Our longtime friend and colleague, Michael Teer, owner of Pike & Western Wine Shop in the Pike Place Market (where we buy lots of our vino thanks to its convenient location right near our condo and excellent selection of both Northwest and global wines), recently opened a second location in the hottest new neighborhood/work area in Seattle: South Lake Union.

A couple of Saturdays ago, braving frigid blasts although the skies were (blessedly) sunny, we hopped aboard the SLUT (South Lake Union Transit) and stopped off near SoulWine.

The gorgeous corner-location shop is in the same complex as Seattle celebrity chef Tom Douglas’s second location of Serious Pie and the Dahlia Workshop, a casual take-out biscuit and breakfast/lunch/brunch spot. Both venues were well populated for lunch the Saturday afternoon we visited.

Photo of SoulWine interior courtesy of Reiner Perry, KPIS

“Pike & Western is like a first born that I have grown and nurtured,” Michael told us. “It was one of the first wine shops in Seattle and has a long history of supporting Washington wines. It has afforded me long-lasting relationships with premium wineries domestically and internationally, many of which find their way to SoulWine.”

Here are some snippets from the press release that went out shortly after SoulWine’s soft opening in early January:

*SoulWine features retail wine sales, a tasting bar and a private event space.

*The name, SoulWine, is rooted in Michael’s lifelong appreciation of wines with soul – wines that reflect a sense of place and a sense of the people who made them – and his love for old-school soul music.

*The collection of wines reflects Michael’s passion for supporting the growers and small, handcrafted producers that put their “soul” into the dirt, the grapes, and the wine they produce, with an eye to unique quality and value across the price spectrum.

*Michael thoughtfully selects every bottle that is offered at SoulWine, many of which reflect his strong ties with Italy, France, Germany and Austria as well as wines from Washington and Oregon.

*The 1600-square-foot space houses a careful selection of both high-end and value wines, a tasting bar that seats six, a window counter for casual tastings that seats six and a private-event space that seats up to 20 and can be used for casual gatherings and educational wine events, complete with wine reference materials.

*SoulWine is open Mon. through Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit the website at www.SoulWineSeattle.com.

Taste Washington, the largest single-region wine and food event in the country, returns for its 14th year on Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27, in Seattle.

The weekend kicks off on Saturday, March 26, with a series of seminars at Bell Harbor International Conference Center. These fun and educational panels feature renowned wine experts from across the country leading in-depth explorations of Washington State wines. This year’s panelists include Dave McIntyre, Wine Columnist for The Washington Post; Chef Michael Mina of Bourbon Steak and RN74; Leslie Sbrocco, contributor to NBC’s “Today”; Sara Schneider, Wine Editor for Sunset; Bruce Schoenfeld, Wine Editor for Travel + Leisure; and Jason Smith, Master Sommelier and Wine Director at Bellagio Las Vegas.

The highlight of the weekend is the Grand Tasting on Sunday, March 27, at Qwest Field Event Center, with more than 200 Washington State wineries and the region’s top restaurants sampling their latest releases and newest creations. The Grand Tasting also features celebrity chef demonstrations; dessert and coffee bars; and a vineyard tasting area, allowing guests to compare and contrast the wide variety of wines that are made from some of Washington State’s most sought-after vineyards.

“Featuring more than 200 Washington State wineries and the Northwest’s leading restaurants under one roof, the Grand Tasting makes Taste Washington the largest single-region wine and food event in the country,” according to Robin Pollard, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission.

First I lost the splint. . .

Now the stitches are gone, too! Amazing how quickly the human body can heal.

Thanks to all who expressed well wishes for a quick recovery.

On the mend and brushing on ScarGuard (a nail-polish-like substance that purports to diminish scars) twice a day.

We’ve all heard of and enjoyed Alaskan king crab legs and claws. But how many of us have heard of Alaskan King crab TAILS?

I certainly hadn’t until I received a press release from the good folks at Elliott’s Oyster House & Restaurant in Seattle that informed me that although King crab tails are a rarity in restaurants, they are featured on Elliott’s Oyster House’s lunch and dinner menus this month.

Elliott’s executive chef Robert Spaulding describes the texture of crab tails as “somewhat like shrimp and the sweet taste of crab.”Although with the striated strips of flesh and mild taste, crab tails reminded me more of a cross between skate and monkfish.

A quick Google search turned up the following description of where crab tails actually come from: “King crabs have ‘tails,’ or abdomens, that are distinctive, being fan-shaped and tucked underneath the rear of the shell. Female king crab’s abdomen or ‘tail’ is very wide, covering a portion of each basal leg segment. Embryos are brooded under this tail on adults. Male king crabs have triangular shaped ‘tails’ which are only one third the size of females.”

In chef Robert’s preparation, which is served as an appetizer, three meaty crab-tail medallions are marinated with chili sauce, garlic, and shallots. They are then expertly grilled, with the perfect amount of char around the edges. Served with Jicama-Chayote Slaw and Chili-Lime Beurre-Blanc sauce, the Spicy Grilled King Crab Medallions, the generous serving (which was plenty for my entrée) is a steal at just $13.

And the good news is that “the tails are available as long as the frozen stock lasts, often into late summer or early fall,” according to chef Robert. “Fresh are generally not available as they are taken off at the processing plants and frozen.”

Cheers to today’s lesson in Northwest seafood!

Photo courtesy of Elliott’s Oyster House

It’s never too late to update your calendar with key dates of all the fun events that take place each year at the “soul of Seattle,” a.k.a., the Pike Place Market.

Daffodil Day, Friday, March 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: The Market community and volunteers take to downtown-Seattle street corners to pass out thousands of locally grown daffodils and celebrate the arrival of spring.

Care for the Market Luncheon, Monday, May 16: Join Market supporters as they gather together to raise money for all the ongoing good work of the Pike Place Market Foundation.

Sunset Supper, Friday, August 19: The best bash of the year as the city’s key chefs and restaurateurs hit the pavers to cook at sunset while lucky party-goers sip, sup, and dance under the stars.

A recent press release came with the happy news that The Art Institute Portfolio Restaurant is just about to celebrate its tenth anniversary celebration and that the public is cordially invited to join the students, staff, and faculty in celebrating the restaurant’s big day.

Portfolio serves as an educational dining lab for students from The International Culinary School at AiS. Classical cuisine and white-linen service are de rigeuer here. Last summer, we enjoyed a multi-course meal and perfectly paired wine, thanks to long-time restaurant manager, Dieter Schaefer.

Under Dieter’s direction, upper-level students will create, prepare, and serve several four-course menus to choose from. Wines from Washington’s Willis Hall Winery will be matched to your menu choices.

This event is your opportunity to experience for yourself the outstanding cuisine, unique environment, and lovely Elliott Bay views of one of Seattle’s outstanding culinary institutes.

Event Specifics:

Wednesday through Friday, March 9 to 11, 2011.

Seatings daily at 5:30 and 6:00 pm.

The Art Institute’s Portfolio Restaurant

2600 Alaskan Way, Seattle WA  98121

Dinner with Wine $39, without Wine $29.

Reservations required by phone 206-239-2363.

Info @ WineDieter@cs.com.

Scenes from our 2010 our small fundraising event, La Dolce Vita, held at the Women’s University Club

Last November, I became president of Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter, an invitational organization of women leaders in food, beverage, and hospitality whose mission is education, advocacy, and philanthropy.

Every other year, Les Dames, Seattle undertakes a major fundraising auction, with a smaller fundraising event in alternating years.

This year’s auction, entitled, Drink { Dine } Dash: An Evening of Great Taste, takes place on Thursday evening, March 31, at the Women’s University Club in downtown Seattle.

Drink {Dine} Dash promises to be an evening full of great food (a four-course meal created by our chef and restaurateur members), accompanied by fine wines (many donated or produced by our own members), and capped off by the famous Dessert Dash (a race for your favorite Dames-made dessert).

Tickets cost $125 per person. Please buy early, as the popular event is always a sell out!

Remember the holidays? They seem like such a long time ago. We’ve even seen Valentine’s Day come and go. Times flies when you’re having fun, etc.

But one meal we enjoyed in December still sticks in my mind. We enjoyed it right after we returned from our Carmel and San Francisco getaway/food-and-wine fest/decadent dalliance.

Since we overindulged so much during those glorious nine days, the moment we returned to Seattle I knew it was time to get back to my usual, more sensible diet.

As often happens when we return from and an eat-and-drink fest, I craved The Pike Pub’s Spinach Salad with an Oven-Roasted Wild Salmon Fillet. It’s a healthy combination of the freshest baby spinach leaves, a perfectly cooked piece of wild salmon (medium-rare in the middle), slivered almonds, a sprinkling of real Parmigiano-Reggiano, and hard-boiled eggs.

It’s usually tossed with low-cal Honey-Mustard Dressing. Good girl that I was and am, I always ask for my dressing on the side so I can drizzle, dip, and dab to my heart’s content.

It’s served with a freshly baked Spent-Grain Roll, which, by meal’s end, helped me scrape up every last piece of spinach and salmon from my plate.

My better half ordered his favorite, the Pub’s perfectly battered and air-fried Halibut and Chips. As good as I was trying to be diet-wise that day, I really love it when he orders this dish cuz I can steal a good, browned corner of one of the fish fillets and a few fries, and thereby get my crunch and potato fix for the week.

During our meal, we enjoyed catching up with the Pike Pub’s effusive founders and owners–Rose Ann and Charles Finkel–one of the most fun couples we know.

We realized that, as much as we love California, it felt great to be home. . .

Which more than qualifies The Pike Pub’s Spinach Salmon Salad and Halibut and Chips as our Dishes of the Day.

January is a prime month for enjoying raw oysters on the half shell. And I love nothing better than partaking of them myself and shooting a photo or two both before and after (better to see the beautiful shells)!

Here is the gorgeous plate served up at TASTE Restaurant in the Seattle Art Museum (currently closed until February 15 as part of the furlough imposed on all SAM properties to help save money).

And more bounteous beauties from Shuckers restaurant in the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Varieties (left to right) are: Hunter Point (kind of bland–almost meat-like!), Kumamoto (a bit watery, but always a favorite), and Penn Cove (very briny).

Nothing this good ever lasts long enough. . .

Here’s the lovely oyster service at Cafe Campagne in the Pike Place Market.

And just for fun, a duo of oysters at Blueacre Seafood. . .a bit of lagniappe from the resident expert oyster shucker at the seafood bar that evening.

It’s that sick and sickening time of year again. . .cold and flu season. And when coughs, sniffles, and sneezing season is rife, nothing beats a big bowl of soup to loosen the phlegm and raise the spirits.

Here are three soups that truly reign supreme in the downtown-Seattle soup universe.

Chicken Pho at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine

Matzoh Ball Soup has long been known as a cure-all for seasonal sickness. But I’d like to nominate the Chicken Pho at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine as a strong contender. Warm chicken broth, redolent with fresh coriander and green chiles, and swimming with noodles and white-meat chicken chunks is as much fun to “doctor” up (so to speak) with Thai Sriracha sauce, soy sauce, and a few drops of fresh lime juice, as it is to eat (with chopsticks and a deep spoon).

The venerable Seven Elements Soup at Wild Ginger

For years, I’ve been ordering and enjoying a venerable signature dish at Wild Ginger–Seven Elements Soup–but only at lunch (sadly, it’s not available on the dinner menu). Its coconut-curry stock is thick with three kinds of noodles, the most tender white chicken breast chunks, fresh coriander, and dried chiles. To gild the lily (as if it needed it), coconut cream and thin slices of red onion adorn the top.

Spicy King Crab Soup at Japonessa Sushi Cocina

A newcomer in the sphere of outstanding Seattle soups–Spicy King Crab Soup–comes from  Japonessa Sushi Cocina, which is conveniently located just across the street from our condo. The slightly sweet seafood stock boasts a bit of a back-throat burn, but in a good and addictive way. A generous number of king-crab claws are perfectly sliced up the back so the meat is easy to remove and toss with the soup.

So whether you are hail or hearty, these three Seattle soups are worthy of  your slurping pleasure.