A.J. Rathbun, our good buddy and prolific author, whom we’ve written about not one time, but twice for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, has done it again.

But this time instead of another book (among which he has written “Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz,” the award-winning “Good Spirits,” and a host of others), this time A.J. has come up with his own app: Drink Seattle: A Spirited Journey Through Seattle Bars and Cocktails with A.J. Rathbun.

The Drink Seattle app costs just $1.99 in the iPhone App Store, with an Android version coming soon.

In the app, A.J. Rathbun, awarding-winning author of a host of cocktail and home-entertaining books, recommends over 50 of the best bars, cocktails, distilleries, and cocktail supply shops in and around Seattle.

And whether you’re visiting Seattle or already live here, if you like a good drink, you need this app. With the ever-jovial and witty A.J. as your guide, you won’t miss a lounge, bar, distillery, or dive that’s worth sitting down and sipping within.

This bubbly whirl gives you a great drink in nearly every neighborhood, specific cocktail picks for each place and a host of insights on individual bar personalities.

Each recommended establishment features a detailed review, notes on what to order, and great photos and tips for having the best experience you can.

As you’d expect, the app has a lot of bells and whistles–GPS, one-touch dialing, and turn-by-turn directions – and vital info like business hours, websites, etc. And, awesomely, the app is updated frequently so you stay abreast of all the latest changes in the Seattle cocktail scene.

A.J. knows from whence he writes, since he pens the monthly Bar Hop column for Seattle Magazine and a weekly blog for them on spirits, cocktails, and bars, as well as authoring his own tipsy blog Spiked Punch. He’s a frequent guest on the Everyday Food program (Martha Stewart Living/Sirius satellite radio), and a contributor to culinary and entertainment magazines such as Every Day with Rachael Ray, The Food Network Magazine, Real Simple, Wine Enthusiast, and many others.

For even more from A.J., you can follow him on Twitter.

Grilled Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggianno, and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Varietal: Pinot Gris

Serves 4

This boldly flavored, texture-packed salad, which comes from Vancouver, British Columbia-based chef Rob Feenie’s third cookbook (“Feenie’s: Brunch—Lunch—Dinner,” Douglas & McIntyre, 2006)  is a cinch to make, yet beautiful to behold and a delight to eat. The caramelized asparagus, salty prosciutto, and sweet-tart balsamic vinaigrette work well with the lively texture and honeysuckle/pear/vanilla flavors typical of Pinot Gris.

1 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus extra salt for seasoning

2 pounds green asparagus, woody stems snapped or cut off and discarded

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground white pepper

Balsamic Vinaigrette (Recipe follows)

8 slices prosciutto

4 cups mesclun or other salad greens

Parmigiano-Reggiano or good-quality Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough of the salt so that it tastes like sea water. Prepare an ice bath. (See Cook’s Hint, below.)

2. Add the asparagus to the water and cook for 1 minute, or until the asparagus turns bright green. Immediately transfer the blanched asparagus to the ice bath to stop the cooking process and to preserve the color. When the asparagus has cooled in the water, transfer to several thicknesses of paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to drain. Pat dry.

3. In a nonreactive bowl, toss the blanched asparagus with the olive oil to coat (to prevent the asparagus from sticking to the grill). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill 2 to 3 minutes, turning on all sides.

4. To serve, divide the asparagus among four warmed plates. Spoon the vinaigrette over and around the asparagus. Place 2 slices of prosciutto on top of each serving. Top with mesclun and drizzle with a little more vinaigrette. Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to thinly slice Parmigiano-Reggiano into curls and place a few on top of each serving.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes 2/3 cup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 teaspoon honey

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground white pepper

1. In a nonreactive bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, shallot, and honey. Whisking continuously, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream until it forms a smooth, thick sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook’s Hint: Ice Bath: Ice baths are called for when blanching vegetables or fruits; the cold water immediately stops the cooking process so the produce doesn’t become overcooked. To make an ice bath, simply fill a large mixing bowl with ice cubes and add cold water to cover the cubes.

Recipe reprinted from “Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia” (Wiley, 2007, $34.95) by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

Hungry foodies will want to plan trips to Victoria, British Columbia, in May and July to coincide with two upcoming food festivals: the inaugural Victoria Spot Prawn Festival and Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food & Wine.

According to a recent press release, the Victoria Spot Prawn Festival runs from May 25 to 26, 2013, and kicks off with a long-table dinner and film presented by the Island Chefs Collaborative. Tickets are $150 CDN and limited to 250 people.

On May 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors are invited to take in crafts, music, guest speakers, and chef demos by local favorites such as Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub and Vancouver Island Salt Company. Fresh seafood will be available on site along with plenty of other food vendors.

This family-friendly party by the sea is free to attend and not-to-be-missed!

From July 25 to July 28, 2013, experience Victoria’s fifth-annual festival of food and wine with Taste held at the Crystal Garden. Showcasing more than 100 British Columbia wines, guests will experience local fare prepared by top Vancouver Island chefs from some of the city’s finest restaurants such as The Marina Restaurant and AURA Waterfront Restaurant + Patio at the Inn at Laurel Point.

Tickets for the main event are $79 CDN, with more intimate events with themes such as Swine on the Vine and Sips &  Seafood filling the remainder of the festival schedule.

For more information, visit Facebook.com/IslandChefs.

Twitter Handles: @IslandChefs and @TravelWithTaste

One of my favorite meals is a good shellfish platter. I still miss the ones at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, which came with lots of pomp and circumstance as the server placed metal stand underneath the metal tray mounded with shaved ice and studded with all sorts of fresh and cooked shellfish–steamed mussels and clams, oysters on the half shell, steamed lobster, and three kinds of delectable sauces.

Luckily, downtown Seattle’s Capital Grille serves up a shellfish platter almost as grand. Although this photo doesn’t do it justice, it contains steamed baby lobster, cooked shrimp, and half a dozen raw oysters, plus two sauces (classic Mignonette and cocktail sauce). Be sure to ask for the rich mustard-mayonnaise, which goes perfectly with the shrimp and lobster.

While I’m working out on the elliptical trainer at the gym, I like to read food- and beverage-related articles I’ve clipped from magazines or printed from the Internet.

Of special interest is anything having to do with culinary trends. These articles tend to come out at year-end or early in the New Year. So this year I began saving them early on and then read them en masse.

Below you’ll find my compilation of a baker’s dozen of the top trends that I see on the horizon for the coming year.

My trends are taken from a variety of sources including Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, AllRecipes.com, Associated Press, the National Restaurant Association, Sterling-Rice Group, Technomic, The Chicago Tribune, and the Food & Beverage Specialty Team of MSLGROUP North America.

Will any or all of these trends move into the mainstream in 2013? Stay tuned!

Northwest Wining and Dining 2013 Top Culinary Trends  

1. Locally Sourced and Grown Meats, Seafood, and Produce: Locavore Movement still white-hot. Hyper-local (restaurant gardens and rooftop beehives) even better. Wild crafting (rescuing heirlooms from obscurity or extinction) becoming important to some chefs. Environmentally sustainable as a culinary theme.

2. Healthy Restaurant Items: Gluten-free menus; chefs add brown rice, high-fiber grains, and vitamin-rich vegetable broths; chefs are more willing to accommodate special dietary requests from diners.

3. Vegetarian Dishes: Meatless meals, flexitarians, vegans, innovative salads, steamed and roasted vegetable dishes. Use of “new” and gluten-free grains including quinoa, amaranth, and millet. Kohlrabi Bourguignon an entrée at AQ restaurant in San Francisco. Vegetables serve as main dishes, not just supporting players. Millet may be the next quinoa.

4. Casualization of Dining: Food trucks, pop-up restaurants, “The Food Truck Handbook.”

5. Food in Small Packages: Cake pops, chicken bites, mini cinnamon buns, mini milkshakes, mini corn dogs, cheesecake bites, sliders. Small plates meant for sharing are being replaced by small plates designed for one person only, which leads to a truly customized dining experience.

6. Snacks as Meals: Snacks are now accounting for one in five “meal occasions,” bar food and happy hour remain wildly popular, along with tapas, mezze, upscale bar bites.

7. Asian Food Popular: Noodle dishes, pho, ramen, layered noodle bowls, fragrant soups, mixed-texture salads, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Sriracha sauce.

8. Bold Flavors: Spicy food, real ethnic food, South American (Brazil, Argentina, Peru) foods including South American-style grilled meats and ceviche, and drinks such as the Caipirinha and Pisco Sour.

9. New Cuts of Meat: Cuts from seldom-used pieces, e.g., Denver steak, pork flat iron, teres major. Sustainable use of the “whole animal.”

10. Cocktail Craze: Bars dictate future flavors, craft cocktails, barrel-aged cocktails, micro distilleries, “girly” liquors (cake-flavored Vodka, Skinny Girl products).

11. Bitter and Sour Flavors: Fermented cherry juice, varietal vinegars, homemade bitters, sour beer, kefir (naturally fermented milk).

12. Trendy Preservation: Cured, brined, pickled, dried, dehydrated, salted, and fermented foods, kimchi (Korean pickled vegetable).

13. “Hot” Ingredients and Flavors: Hibiscus, pomegranate, anything coconut (coconut water, coconut nectar as a sweetener, even coconut oil which was once demonized as a “bad fat), stevia, Greek-style yogurt. Leafy greens including kale and chard, plus beet, turnip, and mustard greens. Arugula a main salad component.

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.

Our friends Penny and Will Durant, owners of Red Ridge Farms, Oregon Olive Mill, and Durant Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, are planning an after-hours paella party on Sunday, August 19, that promises to be an extraordinary event.

You may remember the Durants, who were profiled in my seventh book, “Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia.” Their products have also been featured in Food & Wine magazine, O magazine, and EveryDay with Rachael Ray.

And who could forget the tasty recipe they submitted for my book, Garden-Fresh Gazpacho with Garlic Croutons, that would be perfect to make this time of the year?

During the couple’s first-ever paella party, which takes place on August 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., guests will enjoy authentic Spanish tapas and traditional paella prepared onsite by chef Scott Ketterman of Crown Paella.

Founded in the fall of 2011 by husband and wife team Scott and Emily Ketterman, Crown Paella is an event company focused on traditional Spanish cooking that specializes in giant paella and tapas. Ketterman will prepare a lively outdoor meal on special cookware imported from Spain and utilize fresh, local ingredients including Oregon Olive Mill’s Arebequina olive oil.

Guests can wander through the extensive Red Ridge gardens and take in valley views from the new tasting room as they nibble on tapas and paella.

For dessert, guests will enjoy Salt & Straw’s Arbequina Olive Oil ice cream made with Oregon Olive Mill olive oil, which was featured in the April issue of O Magazine as one of their favorite new ice creams.

Durant Vineyards Estate Wines will be available for purchase by the bottle or glass.

Tickets are $35 per person or $30 for Red Ridge club members. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (503) 864-8502.

On the menu:

Tapas

Blistered Padrón Peppers with Oregon Olive Mill Arbequina Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Heirloom Tomato Tarta with Moroccan Olives, Basil, and Manchego

Lamb Meatballs in Romesco

Paella

Crown Royale Paella: Rabbit, Mussels, Clams, Prawns, Chorizo, Saffron, Piquillo Peppers, and Sofrito

Verdura Paella: Artichoke Hearts, Sweet Peppers, Foraged Mushrooms, Green Beans, Saffron, Garrafón Beans, Sofrito, and Fresh Herbs

Vino (Durant Vineyards Estate Wines)

2011 Pinot Gris $6/ glass $18/ bottle

2010 Chardonnay $7/ glass $25/ bottle

2009 Pinot Noir $9/ glass $28-$35/bottle

El Postre (Dessert)

Salt & Straw’s Arbequina Olive Oil Ice Cream: As the ice cream melts and the rich and spicy Arbequina Olive Oil settles on the palate, the spiciness of the oil, sweetness of the cream and faint hints of salt all contribute to a complex flavor experience.

Olé!

I know many people think it isn’t safe to eat oysters in months that don’t contain the letter “r,” but I am here to share with you some pretty compelling evidence to the contrary.

Above is a gorgeous trio of bivalves I enjoyed a few weeks ago at ART Restaurant & Lounge in the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle.

And another glorious trio from Etta’s, Tom Douglas’s seafood restaurant just north of the Pike Place Market. The oyster in the middle was particularly delicious and had a gorgeous white shell with tan zebra stripes. It was called a Malaspina and hailed from Malaspina Inlet on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, according to our very knowledgeable server that evening.

In this shot you can see the Malaspina’s beauteous shell. I saved it for my “Found Objects” bowl!

By now any of you who read my “Northwest Notes” blog know that I love to take photos with my Hipstamatic iPhone4 app. And one of my favorite subjects is “Remains,” a collection of empty dinner plates of food.

Above is a “Hip” shot of the leftover shells from Etta’s.

And here are remainders of half a dozen raw oysters enjoyed at Crow Restaurant.

My all-time favorite “Remains” shot, however, “remains” this one of an empty dish of crème brûlée, taken at my father’s 89th birthday celebration last August.

He will celebrate number 90 this year, and I’ll be there to capture another “Remains” shot to share with you.

Go, Dad!

Although Spencer and I eat out quite a bit, with such a wide array of cuisines and restaurants outside our front door, we usually just stay within blocks of our condominium building in downtown Seattle.

So I am embarrassed to admit that, up until a few weeks ago, we hadn’t enjoyed the many tantalizing tastes at Tamara Murphy’s “new” (at least to us!) Terra Plata, just up the hill from our condo in the Melrose Market.

“Earth to Plate” sums up the zeitgeist and ambience of this remarkable restaurant. Two long, hard years in the making (Tamara’s stories about landlord problems could curl your eyelashes!), the wait was well worth it.

Here’s the gorgeous Deviled Duck Egg with Salmon Roe that Tamara sent over as a pre-dinner surprise. Gamy, rich, and super-creamy, this perfect-for-sharing appetizer was the epitome of divine excess (in the very best of ways)!

We also ate way more than we should have (at least for our waistlines’ sake) of chef Tamara’s super-fun Blistered Shisito Peppers. Part of the Snacks and Small Plates offerings, the deep-fried peppers were accompanied by a super-smooth aïoli, and sprinkled with really good, crunchy sea salt. These things are addictive!

From the “Earth” section of the menu came a delicate Spring Mesclun Salad studded with tender baby radish slices, green-apple wedges, candied hazelnuts, Cabrales (Spanish blue) cheese, and Champagne vinaigrette.

From the “Sea” section of the menu came The perfectly cooked Mediterranean Mussels with Sofrito (“a sautéed mixture of seasonings and finely chopped vegetables, such as onions, garlic, and peppers, used as a base for many Spanish, Caribbean, and Latin American dishes, according to The Free Dictionary), Olives, Anchovy, Lemon, and Parsley.

Spencer’s Whole Fish–a black sea bass that evening–was annointed with lemon butter and served with a wild watercress-and-radish salad. This bad-boy bass was almost too good-looking to eat, but Spencer managed to devour every last bite.

We washed down this earth-to-ocean feast with a bottle of Barolo that played surprisingly well with both our entrées.

Terra Plata’s interior space is beautifully executed, with an open timbered ceilingk, hardwood floors, plenty of ambient light from the wrap-around windows, and an inviting bar that welcomes locals and regulars, many of whom seem to who know each other and the bartender.

A rooftop garden is opening this summer. . .if “summer” ever arrives this year, what with our especially long stretch of “June-uary” weather so far.

Here’s chef Tamara and crew working the line. . .keeping Terra Plata the earthy, homey, and comforting–yet tantalizing– culinary treasure, it is.

Our friends at Oregon Olive Mill at Red Ridge Farms, who were featured in our book, “Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia,” have released their 2012 extra virgin olive oils in three distinct flavors.

Arbequina, Tuscan, and Koroneiki are now available for purchase at Red Ridge Farms and direct-to-consumer shipping through the Red Ridge Farms website.

The locally produced olive-oil varietals are not only popular among home cooks looking for local products to add distinct flavors to their dishes, but  among high-profile chefs including Vitaly Paley at Paley’s Place and Philippe Boulot at the Heathman Restaurant.

And, they’d be perfect to sample in Penny Durant’s recipe for Garden-Fresh Gazpacho with Garlic Croutons, which comes from “Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining.” 

“2011 was our largest milling run to date, with 6,000 liters of olive oil produced from Arbequina, Koroneiki, and Tuscan fruit. It was also our largest harvest of fruit from our estate-grown olives as well,” says owner and miller Paul Durant. “Each year produces its own unique characteristics and we are quite pleased with the results of our milling. I am striving to produce oils that are rich in flavor, with initial fruit notes followed by strong pungency and bitterness that reflects the nature of the fruit.”

According to the company’s press release:

The Oregon Olive Mill at Red Ridge Farms is the first olive processing plant in Yamhill County and largest commercial mill in the Northwest. The facility features a state-of-the-art Italian olive mill, which they use to process their olives into oil using olive varietals grown on site including Arbequina, Koroneiki, and a blend of Italian varietals known as Tuscan. The Oregon Olive Mill supplements their locally grown fruit with fruit sourced from outstanding family farmers in Northern California. The oils were tested by an independent lab and certified as meeting IOOC standards for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.