allison.scheff's blog

The mainstreaming of Middle Eastern flavors in Seattle has been a long time coming. Read more »

Update! Bar Sajor just announced it will opens for limited service tomorrow (Thursday, February 21) at 4pm and on Friday. Regular hours will begin Monday, February 25, when Bar Sajor will begin serving lunch and dinner on weekdays, opening at 11am (with a limited menu on Mondays). Weekend hours are still TBD. Read more »

Eating seasonally, locally and supporting farmers come deep wintertime equates to shivering trips to one of the few year-round farmers markets, where tables are piled high with a dozen varieties of potatoes, gnobbly carrots, turnips, beets and a few sorts of sturdy winter greens. It's good stuff, tasty, a welcome shift in our menus when, in November, when we're eager to embrace soft sweaters and kabocha gratin. Read more »

Update: It looks like the return of Fuji Bakery is set back another few months....again. The latest prediction is March. Bummer. Read more »

A quick hit of food news you need to know this week: Read more »

No, Honoré Bakery's Franz Gilbertson isn't opening a new Spanish-inspired bakery (tears). However, the owner of one of Ballard's best bakeries is a partner in a new Spanish sandwich shop opening in early March on Capitol Hill.  Read more »

If one of your New Years resolutions is to live in the moment, to create more experiences and buy less crap, then the Walrus & Carpenter Oyster Picnic might be just the ticket. Read more »

If three of a kind constitutes a trend, then bars that serve cured, smoked and sliced meats are the new black, at least on Capitol Hill.

First came Cure, the wee bar hidden in the alleyway behind Broadway on Nagle Place, which opened two years back. There, the menu features charcuterie and cheeses, olives and pickles, Euro wines, several beers and cocktails, and folks generally stop in for happy hour or to tipple and nosh a little before a show or for a late-night snack. Read more »

It goes without saying that the best meals of the year aren't just about what was eaten. That's important, no doubt. But great food doesn't equal a great meal.

What makes a meal is having good food, good atmosphere, good service plus the presence of best sort of company. People you adore. A great meal happens when everyone at the table is jazzed to be sitting and breaking bread with everyone else at the table. I just said jazzed! But you get the idea. Read more »

I first heard rumblings about Matt Dillon (Sitka & Spruce, Corson Building) opening a bakery in Pioneer Square last spring. It was just rumor then, a word dropped by a friend we have in common. Sometimes food-world friends spill the beans on things. But I kept quiet, as Dillon hadn't finalized leases yet, and didn't want to comment. Read more »