Senior Writer

Seattle native Kathryn Robinson, award-winning restaurant critic and senior writer at Seattle Met, has been anonymously reviewing restaurants for over 30 years—first as editor of the Best Places guidebook series, then as staff critic at Seattle Weekly and contributing critic at The Seattle Times and Seattle magazine. 

Midcareer she spent a year-long sabbatical studying comparative religion as a Knight Fellow at Stanford University where she had been an undergrad 10 years earlier, gaining a knowledge base she now calls upon for her monthly “Back Fence” column on our collective urban existence and the meaning it holds for our personal lives. In her off hours she is a partner and a parent—which means she has no off hours.

Profile

Michael Foster Is Defiant

The Seattle climate activist who turned off the North Dakota Keystone Pipeline gave up his livelihood, his family, and quite possibly—after the upcoming trial—his next two decades of freedom. What drives someone to risk it all?

06/05/2017 By Kathryn Robinson Photography by Mike Kane

Around Town

What We're Eating Now: June 2017

This month’s favorites: Persian stews, Thai noodles, and craveable, colorful health food.

05/22/2017 By Allecia Vermillion and Kathryn Robinson

Review

The Paradoxical Pleasures of White Swan Public House

From the good folks who brought us Matt’s in the Market and Radiator Whiskey comes a waterside pub (and summertime hangout) along the docks of South Lake Union, which treats seafood as robustly as Radiator treats meat.

05/18/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Rising Stars

Seattle's Next Hot Chefs 2017

Five big talents, one bright dining future.

05/16/2017 By Kathryn Robinson, Allecia Vermillion, and Rosin Saez Photography by Amber Fouts

Essay

What My Garage Sale Taught Me About the New Seattle

And why navigating neighborhood negotiations makes us better citizens.

05/15/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Want a Starbucks Mobile-Order Experience—Only for Dine-In Restaurants?

Meet Allset, about to launch in Seattle.

05/11/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Welcome Back

The Remodeled Pink Door Open Again for Business

Did absence make the heart grow fonder or what?

05/08/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Here Are Some Amazing Seattle Croissants

(And wait till you taste Bainbridge Island’s.)

05/04/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

5 Ways to Cook Asparagus

Peter Miller’s lunch cookbook now has a dinnertime companion.

05/01/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Around Town

What We're Eating Now: May 2017

This month's favorites: nori dumplings, superlative french dips, and a croissant worth a trip to Bainbridge.

05/01/2017 By Allecia Vermillion and Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Seattle’s Most Colorful Restaurants

We’ve got plenty of neutrals, tons of industrial, and—thank you, Renee Erickson—every shade of white. Which restaurants bring the color?

04/27/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

The Restaurant Fix That Could Instantly Boost Ratings 

The one restaurant fix that could instantly do it. If only restaurants knew it.

04/24/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

5 Great Reasons to Dine Out on Thursday

(They’re really great reasons.)

04/20/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Restaurant Review

Circadia Is Downtown Seattle's New Palace of Posh

Chef Garrett Melkonian is an eager innovator inside the kitchen of one of Seattle’s grandest restaurant spaces.

04/18/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

10 Tremendous Seattle Pretzels

Danger: Knots ahead.

04/17/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Essay

I Took a Course on How to Survive a Mass Shooting

Office life will never look the same.

04/17/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

The Very Best Sushi in Seattle

We have a deep bench of great sushi in Seattle, with something for everyone.

04/13/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Deborah Madison Comes to the Corson Building

The standard-bearer of vegetarian cooking is coming to Seattle to peddle her new book—and to cook for us. 

04/10/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Here Are Seattle’s 10 Great Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

One at a time now, people.

04/06/2017 By Kathryn Robinson

Critic's Notebook

Southpaw Pizza Introduces Monday Craft Night

But keep that glue gun holstered there, Martha.

04/03/2017 By Kathryn Robinson