My latest Taste column for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine celebrates the downtown Seattle holiday traditions that Spencer and I have established since moving to the city 21 years ago.

Gingerbread Pudding at icon Grill

Among the traditions?

Lunch at icon Grill with my two best girlfriends. Here’s a photo of the yummy Gingerbread Pudding that’s offered up as one of the restaurant’s four holiday desserts. It was divine–gingerbread in an eggy, ginger-tinged pudding with two large scoops of double-cream ice cream and caramel sauce on the top.

If that doesn’t suit (can’t imagine, but just in case!), here are some other sweet holiday options offered up at icon: Candy Cane Cake, “Build Your Own” Holiday Cookie Plate, or Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Yum, and calories be damned!

It’s been another great year of wining and dining both around the Pacific Northwest, but in other parts of the United States and Canada.

So I thought it’d be fun to throw up photos of some of my favorite dishes from 2011. Herein are the “winners” on that list in no particular order.

The Seafood Skewer served tableside on Holland America’s m.s. Eurodam.

ART Shrimp Cocktail in downtown Seattle’s Four Seasons Hotel

Shuckers Crab Louie in the Fairmont Hotel in Seattle

Antipasti Plate at The Pink Door in the Pike Place Market

Roasted Beet Salad with Grilled Salmon at Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Woodinville, Washington

Vietnamese Crepe at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine in downtown Seattle (now under new ownership with a new name–920 Pike)

Roasted Chicken Caesar Salad with Cheddar Dressing at Dominion Square Taverne in downtown Montreal, Canada

Crab Tails at Elliott’s’ Oyster Bar and Restaurant in downtown Seattle

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad at Place Pigalle in the Pike Place Market

The Abalone Appetizer at The Oyster Bar along the Chuckanut Drive north of Seattle

The Everything Green Salad with Dungeness Crab at The Pink Door in the Pike Place Market

Grilled Oysters with Cheese at The Inn at Semiahmoo in Blaine, Washington

Octopus and Beans at Lecosho on the Harbor Steps in downtown Seattle

Smoked Salmon Appetizer and Side Salad at Luc in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood

Shrimp and Grits at Joule in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood

Tuna Bowl at Revel in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood

And, just for a bit of final fun:

The Fried Mars Bar with Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream at Garde Manger in the Old City section of Montreal, Canada

Glosta lobsta: Braiden wrestles a 1 ¼-pound lobster

During the second port call of our Fall Foliage cruise on the Holland America Line, we stopped in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a.k.a. “Glosta.”

It was a small and not very interesting town, sadly. But we did enjoy lunch at the Seaport Grille, a popular waterfront restaurant and bar, before we got back on the boat.

I was drawn to this particular place (among several recommended dining options) when I saw one of the specials of the day–Steamed lobster with coleslaw, puréed squash (which reminded me of sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving) and potatoes au gratin–all for an astonishingly low $12.95.

I didn’t eat much of the starch or coleslaw, but I did manage to eat the entire lobster. Here are the poor creature’s sad remains.

Glosta lobsta eaten

After I excitedly emailed the “before” photo to a select group of family and friends, I received this response from my talented web designer, Christopher Prouty, founder of Studio 99 Creative.

“There is no better lobster than a Gloucester lobster,” he said. “And here’s a tip. A splash of vinegar in your melted butter adds some incredible flavor… got that from an old Maine lobster man.”

I was intrigued. But what kind of vinegar to use, I wondered. Balsamic would certainly be a big statement. Apple cider would add an interesting tang. Blueberry? Not so much.

Another round of emails elicited suggestions from both Chris and his wife, Amy.

“Malt vinegar for me,” Chris replied, “but Amy is a traditionalist and likes white. You know you get the right amount when it is indiscernible, yet different than regular butter. Yum-yum.”

BTW, my Gloucester lobster paired perfectly with a glass of California Sauvignon Blanc.

Here’s another repost of one of my favorite blogs from the last couple of years. I love the Hipstamatic app and Rachel and Sief’s food, so this is a match made in heaven.

Here’s how I use the Hipstamatic app in food photography. . .

We were out in the car and so finally had the opportunity to try Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi’s new place in Fremont, Revel, a few Sundays ago.

It was around 7 p.m. and the place wasn’t yet packed (around 8 p.m., the tasting bar was packed and the place was hoppin’) so, even without a reservation, we were lucky enough to snag a table for two.

With a vivid painting of Michael Jackson peering down from above, we quickly ordered a glass of  nonvintage Vinho Verde, a delightful Portuguese Rosé with more than a touch of frizzante (me) and a microbrew (SJ) as those two offerings seemed like the perfect pairing for the resto’s upscale street food.

Now you know I love to shoot with my iPhone4, using both the phone’s default camera and the cool Hipstamatic app, which mimics the old plastic cameras from the 1960s, and ’70s.

So above is the regular shot of the yummy condiments that came with out first dish, the amazing Shrimp, Edamame, and Mint Pancake.

And here’s the Hipstamatic–much more dramatic–even the bamboo tabletop is an important element in the photo’s composition.

Here’s the yummy cake normally. . .

And through the eye of one of the Hipstamatic lenses, the Kadot.

The Albacore Tuna, Fennel Kimchi, and Escarole Rice Bowl shot with the iPhone4 camera. . .

And with the Hipstamatic. Note how this app jumps around the field of vision, so that even my knee and the menu come into view.

Spencer’s Short-Rib, Shallot, and Scallion Dumplings with a normal lens. . .

And Hipstamatic style.

For dessert? Revel’s yummy Ginger Jujube Cake with Cardamom Buttercream and Salt+Pepper Caramel regular. . .

And looking slightly sinister (like a gaping smile) using the Hipstamatic.

Happy to report the food was as much fun to eat as it was to photograph. Price points are amazingly low for the quality and quantity of the food. Our total bill with two glasses of wine, two beers, the above-mentioned dishes, plus tip was $88.

Leftovers made welcome additions to a once-in-a-lifetime seafood stew the next day.

While we’re taking a little break, this is a reprint of one of our favorite blog posts from prior years of Northwest Notes. Enjoy!

Last month, while dining at Canaletto, the complimentary, family-style Italian restaurant on Holland America Line’s M.S. Veendam, I ordered a lovely Limoncello Creme dessert.

Big surprise was a shot of the luscious lemon-y liqueur on top of the tart, tempting pudding.

This would be an easy, and elegant, way to bump up any pudding-based dessert, especially an English Trifle. Imagine the possibilities of Limoncello-soaked sponge cake layered with summer stone fruits (juicy peaches, apricots, or cherries) or berries (straw or blue) or winter citrus (oranges or satsumas) plus slightly sweetened whipped heavy cream!

Huckleberry Cupcakes

Just before the Labor Day weekend began, I got a call from our doorman that a delivery had arrived.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Cupcakes,” Nick replied. ”Do you want me to send the delivery man up with them?”

“If it’s cupcakes, then you bet,” I replied.

Turns our our good friends at Cupcake Royale had sent over samples of their September flavors–Huckleberry and (just in time for the start of school) Peanut Butter & Jam Cupcakes. (We wrote a Taste column about this fine company and visionary owner/founder Jody Hall for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine in February 2010.)

Resisting the mightiest temptation, I didn’t dive in immediately, but gave Spencer a call with the good news.

“I’ll be right up,” he said.

Somehow, I managed to deter his visit to my office and we both held of on sampling the compelling cakes until after dinner.

I must admit, the Huckleberry Cupcake, with its silky white body studded with berries and its icing so very, very huckleberry good, hit the spot when paired with a nightcap (just a wee glass!) of Australian Shiraz-Viognier we had left over from the evening before.

The Peanut Butter and Jam Cupcake

The PB and J went down nicely with a more “normal” accompaniment–a glass of cold milk. Peanut butter is one of my favorite foods in the world, and I go “nuts” for anything that’s salted caramel, so this cupcake flavor combo really rang my chimes.

You might have seen Cupcake Royale on a recent episode of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Here are more details on the company’s September offerings.

Huckleberry Cupcake

Say goodbye to summer and hello to huckleberries. It’s a fair trade-off in our book and we always celebrate September with our Huckleberry Cupcake (aka “the Huck”). We fold in fresh, local huckleberries (fresh, as in they were picked for us this past weekend) into our vanilla cupcake and top it with a huckleberry buttercream frosting. This cupcake brings all the bears to the yard. We have partnered with local farm Foraged & Found Edibles to provide us with our huckleberry crop this year. In case you don’t know what a huckleberry is, think of it as the little brother to a blueberry but with even more flavor.

Peanut Butter and Jam Cupcake

Peanut Butter and Jam, sitting in a tree. This classic combo has our vanilla cupcake, filled with fresh local strawberry jam (fresh, as in they made it last week) topped with a super fluffy, salty peanut butter buttercream. Sprinkled with chopped peanuts and a coarse sugar and sea salt mix.

Joule, in the Wallingford neighborhood a few miles from downtown Seattle, has long been one of our favorite restaurants for its creative and seamless merging of Korean and French cuisine.

I’ve blogged (and raved) about it many times before, and glad to report it continues to do what it has always done so well.

Here’s a dish I enjoyed as my entrée on a recent visit–Hawaiian Prawns Stone Pot with Scallion Grits and Collard Greens. The meltingly tender grits, loaded with butter, were topped by gorgeous prawns with the heads still on.

Although messy (this was one dish where you had to play with your food!) they was very much of a reward.

Just for fun, here’s a shot I did with my iPhone4 using the Hipstamatic app, which makes photos look old-timey, as if taken with plastic cameras from the 1960s.

And here are the remains of the meal taken conventionally. . .

And with the Hipstamatic.

It’s getting close to lunch time as I write this, and I truly wish I had a pot o’grits and some of those incredible shellfish for my midday repast.

One of our favorite places to pop in for a late-afternoon, after-work glass of wine and appetizers is our neighbor just across the courtyard, ART Restaurant & Lounge in the Four Seasons Hotel.

We’ve long been fans of Chef Kerry Sear’s amazing sliders–available in salmon, veggie, and beef iterations. We’ve also loved his shrimp appetizer, which featured perfectly cooked chunks of shrimp with a shooter glass full of spicy tomato juice. Eat a bite of shrimp, sip the juice, and you had a cool-tasting treat.

After a recent menu change, we were heartsick to find out the former shrimp app had disappeared, replaced with a new version–Poached Blue Shrimp with Lemon-Cilantro Aïoli and Chili Olive Oil.

But not to worry. It’s a gorgeous dish, served in a clear cup over dry ice, so that it leaves a trail of “smoke” as it passes through the dining room.

Which more than qualifies ART’s Poached Blue Shrimp as our Dish of the Day.

A couple of months ago, I started to become interested in plastic cameras, inexpensive cameras that offer unusual effects when you take pictures with them.

I was going to get a Holga or a set of Lensbaby lenses that diffuse the light, produce light leaks and color shifts, and shoot off center.

But, recent convert to Apple’s amazing iPhone4 that I am, instead I discovered an app called Hipstamatic that automatically creates these rather wonky images.

At first I thought I’d use the Hipstamatic iPhone app only to take photos in my other life. But one Saturday afternoon, over lunch at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine in downtown Seattle, I started playing around on some food shots.

Here’s one of the first ones I took. A simple shot of our tea cups and pot, striking against the vivid grains of the bamboo tabletop. And you just gotta love the 1960s-era ivory edges!

Below is my Vietnamese Crepe taken in a lot of natural light with the regular iPhone4 camera.

Same photo taken with the Hipstamatic! I love the way the crumpled napkin in my lap becomes part of the photo. . .like some sort of weird white sculptural element.

Over dinner at Vito’s on First Hill that evening, I took a photo of my Angel Hair Pasta with Calamari using the regular camera.

And the Hipstamatic, which created a warm and romantic shot, like something from another era.

Sunday evening, during dinner at the ever-romantic and long-running Andaluca in the Mayflower Park Hotel, I couldn’t resist playing around with the Hipstamatic once again.

Here’s a shot of our wine bottle and glass. . .love the frayed edges and rich, warm, crimson tones created by the seemingly magical Hipstamatic app.

I’m continuing to experiment with this very HIP(stamatic) app, and will post more food shots from time to time, so please stay tuned!