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The Bottom of Things

20130428-080257.jpg Actually, make that the backs and bottoms of things, but I thought that was a rather suggestive heading. My walk yesterday morning of the Market had me looking up, down, and all around. I had never looked at the backside of the iconic Public Market Center sign. Sure, the Space Needle might be what first comes to mind when folks from far away think of an image of Seattle. But I am so incredibly fond of the above sign. The Market will always be the heart of Seattle to me. The sign from behind looks strong, formidable–just as it should. After taking that shot, I started seeing the interest in the backs and bottoms of things on my stroll. The below produce looking so vibrant. The bottoms producing such visual interest. Beauty is really swirling all around us. We just have to keep our eyes open to see it. Something I remind myself often.

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glassybaby Shine at Watson Kennedy

20130427-070757.jpg When I was asked by the fab folks at glassybaby to carry their incredibly special vessels at Watson Kennedy, I jumped at the chance. Many of you know of my love of glassybaby, as well as the huge amount of respect I carry towards the company and the philanthropic good works they do. We are pleased to be focusing in on one particular glassybaby, Shine. 10% of the purchase price of each Shine with be donated to Stand Up To Cancer. It is an organization I also greatly believe in, having lost my father to melanoma 25+ years ago. Shine also has a very WK vibe to it, in my very favorite orange hue. We are proud to be adding it to our daily mix of goods.

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Sosio’s Fruit and Produce

20130414-094102.jpg My Saturday morning stroll around the Market was highlighted by a stop at one of my very favorite stalls, Sosio’s. The produce and fruit is always just the very freshest, the displays are like still life paintings, and the folks who work there are just incredibly helpful & nice. The stand is named after Sosio Manzo, an immigrant farmer who would sell his own produce over 50 years ago at the Market. The current owners kept the name in tribute to the Manzo family. There is just a feeling you get when you are in the space of pride of place. Everyone is a wealth of knowledge on what they are selling, and as stated above, just darn nice. Here is what caught my eye–it will be fun cooking all this up in the next few days.

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Marge Granola Has Arrived!

20130405-070919.jpg Our first order of Seattle-made Marge granola arrived at the shop yesterday. This stuff is so good! Here is a listing of the ingredients.
Organic rolled oats, pecans, almonds, organic pumpkin seeds, coconut, organic maple syrup, organic sesame seeds, olive oil, dried cranberries, kosher salt, cinnamon, cardamom.
Seriously, all good. Not a bit of filler or some odd thing. I have been eating it right out of the bag as a healthy snack. Also amazing with yogurt or with milk as a breakfast cereal. The packaging making it ready to give as a sweet little gift.



 

 

A Simple Dinner at Luc

20130404-065141.jpg I promised I would try and highlight a Seattle eatery each month, so Luc is the next establishment on the culinary Emerald City tour. Luc is owned by James Beard award winning chef, Thierry Rautureau, of Rover’s fame. Luc is a French-American café and bar named after the The Chef in the Hat’s (Thierry’s nickname) father, Luc Rautureau. It is a relaxed place, focused on casual dining in contrast to the much more formal and fine dining experience at Rover’s. The food rocks!

20130404-070421.jpg My season ending white bean cassoulet was spectacular. I start going into mourning that the dish is going away for the warm months ahead, so I have it every chance I can in the Spring. TPS had the steak frites, which he said was divine, and it looked equally divine. We washed it all down with a carafe of Luc’s Syrah, from Wilridge Winery. Which was spot-on with what we were having for dinner.

20130404-071030.jpg Luc has a relaxed yet lively bistro vibe, perfect for a simple Wednesday meal out. Perfect really any night of the week. Luc

I snapped the top photo of the neon Luc sign as we were leaving. The Camera+ app I use for taking photos with my iPhone was having troubles adjusting to how bright the sign was with the contrast of the night sky. I kind of like how hazy it turned out though. Happy Thursday!



 

 

Simple & Crisp

20130314-063101.jpg Finding new things for Watson Kennedy happens sometimes when I least expect it. A few weeks ago I was sitting with dearest friends celebrating one of their birthdays. Among the assortment of gifts given were these delightful dried citrus fruit crisps. We were all smitten. After a quick Google search, turns out these delightful edibles are made right here in Seattle. A quick e-mail later, and within days the delightful owner was dropping off boxes at the shop. These things are amazing.

20130314-063644.jpg Perfect eaten straight out of the container, they are equally divine added to a glass of champagne. That is what occurred at the birthday breakfast. A few suggestions on the top of the box to pair them with were: tea, cheese, ice cream, coffee, chocolate and wine.

20130314-064310.jpg The orange and blood orange a yummy hit of citrus in whatever form you choose to pair them with. The clever packaging making for a ‘just right’ hostess gift too.



 

 

Dandy Daffodils

20130228-070715.jpg I was in need of fresh flowers for home yesterday so I did a quick run through the Market stalls for a bit of inspiration. This solo bucket of daffodils being a sure sign that Spring is really coming. The sweet, sweet delicate yellow petals a welcome sight for the eyes and the soul.

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Oddfellows Cafe + Bar

20130205-061558.jpg As promised, I thought it would be fun to highlight a dining establishment each month here in Seattle. For those of you readers from afar planning a visit in the future, I know we always love to hear about and read recommendations by local folk when we visit a city. For you Seattle readers, like us, we find we frequent the same spot time and again, so it is always helpful to hear about someone’s thoughts & experiences about a place we have yet to try. This leads me to Oddfellows. It is about a 7 minute walk from The Gainsborough, and is owned by Linda Derschang who we have gotten to know this past year. You might remember the post I did about her fab apartment in Chelsea that we stayed at when we were in New York last August for the show. Oddfellows is located in the Pike/Pine area that has become crazy popular in the last few years. It is also on the same block as The Elliott Bay Book Company. Sort of a match made in heaven if you ask me. We made a stop in before dinner and loaded up on new reading material. All that perusing of books made us quite hungry. Oddfellows has an Old World vibe that I adore. The feeling of a place that seems like it has been there forever, and I mean way before it actually opened in 2008. You just feel comfortable in the space. Rather than an extensive menu, they concentrate on a few things done well–hearty comforting fare. So comforting in fact, that most of the day yesterday I was looking forward to what I knew I was going to have for dinner. Meatballs with Mascarpone and polenta. Yes, you read that correctly. Just typing it at this early hour makes me hungry again for it. TPS had the same thing he had on our last visit too. A Porchetta sandwich of slow roasted pork with rosemary aioli and a side of fries. Add a glass of red wine and we were very happy campers. A perfect simple Monday night dinner out. The walk home with our bag of books completed the lovely evening.

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Sitka & Spruce

20130109-054019.jpg First off, a huge thanks to all of you who sent e-mails, posted comments, left texts & voicemails, in congrats of our 25th anniversary yesterday. We felt the love envelop us the entire day. Merci, merci.

I got to thinking a few weeks ago about how I write about dining experiences when we travel, but I don’t write about Seattle spots. Silly me. Which is a perfect lead in to Sitka & Spruce. It is just a few blocks from our home, so we thought it would be a great spot last night for our celebratory dinner. Plus it is next to Taylor Shellfish where we love to stop in and have oysters. We were set.

Chef/owner Matt Dillon has garnered all sorts of acclaim over the years, and it is easy to see why. Using the freshest, seasonal ingredients, he prepares simple dishes filled with amazing flavor. Last evening we thought we would order a variety of things and share. Here is a sampling. Matsutake mushrooms with chicken giblets, brussels sprouts, with an egg on toast. This was not our entire meal, it was just one dish. Another. Smoked trout, potatoes, crème fraîche, horseradish & rye bread. Another. Marinated beets with hazelnut tarator, sheep’s feta with a dusting of dukkah. And to top it all off, roasted chicken with house made yogurt, caramelized butter and turnips. All the above with fresh sourdough bread that is made at one of Matt’s other establishments, The Corson Building, which was served with duck graisserons. Add fab wine and dessert and it was a slow walk up the hill home. The atmosphere is warm, the service spot-on. For a special evening out or just a night you don’t want to cook and you want a comforting meal. All so good! Sitka & Spruce



 

 

Snapshots from the Pike Place Market

20121111-100032.jpg Yesterday was one of those beyond glorious days in Seattle. The kind of day that brings out people in full force, descending on the Market to soak up every bit of sunshine and enjoy the crisp Autumnal air. My ritual Saturday morning walk around the Market before I open the shop at 10 was filled with still-life beautiful produce.

20121111-100604.jpg And heirloom tomatoes! That is right, I said tomatoes. I was kind of blown away to still see local tomatoes–they were incredible on our salad last evening for dinner with our niece Haley who is visiting us from New York.

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20121111-101002.jpg Just such gorgeous stuff at every turn. It was a weather day that I will keep in my back pocket for memory, when the rain has shown up for too many days in a row. That stellar November day will be a lovely memory to look back on.