My friend, colleague, and fellow Seattle Dame Gwen Bassetti, is the founder of Grand Central Baking Company in Seattle, which has since sprouted branches elsewhere in Seattle and also in Portland.

Gwen has long since turned daily operations over to the next generation, and the happy news is that daughter Piper Davis is just out with a lovely new tome entitled (appropriately) The Grand Central Baking Book.

Published by Ten Speed Press, it’s chock full of recipes from the bakery, family favorites, and glorious photos. This is a book for every baker’s shelf, and would also make the perfect holiday gift.

Here’s a photo of Gwen (right) and Piper during a book signing at the venerable Elliott Bay Book Co. in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. The day after the signing, the sad word came out that the venerable bookstore is in financial trouble and may be forced to move, essentially pulling the plug on an anchor store in this part of our town.

The Seattle Times editorial page ran a thought-provoking article about Elliott Bay in its October 27 issue.

Our dear friends, Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, recently celebrated 20 years since founding the Pike Pub and Brewing Company. We’re especially partial to the place since it’s located in the basement of our condominium building, so easy to get to for a wonderful lunch or dinner.

To celebrate the big event, the happy couple invited 450 kindred souls for a fun-filled evening of food-, beer-, and friendship.

Here’s they are with birthday cake and balloons; the staff also gave them a quilt emblazoned with logos from Pike Pub t-shirts.

And a good time was had by all!

Some dishes are (almost) too pretty to eat. Which is the feeling I had when this gorgeous Baby Artichoke Salad with Vine-Ripened Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan was laid before me at Barolo Ristorante in downtown Seattle.

Properly called Carciofi alla Romana in Italian, I was immediately taken by the visual image of baby artichokes made to look like flowers–the artichoke heart’s leaves serving as the flower’s “petals” and sprigs of fresh basil as its “leaves.”

Once I broke down and tasted the dish, I was smitten with the tender flesh of the slow-roasted artichokes, the meltingly gentle tomato sauce, the punch from the basil pesto, and the crunch of the toasted pine nuts.

Willis Hall 2007 Roussanne, produced under the loving hand of winemaker and friend John Bell, formed a clean, crisp foil to the strong flavors of this dish.

All of which more than qualifies Barolo’s Carciofi alla Romana as today’s Dish of the Day.

Union’s daily Happy Hour is one of the happiest deals in town, for sure. Available from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and from 10:00 p.m. to midnight (with drink specials until closing time), the restaurant at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street offers some real deals.

Pictured above is the Panzanella–Fennel, Apple, and Smoked Bacon Bread Salad ($6).

Below is the Spaghetti with Veal Meatballs, Tomato, and a flurry of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano ($8).

Cavatelli (Rabbit Bolognese with Tomato Sauce and more shaved Parm) was also $8.

During Happy Hour draft beer is $1 off; well drinks and select wines are $5; and Martinis and Manhattans are $7.

Here’s something that’s not included in Happy Hour, but worth ordering in any case. It’s a semifreddo-like nougat mousse with a sweet strawberry sauce. Loved the crunchy glazed nuts within!

On a busy Saturday evening, we made our way through bustling Belltown for our dinner reservation at Tavolàta, chef/owner Ethan Stowell’s Italian restaurant along Second Avenue.

We were starving, so quickly ordered the Grilled Octopus with Spring Onion, Lemon, Anchovy, and Capers. The octopus arrived in all its glory, its tentacles artfully twirled, its texture perfectly tender and pleasantly chewy. A squirt or two of fresh lemon juice really brought out its sweet/salty flavor.

Campanelle with Mediterranean Mussels, Asparagus, Basil Pesto, and Preserved Lemon was rich, creamy, and toothsome, not to mention such a generous portion we took more than half home to enjoy another night.

When you eat out as much as Spencer and I do, you start to order certain menu items (think roasted chicken, seafood pasta, main-dish Caesar salads) that are standards on many restaurant menus.

Of late, Whole Grilled or Roasted Fish has become one of these standards. We’ve raved about the whole Idaho trout offerings at Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market and Palace Kitchen. Branzino restaurant has a whole preparation of its namesake fish. And the Pink Door does a nice job with whole branzino as well.

Here’s our newest discovery. Whole Roasted Branzino with Caramelized Fennel, Cerignola Olives, Scallions, and Lemon at Tulio Ristorante in downtown Seattle’s Hotel Vintage Park-yum!

A couple of weeks ago, well-known Seattle p.r. maven Lori Randall (Randall Public Relations) and I met up for some female networking at Troiani Ristorante Italiano.

I hadn’t been there in years; located in  Seattle’s Financial District, at the corner of Third Avenue and Marion Street, it’s one of those places that lies just a little outside my normal flight path.

It’s frequented by stockbrokers and lawyers, as attested to by one of Lori’s recent press releases which says, “For those working on East Coast time, Troiani continues to offer its Broker’s Happy Hour from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. along with its West Coast Happy Hour from 3 p.m. to close.”

My loss for passing this by until now, for Troiani pumps out plentiful plates at plenty reasonable prices.

As we bellied up to the bar, we sampled through the following four plates, moving from upper left to right. Porchetta Sliders (three for $4.50) consisted of shaved, roasted pork; sweet-and-sour peppers; and garlic aïoli. Pancetta-Wrapped Prawns ($3.00 each/four for $10) were giant charcoal-grilled, pancetta-wrapped prawns with golden-raisin/scallion pesto sauce. Caprese Skewers (two for $2) were simply bocconcini (miniature mozzarella balls) interlaced with grape tomatoes and served over a bed of lightly dressed arugula and basil. Calamari Strangolanti ($7) was a portion large enough for an entrée–the tender calamari circles and tentacles sauced with olives, tomato, capers, garlic, chili, lemon and served with grilled ciabatta.

Wines by the glass are reasonably priced and thoughtfully chosen; pours are generous, which makes Troiani Ristorante Italiano an excellent choice for a sip and an app.

Curious about the new Hard Rock Cafe? Me, too. And since it’s in my ‘hood, on the way home yesterday, I stopped to snap a shot across the street from the Second Avenue and Pike Street construction site.

The “bones” of the old building look gorgeous–coliseum-style and majestic. Here’s a link to the official Web site, with the architect’s rendering of the final facade and interior spaces.

Whether patronized by tourists or locals, here’s hoping this establishment helps to clean up this notoriously bad block of downtown Seattle.

We had a good meal at Long Provincial Vietnamese Restaurant recently, where the space was a welcome change from the neon-lime, tangerine, and vanilla colors/starkness of the former QUBE.

Now it’s all gunmetal and royal purple colors. Grass-like screens cover the windows and keep out the street scenes and light so you really focus on your food and friends/significant other. There’s a gorgeous oversize bowl with flames flickering out the middle and a large fish tank that separates bar from dining room–both are calming and very Zen.

The menu was voluminous (perhaps like Tamarind Tree Restaurant, its popular sister restaurant in the International District)–with nine (count ’em!) kinds of salad rolls ranging from fried tofu to turmeric-marinated catfish to lemongrass beef! I got mine with grilled chicken (above), which was dark meat and really could have been just about anything since it was strangely tasteless. The accompanying peanut sauce helped moisten and liven them up.

Better results with the Tamarind Tree Soup, above. I loved the interplay of sweet pineapple with the seafood-tamarind broth and the combination of catfish fillet, prawns, and scallops.

We took home more than half for leftovers the next day and added our own shellfish and veggies for protein and texture, plus a can of Fire-Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles for additional (spicy) broth. Yum!

Spencer liked his entrée of Grilled Beef Short Ribs served with a Mixed Herb Fish Sauce. The Garlic Green Beans were way good and garlic-y, too!

We can’t wait to go back to explore the menu further. Wines by the glass were interesting–I had a Grüner Veltliner and Torróntes, a “hot” new varietal from Argentina that’s supposed to be perfect for summer sipping. It didn’t hit my spot as much as the Grüvee, but also didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the food.