This place. Perfect date spot, perfect bring your mom who came to town to visit spot, perfect early breakfast spot, perfect eat-alone-trying-to-choke-back-the-tears-of-homesickness spot (kidding) (mostly) (don’t worry guys, I’m FINE, no REALLY, let me just enjoy my cassoulet in peace!)
Read MoreI have a few go-to restaurants when guests come to visit, and if they want seafood I always always always bring them to Walrus & the Carpenter. The oysters here are not messing around, and when you ask them for bread they literally turn around and cut you off fresh slices from ginormous loaves and give you a heaping dish from a mondo vat of salted butter. I repeat: vat of salted butter. COME ON. Plus they give you matchbooks and postcards here, and I am all about the freebies.
Read MoreMy first time in Seattle was for a mere two days during a job interview. I, true to form, had forgotten my phone in the cupholder of my car in Chicago, so I was in a brand new place, hopelessly lost, and scared out of my mind about what was possibly happening to my life. I somehow wound up in Hot Cakes and I kid you not, as I sat there eating molten chocolate goodness I burst into very public tears, not because I was overwhelmed by my life, but because sweet Lord in heaven, this cake is transcendent.
Read MoreWhat Seattle lacks in deep dish and Mexican food and donuts, it totally makes up for in brunch. The brunch scene in Seattle is kind of unparalleled, which makes sense if you think about the amount of coffee consumed here. Anyway. The Fat Hen is my favorite brunch place, mostly because their baked eggs are fabulous, but also because across the street is Rosellinis, my favorite Seattle bakery, and I can get a kouign amman while I wait.
Read MoreOh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. All I'm going to tell you about the Wandering Goose is that you're going to walk up, see a long line, and think, no way is whatever they're selling in there worth crowding into such a small space and waiting for 30 minutes. WRONG. It's so worth it. Make sure whatever you get has gravy on it. You're welcome.
Read MoreWhen my mom first came to visit me, I told her to brace herself because a large chunk of our time was going to be spent waiting in line on a weekday to get pasta at some James-Beard award winning pasta place I'd heard about that somehow manages to stay open by only serving four dishes for lunch on weekdays. We waited for two hours, I just about lost my mind, and I didn't think it was going to be worth it, but oh man. OH MAN. I know James Beard knows his stuff, but OH MAN! There are many places in this world that are over-hyped, but Il Corvo is not one of them. It's worth taking three hours off work to eat this pasta. Fantastico.
Read MoreThere are two kinds of people in Seattle: those that love Molly Moon's ice cream, and those that stand by Cupcake Royale. All I have to say about this is that anyone who chooses the latter has no taste in dairy and needs to sit down. Molly Moon's is far and away the best and they forever won my heart when they served me Arnold Palmer ice cream this summer. Plus, they've teamed up with Hello Robin and are now serving cookie magic. I'm forever in their debt.
Read MoreYes, a second ice cream choice. I can't believe I'm even writing this one, because on paper it sounds like blasphemy and against everything I stand for to endorse Frankie and Jo's because...because...there is no dairy in this ice cream. It's not even cream. It's PLANTS. Which sounds utterly horrifying but, dangit, this stuff is so good!! They don't even add SUGAR to some of their flavors, which can only mean they're somehow hexing me as I eat it to get me to like it, but I don't even care. The Tahini Chocolate makes me sing.
Read MoreI've gotta be honest, if two of my favorite Seattle friends didn't live in West Seattle, I prooooobably would never spend any time there. But I'm glad they do live there, because they introduced me to Buddha Ruksa, which means they introduced me to the crispy duck at Buddha Ruksa, and if that isn't worth a trip to West Seattle, I don't know what is (jk Sydney and Ben, you are, you are).
Read MoreA couple months after I moved to Seattle I was getting my hair done and I forgot that because I basically have a small grizzly bear living on my head it takes about three hours and I hadn't eaten anything and I get really, really desperate when hungry. Tacos Chukis was next door and after my hair was done, I sprinted inside, ordered three Tacos Chukis, and sprinted to my car. I had every intention of waiting the five-minute drive to eat them, but that intention lasted a half a second before I tore into them like a maniac in the front seat. When the dust settled and I looked up, there was a school bus parked outside with about fifteen children staring at me, slack-jawed. If that's not a ringing endorsement of the deliciousness of Tacos Chukis, I don't know what is.
Read MoreLet's just say that one time I went to Brimmer & Heeltap when it was a little chilly outside and they brought me a tartan blanket to curl up in as I drank my mimosa and ate my brunch. And let's just say that their brunch menu has something called "Bread" (already a fan) that is a slab, an actual slab, of bread toasted to perfection and slathered with peanut butter FROSTING and homemade jam. You have my heart forever, B&H.
Read MoreI don't know what it is about Seattle, but there is a shocking lack of decent Indian and Mexican food here. Nirmal's is an outlier, though, and is my go-to spot for Indian. When you go, make sure you ask what the chef's specials are--he is unbelievably creative and will feed you something that combines different Middle Eastern and Asian traditional styles for a fusion you didn't realize you were missing in your life.
Read MoreI'm not a crier, but there are three things that get me every time: soldiers coming home on commercials, any book or movie about WW2, and a really delicious meal. I've been known to take a bite of something and start blubbering like a fool. This happened to me when I first took a bite of Delancey pizza, and I'm not even a little embarrassed about it.
Read MoreOk, I won't lie to you, I was immediately skeptical when I first went to Junebaby because everyone I talked to described it as "Upscale Southern" which, for anyone that's spent time eating their way the South, usually means flavor is inevitably sacrificed for the sake of presentation or Yankee pride. Then I had a bite of the fried catfish and grits. GAME OVER. Pinkie's up, long live Junebaby.
Read MoreSo I'll be the first to admit that I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to sushi. I can tell when I like it, but my palate isn't exactly sophisticated enough to tell you why, or if the fish is fresh, or if I like what they've got going on with the fish eggs (I think I like them? But the idea of them kind of freaks me out? And the color? I don't know?) Plus, I'm kind of weird about sauces, and I've found most sub-par sushi restaurants hide the fact that their fish isn't fresh by drenching it in mayo (BLERG). BUT. I've had a lot of sushi in Seattle, and I can tell that Momiji is out of this world fresh and tasty. I just realized this whole description doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement BUT just trust me. It's the best.
Read MoreSome people will tell you their love language is quality time or words of affirmation or gift giving...I will tell you that my love language is dim sum. Take me to dim sum, I'm putty in your hands. Dim sum covers a multitude of wrongs. Dim sum bears all things and endures all things. I love dim sum. It almost destroyed me to leave Chicago's Chinatown because that meant I had to leave Ming Hin Cuisine, but I will tell you that Harbor City BBQ has become a really good stand-in. Runners up include Din Tai Fung (but it's not as good as the OG in Hong Kong, I will tell you that, and is overpriced which, while we're on that note, totally flies in the face of the idea that low low prices are supposed to be part of the BEAUTY of dim sum, am I wrong here??) and Regent Bakery & Cafe, but Harbor City is your Seattle dim sum answer, hands down.
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