Nosh Pit

Matt’s in the Market Celebrates Five Years with Six Chefs

Are you kidding me? Some of the best chefs from San Francisco to Vancouver will team up for a night with chef Chet Gerl.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 27, 2012 at 09:30AM 0 Comments

Imagine this unforgettable setting, then add a kindofabigdeal chef from Portland, San Francisco, or Vancouver.

Back in 2007, Dan Bugge and Chester Gerl took over Matt’s in the Market, from eponymous founder Matt Janke. With Gerl in the kitchen, Matt’s has remained a delightfully archetypal Seattle restaurant, suitable for wowing visitors, or keeping all for yourself.

To celebrate the five-year anniversary, Gerl and Bugge are bringing in some heavy-hitting chefs from restaurants up and down the West Coast.

The series, dubbed Planes, Trains, and Traveling Chefs, starts Monday, April 16 with a chef named Gabriel Rucker. No big deal, just last year’s James Beard Rising Star Chef winner, and owner of the dynamite, perpetually packed Le Pigeon in Portland. Gerl and Rucker will take turns providing courses for a six-course meal, and collaborating on one dish. The dinner costs $125 per person. Tax and tip aren’t included, but wine is. Not an inexpensive night to be sure, but think of the mileage and hotel fare involved in seeing these chefs in their native kitchens. Plus you can’t beat the setting.

The series continues in the same format, with Vikram Vij of highly acclaimed Indian restaurant Vij’s in Vancouver on April 23. Then it’s back to the U.S. with superbutcher Ryan Farr of San Francisco’s 4505 Meats April 30, Pok Pok wing genius Andy Ricker on May 7, Atelier Crenn chef Dominique Crenn on May 14, and finally Beast meat maven Naomi Pomeroy (a Portland chef and a Top Chef Masters alum) on June 11.

Sign on for all six Monday night dinners and the cost goes down to $100 a person (again, without tax and tip). Call the restaurant to make reservations.

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Tags: Special Dinners, Matt's in the Market, Seattle Food Events

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Skillet eats, crab at the Corson Building, Check, Please! airs, and clam-digging season begins.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Mar 05, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Dungeness crab extravaganza at the Corson Building on Thursday.

WEDNESDAY March 7

Giving Grill for Whole Planet Foundation
Shrimp po’boys for a good cause at the Westlake Whole Foods. A sandwich, chips, and a drink can be yours for a $5 donation, which goes to Whole Foods’ foundation supporting microfinance and microenterprise in developing nations.

THURSDAY March 8

Cast Iron Skillet, Big Flavors
Seattle-based mother-daughter team Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne will be at the Book Larder, illuminating the world of the cast iron skillet with their book Cast Iron Skillet Big Flavors. The free event begins at 6:30 and promises skillet-prepared samples.

Dungeness Dinner
The Corson Building, the communal dining destination by Matt Dillon of Sitka and Spruce, is hosting a Dungeness crab dinner. The crustacean-centric feast costs $40.

Skillet Heirloom Pig Event
The Skillet crew received an entire Tamworth pig this weekend courtesy of Vashon butcher Farmstead Meatsmith. Hence both diner and truck(s) are planning a pig-centric menu items to use this noble animal in its entirety. A special Heirloom Pig tasting menu starts today at 5pm at the diner, running $55 for the meal, or $85 paired with local wines. The famous waffle will be dressed up for the event: braised and glazed pork belly with a bacon caramel waffle. The mobile version of Skillet will also have a special pork banh mi from 11 to 2.

Mushroom Identification Class Series
Puget Sound Mycological Society’s four-part class series for beginner mushroom enthusiasts begins on Thursday at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture. The classes will cover collecting and, more importantly, identifying poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms.

Crab and Prawn Boil at Salty’s
The Salty chefs at the Alki Beach and Redondo Beach locations will be boiling up pounds upon pounds of crab and prawns, and $35 gets you in on the action. The restaurant recommends making reservations for the meal, the price of which includes a pound and a half of seafood plus bread, chowder, salad, and a pint of hefeweizen.

Check, Please!
The show dedicated to everyone’s favorite activity, discussing and/or debating local restaurants, led by local food personality Amy Penningon airs today at 7 on KCTS 9.

SATURDAY March 10

Razor Clam Season
The clam-digging season is tentatively set to start on Saturday, as long as toxin tests and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife declare the clams safe to eat. Digs are planned to coincide with morning low tides, and the WDFW website has specific locations and times listed.

SUNDAY March 11

Cochon 555
Worth the trip: the fourth annual pig fest may not be happening in Seattle, but it’s on in Portland. Five Portland chefs will be preparing a pork heavy menu (accompanied by five winemakers) for a culinary competition and massive snout-to-tail meal, all in the name of promoting sustainable pig farming practices. Tickets range from $125 to $250, and past menus have included everything from pig skin beignets to root beer floats made with smoked fatback gelato.

MONDAY March 12

Walla Walla Wine
Washington Wine Month continues with a bevy of Walla Walla wines coming west to Seattle for the day. Sodo Park (don’t worry, it’s actually inside) will host dozens of wineries for a tasting. The event is open to the public from 6 to 9, and tickets are $40.

BEYOND

March 14 Pi Day at Pie from noon to 314, hand pies are (can you guess?) $3.14 and mini pies are 3 for…$3.14.

March 14 Colorful be-hatted chef Thierry Rautureau will be leading a lamb butchery demo in the Rover’s kitchen. A front row seat and a 3-course lunch with wine for $125.

March 27 Cafe Presse is hosting its second communal dinner, part of the 12th Avenue restaurant’s new Corner Table series that is becoming a monthly fixture. Four courses for $24, $39 with wine.

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Tags: Tastings and Classes, Rover's, Tavolata, Weekly Planner, Weekly Food Planner, Book Larder, Cafe Presse, Seattle Food Events, Sunday Suppers, Wine Tastings, Wine, Walla Walla Wines

Sunday Snouts and Stouts at Little Water Cantina

Local beer + roast pig = one hell of a monthly meal.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 16, 2012 at 12:30PM 1 Comments

How do you take advantage of an awesome patio during colder months? Break out your Caja China and set up a pig roast. Photo: Little Water Cantina via Facebook.

Little Water Cantina is combining two of the more enjoyable Seattle food trends of late: Family-style Sunday-night meals, and our ongoing infatuation with whole animals. On the last Sunday of each month, the Eastlake Mexican restaurant is offering up an event alliteratively titled Snouts and Stouts. Chef-owner Shannon Wilkinson will be roasting a whole, naturally raised pig out on the restaurant’s stellar patio and serving it up (indoors, at least for now) in the form of pork tacos.

Fifteen bucks buys you “a traditional giant Mexican plate” of the aforementioned tacos, with beans, rice, and handmade tortillas, plus a pint of beer from whichever local brewery is partnering up for the occasion. This month Odin Brewing Co. will be representing, and Wilkinson has promised the full lineup on tap.

All this monthly pig and beer action happens from 5 to 9pm, starting February 26. Wilkinson says he’ll use that same beer to make the beans, and hopefully to brine the pig as well. Subsequent Odin pints will be $4. You can RSVP on the Facebook page if you like, but these monthly pork-fueled gatherings are designed to be casual drop-in affairs.

UPDATE—I would be remiss if I did not mention that the first pig roast will feature the musical stylings of Squirrel Butter. If for no other reason than it’s fun to type “Squirrel Butter.”

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Tags: Sunday Suppers, Seattle Food Events, Little Water Cantina, Shannon Wilkinson, Shannon Wilkinson

Ethan and Angela Stowell Launch Eat. Run. Hope.

Lace up your shoes and loosen your belt: The new 5K and food fest will benefit the Fetal Hope Foundation.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 08, 2012 at 03:00PM 2 Comments

Chef Ethan Stowell and wife and business partner Angela have organized a new 5K run April 1 to benefit the Fetal Hope Foundation. And because this is Ethan and Angela Stowell we’re talking about, the run also happens to be a food event, complete with a beer and wine garden, all in Seward Park.

No surprise, the food tent will be packed with culinary heavy hitters. Brace yourself for a ridiculously long list of great chefs, including Canlis’s Jason Franey, Renee Erickson of Walrus and the Carpenter, La Bête’s Tyler Moritz (a Stowell alum), Rachel Yang of Joule and Revel, Maria Hines of Tilth and Golden Beetle, Daisley Gordon of Marché, Terra Plata chef Tamara Murphy, Bastille’s Jason Stoneburner (also a Stowell alum), Miles James of Dot’s Delicatessen (yep, him too), Taste chef Craig Hetherington, Ericka Burke of Volunteer Park Cafe, and pizza from Via Tribunali.

Last summer the Stowells lost their unborn twin sons to Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, a rare and deadly disease that occurs only in identical twins. This event is the couple’s way to effect change in memory of their sons—and the Seattle restaurant community’s way to express support for one of its most visible members.

On a lighter note, the participating restaurants will be running a bacon relay, a prospect that sounds both entertaining and kind of greasy. Angela Stowell will be crafting bacon batons for this less athletic follow-up to the actual 5k which apparently arose from Maria Hines throwing down a challenge to her fellow chef participants.

Registering for the run costs $35, and the food tent is $70. Interested in both? That’s $95. Register for Eat. Run. Hope. right over here.

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Tags: Good Cause, Ethan Stowell, Seattle Food Events, Angela Stowell

Slideshow: Foodportunity Returns to Palace Ballroom

Check out what everyone was eating at Monday night’s networking event.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 07, 2012 at 01:20PM 0 Comments

Metropolitan Market whipped up mac and cheese made with a nutty-sweet gouda.

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Metropolitan Market whipped up mac and cheese made with a nutty-sweet gouda.

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It’s Tulalip time: the casino and resort’s David Buchanan put out smoked sockeye salmon with shallots, dill, capers, and cucumber on chèvre.

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Pasta (and amaro) man Mike Easton of Il Corvo prepares fresh garganelli.

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Inn at Langley satisfied sweet teeth with smoldered spruce cream on a bed of walnut sugar. That’s aerated truffle honey on top.

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Cupcakes, grain and gluten on the side, courtesy Wheatless in Seattle.

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Mt Townsend Creamery offered up fromage blanc on apple chips alongside the very delicious Off Kilter, made with Pike Brewing Company’s Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale.

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More cheese, please: Kurt Beecher Dammeier schooled event-goers on the difference between cheese made with raw milk (above) and pasteurized milk (background).

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Il Fornaio’s Franz Junga grills veggies for an eggplant-zucchini-pepper panini.

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Among the night’s top bites were these puff pastries from Volunteer Park Cafe. They were filled with caramelized onions and goat cheese and topped with roasted black trumpet and hedgehog mushrooms.

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Also a hit: pickled celery root wrapped in cured salmon and finished with sherry gastrique. Rover’s was to thank for this one.

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South American specialty food store Magic Road International provided an Argentinian chimichurri sauce—especially tasty when mixed with hummus.

Gastronomes and media folk descended upon Palace Ballroom Monday evening for Foodportunity, the network-and-nosh event put on by Keren Brown (aka Frantic Foodie).

Brown has organized Foodportunity for several years now, both here and in Portland. The idea behind these events is to come and converse with fellow food obsessives while sampling bites from top-notch restaurateurs and local purveyors. The chefs talk attendees through the dish they chose to prepare, which is a neat opportunity to get inside their heads. Name tags facilitate the networking side of things, as does the cash bar (it’s amply stocked). So convivial is the atmosphere even foodportunists flying solo will find someone with whom to chat.

Many of the people at Foodportunity are repeat attenders and will eagerly share lessons learned from past events. For example, they’ll tell you it’s best to arrive when doors open at 6, when few others are there. That way you can go nuts with the food and avoid the awkwardness of trying to converse while doing so. (Or worse, getting grub stuck between your teeth during a gab session—definitely a networking no-no.) Also: it’s easy to miss the booths hidden in the back right corner of the foyer, but they’re some of the best of the bunch.

Check out the slideshow for more from the event and a sampling of the food on offer.

All photos by Seattlemet.com photographer Lucas Anderson.

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Tags: Palace Ballroom, Seattle Food Events, Foodportunity

Of Dining and Design

Come hear the restaurateurs behind some of the city’s hippest spaces talk shop.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 03, 2012 at 11:45AM 0 Comments

Does the food at Poquitos taste better because you’re eating it in an awesome space? I plan to ask the owners. Photo by Geoffrey Smith.

I’m hardly a design expert, but I do know that a good meal takes on added layers of enjoyment when you eat in a well-conceived space. We ostensibly go out to eat for the victuals, but dining is its own form of theater…even food trucks. I’ll admit it: I enjoy a good meal or cocktail all the more in a beautiful setting.

Hence I was flattered to be asked to moderate the Seattle Architecture Foundation panel Restaurateurs and Their Spaces on Tuesday, February 7 at 7pm at Town Hall. Organizers somehow managed to get four very busy guys to in the same room on the same night to answer questions about the dozen-plus restaurants, bars, and coffee shops they have opened and owned around Seattle.

Those guys would be chef-of-many restaurants Ethan Stowell; James Weimann and Deming Maclise of Poquitos, Bastille, and Macleod’s; and partner-in-many-restaurants Chad Dale, who is involved with Staple and Fancy, Walrus and the Carpenter, and Revel. Maybe you’ve heard of them?

Honestly, one of those bobble-necked drinking bird dolls could facilitate an entertaining conversation among these gentlemen. I’m guessing they have some memorable tales of design triumphs and the crazy things that happen when you tear out walls in old buildings. Also, can someone please share details about the secret spot where all these restaurants find incredible salvaged fixtures and furniture?

I’m told the key to being a good moderator is drinking wine (in moderation) before said moderating occurs. Grab your $20 ticket right over here and please do say hello.

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Tags: Ethan Stowell, Seattle Food Events, Deming Maclise, James Weimann, Chad Dale

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

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

Free food at Melrose Market, movie nights at High 5 Pie, and Belle Clementine’s communal feasting kickoff.

Posted by: Brian Colella on Dec 12, 2011 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

Sitka and Spruce and its Melrose Market neighbors are handing out free samples on Sunday.

MONDAY December 12

High 5 Pie on Capitol Hill serves up movie nights on Monday evenings from 7 to 10. Catch holiday classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life and of course grab a holiday pie; special flavors this season include pumpkin, sweet potato, cranberry walnut, and caramel pecan.

THURSDAY December 15

David Sanford’s Belle Clementine is opening its feast series this week. The communal dining restaurant will serve a seasonally determined menu on the 15th, 16th and 17th this week, plus additional dates in the future. Reservations can be made via the restaurant’s website or by phone at 206-257-5761.

SATURDAY December 17

Kathy Casey Food Studios is holding an all-day extravaganza and open house from 11 to 7. Casey will be there with special guest Keren Brown; both ladies will be signing copies of their books. There’ll also be cooking demos, samples cooked up by the Food Studios team, and of course holiday treats and gifts for your loved ones.

SUNDAY December 18

Got hungry kids? Take ’em to Book Larder from 10 to noon to learn how to make cupcakes, cake pops, and more with CakeSpy Jessie Oleson. Tickets are $25 per person and the class is open to kids ages 5 to 9.

Capitol Hill Seattle blog says that the shops at Melrose Market are giving out food samples from 2 to 6. Cheese shop Calf and Kid will be sharing tastes of cheese, Rain Shadow Meats will offer ham, grab some bread from Sitka and Spruce and, conveniently, some jam from Marigold and Mint. Homegrown will hand out soda. Butter Home will offer shoppers a discount since, contrary to its name, it sells no actual food.

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Tags: Melrose Market, Kathy Casey, Seattle Food Events, Book Larder, Belle Clementine, Sitka and Spruce