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.

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Starbucks, meet Dairy Queen. DQ, this is Starbucks.

2 comments

July 18, 2:19 PM

by Ronald Holden, Seattle Global Gourmet Examiner

Starbucks Vivanno Dairy Queen Triple Chocolate The world is upside down and bakcwards, wouldn't you agree? Food is more expensive because we're turning corn into fuel, but gas is still $4 a gallon. A study published today by Research and Markets reports, breathlessly, that 71 percent of Americans are now cooking more at home. (And cooking "gourmet" food at that.)

Meanwhile Starbucks has identified the 600 stores it intends to close. Many of them, it turns out, are in minority neighborhoods. The enthusiastic welcome given Starbucks in these communities--a sort of "we've arrived!"--is turning bitter.

In Chicago, the closings include stores in largely minority areas in the south suburbs as well as neighborhoods on Chicago's South and West Sides. "Starbucks became symbolic of a community that was changing and in transition," says the director of the Near West Side Community Development Corp. "To take that away, it's a blow to a community."

Meantime, Dairy Queen is testing new stores in urban markets, opening six stores in (of all places) Chicago.

The DQ brand has long been a brand associated with small towns and suburbs, while Orange Julius joints have rarely ventured outside shopping malls. What's their product strategy? Why, smoothies, of course. DQ wants to become known as a "treat center."

Vivanno and Frappuccino, meet Blizzard and Triple Chocolate Utopia.

Topics: Starbucks , store closures , Dairy Queen , expansion

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Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

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November 30, 4:47 PM

So there's some left over. Now what? Brown a coarsely chopped onion in olive oil. Add up to 4 cups of leftover turkey, cut into 1-inch pieces. Dust with several tablespoons of flour until golden brown. Deglaze with 1/2 cup of white wine, then add... Read More
Topics: recipe , turkey , curry , leftovers , thanksgiving , tetrazzini

Paul & Chad Mackay Open El Gaucho Bellevue

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November 28, 10:31 AM

Paul Mackay still had a day job as a flight instructor while working nights as an assistant manager for the original El Gaucho. Then his wife became pregnant with their third child. Mackay had to decide: wait for a commercial pilot's spot to open up... Read More
Topics: El Gaucho , steak , Mackay Restaurants , Bellevue

Cruelty to Vegetables, Updated

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November 26, 11:25 AM

Pity the parsnip, we wrote six months ago. Forgive the fennel. Bewail the Brussel Sprout. What sin, pray tell, did these poor crucifers originate to deserve such a tortured fate? Out of respect, the kitchen where these misdeeds took place will not be... Read More
Topics: Vegetables , brussel sprouts , fennel

Finkels Release Wood-Aged Stout

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November 24, 5:51 PM

Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, the owners of Pike Pub & Brewery, have just released their most ambitious brew yet, a barrel-aged stout called "Entire." It's a dark, fragrant beer with an aroma of espresso, velvety malt flavors, and a finish... Read More
Topics: beer , barrel-aging , stout , Pike Pub & Brewery

Thomas Friedman, Scold, Wet Blanket and WRONG

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November 23, 4:44 PM

Get this, from a journalist who should know better:I go into restaurants these days, look around at the tables often still crowded with young people, and I have this urge to go from table to table and say: “You don’t know me, but I have to... Read More
Topics: pizza , Thomas Friedman , NYTimes , steak , tuna , restaurant industry

Beaujolais Nouveau: Pitcher of Happiness

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November 21, 8:28 AM

First Avenue, third Thursday of November. Two guys, late twenties, turn into the doorway at Le Pichet. One's in a suit, the other's got his ponytail tucked into a droopy, loose-knit scrub cap. "Okay, time to speak French," he says. And he does.... Read More
Topics: Beaujolais Nouveau , Le Pichet

Harvest Vine: Something Wickedly Delicious This Way Swims

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November 20, 10:55 AM

Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez does not take his responsibilities lightly. He is not only Seattle's pre-eminent Spanish chef, he is one of the city's great chefs, period. There's incessant pressure, however, to innovate, to renew, to surprise. Potato... Read More
Topics: Harvest Vine , lamprey , Spanish , Joseba Jimenez

But If They Don't Have Stars, How Will We Know If They're Any Good?

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November 19, 3:38 PM

In the beginning, they were address books for local garages, designed for chauffeurs who needed a lube job or a tire change. In fact, the books were given away free by the Michelin tire company. The hotel and restaurant listings came later, but soon... Read More
Topics: Michelin guides , French restaurants

Bookshelf: The Flavor Bible

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November 19, 11:11 AM

Is this something new? A chef who cooks, a spouse who writes. ("He tastes, I type.") Couple of times this pre-holiday season we've seen this (welcome) phenomenon.First, there's chef Andrew Dornenburg and his wife and longtime collaborator,... Read More
Topics: chefs , cookbooks , flavor bible , karen page