During our recent birthdays, Spencr and I let down our guards just a little bit while still trying to remain on our low-carb/high-protein diet.

One Sunday last month, after a rather unsuccessful morning trying to tour Pioneer Square galleries for inspiration (most were closed on Sundays), we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant, about midway between Pioneer Square and our condo.

We’d eaten at Fado before, and knew that the Pub has yummy main-dish salads. And although we’d normally go for the grilled chicken as our protein addition, this day (again, to celebrate our birthdays, and with the urging of our server) we opted for fried-chicken tenders.

My salad–augmented with sliced pears, mandarin oranges, spicy nuts, and blue cheese–was a lovely combo of sweet, salty, and pungent flavors. The crispy, perfectly fried chicken contrasted nicely with soft, super-fresh local baby lettuces.

I had to laugh when I perused the seasonal beverage menu and discovered under the Shots section both Pickleback (Irish Whiskey with a pickle-brine chaser) and Irish Breakfast (Irish Whiskey and Butterscotch Schnapps with an orange-juice chaser and bacon garnish.

Although my father’s side of the family is Irish, and I do love my wine, neither of these tickles my palate, although imbibing one or the other would make me or anyone want to do an Irish jig.

It’s time to buy your tickets for Elliott’s Oyster New Year, which will be held on Saturday, November 4.

VIP Champagne Reception ticket holders  can enjoy passed appetizers and champagne beginning at 4 p.m., followed by the main event at 5 p.m. ($125 per person plus tax).

General admission tickets (from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.) cost $95 per person plus tax.

During this exciting annual event, guests can choose among:

• 30+ varieties of local oysters

• Oysters shucked to order along our 90-foot oyster bar

• Fresh seafood buffet

• Over 40 wineries

• Local microbrews

• Live music

• The famous Oyster Luge

• Shucking demonstration and contest

• People’s Choice “Most Beautiful Oyster” contest

In keeping with Elliott’s eco-friendly practices, the restaurant reuses or recycle everything possible from the event, and composts all shells and food waste in partnership with Cedar Grove.

All proceeds from the Oyster New Year Bash will benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Since 1997 this non-profit organization has been dedicated to restoring the Sound’s water quality and native marine species and their habitats.

Elliott’s is Seafood WATCH®-compliant and actively participates in the Puget Sound Restoration Fund’s Henderson Inlet Project , The Humane Society, and Wild Salmon Supporters.

The Pike Place Market’s semiannual celebration of local artisanal food and beverages–Arcade Lights–takes place again on Friday, October 12, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Located in the Market’s North Arcade, the event brings together all the right elements for a hearty fall harvest celebration including robust drink, savory and sweet treats, eclectic entertainment, and a cozy venue with a sunset view.

To create this unique banquet of handcrafted tastes and small plates, event organizers curated more than 60 breweries, wineries, and small-scale food businesses to participate in this evening event for guests 21 and over.

A short list of participating breweries includes: Iron Horse Brewery (Ellensburg); Odin Brewing Co., Fremont Brewing, Naked City Brewery, Pike Place Brewing Company (Seattle); Fish Brewing Co. (Olympia); Diamond Knot Craft Brewing (Mukilteo); Northwest Brewing Company (Pacific); and 7 Seas Brewing (Gig Harbor).

Washington wineries providing tastes of their seasonal best include: Piccola Cellars, EFESTE (Woodinville); Bunchgrass Winery (Walla Walla); Naches Heights Vineyard (Yakima); Finnriver Cidery (Chimacum); and Vortex Cellars (Redmond).

Sweet and savory handmade small bites will provide a perfect complement to the brews, wines, and ciders. On the sweet side, treats such as mini ice cream sandwiches, Liege waffles (a type of Belgian waffle), cupcakes, gluten-free cakes and tarts, marshmallows, dark chocolate brownies and Ice-pops will be provided by: Trophy Cupcakes and Party, Sweet Iron Waffles, Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream, Six Strawberries, Dolce Lou, Sweet Coconut Bakery, Alaska Silk Pie Co., and others.

On the salty side, CRUST from Port Townsend will be on deck with quince chicken hand pies, and Seattle’s Salumi will serve up salami slices. Uli’s Famous Sausage will roll out meat treats from their shop located in the Market, while Roving Pizzaioli from Normandy Park dishes out delicious slices fresh from the oven.

In addition to all the fun you’ll have, Arcade Lights also benefits the Market Foundation and the human service agencies at the Pike Place Market: Pike Market Child Care and Preschool, Pike Market Medical Clinic, Pike Market Senior Center, and Downtown Food Bank.

Arcade Lights Event Info

Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

Online Purchase: http://arcadelights.brownpapertickets.com/

Treats included: 10 tokens to be redeemed for food and beverages and keepsake glass. Additional tokens may be purchased at the event for $2.50 each.

Time: 7 pm -10 pm. Tickets may be picked up at will call or purchased at the door at 6:30 pm.

More info: visit http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/news_events/arcadelights for a complete updated list of participating vendors.

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The Pike Place Market is one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the U.S. It is a Historic District with 250 commercial businesses, 100 farmers, 225 craftspeople, 300 street performers, and 500 residents. In addition, there are social services to help downtown’s low-income residents. It is often called the “Soul of Seattle.”

The Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority (PDA) is a not-for-profit, public corporation chartered by the City of Seattle in 1973 to manage the properties in the nine-acre Market Historic District. The PDA is required to preserve, rehabilitate and protect the Market’s buildings, increase opportunities for farm and food retailing in the Market, incubate and support small and marginal businesses, and provide services for low-income people. www.pikeplacemarket.org

The “Fresh Faces of the Future” tasting menu kicked off at the Space Needle’s Sky City restaurant on October 1, and boy, was it delicious!

Fresh Faces partners professional chef  instructors and students from Seattle’s most esteemed culinary programs with SkyCity Executive Chef Jeff Maxfield. Each group prepares one original dish to contribute to the five-course tasting menu.

It was fun to see long-time Seattle culinary authorities including Linda Pal Chauncey, associate dean of Seattle Culinary Academy (SCA) at Seattle Central Community College, and Will McNamara during the evening. I first met chef McNamara years ago when he was working at Place Pigalle in the Pike Place Market. More recently, he served as exec chef at the Washington Athletic Club, and is now sharing his wisdom with students at South Seattle Community College (SSCC).

The other schools represented on the menu are Seattle Le Cordon Bleu and FareStart.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the month-long tasting menu ($62 per person) will benefit each participating school’s scholarship fund.

Views from Sky City were gorgeous, especially since we arrived at 6:45 p.m., right around sunset.

The Fresh Faces menu was colorful and inviting. . .

As was our first course of Potato “Pinxtos” (Saffron Scallops, Coriander Lox, and Fennel Mojama) created by SCA student Claire Elise Mitchell. The dish was adapted from an award-winning tapa Claire created using Northwest seafood and produce as inspiration.

Next up? Roasted Wild Mushroom Salad, an intriguing juxtaposition of duck rillettes and a dinosaur kale salad rife with chanterelle mushrooms. Douglas-fir gel balls added an interesting textural touch. This dish was created by Varin Keokitvon from FareStart.

Chef McNamara offered up the evening’s third course, and perhaps my favorite: Dry-Rubbed Seared Scallops, spicy good with Moroccan-style garbanzo beans, grilled peppers, spinach, and Charmoula dressing. Chef McNamara feels that, within the next 50 years, the African continent will become a major player on the world stage. His dish was an ode to flavors from those countries.

Sky City’s chef, Jeff Maxfield, served up the evening’s main course–Hay-Roasted Carlton Farms Pork. Because I don’t eat pork, he was nice enough to substitute my favorite protein, wild Alaskan salmon.

The kingly fish danced atop the plate along with black garlic, beet spaetzle cake, creamed collard greens, and huckleberry jam. Chef Jeff describes hay roasting as an old European technique in which meat is roasted in freshly harvested hay; his spaetzle cake was a modern twist on a classic dumpling; and other parts of the dish inspired by home-style canning recipes passed down through the generations.

Richard Carpenter and Brian Figler of Le Cordon Bleu gifted us with an exceptional seasonal dessert. Jones Orchard Apple Financier was accompanied by artistic squiggles of Whidbey Island Port syrup and dressed with cardamom crème Chantilly. Ooh-la-la!

We chose to drink one of Sky City’s featured Winery of the Month wines, a crisp, well-balanced  Woodinville Wine Cellars 2011 Sauvignon Blanc that partnered perfectly with each and every course. Had we wanted red, the menu also included Woodinville Wine Cellars 2009 Little Bear Creek Red Blend.

On April Fool’s Day, 2009, we introduced a new feature on the Northwest Wining and Dining website called the Puget Sound Cam, or PSCam.

The PSCam is located in my husband’s office/studio five floors below the condo in which we have lived the past 20 years in downtown Seattle.

The PSCam boasts a westerly view of the Waterfront, with views across Elliott Bay to West Seattle and the Olympic Mountains. In the foreground of the Cam’s bird’s-eye view, you can see the new Seattle Great Wheel spinning away, as well as ferry boats and container ships plying their routes.

During this final gasp of summer in Seattle, I’ve captured some of the best shots from the PSCam and wanted to share them with you here.

A sunny day with both a ferry boat and tanker in the distance!

Brooding skies!

Sunset’s majesty.

More glorious sunshine!

As mentioned in an earlier post, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter will host its annual fundraiser, Fish Tales & Pike Ales, on Thursday, September 27, from 5:30 to 8:30 at the Pike Pub in downtown Seattle.

And now is the time to PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS if you haven’t already done so!

Here are some of the latest details about the event, which promises to be both educational and fun (and how often can you say that after a big night out)?!?!

*Bubbles Bar (sparkling-wine bar) during the Reception, which will feature Taylor Shellfish oysters on the half shell, smoked salmon, snow crab claws, Salumi charcuterie, and an assortment of breads from Le Panier Very French Bakery.

*Seafood industry speakers include Karl Uri of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), Mark Tupper (Triad/Bruce Gore Seafood), and John Martin (Intersea Fisheries West).

*Attendees will “schooled” in how seafood is caught, flash-frozen at sea, then distributed to our tables.

*Dames chefs for the evening will represent the culinary side of things, with ideas on how best to prepare and serve Pacific cod, Dungeness crab, and sockeye salmon.

*Dames dishes include King Crab and Corn Chowder, Thai-Inspired Cod Lettuce Wraps, and Spicy Wild Salmon (stuffed with a Dungeness crab cake!).

*Beer pairings for the Reception and with each of three courses generously supplied by our host, Pike Brewing Company.

*Wine pairings include wines from such well-respected Washington-State wineries as Chinook Wines, McCrea Cellars, and Domaine Ste. Michelle.

*Two types of gelato from Gelatiamo, including Pike XXXXX Stout and a brand-new seasonal flavor created just for the event, topped by a specially designed cookie[box] fish-shaped cookie!

So PLEASE buy your tickets today. . .100% of proceeds will continue to fund Les Dames, Seattle’s culinary, beverage, and hospitality scholarships; community-outreach programs; sustainable-agriculture projects; and Green Tables grants.

And if you are unable to attend yourself, please consider buying a ticket (or three) for family members, friends, or colleagues.

Tickets to Fish Tales would also be a nice gift idea with the holidays fast approaching.

Please make your reservations for Fish Tales & Pike Ales, a progressive educational dinner presented by Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter (LDES).

LDES is a group VERY near and dear to my heart; since joining the group in March 2004, I have served as International Liaison, Vice President/Program Chair, Secretary, and President. Starting in October, I will serve on the national board.

Fish Tales & Pike Ales will take place on Thursday, September 27, from 5:30 to 8:30, at the Pike Pub, 1415 First Avenue, in downtown Seattle.

Fish Tales & Pike Ales is designed to “school” both food-professional and consumer “a-fish-ionados” on the virtues of wild seafood, as well as the attributes and advantages of using frozen products. Event attendees will be divided into three groups “schooled” by professional fishers, cookbook authors, and other seafood-savvy experts.

The event’s major donor, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), will supply a diverse assortment of Alaskan-sourced seafood, with dishes prepared by LDES members. Pike Pub and Washington wineries will provide beverage pairings.

Tickets cost $75 per person and are available through PayPal on the LDES website.

A $500 raffle basket containing a Kindle Fire, a gift card for e-books, and other Dames-donated items will be another exciting part of the Fish Tales & Pike Ales fundraiser.

So please make your reservations now, and plan to attend Fish Tales & Pike Ales!

A Corks and Canvas class held this summer on the patio at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood

With September comes the start of school for children, but what about classes for adults?

If the thought of trying your hand at something new inspires you this fall, consider attending a Corks and Canvas event, which combines a lesson in painting with Washington wine tasting!

Corks and Canvas Events, a local company that combines wine tasting with painting, was co-founded by Washington wine enthusiasts Lisa Cryder and Stefanie Hare.

In a local winery or hotel and nonjudgmental atmosphere, you spend the evening sipping Washington wine and painting a beautiful acrylic masterpiece.

Cost: Corks and Canvas events cost $45 per person, which includes art instruction, supplies, and the first glass of wine for inspiration. Everyone goes home with their very own masterpiece.

When: Check out the Corks and Canvas calendar page for specific dates and times.

An actual Corks and Canvas painting done by Spencer Johnson

Monthly Event Locations:

Apex at Alder Ridge Tasting Room, Woodinville, WA

J. Bookwalter Tasting Studio, Woodinville, WA

Matthews Estate Winery, Woodinville, WA

VoVina Wine and Vodka Tasting Martini Bar, Kirkland, WA

Urban Enoteca, Seattle, WA

Pan Pacific Hotel Lobby Bar, Seattle, WA

Vino at the Landing, Renton WA

Wine Styles, Bothell, WA

Elliott’s Seafood Café during construction

Over the past several months, we’ve enjoyed watching the old, outdated Steamer’s Cafe space on the Seattle Waterfront transform into the sleek, new Elliott’s Seafood Café.

Designed as an energetic sidewalk oyster bar, the new Café offers a casual complement to Elliott’s Oyster House.

Elliott’s Seafood Cafe Oyster Bar

Elliott’s Seafood Cafe features an outdoor oyster bar where guests can sit or stand, a full-service bar, and happy-hour offerings. The menu comprises casual and fun seafood dishes; table service is available all day. Take-out food and retail items are also for sale.

Interior of the new Elliott’s Seafood Cafe

The restaurant’s interior features copper and wood with a “warm pier look.” Outside, guests can enjoy patio dining with a view of waterfront boating activity.

“Elliott’s Seafood Café brings a new look and culinary offering to the Seattle waterfront neighborhood. We’re especially eager to introduce the outside oyster bar, which we believe is a first of its kind in Seattle for guests to enjoy the freshest, local seafood at the peak of the season,” said Robert Spaulding, Executive Chef at Elliott’s Oyster House, who will oversee the Elliott’s Seafood Café kitchen as well.

Chop Chop Salad

A sample of menu items featured at Elliott’s Seafood Café includes:

*A rotating selection of fresh Washington Oysters: Penn Cove | Calm Cove | Eld | Mystery Bay with Horseradish, cocktail sauce, mignonette.

*Fresh Shucked Clams | Cape Cod little neck.

*Shellfish Ceviche I Bay scallops and shrimp, calamari, citrus marinade.

*Surf and Turf Slider | Seared scallop, root beer braised beef, preserved lemon cream.

*Halibut Tostadas | Grilled halibut, avocado, pancetta, tomatillo salsa, flour tortilla.

*Smoked Apple and Bacon Oysters | House alder smoked apple, bacon, red onion.

*Fried Oyster Wilted Spinach Salad | Yearling oysters, spinach, hot bacon-potato dressing, red onion, mushroom.

*Seafood Salad Brioche Rolls | Dungeness and Jonah crab, bay scallops, Oregon shrimp, celery, onion, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, waffle-cut fries.

We’ll weigh in with our thoughts on the new Seafood Café just as soon as we can get down there to sample these delicious-sounding items. May be time for another spin on the Seattle Great Wheel, the café’s cool neighbor.

Construction photo by Braiden Rex-Johnson; other photos courtesy of Darren LaMarr

Every now and then I get a hankering for Dungeness crab. And one of my favorite places to indulge my craving is at Shuckers in The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle.

I love the restaurant’s ambience, the kind of bustling, clubby sort of place place you’d want to claim as your own personal watering hole. Rather surprising to learn that the space–all beautifully carved oak paneling and pressed-tin ceiling–served as a haberdashery in the 1930s.

Shuckers is a good choice for just about any type of seafood–oysters on the half shell, the superlative Lusciously Loaded Louis Salad with shrimp or crab, daily-changing catches of the day that are simply, but perfectly, grilled. (Ruby trout and steelhead are two of our particular favorites).

But the Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab with Rosemary Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus truly stands apart from any other seafood dish in town.

The thing that sets this crab apart is the use of fresh sprigs of rosemary in the roasting process. It’s a truly brilliant use of this aromatic, pine-y herb that works a particular magic, making the crab more hearty and savory tasting than it usually is.

A bit of butter gives the dish richness, but not enough to overwhelm the crab. The dish usually comes beautifully roasted potatoes; since I’ve been trying to follow a low-carb diet lately, I asked for extra asparagus and was entirely sated (and even took half my and asparagus crab home for next-day nibbling).

Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab is a Fairmont Lifestyle Cuisine option–“dishes created using fresh and nutritionally balanced ingredients that are natural and organic so that they contribute to optimal health and wellness”–so you can feel good about eating it while you pick and pile the sweet crab nubbins.

For all of these reasons, Shuckers Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab more than merits our Dish of the Day.