In the world of cooking, I’m always amazed at the ability of the chef. The culinary artists that can take ingredients, technique, and personal style to create something amazing and delicious. Their ability to elevate the food they work with is a big reason why I love food so much. We live in a chef culture where television networks create stars out of these folks; they become a part of pop culture, not just food culture. In some cases this is a good thing. Food fans will travel far and wide to experience their cooking. They’ll devour their food and their cookbooks. All of this I think is very cool. That is why I am completely taken with this food book; Coco. If you love food and chef culture, you will too.

The premise of the book is this; take 10 of the world’s true ‘masters’ in food, and have them pick 100 chefs that are emerging chefs worldwide. Coco: 10 World-Leading Maters choose 100 Contemporary Chefs comes to us from the folks at Phaidon. You may know them from their cookbooks like Silver Spoon, Pork & Sons, or 1080 Recipes, but their entire product line is excellent. I first discovered Coco on a recent trip to New York and stumbled upon Phaidon’s store in SoHo. This day happened to be their grand opening and much impulse shopping commenced. Coco was there and when I leafed through it, I instantly fell in love with the premise.

Here is a rundown of the 10 masters featured in the book:

• Ferran Adria
• Mario Batali
• Shannon Bennett
• Alain Ducasse
• Fergus Henderson
• Yoshihiro Murata
• Gordon Ramsey
• René Redzepi
• Alice Waters
• Jacky Yu

The format of Coco is to spend some time with each of the 100 selected chefs. There is a brief bio, some recipes, and one of the masters will espouse on their choice. What’s interesting is to find the theme that binds the choices of the masters. I love learning about food and the people that make it, so I enjoyed the write-ups. For instance, you could delve into what Mario Batali values; a sense of niches, an appreciation of history, and high standards.

What I like about Coco is that you can pick it up to leaf through a few pages at your leisure. It’s a weighty book that clocks in at over 400 pages (!), but flip through it, open it up randomly and read about a chef you’ve never heard of before. It also has the ability to be a good resource; traveling to the Bay Area? There are about five chefs doing their thing there. New Orleans? Always a great eating city and they have two representatives. Locally, Seattle is proudly represented by Kevin Davis and his Steelhead Diner. I’m a fan of the place and so is Chef Batali. You’ll find all sorts of interesting chefs and restaurants around the world, so when globetrotting strikes your palette will be ready.

One of the interesting tweaks about food lovers is that we acquire and accrue cookbooks voraciously. Chances are we never ‘read’ the entire thing. Most of the time they are used to impress our fellow food friends. But they always serve to inspire us. They give us ideas. Point us in a direction we may not have considered. And Coco is all of these things.

A thought that has been bouncing around my head has been on the subject of food magazines. I admit that I love the idea of them. Some are excellent. Some have ‘opportunities’. But after going through one recently, I reminded myself that there isn’t a perfect food magazine.

I’ll admit there are plenty out there that are very good. Food & Wine leaps to mind. Saveur is also excellent. Cook’s Illustrated is outstanding for information. And with the demise of Gourmet, our world of food writing becomes a bit darker.But none of these magazines are perfect.

One of my favorites, though, is RIP Chow. But to my disappointment, the magazine stopped printing and moved to a web presence exclusively. RIP Chow was the closest to my views and perspectives on the world of food.  Ultimately, I’m a sucker for food mags and grab them at the ready on impulse. And given the number of magazines in the market, it seems that publishers think that there is a niche worth filling too.

Why is it that there isn’t one that completely gets it? (Although to be fair, there isn’t really a perfect magazine for any industry, I just wish there was one for food). Some magazines hit it too heavy with recipes that aren’t realistic or empowering. Some have very poor levels of editing and photography (I really want to out the one mag that inspired this post, but I’m taking the high road). Others just don’t really get it. The world of food and wine is deep and organic. It moves naturally with a skittish flow. Trends come and go. The ultimate point for any great magazine is to tell a story that can inspire. A lot of today’s current magazines aim for this but don’t always hit the bullseye.

What my expectations are for the perfect food magazine is this; great writing, interesting recipes, innovative ideas, a good mix of irreverence, and all of it wrapped into one beautifully designed package that screams to be read. I don’t think this is too much to ask.

I suppose that in today’s gloomy print publishing world, the thought of a perfect food magazine is fleeting. I may be alone as this recent article by the LA Times Russ Parsons points out; magazines are becoming more niche and focused in their goals. Which is fine, but within those defined goals, I still want the right mix that speaks to me. In the end, I have hopes for that ideal mag and will continue to read and dip my toe into what the newsstand has in store for me.

When we went for our trip to Las Vegas this summer, we wanted to get away, but we also wanted to visit a particular restaurant; Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood. We wanted to go not just because it’s consistently recognized as being one of Las Vegas’ best restaurants, but also because of the principles and ideals it and its chef/owner Rick Moonen holds.

Last year I had the good fortune to attend one of Amazon.com’s Fishbowl events. Fishbowls are small gatherings where visiting authors chat about their books and do a signing. The Fishbowl I went to welcomed Rick Moonen to celebrate his book, Fish Without A Doubt. As a food nerd, I enjoyed the event because Chef Moonen talked about his history as a chef, the opportunities and challenges with writing a book, and also his personal responsibility to be mindful of the ocean and the catch that comes from it. Coming from what the Seafood Choices Alliance named in 2006 as the ‘Seafood Champion‘, his words hold much weight. He was engaging in that tough, yet amicable New York way. His enthusiasm for cooking and sharing what he knows was apparent. We chatted briefly about seafood and where he planned on dining while in Seattle. He said that Steelhead Diner was on the docket and I mentioned how I was a fan. Armed with his business card, he said to stay in touch. Cool.

Here are the three cool things about Rick Moonen and his RM Seafood:

This past summer, we took a quick trip to Las Vegas. Why would we want to go out to the desert with it’s 100 plus temps? Was it the gambling, the shops, being poolside? Nope, it was none of those; it was for the food! Las Vegas is deliberately building up it’s reputation as one of the world’s great restaurant cities. With big name chef firepower like Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Joel Robuchon, Daniel Boulud, and many more – food fans have been flocking to Vegas in droves. But amongst these bright shining stars, one restaurant is standing amongst them but with much less celebrity. It’s status is earned for the best of reasons; its food. The place is in a strip mall and it is awesome. I discovered something a lot of other people know; Lotus of Siam is a restaurant to visit, and visit again.

When I was planning on visiting Las Vegas, I wanted to keep the process rather organic. Mostly ask friends and visit restaruants suggested by word of mouth. With a place like Las Vegas, I knew that there would be a ton of outlets to tout restaurants. I didn’t want to get caught up in the noise, so I figured asking around would cut through the fat. Thank you Twitter. With one quick Tweet, I was on my way to Lotus of Siam. I received a bunch of messages to visit Lotus of Siam. I’d also asked other food friends who’s insight I respected; their response was to go to Lotus of Siam. From executive chefs, to food writers, to Vegas aficionados, they all mentioned the place. And my friend, The GastroGnome, said that amongst all the restaurants in Vegas, go to Lotus of Siam. Okay then, Lotus of Siam it is.

Here are my three cool things about Lotus of Siam:

This is an idea that has been floating around for sometime amongst some of our local streetfood vendors for some time. A ’streetfood festival’. A one-stop shop of the local purveyors of mobile cuisine in Seattle. A Mobile Chowdown that will commence this Saturday, October 11!

This is all sorts of cool because the Mobile Chowdown will be the first time that all of Seattle’s streetfood vendors will be in one place together. And the place will be in the Interbay neighborhood off of 15th at 16th and West Bertona. Interesting location for an event like this; though, Mobile Chowdown’s Twitter feed stated that it was a good spot for the various trucks to park and share their goods. Plus, the Interbay area ties together Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard.

Who will be at the Mobile Chowdown? Here’s the quick list linked to their Twitter handles:

• Skillet – Purveyors of delicious burgers and bacon jam. I hope they are serving poutine. Notable for their Airstream trailers throughout town.
• Parfait Ice Cream – Artisanal ice cream that is delicious. The Fresh Mint & Straciatella is a home run.
• Maximus/Minimus – Pulled pork sandwiches in either a spicy (Maximus) or sweet (Minimus) sauce. They also serve up tasty veggie chips. And their truck is a sight to behold.
• Marination Mobile – Often found on Capitol Hill, the Marination Mobile serves up Hawaiian and Korean streetfood.
• Gert’s BBQ – Southern soul food (amongst their many catering items). Be sure to grab some of their ribs.
• El Camion – A taco truck, they’ll be serving up Mexican cuisine goodness.
• Dante’s Inferno Dogs – Announced yesterday, Dante’s will provide their hot dogs.

Karen Robinson of Seattle Magazine wrote up some good stuff about the Mobile Chowdown and even touched on the trivia contest that they’ve been having about the event. So be sure to follow the status of Mobile Chowdown on their Twitter and their Facebook event page, this should be a fun event! Be sure to bring cash and an empty stomach. See you in the parking lot this Saturday from 11am to 3pm for the Mobile Chowdown.

After a recent dim sum outing with my Mom, we went for a short drive on the Dearborn side of the ID. With a quick throwaway comment, she said, ‘there is a really great cheese shop right around the corner from here.’ What? Seeing as how I never heard about this, I was a bit surprised by her comment and had to check it out. Besides, we were in a weird part of SoDo that’s very industrial. How could there be a gourmet food store here? Low and behold there it was, Big John’s PFI.

Off of 6th and Airport Way lies Big John’s PFI. In an unassuming brick building; you wouldn’t see this treasured gem but for it’s red, white, and green awning. To say this place is hidden would be an understatement. Intrigued and curious about how my mother knew about this place and I didn’t, we looked forward to what Big John’s PFI had in store for us.

We were blown away. As soon as you walk in you’ll notice a massive cheese case to your right. About 30 feet of goat, sheep, and cow’s milk bliss of cheese and all different types. Looking left you’ll see big five-gallon jugs of bulk goods. And this isn’t just crappy trail mix in bulk like other grocery stores. Big John’s has the good stuff; emmer, roasted fava beans, dried spices, a load of different types of rice, oats, and bunch more. At dirt cheap prices. I was in food retail heaven and I wasn’t even 10 ft. into the store. I couldn’t control my excitement.

The decor of the place is kind of an antithesis to Whole Foods gloss; concrete floors, fluorescent lights, and haphazardly arranged aisles. But the whole of the place is charming. The staff is super helpful and available, and the selection of foodstuff throughout the shop is off the charts excellent. This is where Big John’s PFI really shines; their products are diverse, which gets your culinary curiosity going. A lot of the products are super hard to find elsewhere. Much of their line leans heavily on Mediterranean products. With an entire aisle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, what’s not to love? Their wall of pasta has a great assortment of shapes and at great prices. And there is an aisle of just jam! If anything, go to Big John’s PFI for the bulk foods, but definitely stay to look at the random grocery items.

I’m so thankful that my Mom introduced me to this culinary treat in Seattle. I would have never known about Big John’s PFI otherwise. It is a family-owned shop that is hidden and without advertisment, but they’ve been around for almost 40 years. Surely, places like this have helped to shape the food scene of Seattle and I’m anxiously awaiting my return visit.

I wrote this post, mostly, to get something off my chest, but to also express an appreciation. Every so often, the Williams-Sonoma catalog graces itself in my mailbox. Though I haven’t patterned the timing for when it comes, I look forward to receiving this little food magazine for a couple of reasons: (1) it’s loaded with fun and interesting tidbits of information, and (2) it has some of the most preposterous kitchen items.

• Fun, food information:

The pages of each catalog are littered with little drops of info that I never knew I wanted to know. In fact, I first learned about grilled chocolate sandwiches in an issue of Williams-Sonoma. They also have an exclusive deal with Thomas Keller to sell his kit detailing how to make Ad Hoc’s fried chicken at home (though it is sold out and no longer available).

As of late, what I have really enjoyed in their recent catalog are their highlights on about a dozen chefs around the country. These chefs are on their career upswing of creativity and style and the catalog gave quick hits of info on each of the chefs, their perspectives, and a recipe to boot. From Gabriel Rucker of Portland’s Le Pigeon, to John Besh of August (amongst others) in New Orleans, to Michelle Bernstein of Miami’s Michy’s. I’ve enjoyed reading about all these folks and now I have a few more restaurants to add to my list.

• The utterly ridiculous kitchen tools:

Much like other food nerds, I love food (and wine) cookbooks. Much like how teenage girls gobble stuff up about vampires (Buffy is so much better), food geeks are voracious with food books. And why not? They provide solid insight, light the spark of inspiration, and provide a level of information and complexity that we love. Even the famed David Chang of Momofuku fame goes nuts over cookbooks. Whenever I visit bookstores, I always swing by the food section to see what’s new and soak in the visual merchandising. One book really caught my eye; Ferran Adria’s new book with Richard Hamilton and Vicent Tolodi, Food for Thought, Thought for Food. Adria’s new book? Heck yes.

Ferran Adria is in the conversation of the best chefs in the world. His restaurant, El Bulli, is often considered the best restaurant in the world. Stepping into the lore and detail of these two things is something that I always find fascinating. I soaked up that TV show where Tony Bourdain was able to step into the kitchen of El Bulli. I looked forward to the release of A Day at El Bulli, the Phaidon book that illustrated the inner workings of Adria’s restaurant. Now I have another resource to pull back the curtain of Ferran Adria.

In late-July I had the fortunate opportunity to drink some of the best wines from Washington with one of the best wine critics in the industry; that’s right, the second year in a row to have an evening of drinking wine with Stephen Tanzer of International Wine Cellars.

I went to this event last year and loved every minute of it. Last summer it was at the brilliant Art of the Table and I remembered all of those details vividly. The wine, the food, the conversations; at the time, my wine knowledge was just starting to come into its own. I was like a giddy kid on his first day of college; excited to get started with this next chapter, but humbled enough to know I had plenty to learn.

Fast forward a year later, and I know a bit more, but there is still so much I can glean. That’s why I was just as excited for this year’s tasting with Steve. The event was at Tom Douglas’ Palace Ballroom, a bit more spacious and a few more people were able to attend. One of the cool things at this year’s tasting was that four winemakers were invited to the event; Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery, Mike Januik of Januik Winery, Ben Smith of Cadence Winery, and Andrew Rich of Andrew Rich Wines. I thought this was really cool because they were able to share their expertise, insight, and stories as their wines were poured.

The word sustainable in the context of food can be loaded with marketing muscle or buzz-friendly salesmanship. Much like how the terms ‘organic’ or ‘free-range’ can be misconstrued, such can be the case with ’sustainable’. But what happens when ’sustainable’ actually lives up to the expectations? When it has evidence, proof, and volition behind it? Then it can be a powerful thing. Which is what is happening at West Seattle’s Mashiko. Chef Hajime Sato has overturned Mashiko’s menu to be completely sustainable; it is one of only three sushi restaurants with this distinction nationwide. And it is the only one led by a Japanese-born sushi chef. Take the classical skill and tradition of a sushi chef with a modern desire to be stewards of the ocean and you have a powerful thing.

My food friend Nancy Leson, touched on the impetus of when Chef Hajime wanted to make the turn to sustainability. Interesting bit of backstory on how Mashiko will make this transition. And it’s for the benefit of consumers and the seafood we indulge in. It’s unfortunate that bluefin tuna has been so overfished that we may not be able to enjoy it again. And that’s the point of this shift to sustainability; serve what’s good, but also what’s available.