NewsBit: The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants - How many have you visited?

This is a list that is created after polling top chefs, well respected food critics and well-known restaurateurs - you can find the full list at: http://www.theworlds50best.com/

 

Awards night video:

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Real Farm-to-table experiment ends in a 6 course tasting menu - NY Mag: Splotch and Me http://t.co/BwFjClt

This is a story about Splotch the pig and his journey into the culinary world - literally.  It made me recall the year in my youth when some friends of the family asked if we wanted them to raise some chickens for us.  The chicks were so cute.  Little did I know that I would eventually be asked to help butcher the poor things.  The whole thing just weirded me out.  Perhaps that's one of the reasons I don't eat meat...I will not lie though, I do remember that farm-raised, free-range, organic chicken tasting very good & 100% better than what we got at the store.

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My New Favorite Game Online - www.knoword.org I'm hoping to give my vocabulary a jolt :)

I was hopping around the Internet and discovered a cool site for word geeks like me - http://www.knoword.org. I see a new addiction in the making!  This is actually a game that presents you with the definition of a word and the word's first letter, then it's up to you to fill in the rest of the word for points; the faster you go the better.  You'll be hooked soon :) 

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No, no, no...give me a million dollars!

Remember the days of chain letters asking for money?  This is way better!  A video and a list of people you're addressing with your message - funny bit of humor:

The guy even made a follow-up:

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Sneak Peek of Eltana: Let's Get Down To Serious Business - Real Bagels in Capitol Hill

I had the chance to get a preview of the bagels at Eltana yesterday.  You will definitely want to check this place out.  If you've tried Montreal  bagels and have been missing them, this will certainly help fill a void.  The bagels at Eltana are not meant to be exact copies of the Montreal bagel, but they really do capture the flavor and texture of the Montreal bagel.  You can be sure Eltana will be your only true bagel shop in Seattle for a while.  Give it a try for yourselves today during their soft open!  They are fully open for business starting on Sunday.

Eltana is making bagels the right way - starting with great ingredients and a good bagel recipe.  They mix up the dough and hand-rolling their bagels.

Once the bagels are ready they are boiled in water which has a few usual extras in it like honey.

The bagels are seeded with sesame seeds or poppy seeds at their seeding station.

Then it's off to the wood-fired gas oven.

The hot, fresh bagels are ready.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Bagels are at the heart of what Eltana does and they have chosen to really showcase that.  All of it is within sight and their display is fantastic.

 

 

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Some Of My Favorite Food Books In 2010 featuring Ethan Stowell and Shauna James Ahern & Daniel Ahern

So many great food & drink related books were released this year.  It was really tough to keep up, but very fun trying even if it meant just hitting the highlights.  I only got through just a fraction of all the books of my list.  Hope you get the chance to check some of these out especially my two local favorites:

Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen: Bold Cooking from Seattle's Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook A Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, and Tavolàta

Having dined at each of Ethan Stowell's Seattle-area restaurants, I find that his latest book really gives insight into the experience he aspires to create for his dinners.  Ethan starts this book by describing his ideal dinner: "There are two of you --cozy, but not alone.  Laughter and music float around you, as does the muted percussion of silver on porcelain.  There's that soft light that makes everyone look better and a bottle of wine on the table.  It doesn't have to be pricey, just good."  His book is a collection of dishes not unlike you would find at his restaurants - tasty combinations of simple, but high-quality ingredients.  These are recipes that have a reliance on good technique and Ethan is able to convey this throughout the book with a good amount of pictures.  

 

Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern's Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef

 You don't have to be on a gluten-free diet to enjoy this book, you simply have to share Shauna & Danny's love for good food.  Many think that a dietary restriction means a severely limited diet, but the recipes in this book prove that it doesn't have to be like that.  In fact, for Shauna, having to go glutten-free meant getting introduced to new foods that she hadn't tried before.  The recipes in this book are full of flavor and full of warmth as they mingle in the story of their family.  I had the chance to feast on some of these recipes at the lunch they hosted at the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle.  It would be lovely to meet them someday :)

Here are some of my other favorites:

Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours

by Dorie Greenspan

 

This is approachable French home cooking.  Dorie includes some classic dishes and plenty of tips.

 

Thai Street Food

by David Thompson

 

I picked this one up after my trip to S.E. Asia  and it took me back to the delicious street food that I thoroughly enjoyed.  These recipes are fantastic!

 

Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys

by David Tanis

 

Ahh...the talent of David Tanis.  This is a fun book and gives you ideas for times you want to cook for just you or for a big group.

 

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Load Up Your Kitchen With More Stuff

There are a ton of great deals to be found right now!  I strolled through a few stores in downtown Seattle and saw a ton of sales and discounts.  This time of year is often an ideal time to stock up on kitchen gear and books.  It does require some research and a little bit of being at the right place at the right time.  Here are some ideas to get you started on what's hot right now:

DeMarle 2409 Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

 

Microplane 40020 Grater/Zester

 

Wilton 2105-459 Excelle Elite 3-Tier Cooling Rack

 

Wilton 570-1121 Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set

 

Oxo 73281 OXO Good Grips Pastry Scraper

 

Fred M Cup Measuring Matroyshkas, Set of 6 Dry Measuring Cups

Baker's Edge Nonstick Edge Brownie Pan

 

Prepara Herb Savor

 

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An Evening In With Top Pot

I have been craving Top Pot Doughnuts for at least a couple of weeks now.  For those who are not from Seattle, Top Pot are some of the best doughnuts in town.  At Top Pot you can pick up a Classic Old Fashioned, Apple Fritters and filled doughnuts among others.  They offer more than 40 different types of doughnuts.  I love going there on a crisp rainy weekend day to grab a doughnut an Ovaltine Latte.

I got a Chocolate Iced Ring and this doughnut is huge!  I'm really going to enjoy this...  

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Awesome! Paul McCartney and Jimmy Fallon Sing "Scrambled Eggs"

It was an unexpected surprise to hear Paul McCartney and Jimmy Fallon's ode to food :)

http://eater.com/archives/2010/12/10/paul-mccartney-and-jimmy-fallon-sing-scrambled-eggs-aka-yesterday.php

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Start Your Own Food Quest!

Food quests are sweet!  Just started reading through Mimi Sheraton's The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World.  She travels to the Polish town of Bialystok to research the history of this traditional Jewish bread, the bialy.  It was a food report trip for Conde Nast Traveler magazine set this research in motion.  Mimi is really a pro at this kind of investigation having already researched the origins of what we know in the us as Danish pastry, French toast and Turkish Delight.  

I think this is such a fantastic idea for anyone to try.  Think of all the food you've know since childhood.  Ever been curious of how it became such a typical dish or well know staple?  If anything this would prove to be a good writing exercise.  What would you investigate?

 

Note: Photo by stumptownpanda

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Pelted With Oysters

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How can I begin this tale with anything other than a food metaphor?  Saying that I've been pelted with oysters has to be the best way to describe what happened to me last Sunday and what I've been through this past week.  Long story short, last Sunday my home was severely damaged by a major water pipe leak that happened on the upper level.   I'm not sure how long it will take to get things back to normal and right now I'm without a home.  

This has been such a rough experience.  The entire week has felt as if I were getting pelted with oysters - first the pipe leak, then the flooding, then all the many things that could go wrong when that much water flows through a house.  As awful as it may be, I have to keep my spirits up and I have been trying hard to find a pearl or two among all of these hard-hitting oysters.  It's hard to do, but pearls can be found.  I've had friends really come through for me when this happened and my family has been supportive from afar. 

It's unreal how you can never really be prepared for something like this and it happens so unexpectedly.  I mean, nothing about last Sunday was unusual.  I woke up ready to enjoy the last bit of weekend.  I met up with a friend for a fabulous brunch at Corson Building.  It's such a great treat on a Sunday morning.  Despite it's location under the shade of the I-5 overpass, once you step inside, Corson feels more like a welcoming home rather than a restaurant.  There are communal tables set up in the dinning area and at the far back you can see the kitchen.

They have several items that you can serve up for yourself - most were vegetarian options.  They always seem to have yogurt with honey, fruits, nuts and seeds.  You also get an option on your egg or hot dish.  I  had thesavory anchovy and caramelized onion quiche. 

 

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The food was good, company was excellent and the conversation was fierce - brainstorming, scheming and getting geared up for research!

After brunching I did a little touring around Corson Building.

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Brunch - check! Onwards to the next leg of our journey that put us at the top of Queen Anne at a new place - La Reve Bakery.

Cute place, just a few steps away from one of my favorite spots, El Diablo Coffee Co.  Coffee and pastries is what they do, but even with their best efforts to make it look homey, it still somehow felt like a Starbucks to me.  It wasn't as cozy as I imagined and the noise level is relatively high for a small space.  We treated ourselves to hot chocolate and a twice baked almond croissant (I think it was thrice baked-oops! It was baked too long giving it a hardened crust rather than a proper crispness).  

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As we were chatting, I noticed a missed call on my phone.  I was listening to the voicemail and sipping on the hot cocoa.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

Mid-sip, I look up and say "I gotta go!"  I received awful news in the form of a voicemail from the water company.  They called to let me know they had shut off the water to my home.  They had received a call from a neighbor that there was a waterfall running out of the second level and that most likely a pipe burst.

I asked my friend to join me because I really didn't think I could handle seeing the damage on my own.  We would have left right away, but since in many places in Seattle you have to bus your own table, I felt guilty just rushing out the door.  We cleaned up the table and took our dishes to the bin and took off.

Later I found out that a pipe can gush around 25 gallons of water a minute.  The water most likely started leaking in the morning and the call I got from the water company came in at 3 pm.  From that point on, it seemed like things were moving so fast.  At first glance, things looked bad but not as tragic as I imagined.  The first call I made was to my insurance.  Thank goodness most of my important files were in a filing cabinet.  Since then I've had a number of strangers in my home drying up the water and demolishing most rooms.   The water made its way across the upper level and started running down to the lower level.  Many of the walls and ceilings had to come out.  My house is no longer home.  It really looks foreign to me.  It will take a ton of time and patience to rebuild.

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(Note: Oyster photo by Chef Matt Rock http://www.flickr.com/photos/chefmattrock/)

 

 

 

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Where Did I Go? My Southeast Asia Tour

It was long trip number two this year and it was a completely different experience from Central America.  There's nothing like the comfort of speaking the language when you travel abroad and as a native Spanish-speaker, Central America was a breeze.  Although, by the looks of me, the locals often didn't believe I was a Latina.  I have light skin (even lighter due to my Seattle tan), light brown hair and light hazel eyes.  Southeast Asia was similar in that regards, I was most often pegged as Russian or Italian.  The funniest one was a woman who thought I was half Asian - oh, my!  

The trip was fantastic, but I wish I would have taken more that just a few Thai classes.  That's the perfectionist in me.  I was happy that I did learn the little that I had though.  It was an important part of showing respect and being polite to be able to say please and thank you.

So where did my travels take me?  My trip started in Thailand where I spent a week and a half.  The countries that followed were Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore.  I hit the highlights and I hope to someday return to see more of these wonderful countries...

I took a tons and tons of pictures and I'm still going through all 5,000+.  Many of my pictures feature all kinds of food.  It was unbelievable how endless the food choices were at markets & with street vendors.  Needless to say, I ate and ate and ate and thoroughly enjoyed all the things I tried - well almost all of it - there was one particularly pungent fruit that was not my favorite.  The shopping was excellent and very inexpensive.  I'll be sharing more soon.

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Pre-trip Packing for Mini SE Asia Tour

I'm so excited about my upcoming trip, but it really snuck up on me!  I booked this trip to SE Asia back in May feeling like it was so far away.  Now it's crunch time and  I have to get packing! Taking the same approach as my last trip, I am limiting myself to my simple trusty backpack that got me through Central America.  So as not to deviate from my usual M.O. I'm find myself packing the evening before my trip.  Yes, I know, crazy procrastination!  My single backpack system is definitely  not for everyone.  I'm not packing for fashion; I'm packing for function.  I'm definitely not  sporting the hardcore backpacker look,  but at the same time I'm not decked out in cute sundresses and accessories.  Unlike like last time, I'm taking my little Acer netbook.  Not sure if this will prove to be a burden or not, but I also remember missing it  on my last trip.  The weight is starting to add up and I might tip over when I throw this on my back.  The great thing about travelling to a warm climate is that the clothes take up less space, so I guess I'm not sure if my method would work if I were headed somewhere cold.  Sweaters and the like would definitely take up much more space.  Love the thought of that challenge though.  That definitely has got my mental gears spinning with ideas for the next trip!  There's actually a ton of tips online in the form of blogs or videos on how to be a minimalist packer.  For girlie girls that may be a tall order, but definitely not impossible.  It is pretty cute how my stuff is smaller than the equivalents for guys - underthings for example, socks, tops - a girl's got an advantage over the average sized guy.  I've had a few people ask me to give them a list of things that they should pack to take this same minimalist approach without missing anything.  I would really hate to give you a list of items to pack though because I guess the best piece of advice I could give you is a bit simple and obvious, but still takes a bit of thought: Take what's important to you and skim the fat.  You want to take a little bit of home with you if that's going to make your trip comfortable.  For me, going without a blow dryer is not a big deal for example and I'm ok scaling down the products I use for hair and make up.

 

For three weeks, the things that I pack are really the basics.  Under things; enough for a week and a half and a plan to do laundry 2 - 3 times over the course of my trip.  Stick to natural, breathable fabrics.  Up to you, but I have at least two pairs that are a quick dry material, just in case I can't do laundry for some reason and have to wash it myself to air dry overnight.  When I say do laundry, I mean paying someone to do it while I'm having fun.  In places like Central and South America that's a very inexpensive must so that you don't waste your time.  As for clothes, 5 days worth of tops and a thin long sleeve T-shirt or button up shirt.  These should breathe really well.  I usually stick to cotton or the specialized blends optimized for hiking.  I always have two dressy tops just in case.  To that I add two pairs of comfortable pants - one that could be used for hiking  one that could work for hiking and as good casual wear or could get dressed up with a nicer top and a comfortable pair of heels.  I take on pair of hiking shorts&  two skirts that work with the dressier tops.  As far as colors, I stick to neutrals and earth tones and I do one top item in a good variation of a primary color - pick one that looks good on you.  For me that's red.  This will make your shoe choices easier.  For a warm climate, I take one pair of comfortable sandals, and one pair of dressier shoes - that could either be a pair of flats or a really and truly comfortable pair of  not too high heels.  For the most part I know I'll be wearing  a pair of comfortable & broken in hiking shoes.  These should be breathable and light.  Ideally they should also be waterproof.  Just be sure to know if it's rainy season where you're heading.  You'll want to take a light rain jacket with you and a light hoodie for bus rides where they crank up the AC.  I take 2 pairs of sport socks & 4 pairs of good hiking socks.  I've really taken to Smart Wool socks, even in really hot climates.  They're really comfortable and wick moisture really well.  My feet don't feel hot in them, but make sure they work for you before you take them on your trip.  Just a note that these do not air dry fast. 

 

Next I pack toiletries.  I take small containers of face wash, a good everyday face moisturizer and sunscreen (this is not optional) .  A small container of makeup remover and a toothbrush.  I take a travel sized tube of toothpaste, but I don't take things like shampoo or body soap.  If I don't have any where I'm staying, I just buy some at my destination as it's usually pretty cheap to get.  I  take a bare minimum of make up with me that I can use for day and night.  I take a good powder foundation (much better than liquid when in a super warm weather) and a 4shade set of eye shadow and a black mascara. One eye shadow brush, one eye liner brush and one powder brush.  I use the mascara as eye liner applying it with an eye liner brush so that I don't have to bring any eye liner.  Honestly, though, most days I skip make up.  You'll also want to grab some of the travel rolls of toilet paper, fill a small container with handsoap and take a packet of antibacterial wipes.  Believe me, these are things that you take for granted at home and you definitely miss overseas when traveling.  Consider taking a nail clipper, small file and tweezers and a good supply of over-the-counter pain killer and any other drugs you need.  I'm taking malaria pills just in case, but make sure you talk to a travel clinic at least a month before your trip.  An mp3 player (iPod) is always a good idea as well as a good camera.  Be sure you have all you power cords/chargers.  Throw in a reusable cloth bag that you can fold up, just in case.  I carry a small bag/purse with things like a paper notebook, a pen, lip balm, and my wallet & passport as well as a travel book for the area you are visiting.

 

Well, that should do it, all of that should fit in a medium backpack and you should be set to carry this on with you.  On some smaller domestic flights, you might have to check it plane side, but that's much better than checking it in.  I'm ready to go!  I have no idea what SE Asia will be like, but I'm about to find out.

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Food Photography with Penny De Los Santos - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

At first glance, you can somehow see Penny De Los Santos' huge personality and wonderful curiosity.  She is constantly looking around and studying everything.  Then she starts talking about her work and you feel her tremendous passion.  I walked away quite energized and I'm not even a photographer.  Penny De Los Santos doesn't take pictures, she makes pictures and they are beautiful.  

Penny spoke to the group about how to make food portraits.  The shoot that she self assigned herself, shooting women in a prison in Mexico, got her where she is today.  She landed at National Geographic. Some time later a colleague, who had moved to Saveur, was asking her to do some shoots for Saveur and that's how she got into food photography. To date she's done 6 cookbooks and she never thought she would be doing cookbooks.  Apparently steak is tough to shoot (no pun intended).  She just recently did a vegan dessert cookbook and at first she said "hell no!"  Not because she hates vegans, she's just not a dessert person and she feels you kinda have to be excited about what you shoot.  She got excited about it though because she decided to sex up the photos of the desserts.  And with that she shared her tips on food photography.

Philosophy - "I shoot food like I shoots prisons."  She takes a very organic, natural approach,  Everything on the set is edible with beautiful ingredients in natural light.  She showed us her first Saveur cover (The Breakfast Issue - Issue #114).  

What makes a good photo

• light 
• color 
• composition-people don't spend enough time thinking about this so that they can stretch themselves visually and avoid shooting the same photo time after time 
• appetizing food
• pick good subjects
• scout your food - do your research ahead of time.
• practice a lot - she practices a lot.  She shoots manually and meters her camera.  If you want to take pics up a notch, shoot manually.  The first time you do that it's pretty inspiring because you are in control.

Primary camera angles in food photography

• overhead
• 3/4 view, side view is best when food is taller.
• give it some space, you don't need to get so close because your viewers may be looking at your shot and think "what the hell is that?"

Think about your background

• it should give information to the subject
• they shoud be clean, not too cluttered

Why varied angles are important

• Visual pacing
• For the creative process-exploring the image - in her best southern access she related how a friend explained this - like a dog before he urinates - the dog will smell everything walking around and checking everything out.  She was encouraged to explore just like that dog.  Not all food looks good from the same angle - think about what you want to say about your subject and the best way to show it and explore it

Using available light 

• light direction
• light quality
• how to diffuse (softening the light with a napkin, wax paper, buy an $80 disc) and modify light - window light and doorway light is great,

Editing a dish

• Mostly applies at a restaurant - you ask another plate and then you plate it or ask the chef to rebuild it.
• Or you take a food subject and put it in a completely different element - like her picture of tamales that she put on a towel.

Creative devices 

• Food preparation shots - she showed a pic
• Meal in process - shooting a meal as it's being eaten
• Ingredients in its original wrapping
• Vegetables after their washed
• A spoon covered in sauce
• Ingredient shots in jars, bowls

Camera Angles

• light
• edit your food
• photo food in prep and meal in proc
• be creative - use props

Food Culture

Penny related a story about her food shoot in Peru and the woman that walked her through the market full of knowledge and information.  The best experiences started by her being invited into the kitchen and she loved it.  She showed the pictures that are representative of the stories that she loves so much.

How to grow as a photographer

• look at phot daily, mags cookbooks study the phots and styling
• practice daily - she self assigns things to her all the time.
• Keep a visual journal to develop good habits.  She would make a pic a day and listen to her instincts.  As she sees things she thinks about whether it make a good pic or not.  She was on a street and a women walked thru a beam of light and she though that would make a good pic.  So she waited for someone else to walk thru it to shoot it.  thinking aobut moments, color, composition..she's not talking to anyone, she is completely in her head, listening the whole time.  When asked what lenses she uses in her photography she told us that she shoots everything with one lens.  The more you move the more uncomfortable you are.
• Show a sense of place with your photos.  This gives people an idea of where you are and the culture.

Penny closed with...Be Inspired. Love what you do.  Have an insatiable curiosity.  Like everything - LEAD with your heart, be open follow your instincts. listen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Modernist Cuisine: The Art & Science of Cooking - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Modernist Cuisine: The Art & Science of Cooking - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

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Dr. Nathan Myhrvold talked about the book Modernist Cuisine:The Art & Science of Cooking and had slides that showed some pages and photography from the book.  I was too busy looking at the photos and video and didn't take many notes.

 

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Writing/Technology: Law & Ethics of Food Blogging - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Writing/Technology: Law & Ethics of Food Blogging - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Not taking many notes of this one because you will find the copy of the presentation to be more meaty.  It's a bit harsh to sit through this on after lunch, but it is picking up.  

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Robert Schroeder, Director of FTC Office Seattle:

FTC is about protecting the consumer.  For more details information check out:  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

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Recent Advances in Bullshit Reduction, Robin Goldstein (blindtaste.com)

Robin did some investigative work to determine credibility of the Wine Spectator Award.  He created an online presence for a fake restaurant, put together a wine list that show ratings of "undrinkable" and sent in his $250.  Some time later he received an award.  Crazy story, but we have to watch out for these types of things.  You can find the full text and menu of his fake restaurant on his blog.

On a related note, Barnaby Dorfman, CEO of Foodista shared how he and others have been working on a site to create a system of disclosure for bloggers who review and endorse products.  If you are passionate about this topic area, please take a look at their site: http://bloggerdisclosure.org/  

A site you might want to take a look at if you are interested in protecting your work as a blogger: http://creativecommons.org 

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Writing With All Five Senses - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Writing With All Five Senses - Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Lemons are being passed around for a little exercise in writing with all five senses.

Participants are asked to describe the way a lemon looks as if to someone who has never seen one.  Some of the description are quite poetic and some very funny.

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Building Traffic and Social Media-Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference #IFBC

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Building Traffic and Social Media-Live From the International Food Bloggers Conference

I will be posting my notes from each of the session at the IFBC, but please keep in mind they are very rough and just the highlights.  Hope you find them useful, especially if you are not able to attend.  Be sure to check http://www.foodista.com/ifbc2010/ for IFBC presentations.

Joy Victory (@thejoyvictory) - editorial czar for Wordpress.com New job role, updates the wordpress.com site and manages new user experience.

How to Make Friends with Search Engines

Coming soon: FoodPress 

Traffic:

• Front door - direct traffic
• Back door - traffic from search engines

Look at your stats often - take time to understand the terminology and graphs.  Who is coming to your site and from what sources.  A tool you can use is Google Analytics.

Recommended tool: Google Insights

Write with keywords in mind.  Make sure you use this in your blog titles and be very specific.  Use them in the first sentence of your post, in sub-titles, in photo captions, in any links you create to the post (when you tweet about your post as an example).  Do some research for yourself - go to Google and do some searches.  Take a look at what comes up in the search results.

Other things to keep in mind-

SEO also improves when you:

• update often - the more content the better
• have in/outgoing links
• along with new trends, blog about the tried and true trends like well know dates, events, topics

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Mani Dhillon, General Manager - Urbanspoon

As they put this site together:

• they found that people look for restaurants by neighborhoods and zip codes
• SEO link bait, novel ways to present their data that other wanted to link to.  They picked a black background and created Restaurant At Night and found this attracted visits because of how it looked.  They also used current trends and used them in their posts.
• spoonbacks - presents reviews from bloggers, critics and readers.  Bloggers that participate in the spoonbacks program (over 2000 participate) get million of users viewing their posts and linking back to their blog.

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Questions

Q: What are your thoughts on integration with Twitter and Facebook and advice you have.

Joy - WordPress.com - when FB and Twitter came along we were asked, 'do you see them as competition?' No because they are very different especially as you can't see your Twitter content several years back like in a blog.  

Mani - try to encourage people to register on Urbanspoon so that that can share the information on Facebook and Twitter.  They're keeping their eye on new things like Facebook places.

 

Q: We've talked about SEO, for the people just getting started, what are 2 -3 things you recommend?

Foodista - used Twitter to grow their audience - tweeted trivia for example and then Twitter added them in their food follow list.  Their advice - Be clear on what your goal is.  Do you want to make a living on your writing?  Do you want to make money on advertising?  Is it a way to do PR and marketing for your company?

Joy - have a niche and be specific.  Keep in mind that it takes time to build a following.  Update often.

Mani - find an area that is unique.  Get links for your blog.

 

Q: Recommendation for blog titles when a name or word uses special characters?

A: Don't use special characters as that is better for SEO

 

Q: I am very succesful on Twitter, is there something like Google Analytics for Twitter and are advertisers looking at that?

A: Not many good tools, but Google is indexing Twitter content.

 

Q: For a person just starting, how do you determine the value of your time when using things like foodbuzz, foodspotting?

A: It takes a lot of experimentation.

 

Q: Saveur - Is there a widget to put FB/Twitter comments into your blog?

A: Not any that we're aware of.

 

Q: What advice you have for SEO when you use video?

A: Use the keyword VIDEO in your titles, descriptions and tags.  

 

 

 

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Late Night Dinner @Tavolàta

Once again my Facebook friends came through with a great late night dinner suggestion: 

Tavolàta (2323 2nd Ave Seattle, WA)  I forgot that they serve food until 11 pm.  Tavolàta, who participated in my Dine Out Seattle for Haiti earlier this year, has a great dinner menu.

Last night's selection consisted of -

Warm Baguette served with Arbequina Olives in an olive oil & balsamic vinegar dip.  They are serious about the warm bit.  It took them a little bit of time to get it to the table so make sure you ask for it right away so that you have it with your meal.  

The Stone Fruit Salad was a tasty antipasti that mixed savory and sweet.  It had naturally sweet fresh juicy peaches, plums and cherries tossed with fennel, olive oil and balsamic and was topped with a thinly sliced juniper flavored ham (that one was described to this non-meat eater).  This salad was the definitely the highlight!

I followed this up with the Grilled Summer Beans.  This was a fried egg atop the edge of a bundle of grilled wax and green beans wrapped in slices of cured capicola (you guessed it, I passed this on).  Dessert was the Affogato - a sweetly caffeinated way of ending a meal - for some reason caffeine doesn't keep me from blissful sleep.  I was excited about this dessert, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Something was up with the ice cream - it just wasn't creamy.  I like Via Tribunali's much better.

 

This work by tastyfeast.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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Sushi Kappo Tamura Opening Night

Had the chance to stop in at Sushi Kappo Tamura on their grand opening tonight.  This is the third venture for Kyoto-native Taichi Kitamura.  I wish I could tell you that all three of his restaurants are open, but the sad news is that Sushi Kappo Tamura is meant to replace Kappo while Chiso remains open.

Kappo was by far more than a restaurant, it was an experience that put you at the table with Taichi-san himself as he prepared a wonderful array of selections for you.

Sushi Kappo Tamura does not come close to Kappo, but it does make a Kappo-style experience available to more people in a large space.  

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Seattle and The Beatles

I recently shared a little fact that Seattle was the first city to play a Beatles song on the radio.  I have been told that song was "I Want To Hold Your Hand."  That would make sense since it was their first #1 Hit on the Billboard Top 100, but I'm not 100% sure if that was really the song played on air in Seattle.  I'm still looking for the best way to confirm this little fact.

I never grow tired of the Beatles.  My dad was the one who got me hooked as a child and so many Beatles songs take me back to memories of my dad playing his Beatles records and me and my brothers singing along with a hairbrush mic.  Picking a favorite song would be really tough, but  I think the song "Things We Said Today" is in my top 10 for sure.

Isn't it so cool how memories are triggered by music?  It makes me think of an experiment with sound and memory that I read about a while ago; something called The Memory Machine that was installed at the British Museum back in 2003.  Cathy Lane and Nye Parry, two composers, built an interactive sound installation into which visitors spoke memories via a telephone and those memories were spun into a mix of constantly changing musical sounds.  It was described as an "aural metaphor for the workings of human memory."  Beautiful!

"Someday when we're dreaming,

  Deep in love, not a lot to say.

Then we will remember

Things we said today........"

 

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Disappearing Mountain Makes A Comeback Today

One of the main attractions of Seattle requires no tickets, no line-ups, no need to pack into a stuffy room - you just need to wish for a clear blue Seattle skies, good weather and some time to sneak out for a look.

On the corner of West Highland Drive and 2nd Avenue West in Seattle you will find Kerry Park and one of the best views of Elliot Bay, downtown Seattle, our famous Space Needle and on very clear days Mount Rainier makes it's majestic reappearance.  

As soon as I found this spot, it became one of my favorite places in Seattle.  I continue to be amazed by the disappearing and reappearing of Mount Rainier even after living in this city for three years now.  The truth is, even longtime Seattleites never get bored of this spectacular view.  Seeing Mount Rainier simply gets the heart pumping and reminds us what a great place Seattle is and how wonderful it is to be surrounded by natural beauty.

Mount Rainier is actually an active composite volcano formed by layers of lava and rock.  Just 54 miles southeast of Seattle this mountain stands tall over the Cascade Range at 4.03km/13,211ft. of prominence (in its glory days it used to be more like 4.9km/16,000 ft).  It is Seattle's naturally showy beacon and on the clearest days Seattle shares this view with our neighbors in Portland and Victoria, British Columbia.

To truly appreciate what I mean by "disappearing mountain" you have to see it or not see it to believe it.  Take a look at the pictures in my gallery and you'll see no mountain to the right of the Space Needle.  I'll try to get out today to take some with the mountain so you can see this natural wonder.  For an even better experience, you really just have to plan a visit!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

 

 

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