Voracious: The Food Section Archive (Seattle Weekly)

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Posted yesterday at 4:38 pm by Mark Fefer

Most of us who are not at-home graphic designers in Wallingford, or Rainier Valley schoolteachers, do not have easy access to taco trucks during the workday. We're stuck in neighborhoods with nothing but faux burritos. And for us, there is a standard face-off in what the industry calls the Mexican Fast Casual category: Taco Del Mar vs. Blue Water Taco Grill. Both of these are locally-grown chains—TDL now much bigger, with franchises all over the country; Blue Water run by longtime local restaurateur Dave deVarona, whose previous stab at this business ended up selling out to the wretched World Wrapps).
I'm a diehard Blue Water man myself. TDL makes me wretch. But what about you, the discriminating Voracious readers?

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Posted May 7 at 9:41 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Warning: Having not posted while on vacation (the Internet connection at the Sun God Lodge in Taos was spotty), this edition of "Food Section" is a little long:

First, other Seattle food pubs report several openings and closings: startender Jamie Boudreau leaves Vessel (P-I). El Greco Becomes Table 219 (Seattle mag). And chef-owner Kerry Sear announces he's selling Cascadia and moving to the new Four Seasons (Times).

For Love of Taco Trucking by Jean-Paul Renaud (LA Times) and Keep on Taco Trucking by Jonathan Gold (LA Weekly): This is a two-week old story, but it touches my heart: Los Angeles forces taco trucks to move on after only an hour in one location. Thank you, Seattle/King County, for making it easier for taco trucks to set up in semi-permanent spots compared to Los Angeles or San Francisco (where, when I last checked a few years ago, the city was charging aspiring street-food vendors a scandalous one-time fee of $10K, which is why all the taco trucks are in Oakland).

Court Orders Tyson to Suspend Ads for Antibiotic-Free Chicken by Annys Shin (Washington Post): This story creeps me the frack out. Injecting antibiotics into eggs so you can claim the bird is "raised" free of antibiotics?

Save the World — Eat Less by Vikram Vij (Toronto Globe & Mail): I'm ashamed to admit that I've lived in the Northwest two years and still haven't been to Vij's in Vancouver, though a friend who loves Vij's cookbook has wowed me with a few of its specialties. My admiration for the man blossomed when I read this article. To hear a restaurateur in these struggling times advise customers to order less? That's just un-American! Oh, wait . . .

Finally, this week, I want to honor two reviewers for innovative takes on the art of criticism:

First, Take Your Frozen Mash... by Jon Henley (UK Guardian): Venerable cookbook author Delia Smith has shocked Britain by coming out with a cookbook centered around canned and frozen foods. An equivalent scandal in America would be Julia Child (RIP) releasing a collection of souffle recipes to be made with Egg Beaters and soy milk. The Guardian has responded to the controversy by having a couple of professional cooks make a few of Delia's recipes and serve them to a panel of food experts. Brutal.

The Momofuku Superlative Matrix (Savory Tidbits, via Chow): New York chef David Chang's new restaurant, Momofuku Ko, has gotten so much hype (including a New Yorker profile and an instant rave from Ruth Reichl) that Savory Tidbits has created a spreadsheet listing each menu item along with all the words that New York critics have slobbered all over it.

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Posted April 16 at 8:45 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Been caught stealing

Some mornings it takes me hours to come up with a few stories to compile for you, and other weeks, I'm overwhelmed with interesting bits. Today's Food Section leads with a scandal:

David Weiner of the Huffington Post has caught Cindy McCain stealing Giada de Laurentiis’ recipes and presenting them as “family favorites.”� Update: intern falls on sword, saves McCain's presidential run.

One Cook, Thousands of Seders by Julia Moskin (NY Times): Well, it's Passover season, and America's food sections are filled with Pesach recipes. The Times profiles cookbook author Susie Fishbein, who “would rather be the kosher Rachael Ray than the kosher Martha Stewart.”� Not surprisingly, today her Kosher by Design is ranked #435 on Amazon's best-selling list. Bonus link: macaroons!

The Washington Post is proving itself Pulitzer-worthy this week by becoming the source for stories on rising food costs. Today, the paper’s restaurant critic, Tom Sietsema, writes about high-end restaurants dispensing with foie gras and recycling chive tips (though, um, many four-star chefs have long been famous for their parsimony). Earlier this week, the Post ran a great piece, picked up by the Seattle Times, on how chain restaurants are secretly downsizing portions. After trying to make my way through a hubcap-sized platter of chicken Madeira at the Cheesecake Factory, I'm saving my outrage for Maria Glod's story about how high food costs are forcing school lunch programs to downgrade the healthfulness of their lunches.

Onions That Don’t Bite Back by Andreas Vierstad (Washington Post): I just have to plug this great monthly series on everyday food science. Sorry for the heavy dose of Washington Post — I swear I'm not brown-nosing anyone.

UN Calls for Farming Revolution (BBC thanks to Food Times): Unesco releases the results of a three-year research project and advocates for organics to become the next "green revolution." Monsanto’s stock prices are still not affected.

One more reason that Mick Jagger is the antichrist, and not the one he always aspired to be. (However, I'm going to need to get a hold of this new product. Yeee-aaaayy-ahh!)

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Posted April 9 at 8:00 am by Jonathan Kauffman

China to Monitor Olympic Food Plant 24 Hours a Day (Reuters): Stories like this make your heart swell, don't they? China takes the Western world's safety concerns in mind and guarantees that all the processed food Olympic tourists put in their mouths will have been carefully monitored for contaminants. Lord help them, though, if they should leave the pitch to find some real food.

Skewed View from the Berkeley Hills by Tom Philpott (Grist): Tom Philpott, the thinking person's farmer, has long defended paying higher food prices for organic, local food. But even he has had enough of Alice Waters and Michael Pollan's approving response to rising food prices. (Hallelujah.) The second part of his article is all about Washington's new law easing the process for local farmers to provide food to local school cafeterias. Bonus article: A few weeks ago, Tom summarized new myth-busting research studies on organics and productivity. Whaddayawant? I like the guy.

Super succulent Imports Are Everything US Pork Isn’t by Rebekah Denn (PI): There have been lots of little pieces in the local and national press about the ultra-rich meat from Washington-grown woolly pigs, whose meat retails for $25 a pound, but Denn finally writes the definitive feature.

Fair Trade at Home by Twilight Greenaway (Culinate): To all of you who earnestly check your chocolate packages for the "Fair Trade" symbol but ignore the working conditions of local apple-pickers and hops pruners, here's a fascinating article on a new Midwestern program to certify domestic farms that pay their workers a living wage.

What Should Go in Your Fridge by Tim Hayward (UK Guardian): "American-style" mega-fridges are the British equivalent of the Wolf six-burner stove right now. A food writer explains to his country how not to turn the big box into a food morgue. Lessons for us all?

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Posted April 2 at 8:33 am by Jonathan Kauffman

I watched Gone Baby Gone last night on DVD, and am feeling a little fragile this morning. So this week is devoted to stories that don’t foretell colony collapses, soaring food prices, or obesity epidemics.

A New Message on the Bottle? by Bill Daley (Chicago Tribune): The feds propose reporting calories, additives, and allergens on bottles of wine. Guess how the pros and cons stack up? Bonus wine story: Our own Ste. Michelle buys out Napa's fabled Stag Leap Wine Cellars.

Footloose and Sugar Free by Laura Moser (Slate): Woman eats healthfully. Woman feels better. Woman brags about it in order to convince everyone she knows to follow her new diet.

Old Chickens Never Die, They Just Bubble Away by Jane Sigal (NY times): The article I should have read before the time I made coq au vin with a laying hen for Christmas dinner. (However, the Boxing Day version, after I'd left the stew in the crockpot all night, was phenomenal.)

Kids’ Menus Grow Up by Tara Duggan (SF Chronicle): I confess I’m a little worried about the kid who “wolfs down”� pork bellies.

Students Turn a Profit from Candy Sales by Rachel Byrd (Victorville Daily Press, thanks to Food Times): First California bans guns from its schools. Then drugs. Now sweets. Bands of candy runners are now creating a black market. Watch one of them grow up to sire a president.

Gourmet Q&A: Heston Blumenthal and Grant Achatz by Christy Harrison (Gourmet): This one's for the food geeks. A group interview with two of the molecular gastronomy (yeah, yeah, I know they hate the term) stars. Warning: technical language alert.

Finally, thank you to Chow's Kara Zuaro for telling the world about Cookercise, which has made me happier than I can express in words. Please, please watch the Hoppin' Halibut video:

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Posted March 26 at 8:34 am by Jonathan Kauffman

For some local food news first, the Seattle Times' now-former critic, Nancy Leson, smiles for the camera and launches her new blog. Since we’re in disclosure mode, I too must confess that someone finally caught me on film.

Once Bitten... by Steve Boggan (UK Guardian): Nanofood is the new cloning. Why would the public have a problem with it?

In Trial Run, Chipotle Heads to the Farm by Jane Black (Washington Post): How a fast-food chain paired up with an organic famer famous for his eat-local ethics to put ethical carnitas in its burritos.

Wal-Mart Move Tipping Point for Non-Hormone Milk by Janet McFarland (Toronto Globe & Mail): Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Kroger are all going rBST-free with their store-brand milk. Hormone manufacturer Monsanto's stock price doesn't seem to be affected. Bonus link: Toronto has the best-named wine columnist ever.

Can Sips at Home Prevent Binges? by Eric Asimov (NY Times): The Times' wine columnist calls up a few scientists to determine whether or not he should give his sons tastes of wine. Their responses give me some clue why my short-term memory has never been the same since the little project I took on as a high-school student in Belgium.

And last, Philadelphia discovers that Rachel Ray is not coming to the city to film her own travel program.

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Posted March 19 at 8:14 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Today's food sections offer a few life lessons:

In Pursuit of the God Shot by Tim Hayward (UK Guardian). Life lesson: Do not spend 1,000 pounds on home espresso devices, or pay too much attention to coffee geeks on the Internet.

Care for Body, Spirit by Colette Jenkins (Akron Beacon Journal, via the Food Times). Life lesson: After-service doughnuts do not make for healthy church goers. Kick-boxing classes do.

The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party’s Over by Kim Severson (NY Times). Life lesson: Eating too much in the name of extreme gourmandism makes you fat. This apparently comes as a surprise to some prominent gourmands.

In other, more serious news:

Soaring Wheat Costs Mean Higher Costs at Bakeries by Karen Gaudette (Seattle Times): Local bakers are fretting about food costs. The New York Times says the problem is actually global. And just to complicate matters, this little fungus is hitting Africa and Iran.

In other, not-so-serious news:

The Secret Life of Jelly Beans by Russ Parsons (LA Times). How the Turks invented America's favorite Easter treat.

A Raucous Crawl Through Vancouver Izakayas by Lessley Anderson (Chow): A guide to Japanese pubs, in case you're heading north in the next few months. If you're sticking around town, check out these two izakayas.

And in NSFW news (well, only if you have a really prudish boss):

Wal-Mart pulls turgid fun straws from its shelves after the mother of a three-year-old complains. (Thanks, Grinder).

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Posted March 12 at 10:15 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Food news stories from around the country:

Lessons From Dario Cecchini, the World’s Most Famous Butcher by Russ Parsons (LA Times): Tuscan butcher who influenced Armandino Batali and Bill Buford comes to Los Angeles and charms the hocks off the Times' star food writer.

Chefs’ Blogs - Even Sharper Than Their Knives by Regina Schrambling (LA Times): I feel a little dirty linking to two LA Times stories today, but the section's great today. Schrambling writes about chefs who blog, citing Brasa's Tamara Murphy as a trend pioneer for her 2006 Life of a Pig blog.

Another Layer of Enjoyment by Greg Kitsock (Washington Post): Black and Tans are not the only beer cocktail in your local brewpub's repertoire.

Organic Milk Option at Starbucks Never Caught On by Mateusz Perkowski (Capital Press): Northwest farming newspaper tracks Starbucks' decision to drop organic milk — apparently, customers only care that it's hormone-free.

How to Be a Foodie Without Breaking the Bank by Novella Carpenter (SF Chronicle): How does a single mother living on $1200 a month maintain her gourmet lifestyle? Shopping at Grocery Outlet, gardening in her back yard, and Dumpster diving.

Local Meat Locally Inspected by CR Roberts (Tacoma News-Tribune, via Ethicurian): Instead of trucking their cattle to Oregon, Western Washington ranchers and small-scale farmers raise money to start up a traveling abattoir service.

Bonus Link: Extreme Eating for the Wii (Chow): A competitive eating video game is set to launch in May. I hereby challenge Aimee Curl to a duel — I’ll buy the game if you host the party.

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Posted March 5 at 9:13 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Quite a grab bag of food stories this week:

Yes, MSG, the Secret Behind the Savor by Julia Moskin (NY Times): The Gray Lady gives the nod to monosodium glutamate, so, phew! It must be OK. A good article — but you can find better ones in the UK Guardian, Slate (shout out to Sara Dickerman), and my favorite, Jeffrey Steingarten's It Must've Been Something I Ate.

A Knork in the Road by Jane Black (Washington Post): Skip the article and watch the multimedia version of this article on novel silverware designs. The author doesn't give the knork a fair trial — who doesn't hold their carrots when they cut them? I was entranced by the pretty/ugly Mono Zeug ware (above), modeled on prehistoric eating implements, until I found out that a four-piece place setting costs $225.

Reclaiming True Grits by Bryant Terry (The Root): A cookbook author argues that traditional African American cuisine is much healthier, and tastier, than the modern, instant "soul food" blamed for the black community's high rates of obesity. I wish he'd press his point a little more before starting in on the recipes, but I'm still curious to try his grit cakes.

‘Aha’ Moments Change Chatham Food Owners by Francine Knowles (Chicago Sun-Times): Even though Seattle has more grocery stores per capita than anywhere I've ever lived, I'm still including this little article because it describes a finally moment that I wish would occur in other cities.

Taste: Good for You and Your Budget by J.M. Hirsch (AP/Star-Tribune): Now, this article — on how to use leftovers and cook the right amount of food — is interesting purely as a sign of the times. Though our executive branch may be denying it furiously, Minnesotans are apparently feeling the recession. If you're interested in home economy, may I suggest MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf (no relation to the restaurant of the same name)?

Bonus link: the latest installment in Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us, the best series on Serious Eats.

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Posted Feb. 27 at 9:43 am by Jonathan Kauffman

Well, it's another Wednesday morning, and the nation's newsmakers have been busy in their little hives exuding food news for us to digest. First, sorry about the cranky tone. I have a sinus infection that just won't die:

Coast to Coast, Restaurants That Count by Frank Bruni (NY Times): Apologies to all my coworkers, but I've come to loathe our tendency in Seattle to jump up and wave our hands around every time the NYT mentions our fair city. Yet here I am, pointing you to its restaurant critic's new feature on 10 restaurants outside Metropolis that "matter," because his first installment includes Tilth. (Congratulations, Maria!)

Chef Scott Simpson Returns to His First Love”�Comfort Food by Nancy Leson (Seattle Times): So for some local news, a profile of the chef behind Ballard's upcoming Lunchbox Laboratory.

Big Foot by Michael Specter (New Yorker): Speaking of local, this week's New Yorker has a long piece questioning the whole "food miles" rationale for buying local. Two notes: A) I'm posting this because it's free online right now and you'll be hearing about it for the next few weeks, but I haven't read it — that's my bus activity today. B) I wonder if this isn't just a longer, better written recap of a piece the Financial Times ran 18 months ago.

Harkin: 2002 Farm Bill Extension Most Likely Outcome by Peter Shinn (Brownfield, thanks to Ethicurian): One of the sticking points to passing the 2007 Farm Bill is that George "I'm no lame duck" Bush is threatening a veto.

I Really Hope You Said Fork by Alexandra Gill (Globe & Mail, thanks to Chow): No, you're not just getting older. Restaurants are getting louder.

Last, I leave you with a mention of new heights in food processing. On Oscar night a friend and I were agog at an ad for Freschetta PizzAmore, a frozen pizza that comes presliced, because frozen pizza isn't enough of a convenience food. Then I find a post on Serious Eats reportin that Kraft is coming up with a bagel already spread with cream cheese.

UPDATE: Just finished the New Yorker piece, and the food miles discussion was only a small part of it. And man, have reforestation projects moved to the top of my charitable giving list.

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Tuesday, May 13

Augusten Burroughs
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Town Hall, Tue., May 13, 7:30pm

The Dirtbombs, Dan Sartain, Terrible Twos
Detroit's Dirtbombs are back with their first full-length in five years. Th... More>>
Neumo's, Tue., May 13, 8:00pm, $12 adv

Dorothy Rissman
Much to the chagrin of her Wallingford neighbors, Dorothy Rissman began dum... More>>
Fetherston Gallery, Daily from Mon., April 21 until Sat., May 24, 11:00am

90 more things to do today>>