Ronald Holden has been writing an award-winning wine and dining blog, Cornichon.org, since 2004. A Northwest native, Belltown resident and unreconstructed Francophile, has worked at KING TV, Seattle Weekly and Chateau Ste. Michelle. He has published five guidebooks to the wine country of Washington and Oregon and is the wine columnist for The NW Magazine. He is also the director of wine tours for The International Vineyard, restaurant reviewer for Belltown Messenger and editorial director of DeliciousCity.com.
Artemis Café, on a gentrified sidestreet at the intersection of Bellevue Avenue, Bellevue Place and Bellevue Court, perches on Capitol Hill's western slope, but it's very much the sort of place every neighborhood needs: friendly, airy, moderately priced. There's a $6 cocktail, the Bitter End, made with gin, campari and grapefruit freshly squeezed by barman Chuck Bourg. The kitchen, headed by Nick Castleberry (late of Sitka & Spruce), turns out upscale comfort food (seared scallops, pork belly, venison) for under $20.
This is the kind of place Yelpers can't stand; it's not a high-energy corporate outpost that emphasizes phony "customer service" over good food and laid-back atmosphere. Castleberry himself responded to one particularly whiney post with a rousing Cheney-ism. Way to go, Nick!
From time to time, we're going to answer the question everyone is always asking your friendly Food Critic: what's your favorite restaurant?Well, there are no permanent answers. Restaurant preferences, like ethics, are situational. What kind of food?... Read More Topics:
French ,
pike place market ,
best ,
market fresh
Two of these beer glasses hold a full liter (34 ounces) of brew; that's the way they drink it at Oktoberfest and the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. (Price is 8 euros this year, about $12.) The third... Read More Topics:
beer ,
oktoberfest ,
fremont ,
munich
For seven decades, Ivar's has been Seattle's go-to spot for clam chowder and fish & chips. Still is. Fully a third of the touirsts who eat at Pier 54 order their seafood fried. But things are changing. A new chef, 33-year-old Chris Garr,... Read More Topics:
Ivar's ,
anniversary menus ,
scallops
Blackbird's menu in a happier timeWest Seattle's Blackbird is no more. Owners Peter Morse and Eric Cozens sent an email to the West Seattle Blog with the official announcement.With mixed emotions we are announcing that Blackbird Bistro has been... Read More Topics:
blackbird ,
west seattle ,
bohemian
It's been known as the Horse Heaven Hills since the mid-19th century, this area roughly 50 miles long and 20 miles wide, but not until the legenday Dr. Walter Clore came along in the 1970s did anyone think to plant wine grapes alongside the wheat.. Now,... Read More Topics:
horse heaven hills ,
washington wine ,
viticulture
Grilled sardines on the spit at Kushibar From a Q & A with Anthony Bourdain today in the Kansas City Star. Are there any food kicks that you get on? I’m on a yakitori jag. There’s sort of an underground scene of casual Japanese... Read More
Keren Brown, who writes the FranticFoodie blog at the Pee Eye, posted a link this week to an article about foods that cause bad breath and stain your teeth.To counteract bad breath, Keri Glassman (a registered dietician who's paid to dispense her advice... Read More Topics:
amazon ,
wine sales ,
straws
Debate continues over the value of social networking sites as indicators of restaurant quality, and whether this is good news or bad news for restaurant critics. I mean, everyone's a critic, right? Besides, everyone has a right to his own opinion,... Read More Topics:
online guides ,
NY Times ,
Zagat ,
Yelp ,
Urban Spoon
Quick toast to The Local Vine, just named one of America's ten hot new wine bars in the upcoming issue of Bon Appetit. Co-owner Sarah Munson was celebrating this weekend with a couple of visiting winemakers: Tom Hedges (Hedges Family Estate) and... Read More Topics:
the local vine ,
wine bars ,
gourmet magazine