roll with jen

When you find yourself looking for the newest baking sensation to hit Seattle, go low tech by setting your smart phone aside and instead, let the smell of butter intuitively guide your nose to Neil Robertson’s petite bakery in Capitol Hill, Crumble & Flake. Located on the corner of a powerhouse block next to Rachel [...]

When I see a business professing to be the real deal in its name, I am instantly suspicious.  It is like calling a restaurant The French Bistro which likely means you will see french fries, cookies molded in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and other faux-Parisian cuisine on the menu. But after falling in love with Switzerland after [...]

How can Wallingford’s Art of the Table get any better, you may ask?  Art of Table with a bar as diminutive as the 4-year old off-the-beaten path restaurant. Chef/owner Dustin Ronspies reopened his doors on Friday after 2 months of teaming up with a contractor to convert his office into a bar/lounge. Here is the lowdown [...]

Instead of starting off Sunday with the usual routine of hopping on my bike and heading to the Ballard Farmers market, I walk up Fremont Avenue to attend my first pig butchering class at  Dot’s Delicatessen with Dot’s owner Miles James and Il Corvo’s Mike Easton. Here are the 9 key learnings from the 11am-4pm [...]

I recently sat down with these engaging and down-to-earth siblings to get a first look at Trufl and the inside scoop on these guys. What is Trufl and why is there a need for it? Dudley:  Wes and I developed Trufl (pronounced like truffle) as a means to provide people with a convenient and informative [...]

West Seattle’s Ma’ono is the type of place where I can get styled up on a Friday night, but leave the white tablecloths, crudos and other superfluous fancy pleasantries aside. For those of you who love a modern and clean interior where the focal point is the kitchen, rest assured: husband/wife duo Mark and Marjorie [...]

Woohoo!  Now the discerning Thai food loving people of Seattle can get their fill of braised beef cheek steamed buns and noodle-less vegetarian pad thai more than just on Monday evenings when Wiley Frank (of Lark) and Poncharee Kounpungchart’s (aka PK) set up their pop-up shop at La Bete.  Little Uncle kicked off weekday lunch [...]

As one of the few people in Seattle who actually liked Ballard’s now defunct ”A Caprice Kitchen” and a frequent patron of their weekend brunch, I walk into The Fat Hen with an inherent loyalty to the former establishment that makes me want to dislike the new regime.   White seats and light-colored counters replace dark and out-of-date [...]

I am always on the prowl for casual restaurants in the mid-price range.  The type of dining experience you can seek as guilt-free refuge when you get home to find the only non-fuzzy items in the fridge are the condiments.  Or the perfect place with a hip and happening vibe where you can meet a friend without spending a ton of dough. [...]

From the hustle and bustle of the happening streets of Capitol Hill, I step into Canon’s 33-seat watering hole with its dark-wood finishes, black leather booths, gramophone, old school cash register, Prohibition articles and other 1920s knick knacks on the wall.  Along with bartenders clad in tightly knotted ties and vests, I feel like I have been teleported back to the 1920-1933 era of [...]