducks at Taylor Shellfish Farms, which I guess fulfill the bizarre foods label—the geoducks, not Nathan Myrhvold.

TUESDAY February 7

Head to Town Hall for a discussion of Restaurant Design: How Design Affects the Dining Experience with local chef and restaurateur luminaries such as Chad Dale, Ethan Stowell, Deming Maclise and James Weimann , and oh by the way, it’s moderated by Seattle Met’s own Allecia Vermillion. Get your tickets now for the fourth of six panel discussions on how people interact with design every day, presented by Seattle Architecture Foundation.

Twenty-four guests will join James Beard–award winning master sommelier Larry Stone of Evening Land Vineyards at John Howie Steak for an exclusive six-course dinner with menu designed by John Howie and chef Mark Hipkiss. Spots are $150 each and dinner starts at 6:30.

BEYOND

Feb 25 Love cider? The Northwest Cider Association’s second annual cidermaker’s dinner lets you get up close with cidermakers and cidery experts. Chef JoAnn Cruz of Ravishing Radish presents a three-course, cider-paired menu, following an hour of casual open bar and appetizers to kick things off. Buy tickets online now for $85.

Feb 25 The second year of the beer open house sees breweries across the state once more opening their doors to the public. After that, there are no rules. Except maybe two: there will be food, and there will be beer. Last year’s event had over 30 participating breweries and saw limited taps of vintage or award-winning beers. Check the official site for a list of participating breweries.

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Tags: Drinking Events, Culinary Events, Seattle Food Events

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Maxime Bilet brings Modernist Cuisine to Book Larder, Tom Douglas presents the second annual Slainte at Palace Ballroom.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Jan 23, 2012 at 01:30PM 0 Comments

Hang out with Modernist Cuisine coauthor Maxime Bilet at Book Larder on February 2.

Photo courtesy of modernistcuisine.com

MONDAY January 23

It’s National Pie Day today, and though you probably didn’t get the day off work, maybe you can convince your boss buy you one of High 5 Pie’s new pies to celebrate. Latest flavor additions include dark chocolate lavender cream pie, apple-cranberry-walnut pie, corned beef and cabbage, and more.

WEDNESDAY January 25

To celebrate the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns, chef Brock Johnson of Dahlia Lounge and Scotch guy Richard Hill are putting their heads together for the 2nd Annual Slainte, a celebration of Scotland, with a five-course dinner paired with scotch. Tickets are $65 and available online.

THURSDAY January 26

Tickets are still available for Local 360’s first annual Oyster Shindig. The shucking showdown starts at 3:30 with a $250 grand prize. Come witness the action for $25, which includes oysters and wine.

Two Beers Brewing brewed a special Midnight Mass beer to support the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). The last two kegs will be featured at The Feedback Lounge during an auction—cohosted by Two Beers and Beer Church—of autographed Pearl Jam memorabilia. The 21-and-up benefit starts at 7 and is free to enter.

FRIDAY January 27

Starting Friday at 7 and running through the weekend, Port Townsend gathers up over 30 breweries and more than 60 different great beers from our region during the Strange Brewfest. Tickets for the eighth annual fest are $25 and available online.

SATURDAY January 28

Just a few spots remain for the third Chef’s Tour of the Market, this one is hosted by Jelle Vandenbroucke of ART Restaurant. A $75 outlay gets you on the tour of Pike Place Market and into SieMatic Seattle for a meal and demo afterward.

MONDAY January 30

Kathy Gunst’s literary cookbook Notes from a Maine Kitchen explores the culinary environment of the Pine Tree State, from smelt to lobster to blueberry pie. Free at 6:30, Gunst will present her stories at Book Larder, along with a nosh from the book.

BEYOND

Feb 2 If you missed Nathan Myrhvold at Town Hall, here’s your next chance to get up close with one of the authors of Modernist Cuisine, the epic gastronomical tome. If you were planning to buy the book, get it from Book Larder and you’ll get tickets to see Maxime Bilet demo some of the tome’s techniques and answer any and all culinary questions.

Feb 7 For $20, join Rupert Symington of Symington Family Estates at Ting Momo for A Port Primer. Seven wines will be tasted, along with paired bites like Oregon blue cheese with smoked cherries and coffee rubbed smoked beef.

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Tags: Drinking Events, Food Events and Festivals, Culinary Events, Seattle Food Events, Weekly Planner

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Cheese 101, brewmaster’s dinner, and a can’t-miss Foodportunity

Posted by: Brian Colella on Jan 17, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Discover new Foodportunities February 6 at the Palace Ballroom.

Photo courtesy Palace Ballroom

WEDNESDAY January 18

With wintery doom on the horizon, our city’s dauntless restaurateurs and barkeeps are already proclaiming they they will be open no matter the weather. Find a spot within walking distance, and hunker down with a window seat, video camera, and Youtube account.

Want to spice up your food life, but you just don’t know which ones to use? Carol Peterman joins World Spice Merchants from 6 to 8:30 for Spice 101. You’ll learn the basics on different spices and how to spice dishes to make them unique. Tickets are $45 and the class is limited to 18 participants (who will benefit from a 10 percent discount on any class-day purchases).

FRIDAY January 20

Join chef Gabriel Carrera, beverage manager Janae Webb, and brewmaster Chelsea Bernard for a five-course Samuel Adams brewmaster’s dinner at Salty’s at Redondo Beach. The $65-per-person menu includes dungeness crab mac and cheese, teriyaki beef kebabs, and grilled tiger prawns in barbecued hollandaise sauce, with beers paired by Webb and presented by Bernard. Call 253-946-0636 to reserve.

SATURDAY January 21

The Pike Place Market Foundation’s Chef’s Tour series continues with Franz Junga of Il Fornaio as this week’s guide. See how the chef shops, then follow him to SieMatic Seattle for a cooking demo and light meal to finish it off. Spots can be reserved online.

SUNDAY January 22

Keith Robbins’s Tini Bigs is going big for its 15th birthday party. Starting at 6, a selection of 17 cocktails (one from each year since 1996) will be just $5 each. To compile the list, Robbins contacted a bartender from each year for their suggestion. With a lineup of guest bartenders and bar alumni, it’s half a birthday party and half a reunion.

From 6 to 8, taste classic cheeses from around the nation and globe while learning all there is to know about cheese from the experts at Calf and Kid. $35 per person, reservations must be made at the shop or call 206-467-5447.

Ethan Stowell is celebrating Tavolata’s fifth birthday not only by jumping on the line with chef Brandon Kirksey, but also by handing out free rigatoni to everyone. No to-go bowls, however.

BEYOND

Jan 26 Local 360 is holding its first annual Oyster Shindig, from 3:30 to 6:30. Email reservations@local360.org if you’re interested in competing in the shucking contest—$250 grand prize, or if you just want to watch tickets are $25. Participants will have three minutes to shuck as many oysters as possible, with three judges on hand to determine the cleanliness of each shuck. Audience members can then wash down the oysters with some great Northwest wines.

Feb 6 Now’s your Foodportunity to do some restaurant networking at Tom Douglas’s Palace Ballroom from 6 to 9. From 6:30 to 7:30, participate in a Q&A with Kathy Casey (Kathy Casey Food Studios), Kurt Dammeier (Beecher’s Cheese), Jessie Oleson (cakespy.com), and Lisa Dupar (Lisa Dupar & Co.). Throughout the evening, taste bites from restaurants such as Luc and Rover’s, The Coterie Room, Il Corvo, and more. Admission is $25 if you buy now, $30 later.

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Tags: Culinary Events, Seattle Food Events

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Volunteer Park Cafe’s fifth birthday, gluten-free Asian food at Book Larder, and chef-guided tours of Pike Place

Posted by: Brian Colella on Jan 09, 2012 at 11:45AM 0 Comments

Happy fifth birthday to Volunteer Park Cafe.

WEDNESDAY January 11

Join Volunteer Park Cafe for its fifth birthday celebration during dinner service from 5:30 to 9. In honor of the anniversary, dessert will be on the house. Call 206-328-3155 or go to VPC’s site to make a reservation.

THURSDAY January 12

Head to Book Larder to learn how to make gluten-free Vietnamese-style roasted pork meatballs with nuoc cham sauce, mixed vegetable tempura pancakes, and other previously-off-limits foods with the help of Laura Russell and her new book The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. Tickets are $20 and the event runs from 6:30 to 8.

SATURDAY January 14

Starting now, and continuing for the next month, a different Seattle chef will host a weekly tour of Pike Place Market. Simon Zatyrka of Cutters Bayhouse hosts the first tour, which runs 9 to 1 and costs $75 per person (register online in advance). Up to 14 people can sign up; the tour ends with a cooking demo and light meal at kitchen showroom SieMatic Seattle. The next tour is led by Franz Junga of Il Fornaio.

TUESDAY January 17

Mike Easton of Il Corvo brings his digestivo creation Amaro Vittoria to Artusi for a tasting with Spinasse’s Jason Stratton. For $90 per person, you sample amaro, tour Oola Distillery, snack at Artusi and cap it with dinner at Spinasse. Call 206-251-7673 to register.

Dubbed a rock-star chef by the New York Times, San Francisco’s cult meat hero Ryan Farr comes to Book Larder to teach Whole Beast Butchery, his book featuring 500 step-by-step photos, recipes, and instructions for meat handling. To make this scenario even more meaty, neighboring Dot’s Delicatessen is providing food; the event runs from 6:30 to 8 and costs $10 per person.

WEDNESDAY January 18

Cafe Lago continues their Doposcuola series, this time starring Seattle Met‘s own Laura Cassidy teaching you how to Shop Like an Italian. Join Laura at 7 for antipasti and prosecco and she’ll show you the best independent and specialty shops for new or established Italian designers.

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Tags: Pike Place Market, Volunteer Park Cafe, Culinary Events, Seattle Food Events, Book Larder

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Ugly sweater Christmas party at Skillet, sparkling wines with Tom Douglas, and locaboozing at Poquitos.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Dec 19, 2011 at 10:50AM 0 Comments

Poquitos will be mixing up cocktails with locally crafted Sound Spirits liquors on Monday night.

MONDAY December 19

The Poquitos Monday-night showcase of local distillers continues from 9 to 11 tonight. Steven Stone of Sound Spirits will be there, with $5 drinks featuring his Ebb and Flow vodka and gin to boot.

Join the Tom Douglas team and the Wine Press Club at Seatown from 5:30 to 7 to sample sparkling wines. For $50, try vinos from France, Spain, Italy, and Oregon, along with three paired seafood noshes. Tickets are available online.

FRIDAY December 23

Skillet Diner is hosting an ugly sweater Christmas party from 4 to 9 with eggnog cocktails, yuletide soul music, and pictures with Santa, aka chef Brian O’Conner—the jolliest, most tatted-up Santa you could ever hope for.

BEYOND

Jan 8 Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, proprietors of local favorite Revel, kick off a series of twelve cooking classes with a holiday detox session on January 8. Classes run from 2 to 4 and are limited to 14 participants—who will enjoy wine and take-home snacks. Preregistration is required by phone at 206-547-2040 or online. Individual classes are $60, or buy a package of three for $165 or six for $300. Classes are held once a month through December 2012.

Jan 14 Starting in the middle of the month and continuing for five consecutive Saturdays, tour Pike Place Market under the guidance of a local chef. Simon Zatyrka of Cutters Bayhouse hosts the first of the tours, which run from 9 to 1 and cost $75 per person. Up to 14 people can sign up; the tours end at SieMatic Seattle with a cooking demo and light meal.

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Tags: Drinking Events, Culinary Events, Seattle Food Events, Weekly Planner

Shiro Kashiba: Sushi Legend, Author

The Shiro’s guy has a new book out November 1.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 06, 2011 at 12:14PM 0 Comments

Shiro: Wit, Wisdom and Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer is available next month.

We know Shiro Kashiba as Seattle’s sushi overlord, as the legend behind Shiro’s in Belltown. Apparently he’s also something of a wordsmith.

Out November 1 is Shiro: Wit, Wisdom and Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer. In the cookbook-cum-memoir Kashiba “recounts his early days in Tokyo washing dishes and sleeping in the backroom of a prestigious Ginza sushi shop, his decision to come to the United States with little more than an introductory letter, and his ultimate success in Seattle,” according to press materials. Seattle shutterbug Ann Norton provided the photography; Chin Music Press is the publisher.

To celebrate the release Kashiba is hosting a book signing, sushi demo, and tasting at Wing Luke Museum on November 19. It costs $20 to attend ($15 for museum members). You can also catch Kashiba at Elliott Bay Books on January 7.

Employees at Chin Music Press say the book is available at local bookstores as well as at the chains and online.

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Tags: Culinary Events

Two Cookbooks, One Idea: Eat Less Meat

Mark Bittman, Kim O’Donnel champion their respective cookbooks tonight.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 28, 2010 at 09:31AM 0 Comments

Mark Bittman of The New York Times introduces his new cookbook at University Book Store.

Mark Bittman is swinging through with a new tome in tow, The Food Matters Cookbook: Lose Weight and Heal the Planet with More Than 500 Recipes, which extols the benefits of a plant-centric diet. The Man tells Tan Vinh of The Seattle Times the idea isn’t to completely cut out meat, just to eat it with more discretion—not only for personal reasons, but also for the health of the environment.

Bittman is scheduled to read from and sign Food Matters Thursday at the U District University Book Store starting at 7pm.

On a more local note, trendsetter Kim O’Donnel will be at Elliott Bay Books at 5pm. O’Donnel has been hitting the nationwide circuit with Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook and now brings her 52 animal-free recipes to hometown Seattle.

Having second thoughts about that egg-and-bacon breakfast? Ditto.

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Tags: Culinary Events

Taste Restaurant Holds Olive Oil Event

Including dinner, with olive oil cocktails.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Sep 15, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Taste at the Seattle Art Museum is holding a cool event to promote California olive oil.

Fran Gage, San Francisco author of The New American Olive Oil: Profiles of Artisan Producers and 75 Recipes, will lead a seminar on olive oil-making techniques and discuss food and olive oil pairings.

Then her dishes will be featured in a 4-course meal prepared by exec Craig Hetherington and ace pastry chef Lucy Damkoehler.

Dinner will be paired with an olive oil cocktail created by Taste mixologist, Duncan Chase.

The whole thing happens Saturday, Oct 2, starting at 3pm, with dinner at 6pm. Seminar plus tasting is $45; dinner $85. To reserve, call 206-903-5291.

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Tags: Cookbooks, Culinary Events, Taste Restaurant, Olive Oil

Baconopolis! Returns, Third Year in a Row

It’s all about the exclamation point.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Aug 23, 2010 at 08:00AM 8 Comments

Baconopolis! happens day after tomorrow folks.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 to be exact, from 6 to 8pm at the Palace Ballroom.

For those who haven’t attended the past two years, Baconopolis! pays homage to the world’s greatest food, offering several bac-o-centric dishes ($25 per guest) along with a cash bar. And plenty of water.

This year’s speaker is Ari Weinzweig, whose new book Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon is the source of all eight recipes to be prepared for the event—including Dutch bacon and gouda potato salad, cheddar bacon scones, and apple bacon crisp. The meat comes from Seattle’s legendary Bavarian Meats.

Getcher tix here.

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Tags: Tom Douglas, Bacon, Palace Ballroom, Culinary Events