Seattle's Most Useful Food Blog

Posted March 25 at 8:34 am by Jonathan Kauffman

There are more restaurants in the International District than I can count, and without relying on recommendations, it's hard to get a sense of which ones are worth eating at and which ones I should never enter.

Which is why MSG150 is brilliant. A group of what I'm guessing are coworkers, led by the blog's founders, Adam, Emmett, and Geary, are systematically prowling a 16-block stretch of the International District, lunching, reporting, rating, and photographing. Their rules include:

1. We will eat at all establishments whose primary source of income is food. This excludes coffee shops, total dive bars, and scary marts, but everything else is on the list.

4. We will eat at restaurants in a predetermined order. However, if the next restaurant cannot accommodate us when we show up, we will skip it for that day and come back to it on the next outing.

6. No jokes about being hungry again at 3 pm, unless you are offering to buy snacks.

So far, the group numbers up to 11 people, and every diner reports on his or her experience. MSG150 has the two qualities required of a truly useful blog: It is thorough, as well as fearless.

The site can be a bit unwieldy with so many reviews and pictures, and so far it's not searchable by name but by month and by rating — 1 to 5 chopsticks; so far Jade Garden has scored the highest rating at 4.6. However, you can search for the restaurant by name at urbanspoon.com, and if MSG150 has written about the place it will appear in the "Blog Posts about X" section.

I am now a devoted follower.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Obesity in 3D, Brought to You by WIRED

Posted Jan. 7 at 9:00 pm by Maggie Dutton

I love me the Infoporn, and by that I mean any old charts, graphs bookkeeping ledgers or maps I may find laying around, as well as the monthly feature in WIRED magazine of the same said title. I'm convinced if I just follow another issue, another year's worth of these cryptically insightful charts, graphs, and Venn diagrams, I will have the key...to something.

This month's visual plots the standard grocery store on the x, y, and z axis, highlighting certain product placements as the Ground Zero of the Obesity Epidemic (or page 44 in the print version). It's pretty rad, making all pretty what we know already: Empty calories are cheap. But is your grocery store organized like the one in these charts? Organized...to fatten? And am I the only one who tilts at charticles?

Topics: Blogwatch

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The Devil's Food Dictionary

Posted Dec. 18, 2007 at 9:14 am by Jess Thomson

If you're the type that opens the Food Lover's Companion to browse through the entries, you'll get a good giggle out of The Devil's Food Dictionary, local writer Barry Foy's tongue-in-cheek gastronomical guide. He's got a flare - bordering on inferno - for creative culinaria, like his frog-butchering map, above, or yesterday's definition du jour:

ice: The sole occupant of the category the Food and Drug administration calls "Water al Dente." Ice is less celebrated for its own flavor and character than for the qualities it lends to food and beverages. Ice and homemade mayonnaise, for example, make an excellent pairing, especially after three or four hours out of the refrigerator on a hot summer day. Chefs differ in their preferences as to the degree of doneness for ice, but there is general agreement that a tendency to spread out rapidly in a thin, transparent layer across a Formica countertop is a reliable indicator that your ice is too rare. By contrast, a properly prepared piece of ice, experts tell us, should hurt a little when you sit on it, at least at first.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Today: Celebrate your rights at Vessel

Posted Dec. 5, 2007 at 11:05 am by Jess Thomson

On his blog, spiritsandcocktails, Vessel barmaster Jamie Boudreau informs us that today, December 5th, is Repeal Day.

Yes, folks, today's the day you can brush aside your holiday excitement and celebrate something that actually matters in your day-to-day life: The 21st Amendment. On December 5th, 1933, America ratified the 21st, effectively repealing the Volstead Act, enacted in 1919, which outlawed alcohol.

Boudreau, who has more than a little claim to mixing fame, has organized a Repeal Day party at Vessel. According to the post, there will be some pretty sick drink deals: $2.32 Stellas and $2.32 bubbly (to celebrate the time at which the bill was ratified), to start. The staff will be decked out in 30's garb, and anyone who does the same will get 33% off their bill. Jamie says he's also procured an unopened bottle of bonded Prohibition bourbon, distilled in 1917 and bottled in 1931 (pictured above in Jamie's photo), which will be sold at cost.

Now that's worth celebrating. Starts at 2:32 p.m., of course.

Vessel, 1312 5th Avenue, 206.652.5222, DOWNTOWN.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Making Wine the Green Way

Posted Nov. 1, 2007 at 7:31 am by Jonathan Kauffman

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with the Lord, and
noticed two sets of carbon footprints in the sand...

Andrew Leonard, whose "How the World Works" blog is one of the few reasons I still read Salon, writes about a new report from a group of wine economists about the carbon footprint of the wine industry (hint: it's hugely influenced by shipping), and steps that both wineries and consumers can take to green up their producing and drinking practices.

Some of the recommendations seem counterintuitive (New York wine drinkers should buy European wines, not Washington or Californian ones); some almost ludicrous (winemakers should switch to barrels made with local oak), though this week's San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting article on barrel alternatives; and some of the recommendations make so much sense that it's galling that they're not already standard practice (winemakers should purchase recycled wine bottles or use TetraPak packaging). Oh, also, check out the economists' analysis of the impact of farming organically.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Cilantro: The Silent Killer

Posted Oct. 26, 2007 at 12:09 pm by Maggie Dutton

I'm the first one to go all Joan Crawford on someone's ass if I spy superfluous parsley on my entree. (Take off that useless flat leafed weed and put a sprig of Rosemary where it ought to be!) But I've always been insensitive to my husband's anti-cilantro stance. Vietnamese and Mexican are the most important food groups in my life, and his hard line stance against the innocuous herb is a constant wrinkle in my dining experience, a real pea in my mattress. "Just pick it out," I say curtly, with an exasperated sigh that clearly implies just how seriously I take the situation.

Until I stumbled upon this site, I HATE CILANTRO, I could not empathize with his plight. Cilantro haters of the world unite. You are not alone. And I am sorry, sort of, for not taking you seriously.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Book Release: Gluten-Free Girl

Posted Oct. 11, 2007 at 4:41 pm by Jess Thomson

Seattle has its share of fabulous food bloggers, perhaps none more well-known than Gluten-Free Girl, whose blog has lovingly chronicled her transition to gluten-free eating and her romance with Impromptu chef Danny Ahern. (Real life name: Shauna James Ahern.) Shauna's first book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food that Loves Me Back . . .And How You Can Too, comes out tomorrow.

In it, she traces her path from the days before she was diagnosed with celiac disease, when pain and fatigue guided her, to gluten-free living, giving details about what foods she had to learn to avoid (blue cheese is out!), which ten foods she can't do without, and how to cook with the cornucopia of grains that are naturally gluten-free. For someone like me, who's already convinced that $25 is a fair price for a bottle of great olive oil, the book was a good ego boost (Go Shauna! You tell America to stop eating so much shit! Tell them!).

Her book was also sort of an eye-opener. I don't know anyone with celiac disease, and had no idea how widespread it is (try about 1 in 100 people) or how seriously eating microscopic amounts of gluten can harm someone. I consume wheat-based carbs like oxygen - involuntarily, and with bodily necessity. Shauna picks up on the fact that when most of us think of eating gluten-free – whether we need to or not – we think of doing without, of forgoing flavor and enjoyable foods. Based on her recipes, seems to me like the only things she really has to forego are things that come in boxes, with labels and long, unpronounceable ingredient lists.

For foodies, Gluten-Free Girl is also a love story, with a less traditional entry point. It’s the story of Shauna falling in love with real food, which is sexy for those of us who get turned on walking into a cheese shop or running our hands through a box of black beans at the farmers' market.

Shauna's blog says she'll start her book tour in New York tomorrow, but here's a link to her tour calendar - you'll find her at Seattle events the week after next.

Topics: Blogwatch and Books

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Are you agoraphilic?

Posted Sep. 28, 2007 at 6:54 am by Jess Thomson

Market lovers, take note: Today is the last day to visit the Phinney Ridge Farmers’ Market, Seattle’s newest neighborhood market, which has seen 21,000 visitors this season.

But if you find yourself wandering the neighborhood on a Friday afternoon before it starts back up again next May, head a block south of the market, to a former hair salon space across from Mae’s Café. Soon (when, Nicos?), a Greek-inspired market named Agora (the owner’s blog translates agora to “marketplace” in Greek) will open up shop there, stocked with olive oil, honey, tea, herbs, olives, vinegars, and sweets from (or inspired by) the Isles.

Phinney Ridge Farmers' Market, 3 - 7 p.m. 

Agora, 6417 Phinney Ave. 

Topics: Blogwatch and Events

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A Modest Proposal: Restaurant Websites

Posted Sep. 20, 2007 at 10:57 pm by Maggie Dutton

Calling restaurants during busy hours is a common enough no-no, but I've been sassed more than a few times of late for calling to check basic facts. Huffs, and puffs, and tones that clearly said "annoyed," and this is after I identify myself as a member of the press, writing about the place. Uh, hello? Bees? Honey? Gee, I would have liked to get any information I could off your website, dear restaurant, but I can't trust any of it. You've got a menu from 2005, and according to you it's spring and nettles are in season. And it says you're open for brunch, but it's a lie.

When I tried to go to breakfast last minute this Labor Day, though, I really came up against it. If you're going to have a website (really, it's absolutely required), update it for chrissake. I visited websites and called so many restaurants that had no answering message, or an out of date one, it was insane. I'd list the offenders, but I prefer presenting solutions. For your consideration:

1. Forgo the flashy flash and get a website that's easily owner-updated. One, flash splash is sooo 2003, and two, it makes updating as easy as pie.

2. Clearly note the date of your last update on the home page. That way, a customer knows the information is current.

3. Do not hide the information people want most: hours, corkage fees, parking, etc.

4. Always update changes in service hours! Lazily closing for breakfast on a federal Monday holiday? Post it! This will save you so many phone calls. Add it to your voice mail message while you're at it.

5. If you post menus, make them current. It might not make a difference to you, but it is a courtesy to your guests. If you cannot keep up, at least post a disclaimer, "sample menu," or some such thing.

6. A Google map is required content. That way Eastsiders don't call you, baffled as to what you may think is an easy downtown location.

I know what it's like to field inane phone calls on a busy night. So don't! Help us help you, restaurants, talk to your tech guy, and reduce what you might deem "stupid phone calls" (oh yes, I heard you, she who doesn't know how to use the hold button) by as much as 50%. And increase customer satisfaction while you're at it.

Topics: Blogwatch

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Platitudinous Celebrity Product #63.b

Posted Sep. 17, 2007 at 5:04 pm by Maggie Dutton

Mansinthe!?!?! Are you @#$%ing ki-...? See for yourself. Good grief.

It's so cliche, I shouldn't even fan the P.R. flames. This is satire of a pun of a bad limerick. Thanks to all that know my gothy proclivities for the emails, but...yeah, no. I've always been Team Trent. And I am toootally Team Dita, who isn't? I'd buy anything she was selling. (even those wrongly chocolate-covered Altoids.)

Topics: Blogwatch and Boozamahol

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