When I have a day off, my wife and I like to go out for dinner. We love Carmine’s in Bellevue—the food is unbelievable. Canlis is another one; if we’re going out, we like to do it right. But Cafe Juanita is my number one. The restaurant itself is really intimate, it has good service, and the dishes work so well with each other. They do a few dishes with truffles—I’m a huge truffle lover.

After completing my novel The Liberators and graduating from my doctoral program, I sat at a corner table inside Seattle’s oldest Chinese restaurant, Tai Tung. The garlic pea shoots—young, tender vines, tips curling like ribbons—and a bowl of glossy-white rice gave relief to my limbs, which had stiffened after six years of research.

A friend took me to Taurus Ox, and I was blown away. I took my wife there within a week. A couple weeks later, we went as a family. They have this crispy rice salad with, basically, chicharrones in it. They do this pork belly with rice that’s outstanding and a really nice mignonette with their fresh oysters. My friend told me, you’ve gotta have the burger. I finally ordered it on my third visit, but, thanks to my daughters, I only got half of it.

The last great meal my wife, Amy, and I had was at Joule in Fremont. I’m vegan, and they have a ton of options. Usually you see tofu on a menu and you’re like, “not again.” But their smoked tofu is incredible. I made a joke that I would order the spicy rice cakes there if it was my last meal. The waitstaff is so nice, they were like, “It doesn’t have to be your last meal; you could just order them now.” The tofu, the spicy rice cakes, and the Chinese broccoli—that’s a can’t-lose dinner.

I love Bangrak Market, I go there often. It’s basically across the street from Rob Roy. Last time I went I had the tom kha; I love that spicy hot soup. But usually I’m at the bar and realize it’s 4pm and I need to eat something. Then I get this really simple kao mun gai chicken-and-rice street food dish. It’s perfect when I just need sustenance, but you can also go there and style it out, you know?