First, the Voracious blog gave us the good news: Capitol Hill Vietnamese warhorse Monsoon celebrated 12 years in business last week by plying its neighbors with free booze. Also, John Sundstrom of Lark was crowned Prince of Pork at the annual Cochon 555 pig-cooking competition, qualifying for the big dance where a King (or Queen) of Pork will be chosen. And several other Seattle-area chefs had a very good week when the semifinalists for the James Beard restaurant and chef awards were announced.
Canlis was all over the news last week with a double shot of social-networking genius: first, an online campaign to get their guy, Jason Franey, named as Food & Wine magazine’s “People’s Best New Chef”; second, a hidden Morse code scavenger hunt announcing the time and date for a two-night pop-up being done by Franey. And for those of you not impressed by James Beard Awards, pop-ups, or the finest of fine dining, we also listed the seven most calorie-intensive TV dinners. Why? Because we love you no matter what you eat.
There was some bad news too, like the loss of Bernie & Boys Market Place (11225 First Ave.) in Top Hat, which is closing after 100 years in business. The silver lining is that the beloved market—”home of the live butcher”—is looking to downsize and possibly move to a new location in the future.
The Seattle Food Geek was there for the unveiling of Nathan Myhrvold‘s hotly anticipated (and weighty) cookbook, Modernist Cuisine, and reported from the launch party. The Surly Gourmand took on Big Mario’s, porn legend Ron Jeremy, and Shakespeare all in one extended howl of weirdness and pizza. We staged a dumpling battle between Bellevue newcomer Din Tai Fung and U District classic Mandarin Chef, and got you the details on the moving dates for Zippy’s, which is pulling up stakes in Highland Park and moving to White Center in April. And when all that was done, we also told you where to find hot women flipping free flapjacks on International Pancake Day—but you’ll just have to find your way over to Voracious (seattleweekly.com/voracious) for details.
