If it seems like the best bites around town are gourmet twists on fast food classics, well, you’re onto something. Seattle Times writers Tan Vinh and David Gutman share their latest food finds from around Seattle– including what Gutman calls the best cheap breakfast sandwich in the city. Tan shares his pick for the best nachos in the entire Pacific Northwest. 

Recommendations in this episode:

• Ken’s Market, Greenwood for $3.99 breakfast sandwich 
• Grillbird, Phinney Ridge for a shrimp forward fast food twist
• Due Cucina, Capitol Hill for fast casual pasta
• Ben’s Bread, Phinney Ridge for chef-y cheese crackers
• Friendship BBQ, Haller Lake for tiny, juicy lambs skewers
• Delille Cellars, Woodinville for glistening, bougie nachos with carnitas

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

 

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Tan Vinh has been a food journalist and restaurant critic for 12 years. Some parts of the job are glamorous (Eating for work! Meals on the company card!) But...there are loads of ups and downs that don’t make it onto the front page. Today, Tan answers questions from listeners about being a food critic — from how he picks restaurants to review, to dealing with heartburn on the job. Plus, he shares tips on how to see Seattle’s restaurant scene through the eyes of a critic.

Read more about being a critic in The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/life-of-a-food-critic-our-writer-takes-readers-behind-the-scenes/

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two big-name Washington breweries have expanded with new locations in Seattle, complete with food offerings from local chefs. Seattle Times food critic Tan Vinh explains how the news points to two trends shaping the city’s brewery scene. He's joined by Seattle Times editor Trevor Lenzmeier! 

Plus, a listener tells us about his favorite family friendly (and dog friendly) spots to check out. 

Tell us about your favorite neighborhood hang out! Email us at [email protected] 

Read Tan’s coverage of brewery expansions and follow the saga of Sushi by Scratch in The Seattle Times.

Family-friendly beer tasting rooms with great food:

• Aslan Brewing with seafood by Ethan Stowell (Tangletown, not yet open)
• Ruben’s Brews with fish and chips (Downtown, not yet open)
• Project 9 Brewing with food from Mexican Seoul (Roosevelt)
• Figurehead Brewing with food from Midnite Ramen and Nanking Ramen (Fremont)
• Fair Isle Brewing with Tacos Extranjeros (Ballard)
• Holy Mountain Brewing with a pasta pop-up (Phinney Ridge)

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle’s restaurant scene is playing chess, not checkers. And the latest moves reveal what is actually thriving in this economy. Seattle Times food critic Tan Vinh and editor Trevor Lenzmeier break down the openings focused on sandwiches and fast-casual small plates, while large format restaurants and fine dining spots are closing or pivoting.

Read more about openings, closures, and pivots in The Seattle Times:

•  https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/why-5-seattle-area-restaurants-are-pivoting-or-closing-in-2025/ 
• https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/seabird-acclaimed-bainbridge-island-restaurant-will-close-next-month/ 
• https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/mamnoon-to-close-after-13-years-as-capitol-hills-levantine-restaurant/ 

Recommendations in this episode:

• M Bar, South Lake Union
• Beast and Cleaver, Ballard area
• Communion, Central District
• Fortuna Bottega, Greenwood/Phinney Ridge
• Occhi Belli, Wallingford

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this kind of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stadium food can be a letdown. Many sports games and concerts are accompanied by soggy chicken fingers or cold burgers — at a premium price, of course. But the Seattle Seahawks and Lumen Field are making a big play for dining. They want 12s to see the stadium as a destination for dinner as well as a show. 

Today, Tan and producer Brandi Fullwood sample new menu items on offer during the Hawks season and pick the three best items to eat at a game. 

Read more of Tan’s takes about stadium food in The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/best-food-at-seahawks-games-new-dishes-land-at-lumen-field-in-2025/ 

Recommendations in this episode:

• King’s Hawaiian BBQ — Rib Sandwich platter (serves 2-4 people)
  • $48.99 
  • Sections 120, 131, 305, 335
• Big Walt’s Kitchen — Flaming Hot Cheetos Chicken Tenders
  • $17.49
  • Sections 126, 214, 230
• ChungChun — Game Day Rice Hot Dog with Squid Ink and Spicy Half & Half Rice Hot Dog
  • $12.99 - $13.99
  • Section 323

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Portland based ice cream Salt & Straw is betting big on Seattle with four new locations, but expansion doesn’t mean playing it safe (or going vanilla). In this episode, Seattle Times food writer Tan Vinh tastes and guesses some seasonal and secret scoops with Salt & Straw’s head ice cream maker Tyler Malek. We find out why doubling down on unique flavors is good for business.

• Read more of The Seattle Times' reporting on Salt & Straw's expansion: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/new-salt-straw-will-open-across-from-pike-place-market-after-all/ 
• https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/the-scoop-on-how-to-make-salt-straws-twisted-ice-cream-sorbet-flavors/ 

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The classic mortadella sandwich is a simple affair: High quality focaccia, thinly sliced mortadella (a deli meat hailing from Bologna, Italy), and maybe one or two toppings. This formula is taking off in Seattle, leading Tan to dub mortadella “the sandwich of the summer.” He breaks down three standout sandwiches with mortadella enthusiast and food tour producer Adam Weintraub. 

Read more about Seattle’s Hot Mortadella Summer: Mortadella is the sandwich of the summer in Seattle | The Seattle Times

Recommendations in this episode:

• Nomadic Wine Dispensary, Capitol Hill – for a simple and excellent mortadella sandwich ($18)
• Wilmott’s Ghost, Denny Triangle – for a chefy take on the classic ($18)
• Tivoli, Fremont – for a unique, umami twist on the mortadella formula ($16)

Tan wants to answer your questions about his life is a food critic. Wanna know how he eats three dinners in one day? How he picks spots to review? Send us your questions at [email protected]. 

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s something about eating a Seattle dog with a beer in August at the baseball game that just can’t be replicated in February. In this episode, Tan Vinh and Rachel Belle talk about the bites that hooked them this summer and which quintessential bites you should try ASAP.

Read more of Tan’s reporting on what to try before summer ends: new Seattle restaurants to try before summer ends 

And find everything Rachel Belle is cookin’ up and talking about here: https://www.hellorachelbelle.com/ 

Recommendations in this episode:

• Brimmer and Heeltap
• Pie School by Kate Lebo
• La Marea
• Radio Whiskey
• Carnal

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Capitol Hill diners were surprised when Vietnamese restaurant Stateside and its sister bar, Foreign National, closed suddenly this month. Both businesses left a distinct mark on Seattle’s restaurant scene.

But as per usual, August also brought its fair share of new restaurant openings, including a rare spot focused just on British food. Did someone say ‘sausage roll’?? Tan breaks down the ins and outs of August restaurant news with Seattle Eats producer Clare McGrane. 

Do you have a question for Tan about his life as a food critic? Send it to the Seattle Eats team: [email protected]

Read more about new restaurant openings in the Seattle Times: 28 new Seattle restaurants to try before summer ends | The Seattle Times

Recommendations in this episode:

• Cornelly, Upper Queen Anne and Capitol Hill 
• Little Beast, Ballard

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summer fruit season is in full swing, but many Washington farmers are preparing fruit for weeks or months down the line. Farms in Lynden, Washington, produce 90% of the country’s frozen raspberries. The berries make their way into baked goods, jams and freezer aisles all over the country. And while frozen food gets a bad rap, farmers in Lynden say these finicky berries are just as good frozen as they are fresh.  

Seattle Times journalist Jackie Varriano visited a farm in Lynden to see the process first-hand. She tells Tan all about it and taste tests some dishes made with frozen Washington raspberries. 

Read about Washington’s frozen raspberry industry and see photos of the harvesting process in The Seattle Times: 90% of frozen raspberries grown in the U.S. come from this WA town | The Seattle Times

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.