FARM FRESH
Admittedly a haven for tourists, Pike Place Market is still a great place to shop downtown, if you’re willing to wend your way through the crowds of slow walkers. Take a lunchtime visit for some fresh (and maybe flying) fish, as well as less-predictable purchases like squid tubes, cheese jalapeño almonds, and canary beans. With its main entrance at First Avenue and Pike Street, the Market is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. To find a farmers market close to you, visit www.dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/farms/farmers_markets.htm.
Advance registration or reservations are recommended for most of the following events. Prices exclusive of tax and gratuity unless otherwise noted.
ON THE PLATE
Wednesday, February 28
Co-presented by Theo Chocolate—our local organic, fair-trade chocolatier—and Union Square Grill, a Chocolate Feast is exactly that: a gourmet meal with each course dressed in Theo chocolate. Menu items include: seared sea scallop with Hudson Valley foie gras, blood orange salad, and cacao nougatine; Kobe beef grilled rare and served on smoked Yukon gold potato puree with braised oxtail, garnished with chocolate curls; and, to top it off, chocolate soufflé with Grand Marnier anglaise. $75. 6:30 p.m. Union Square Grill, 621 Union St., 224-4321, www.unionsquaregrill.com. DOWNTOWN
Tuesday–Friday, March 1–March 30
If a meal at Rover’s seems too rich for your budget, try the Classics at Rover’s, a prix-fixe four-course meal that celebrates the iconic restaurant’s 20th anniversary. The menu includes several choices per course, including vichyssoise, salade Lyonnaise, boeuf bourguignon, and cherry clafouti, a traditional custardy baked dessert. $45. Rover’s Restaurant, 2808 E. Madison St., 325-7442, www.rovers-seattle.com. MADISON VALLEY
Saturday, March 3–Sunday, March 4
Venture out to Whidbey Island for the 20th Annual Penn Cove MusselFest, and sign up for a mussel chowder tasting, Penn Cove mussel raft boat tour, or, if you’re brave (or maybe foolhardy), a mussel-eating contest. Cooking demo, art walk, and studio tour are free. Tours and tastings: $5-$10. Recreation Hall, 10 N.W. Coveland St., Coupeville, 360-678-5434. WHIDBEY ISLAND
DRINK UP
Thursday, March 1
In case you need an excuse to throw one back, March is Washington Wine Month. With a view of the Sound, the Art Institute of Seattle hosts a tasting of Woodward Canyon wines with sommelier Dieter Schafer. $12, includes hors d’oeuvres. 4-6 p.m. Portfolio Restaurant, 2600 Alaskan Way, 239-2363, www.ais.edu. DOWNTOWN
BACK TO SCHOOL
Thursday, March 1
Author of 10 cookbooks, a former food editor at Seattle Magazine, and a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, Cynthia Nims explores the idea of a distinctly Northwest cuisine. A seafood expert, Nims discusses whether such favorites as crab and salmon, as well as wild mushrooms and hops, have helped create a “codified Northwest cuisine.” $8 nonmembers/$6 People for Puget Sound members. 7 p.m. REI, 222 Yale Ave. N., 382-7007, www.pugetsound.org/index/speakers. SOUTH LAKE UNION
Food and/or beverage news or events? E-mail food@seattleweekly.com.
