We loved our first visit to the new iteration of a long-standing Seattle restaurant, Vito’s, which is located on Pill Hill near the Sorrento Hotel and St. James Cathedral.

The first night we ate there, it was my vegetarian night, something I’ve observed one night a week for many year now, so I enjoyed the Vegetarian Lasagne.

This time my diet was more free, so I ordered the dish that caught my eye the first time–Ahi Tuna Puttanesca. This glorious dish of slices of rosebud-pink tuna with a spicy, caponata-like puttanesca partnered perfectly with lightly olive-oil-bathed angel hair pasta. I’m getting hungry just describing and thinking about it.

It paired nicely with a wine we liked so much on our first visit, we ordered again (something we rarely do)–Tommasi Ripasso, which is reminiscent of a lighter-style Amarone.

More fun finds when I went to the Ladies Room and discovered a miniature statue of Michelangelo’s “David!”

But the best surprise that evening came thanks to our server, Ron, who suggested we visit the Cougar Room (just past the restrooms). We discovered a full-size, stuffed cat behind glass and 13 red-leather armchairs around a rectangular table. Talk about the perfect place for a small dinner party or business meeting!

Cranberry, Horseradish, and Garlic Vodka, along with typical Russian appetizers, served at a restaurant in St. Petersburg

During our summer vacation cruise of the Baltic region, we took a shore excursion in St. Petersburg billed as “Life Through the Eyes of the Russian People.” It included a tour of the city’s massive subway system, a project undertaken during the Stalin era; a visit to a farmers’ market; a stop for souvenir shopping; and a vodka tasting at a “real” Russian restaurant.

The restaurant had the ambience of a Long John Silver and was filled with Americans from our cruise ship and others in port that day–no locals in sight.

We were served a trio of cranberry-, horseradish-, and garlic-flavored Vodkas, along with typical Russian appetizers.

The appetizers included a chunk of dill pickle skewered on a plastic toothpick along with a tasteless cherry tomato and canapes layered with coleslaw, whitefish, cucumbers, and other bland spreads and veggies.

If this was typical bar fare, I was glad I didn’t live in Russia!

Once back in the tour bus, our guide announced that “real” Russians would never drink flavored Vodka–only the straight stuff. And that most women eschew Vodka for Champagne (my kind of women!). The spread we had sampled was strictly for the tourist buses!

Preferred nibblies with alcoholic beverages  among St. Petersburg natives include brown bread with pickled herring, pickles of various types, and vegetables of the season.

Much fun has been made of airplane “food,” and deservedly so.  We were especially reminded of this after experiencing what Alaska Airlines served up on our recent flights from Seattle to Orlando and back again.

We went first class because it’s a long flight (six-plus hours); these particular flights (thanks to the Disney World crowd) are always packed with an unusual number of young children traveling with their parents; and, after many, many years of tough business travel all around the world, my 6′ 4″ husband (understandably) won’t fly anything but business or first class any more.

Here’s the breakfast on our outgoing flight. . .sad Hollandaise (?) sauce sitting next to a circle of polenta topped with a round of turkey Canadian bacon. Sitting astride rode a poached egg and two limp pieces of asparagus. I ate the egg, asparagus, and half the cold croissant and called it a morning.

Since I don’t eat red meat anymore, I counted myself lucky that I got the last order of Chicken en Croute. . .until I saw and tasted a poor, terrorized chicken breast trapped in a pasty puddle of puff pastry, then doused with the same tasteless, bright-yellow-colored sauce that I’d been served at breakfast! More limp asparagus sat atop, so I ate that, rescued the chicken from its “puff-pastry” cage and had a few bites of that, then drank a lot of Chardonnay as consolation.

Spencer did a lot better with his beef short ribs in cherry sauce with mashers, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.

At least the fresh-from-the-oven cookies that were served later on for dessert were warm, filling, and strangely comforting when hurtling through the air at 40,000 feet, especially when paired with a glass of California red.

We wondered aloud if the people in the main cabin might have fared better with their granola and beef-jerky snack boxes?

Just in time for the holidays, the good people at the Pike Place Market are offering free parking on Saturdays from December 5 until January 1,  10 a.m. until 5 p.m., except Christmas day, when the Market is closed.

Here’s how it works: On those Saturdays, park at the Public Market Parking Garage at 1531 Western Avenue. Look for the entrance next to the tattoo shop. There is also an entrance off Alaskan Way across from the Seattle Aquarium. Purchase a minimum of $35 in merchandise from any Pike Place Market merchants, farmers, or craftspeople, and ask for receipts. Bring your receipts and garage-entrance ticket to the Information Booth at First and Pike for validation and a pass for the garage. The pass is good for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that Saturday only, one per customer.

“We’re happy that we are able to offer this gift to local shoppers of the Pike Place Market for their holiday shopping,” said James Haydu, Director of Communications & Programs at the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA), which manages most of the historic public market’s nine acres.

On our annual trip to Orlando to visit my family, there are a couple of things we just must always eat and drink.

A plate of Stone Crab Claws at Houston’s restaurant, rebranded in June as Hillstone, is a must-have. Partnered with the restaurant’s famous Mustard Sauce and three big glasses of unsweetened iced tea (none of that frou-frou mango or passion fruit stuff–this is the real deal–just freshly brewed Tetley or Lipton, I’m guessing) and I am a happy camper.

Not so happy, however, that I didn’t save room for a slice of Hillstone’s tangy Key Lime Pie. It’s especially good thanks to the nuts (pecans?) in the graham-cracker crust. Slices are huge. . .this baby comfortably fed four people!

The Eola Wine Co., located along the main drag–Park Avenue–in downtown Winter Park, is a great place for a nightcap. Here’s my Champagne and Sparkling Wine flight, which included entries from France, Italy, South Africa (!), and the United States. The winner? Piper Heidseick–the French really know what they are doing when it comes to bubbly!

Last but certainly not least, we were introduced to a new barbecue place on this trip: 4Rivers Smokehouse. The lines out the door are proof positive that this place serves up some of the most serious and popular brisket, pulled-pork, and turkey sandwiches in central Florida. The turkey sandwich was peppery and good; the sweet-potato casserole more like dessert than a side dish.

I always love low-fat cooking hints, but they’re especially welcome this time of the year when we are all tempted to eat and drink just a bit too much!

The good people at American Roland Food Corp., a leader in specialty foods for more than 76 years, sent along the following tips for adding flavor with Dijon Mustard, a sometimes overlooked condiment with just 10 calories per teaspoon, zero fat, and less sugar than ketchup.

*Spice up traditional mayonnaise and cut the fat by simply mixing in a bit of Dijon before adding to those leftover turkey sandwiches.

*Brush Dijon mustard over chicken breasts before grilling for a spicy twist; add a touch of honey to the mustard before you brush, for sweetness.

*Top baked potatoes with Dijon vinaigrette–a lot less fattening than sour cream.

*Brush salmon with Dijon and a bit of olive oil before roasting.

*Adding a teaspoon of Dijon to your vinaigrette adds balance and a bit of zing.

*Take barbecue sauce up a notch with a touch of Dijon.

Radicchio, Cuttlefish, and Spring Onion Salad with a grand schmear of Kalamata Caramel at Quinn’s gastropub on Capitol Hill

Last month, just before we headed to a movie at the venerable Egyptian Theater on Capitol Hill, we stopped in for dinner at Quinn’s gastropub. It was still (relatively) sun-shine-y then, so we scored a window seat beside the busy bar and settled in.

We enjoyed lots of good dishes that evening–Baby Greens and Roasted Beet salads; Roasted Idaho Trout with Radish, Mizuna, and Romesco Sauce; and Mussels with Saffron, Grain Mustard, and White Wine–but perhaps the most memorable dish was the Radicchio, Cuttlefish, and Spring Onion Salad with a grand schmear of Kalamata Caramel.

The Rosé flight at Quinn’s

A Rosé wine flight called, “Everything’s Coming up Roses: Select 2009 Rosés by the Glass,” featured French and Portguese offerings along with Gilbert Cellars 2009 Rosé from Washington’s Wahluke Slope. All three paired well with everything we ordered.

Back when it was still summer time in Seattle, back when the sun was shining and you could eat outside without freezing to death or getting blown into Puget Sound, we enjoyed a Saturday lunch at Tom Douglas’s latest eatery–Seatown Snack Bar. It’s located just across the street from the venerable Pike & Western Wine Shop at the corner of Virginia and Western overlooking Victor Steinbrueck Park and right next door to Tom’s long-running Etta’s Seafood.

Since our visit, Seatown has been renamed Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie to better mirror its mission–as a place for a drink and a nosh or even full meal, with a handy rotisserie serving take-out mains and sides next door. It’s also had a bit of a menu overhaul; luckily, the dishes we ordered are still on the menu.

Here’s the Seatown Sampler, replete with tastes of all six types of seafood featured in the Smoked Seafood section of the menu. We especially liked the Westport Black Cod with Nectarine Miso–silky, slightly sweet, and a bit salty. Less desirable was the Willapa Bay Oysters with Fennel Relish and Tobiko (mea culpa: I’m not a fan of smoked oysters in general and this one was really smoky).

Spencer ordered the Northwest Free-Range Chicken Dinner from the Entrée Plates section of the menu. It came with Dripping Potatoes and Garlic Rapini and proved to be a sizable chunk o’ chix. And who could ever resist a dish with a name like “dripping potatoes!”

We loved the whimsical murals in the ladies’ room. Made me want to tango with the merrily dancing crabs!

And we would have loved to have ordered a scoop of Concord Grape Sorbet, which sounded cool and refreshing and very Northwest to boot, but we had to get on with our Saturday afternoon errands. Next time!

Yesterday, my latest article for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine ran. Entitled, “In the Spirit of Tradition,” it chronicled the career of Berle, a.k.a. Rusty, Figgins, a successful winemaker turned craft distiller.

Here is Rusty pictured at The Ellensburg Distillery in (you guessed it!) Ellensburg, Washington.

And here are his award-winning products–El Chalán Peruvian-Style Grape Brandy, Gold Buckle Club Frontier-Style Malt Whisky, and Wildcat White Moonshine.

The spirits pick up color and flavor as they age in oak barrels (just as wine does). Rusty’s Gold Buckle Whisky rests in new American Oak for one year!

Photos by Spencer Johnson

A well-crafted Pinot Noir or Off-Dry Riesling come to mind whenever anybody asks me what to pair with the foods we associate at Thanksgiving–roasted turkey, stuffing, creamed oysters, pumpkin pie.

But sometimes we don’t feel like drinking alcohol. Or perhaps there’s someone around your holiday table who’s pregnant or nursing or taking medication that precludes alcohol consumption.

DRY Soda to the rescue! This sophisticated beverage, like wine, pairs well with fine food.

“DRY Soda is made of only four all-natural ingredients, is less sweet, and makes a great alternative to alcohol beverages during the holidays,” Sharelle Klaus, founder and CEO of DRY, told me.

Klaus has long been on my radar screen, from the moment I tasted the products when the company launched in 2005 with four flavors (Lemongrass, Lavender, Kumquat, and Rhubarb) to the recent addition of new flavors such as Juniper Berry, Vanilla Bean, and Blood Orange.

Two years ago, right around this time of the year, I even wrote a Taste column entitled, For a Sophisticated Alternative to Alcohol, Go DRY, for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine charting the company’s fascinating beginnings and its meteoric rise in the super-competitive world of soft drinks and sodas.

Lucky for us, Klaus has put together her ideal pairings of traditional holiday meal cuisine with hand-selected flavors of DRY.

Klaus’s suggestions for holiday food and wine pairing?

*For turkey and cranberry, try Rhubarb DRY. Enhance the flavor by using rhubarb in the cranberry sauce recipe.

*If duck is your bird of choice, sip Kumquat DRY, and use kumquat in the duck marinade.

*Prefer red meat? Pair your prime rib with Juniper Berry DRY.

*To satisfy that sweet tooth, enjoy Vanilla Bean DRY with pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and sweet potatoes.