There’s a ton going on in the music scene this Labor Day weekend, that’s never real news (Bumbershoot and Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge). But another event which highlights cool blues music, charity and sharing quality, organically grown food. Seattle’s Blues for Food Fest takes place on Saturday, September 1 at Magnuson Park.

The all-day, all-ages event celebrates food, music and community!

Enjoy live music by some of the finest blues bands in the Northwest, fresh tasty food from local vendors, a fabulous auction of luscious, homemade pies, children’s gardening activities..and free parking, too!

Blues for Food Fest raises money and awareness for the people and organizations in Seattle that grow food for the hungry. Proceeds from the festival go to P-Patch Giving Gardens, the P-Patch Trust and the Washington Blues Society’s Musicians Relief Fund. We welcome your donations of non-perishable food and fresh produce at the festival.

A little history…

• In 2007, Deb Rock, a local woman who has been running the Food Bank Garden at Interbay P-Patch since 1999, decided to remedy the lack of a blues festival in Seattle by creating one of her own. What made this festival unique was that it combined her lifelong passion for the blues with her other passion, growing organic food for the hungry. Local blues musicians were eager to perform for the cause and help raise money for the P-Patch Giving Gardens Deb cares about so deeply. With help from P-Patch Trust, she secured a venue, spread the word, printed posters, got people to bake pies to auction off, found friends willing to contribute time and energy, and pretty much pulled the whole thing together herself. She called it Blues for Food Fest and it was an instant success.
• Since then, Blues for Food Fest has grown into an all-day Labor Day weekend event that attracts hundreds of people and raises thousands of dollars. The money goes directly to support P-Patch Food Bank and Giving Gardens and blues musicians.

This year’s line up…

12:00   Little Bill Trio

1:30     Stacy Jones Band

3:00     Ben Rice

4:30     Lady A and The Baby Blues Funk Band

6:00    Teresa James and The Rhythm Tramps

7:30     Junkyard Jane’s 15-year Anniversary Party with Sue Orfield

A few weeks ago I found myself on sort of a personal walking tour of downtown Seattle restaurants featuring beverages made with spirits from local distilleries – hitting some local hot spots that I’ve heard about and seen but never ventured in.

I bellied up to a delightful outdoor patio table at Local 360 (corner of 1st & Bell Street) for beverage No. 3 of the evening. While I was impressed with the variety of flavors and mixes available to me what impressed me more was the concept behind the entire establishment.

Local 360 is a sustainable restaurant featuring nearly all raw ingredients that you can find humanely grown within 360 miles radius of Seattle. About 90 percent of all its raw ingredients - produce, meat, diary, seafood and grains are grown from local farms. Lemons, Limes, Coffee and few other items that just don’t grow in Cascadia (anytime of the year) are sourced Certified Organic from the closest place possible. And the beverage I had, certainly featured spirits from local craft distilleries, who use local ingredients and sustainable methods.

Read more on sustainability and Local 360′s sourcing guidelines here. 

Local 360 Café and Bar opens for lunch at 11 AM. Happy hour starts at 3 PM with dinner service starting at 4 PM. Brunch is served on the weekends starting at 8 AM. The chefs specialize modern American comfort food.

The annual Bite of Seattle kicks off tomorrow – a traditional summer celebration of some of the best food that local Seattle-area chefs and restaurants have to offer.

The line up this year is looking oh so tasty as the event dedicates itself to the culinary arts displayed by not only by the 50+ Seattle area restaurants and 30+ food product companies, but through other attractions that are created specifically in support of the hospitality industry. Examples include The Alley hosted by Tom Douglas, Beer & Wine Gardens, Bite Wine Tasting and The Bite Cooks!,which features Seattle-area celebrity chefs performing cooking demonstrations.

Entertainment is always a fun family activity and essential part of the Bite.  With over 150 acts in all, there is always something for everyone’s listening pleasure. There are eight outdoor entertainment stages featuring all genres of music with local and national entertainment located all over the Bite grounds.

Personally I”m looking forward to eating up bites from Half Mood Bay Bar & Grill, New Orleans Cookery (alligator on a stick, anyone?) and Mighty-O Donuts. The wine tasting is also high on the list.

Check out the dining options here and let us know where you’ll be!

FREE ADMISSION
@ Seattle Center
Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

The line up is out and this Summer’s movies in Fremont are some of the best. Many of them with a special themed event to go along with it. Such as a viewing of Caddyshack with a beer garden/mini golf/pub crawl. Don’t ask me how it works now, but I could certainly follow up with my review.

Some classics and even some more recent blockbusters will show during this season’s Fremont Outdoor Movie events on the big screen located at 3501 Phinney Ave North Seattle, WA 98103 . The cinema screen is directly in the U-Park parking lot by Fremont Studios.
Quite fitting, this summer’s movies kicks off this Saturday night with the 20th anniversary of the movie Singles – the flick centers on the lives of a group of young people, mostly in their 20s, living in an apartment block in Seattle.

The great favorite will be back again this year: Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk. This year marks the fourth year of one of the largest flash mobs to infect the 4th of July weekend in the (Dead) Center of the Universe. Last year, over 7,000 people showed up to help go after a Guinness World Record from previously with New jersey for 4,522 costumed people. Plus it includes a Thriller Dance, Fashionably Undead costume contest, charity beer garden and live music and food trucks.

I snapped a photo of the line up the other day when I was walking home from work. Check it out, pick your fav (personal devotion to Top Gun for this girl) and show up.

Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff kicked off Summer in style yesterday and officially opened its concession stand at Greenlake, serving your favorite bites including hot dogs, burgers and ice cream.

This is the building you’re looking for – minus the yellow tape of course. Photo courtesy of Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff.

The Greenlake concession is offering the same great eats as the truck (usually located sown at Starbucks HQ and around town over the weekend).  The concession is located on the westside of the lake next to the Bathhouse Theatre.  You cannot miss it, building is painted the same color as the truck, black & red. You can get your snacks from 11am to dusk, seven days a week.

About and what you’re in for:

Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff is Seattle’s boldest kitchen on wheels; dishing out all-American eats with a tasty twist! It’s burgers are built with local, high quality, organic ingredients that pack a flavorful punch!

The generously portioned burgers are handcrafted from local, 100% pasture-raised beef. The tender, flavorful beef is free of growth hormones, antibiotics, and animal by-products. The handcrafted patty is served on a signature brioche bun. Buns are sourced from a Seattle bakery that makes each bun by hand with local, organic ingredients.

This could be quite the welcome to distraction to my miles around the lake! Check it out, and enjoy!

It’s baaaack!

The annual Passport to Woodinville returns this weekend, April 21st and 22nd from 11 am to 4 pm, to celebrate the  unique haven of wineries, large and small, and the singular passion for crafting world-class wine.  Tickets are $65 for a Sunday only pass and only $75 for a two-day Saturday and Sunday pass. Your ticket gets you free tastings at over 35 wineries as well as a wine glass which you will receive when you pick up your ticket.

Trust me, you will drink and eat well!

I’m sure you’ll find your favorite local winery on this list! Participating wineries to date include: Airfield Estates Winery, Anton Ville Winery, Apex at Alder Ridge, Brian Carter Cellars, Bunnell Family Cellars, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Winery, Convergence Zone Cellars, Covington Cellars, Davenport Cellars, Des Voigne Cellars, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Elevation Cellars, Finn Hill Winery, Goose Ridge Estate Winery, J. Bookwalter Tasting Studio, Kestrel Vintners, Matthews Estate, Michael Florentino Cellars, Northwest Totem Cellars, Otis Kenyon Wine Tasting Room, Page Cellars, Patit Creek Cellars, Patterson Cellars, Piccola Cellars, Pondera Winery, Silver Lake Winery, Tefft Cellars, Tempest Sol Winery, II Vintners, William Church Winery, Woodinville Wine Cellars, XSV Winery.

Enjoy and please be safe – designate your DD (DD’s can tag along for free and may also purchase a shuttle ticket).

The $10 Shuttle Express option you can “Hop on and Hop Off” at Shuttle Express stops all around Woodinville Wine Country during Passport weekend.  Be responsible!

Cheers!

In an effort to start planning ahead more often – I present to you, Arcade Lights taking place NEXT Friday, April 20 at the Pike Place Market. Arcade Lights is a celebration of local artisan foods and beverages and live music all in the name of a good cause: The Market Foundation.

What/Why:

At this fun festival of culinary delights for guests 21 and over, more than 60 local artisan food and beverage purveyors will sample a variety of sweet or savory foods, including seafood and sausage, doughnuts and ice cream—and tasty beverages including beer, wine, coffee, hard cider and sodas. Enjoy live performances of jazz, acappella gospel, folk and rock, performed by Market buskers. Ticket includes 10 tokens event-goers redeem as they choose. Proceeds benefit the Market Foundation and the preschool, senior center, food bank, and medical clinic that serve those who need a helping hand.

There will be no shortage of delightful establishments on hand. Check out the full listing of participating wineries, breweries, coffee roasters, sweet treats and big bites here.

Tickets are $25 in advance (this is where the planning ahead part comes into play) and $30 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Market Foundation and the preschool, senior center, food bank, and medical clinic that serve those who need a helping hand.

(more…)

With a mid-twentieth century American feel, The Gerald opens tomorrow, March 23 in Ballard joining the row of restaurants and bars that make up the hopping Old Ballard Ave. scene.

Simple, American, comfort and booze is what you’ll get at the Gerald (located in the old Elephants Gerald T-shirt shop at 5210 Ballard Ave NW) which brings a modern-day twist on the Seattle of the 50s and 60s. The menu looks amazing and I for one can’t wait to try the mac & cheese – also featured are casseroles, truffle popcorn (yum), Swedish meatballs and a deconstructed home-made chicken pot pie. You can’t go wrong.

Even the drinks will transport you to a different era – The Gerald offers a 16-drink specialty cocktail list, mixing updated takes on highballs, gimlets, sidecars and vespers with newer creations.

I can’t decide if I want to eat or drink my dinner. No, really.

Personally, I think The Gerald and its owners have picked the perfect home – Ballard’s throw-back atmosphere provides the ideal back drop for a little time travel and “mid-century modern inspired” nightlife.

What do you say, Belles? Next meeting at The Gerald?

Who doesn’t love a Top Pot doughnut? You’re crazy if you don’t.  – That’s all.

Top Pot co-founders and Seattle-based book author, Jess Thompson have co-written a book that will teach anyone, you, how to make your own famously hand-forged Top Pot doughnuts in your own kitchen.

The book is called Hand-Forged Doughnuts and is for sale on Amazon.

The Seattle PI reporter Amy Rolph said it best yesterday in her post:

“Step one: Buy Top Pot Doughnut’s new book about making ‘Hand-Forged Doughnuts.’

Step two: Do whatever the book tells you to do.”

And… watch this awesome video the co-founders put together. At the very least, it will make you want to make a doughnut run on your lunch hour.

Top Pot Doughnuts_Chronicle Books Trailer

- I  notice that I’m carrying on the sweet theme here from Belle Jeanine’s post yesterday… I have seen Top Pot Doughnuts as a wedding cake table before. Just sayin’