Matt Dillon

Moonshine, Urban Farming, and Other Food News

Union Dinner Events, Done & To Do

South Seattle Buzz

The Corson Building Finally Opens

Interview That Didn't Make It Into Print: Corson Building's Matt Dillon

Seattle Semifinalists for the 2009 Beard Awards

The list was just released. There are two more rounds of judging before the awards are presented May 4, but here's who made it from Seattle:

Cochon555 Roundup: Fat Ruled

Should have posted this yesterday, but I got caught up making syrups for the Seattle Weekly Food Awards (more on that later). Sunday night's Cochon555 event happened in a beautiful little pocket of dramatic sunshine, right on the water at the Bell Harbor Convention Center. Five chefs, five special p ... More >>

Meat Beet Manifesto

Sitka & Spruce founder’s Georgetown venture is a reluctant restaurant.

Hobbit Hole

Small, dark, and rustic

Jan. 17-24, 2007

Billy Wilder in post-war Berlin, and William S. Burroughs in '70 Portland.

Fischer Juggles Gigs Between OKOK and Damien Jurado

They pay the bills, so he can get his art done.

Factotum

Opens at Egyptian, Fri., Sept. 1. Rated R. 94 minutes.

Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

Opens at Metro, Fri., July 21. Rated PG-13. 97 minutes.

Freeloader

You, Me and Dupree overstays its welcome.

Summer! Movies!

Say bye-bye to arty, it's time to party.

Earthly Delights

Eastlake's tiny Sitka & Spruce brings neighbors together for seasonal specialties.

David Lasky

Eastlake's tiny Sitka & Spruce brings neighbors together for seasonal specialties.

Crash

Lions Gate Home Ent., $28.98.

Crash

Also: Don't Move, Head-On, and Twin Sisters.

Travelogged

The scenery outweighs the story in Matt Dillon's directorial debut.

8. Hi and goodbye

More clubs left than began, but the news isn't all bad.

Washington at the Market, California in the Kitchen

When I turned in my first draft of this week's review of Anchovies & Olives, my editor said, "It sounds like you're being overly polite about the place and weren't that enthusiastic about it." Not true! I replied. Smart food, smart formula, smart service -- he's got a winner of a restaurant. But the ... More >>

Voracious Highlights of the Week

A short recap of what our bloggers were up to this week: Maggie gives the personal rundown on the oyster-friendly wine competition she judged at, and by "judged" I mean "ate as many oysters as she could before they noticed"; pre-tastes Kalua sliders at Seattle's upcoming Hawaiian-Korean truck; pres ... More >>

You Have Three Weeks Left to Say Goodbye to the Eastlake Sitka & Spruce

Joey Anchondo​It has been no secret: Matt Dillon is planning on moving Sitka & Spruce this spring to 1531 Melrose Ave. to become neighbors with Tamara Murphy's new Terraplata. But Dillon's just announced, via S&S's website, that the original location will shut down as of December 30 to prepare ... More >>

The Top 10 Dishes of 2009

Our critic savors the highlights of a million-calorie year.

Review: Pop Start

Will “pop-up” restaurants prove enough of a force to forever alter the culinary landscape?

Grillaxin' with Jason Stratton, Part Two

​Part two of our interview with Spinasse chef and karaoke enthusiast Jason Stratton. You can read part one here. Check back tomorrow for more Stratton action. Yesterday, you mentioned the importance of history, of understanding how certain dishes became what we still eat today. Though preser ... More >>

Grillaxin' with Christina Choi, Part One

​Christina Choi is a familiar face to Seattle Farmer's Markets shoppers. As co-founder, along with Jeremy Faber, of Foraged & Found Edibles, which supplies local wild ingredients -- berries, nettles, mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns -- to many of the area's top restaurants, Choi's knowledge of the ... More >>

Tom Douglas, Jerry Traunfeld and Canlis Lead a Robust Crop of Seattle-Based Beard Award Semifinalists

Kenneth DundasSpring Hill's Fuller is among a group of Seattle food folk who hope to be Bearded.​The list of James Beard Award semifinalists is out, and it's chockablock with Seattle-based restaurants, vintners, and chefs, including Spring Hill's Mark Fuller, the subject of this week's three-p ... More >>

Pellegrini Dinners Back at the Corson Building

​When Wylie Bush (of Joe Bar) and Matt Dillon (of Sitka & Spruce, former sous at The Herbfarm, and one of America's Best New Chefs in 2007, according to Food Wine magazine) opened the Corson Building (5609 Corson Avenue South) back in the summer of 2008, it was a radically old-fashioned kind ... More >>

A Little Bit More on Nettletown

​Earlier today, in Morning Food News, Erika Hobart talked about the opening of Nettletown (the really, really new restaurant just opened by Christina Choi and her partner, Matt Dillon, in Dillon's old Sitka & Spruce space at 2238 Eastlake Avenue). Personally, I've been watching the blog posts ... More >>

Versus: Morel Dilemma

The Dish The earthy flavor and spongy texture of a morel mushroom only adds to its allure. These mushrooms are only available a few weeks each Spring, becoming more elusive as the weather warms. These distinct mushrooms aren't easy to find, either. They congregate near trauma sites in the forest wh ... More >>

Morning Food News: Matt Dillon's Bar Coming Soon to Capitol Hill

​Capitol Hill lushes are getting all the good news this week. Matt Dillon's newest, wine-infused venture is set to open at the end of this month at Melrose Market, according to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. Bar Ferdinand will serve beer, wine, and cocktails, as well as small plates like olives, ... More >>

Openings & Closings: West Seattle Gets a Trader Joe's, Downtown Acquires (Another) Swanky Steakhouse, & More

Trader Joe's addictive kettle corn.​It's a short but sweet week in Seattle restaurant news. First off, West Seattle is getting its very own Trader Joe's at 4545 Fauntleroy Way SW, a space formerly occupied by a car dealership. But don't hold your breath. It isn't scheduled to open until 2011. ... More >>

Greatest Hits and What You Missed: Hot Dogs, Donuts, Chuck Norris, Critics and Criminals

Because sometimes your hatred is a badge of honor​Hey, you know what? I think we managed to make it through this entire week without once mentioning the World Cup. Which is remarkable because, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans couldn't give less of a crap about how A ... More >>

Versus: A Morel Dilemma

Edible ‘shrooms, two ways.

Melrose Place Welcomes New Neighbor

​Bar Ferdinand (1531 Melrose Ave., 682-1333) is now open in the Melrose Project on Capitol Hill. "The name was inspired by the Ferdinand story about the young bull who doesn't want to fight in the ring, but would rather chill in the field and smell the flowers," says Marc Papineau, who owns th ... More >>

Melrose Market Is Enough to Fundamentally Alter the Orgasms of Yuppies

One of Thundering Hooves' cattle, eager to turn itself into yuppie chow for sale at Rain Shadow Meats.​This time I'm not writing about an individual business; I'll be describing an entire BUILDING: the Melrose Market. Melrose Market should probably have been named "Class Warfare Allegory" be ... More >>

Melrose Market Street Fair

One of Thundering Hooves' cattle, eager to turn itself into yuppie chow for sale at Rain Shadow Meats.​This time I'm not writing about an individual business; I'll be describing an entire BUILDING: the Melrose Market. Melrose Market should probably have been named "Class Warfare Allegory" be ... More >>

Tonight: Titus Andronicus at the Tractor, People Under the Stairs at Neumos, Modern English at the Triple Door, Melrose Market Street Fair

​Titus Andronicus, with Free Energy, Shakes. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9 p.m. $12. New Jersey's Titus Andronicus likes to show off their book smarts - they named their band after a Shakespeare play, and now their second record, this year's The Monitor, is probably the f ... More >>

Rene Redzepi Dazzles Mistral Kitchen With Caramel Marrow, Rejects Scandinavian Metal

This ceremonial Viking hammer was used to crush ice (and enemy skulls) at Mistral Kitchen. Somehow I thought Thor's Hammer would have more lightning bolts shooting out of it.​Rene Redzepi is the head chef of Noma. Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, Noma was recently voted BEST RESTAURANT IN THE W ... More >>

Resolution for 2011: Eat More Balls

Photo by Leslie KellyWho wouldn't want to eat more chocolate balls?​No, silly. I'm not talking about Rocky Mountain Oysters or, as those tender calf testicles are called in Montana, swinging steaks. Instead I'm talking about meatballs, specifically the spectacular meatball sandwich at Salumi, ... More >>

Looking Back: Capitol Hill and Ballard Ruled the Restaurant Scene in 2010

High 5 Pie on Capitol Hill.​In 2010, Seattle was abuzz with restaurant closings and openings, a result of the volatile economy. Capitol Hill was the busiest of the neighborhoods, with a lengthy list of new pie shops, Thai restaurants, and bars, with closings to match. Ballard wasn't far behind ... More >>

Awards Season: James Beard Award Finalists Announced

His James Beardiness himself, cooking what appears to be a delicious pan of sticks.​We've already run down the list of semifinalists for this year's James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. And late last week we were able to bring you word of an early win by Seattle's own FareStart as the James ... More >>

Ethan Stowell, Empire Builder

The "new Tom Douglas" couldn't be more different than the vintage.

Nettletown's Troll Cuisine

An Eastlake eatery that's a magnet for Hobbit enthusiasts.

Taylor Made: Raw Geoduck With Serrano Ham, Apple, Lamb's Lettuce, and Truffle

Photo by Julien Perry​If 27-year old Taylor Thornhill, the new chef de cuisine at Mistral Kitchen, could pick just three things to keep on the menu, one of them would be raw or cured fish (find out what his other two picks are in part two of Grillaxin). While geoduck isn't technically a fish, ... More >>

The Long Walk Provides Cannon Fodder for Critics of Public Arts Funding

​We're generally fans of public arts funding here at Seattle Weekly. Really we are. But there are times when we understand why the Dori Monsons of the world get their boxers in a bunch over taxpayer money going to such a subjective discipline, and this weekend's publicly funded Long Walk, effe ... More >>

Snackdown! Capitol Hill vs. Central District

​Our fourth Neighborhood Snackdown semi-final match pits Capitol Hill (victorious over Queen Anne) against the Central District (survivor of a grudge match with Columbia City.) Which is the better neighborhood for eating?

The Suadero: Sitka & Spruce goes South on Mondays

​While many restaurants go dark at the beginning of the workweek, The GastroGnome, Naomi Bishop, is here to inform you of good eating options where the lights stay on Monday nights. The Suadero's menu declares that it serves "the food of the 'malafacha,'" but malafacha, meaning 'poorly dresse ... More >>