Hi! This blog has moved to it’s new permanent home at www.incrediblechef.com. I’ve got some great stuff planned for 2010 so please come visit and re-subscribe…thanks so much for your continued reading! 
I’ve moved!
Filed under Uncategorized
3 Guiding Words for 2010
If you are a resolution-maker and goal-setter, you might be terrified of coming up with just three scant words to build your New Year’s vision. I know I was – how could three simple words sum up a year of great intentions?!
However, after reading social media advisor Chris Brogan’s post Wiring Yourself for Success, I’ve been inspired to play the game of choosing just three words to guide my actions, frame my thinking and measure my results for 2010. It’s a scary exercise for someone used to writing many words and describing things in greater detail – but here we go.
First, a clarification on Brogan’s process, which he began in 2006. The selection of three guiding words for the year is different from setting resolutions and goals since those two things have end points – meaning once you accomplish them, then what? You have to continually come up with more, better, etc. The use of three big-picture words as a compass point allows there to be constant growth, improvisation, interpretation, adjustment, etc. – similar to Keith Ferrazzi’s concept of performance goals vs. learning goals in his best-seller “Who’s Got Your Back?”
Here’s an example Ferrazzi gives: You want to lose 10 pounds. That’s a performance goal – you either hit the mark or you don’t. Which means if you lose 9 pounds, you potentially could feel that you “failed” and fell short of your goal? (this is why many people fail on diets!) The other side of the coin would be to set a learning goal of taking classes to cook healthier meals. This has a long-term effect that will likely allow you to achieve your performance goal, but even if you don’t hit the 10 pound loss, you still have gained a valuable skill in your life with long-lasting health benefits. So, we want learning goals, yes?
Without further ado, my words for 2010 – Balance, Improvement, Perspective.
Balance – this is an concept I think about a lot, and continually strive to achieve. Am I playing more than working? Am I eating enough of the right kinds of food? Does my client load make sense and support my overall company goals? Do I spend too much time watching reality TV?
By choosing balance as a compass point for the year, I can measure virtually any idea/option/choice against its alternative. The cool thing is, the definition of balance will be different on any given day (depending on the circumstances), which will allow me to live more “in the moment”, a concept previously not well-known to me! This will be a big change, for sure.
Improvement – isn’t this something we all hope for, in most areas of life? And therefore it makes a great barometer; instead of setting unreachable numerical goals, there can be satisfaction by at least being “better” than yesterday, or last time we tried. It seems many resolutions are blown the first time you do (or don’t do) something, so there’s no way to really satisfy the intention. But if there was a continual raising of the bar over time, isn’t that a better measure?
Obviously, change doesn’t just happen. It’s a process, slow but steady. In the book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins talks about successful businesses and how continual 1% improvement has such a significant cumulative effect. For example, If you could improve a behavior or accomplishment by 1% per day (a small feat, right?), you’d be 50% better in about 7 weeks. It’s hard to be motivated to go from selling 100 widgets a day to 150 per day, overnight. However, continual incremental improvement makes the goal possible, and worth working towards.
Perspective – whoa, this is a big one for me…and maybe for you too. As the saying goes, everyone just wants to know the WIIFM – What’s In It For Me! We all have our unique perspectives of life and what transpires, and it’s often so hard to put yourself in another shoes and wonder how it is for them. Or is that just me? Also, keeping perspective as an over-arching theme this year will help minimize the “woe is me” attitude or “life isn’t fair” feelings from creeping in.
As author and marketing whiz Seth Godin noted in a recent blog “The problem, of course, is that people don’t always think like you…If they only thought like you, of course, and knew what you know, then there wouldn’t be a problem.” Isn’t that the truth?! I often find myself feeling overwhelmed by some minor detail or small thing that isn’t going the way “I” thought it should, or someone who doesn’t agree with me, so a little perspective should do wonders for my actions this year. I can’t wait to see what life looks like through someone else’s glasses!
So there you have it – 2010 is all about B.I.P. Balance. Improvement. Perspective. I’d love to know what your three words are, if you’d care to share in the comments. This is going to be a fun ride – hang on!
Filed under Choices, Focus, Reinvention
Chao Bistro delivers a few new favorites
Have you ever felt like you totally understand your tastes, and nothing a restaurant is going to dish out will change your mind? Well I have, and the recently opened Chao Bistro on Capital Hill (1200 E. Pike) took me by surprise on a number of delicious dishes.
To set the stage, I was participating in the first local gathering of Tastecasting, an event where restaurants host a complimentary menu tasting for a small group (10-15) of active social media enthusiasts. In return, the group broadcasts their experiences and opinions to their followers, fans and connections via social media.
Photo: Diana Johnson
So we gathered on a cold, windy, rainy Seattle evening (what a shock!) to take a spin through the menu at Chao and share our opinions. What I “thought” I knew about my tastes would be challenged – namely, I don’t drink (or like) sake, I like my calamari in little “rings and legs”, spam is to be avoided at all costs, and anything with gravy in the morning is to be avoided. And you can guess what I found on the generous 17-item tasting menu – all of the above!
We tasted the menu in three sections – breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was pleasantly surprised by the breakfast items (served Sat-Sun, 8am-3pm) and would definitely return for most of the dinner items, either during regular hours (6-11 pm) or the incredibly well-priced happy hours (3-7pm, 11pm-1am).
As for breakfast, gravy is not something high on my list – nor is anything with spam! Oh but I was wrong. The Island Fried Rice was a beautifully balanced salty-savory dish, with two over-easy eggs atop a mound of spam-speckled fried rice. Uh oh, spam. Really?? But it was great, and went well with the portuguese sausage, barbecued pork, onion and carrots, with a nice touch of sesame oil.
And the gravy? Whoa, it came slathered over the Chicken Fried Steak, a mountainous 11-ounce ground beef steak, atop a bed of hash browns. Yowsa, that could feed a whole tableful of hungover diners, and the rumor is that only one person has ever finished the whole plate by himself. I believe it, since the plate easily served 5-6 of us, and we lapped up the gravy, speckled with bacon and sausage, like nobody’s business. So, two myths down – spam is actually good, and gravy works for breakfast. Who knew?
In the dinner segment, we tried 11 different dishes and it gave my palate a workout! There were some great Pan-Asian takes on traditional dishes, such as the Miso Cream Fettuccine (with chicken or salmon), the Wasabi Caesar Salad (a unanimous favorite with all 10 of our diners!) and a great Chao Salad with candied walnuts, Asian pear slices and lychee vinaigrette.
But the three dishes that really stood out for me were the Calamari, Lemongrass Crab Cakes and Whole Fried Chicken. As previously mentioned, I like my calamari in little fried “rings and legs”, as you would find in most restaurants – but I have a new favorite! This dish delivered perfect little strips of solid calamari, cut from a full steak, breaded in panko, chili powder and orange peel and fried quickly and perfectly. It was served with a lemon ginger aioli that was a perfect accent, and I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to eat “rings and legs” again – this is the new standard in calamari for me!
Note: A special offering from Tastecasting: You can try a free calamari appetizer with dinner and a minimum $15 purchase! It’s good until Nov 30 and you just need to mention you read about them on Tastecasting!
The Lemongrass Crab Cakes were a meaty, crunchy blend of crab, panko, lemongrass, coconut, red peppers and shallots, served with the same lemon ginger aioli (above) and a nice sweet chili mango sauce. Perfect!
And the whole fried chicken, you might wonder, what’s the big deal with that? Well, it was beautifully served on a platter with small dishes of pickled daikon, salt & pepper, and sweet chili sauce, and the skin was a perfectly crispy crackly delicious finish. 
And it’s not just a Sunday comfort food dinner – the owners related that in Korea when people go out drinking, this style of chicken is what they would order to eat while they are imbibing. Hmm, so much for bad nachos and wings, like they serve at most bars late-night! This bird was just $25 and would easily serve 3-4 hungry (and buzzed!) diners well, and it was fabulous.
And what about the fourth food myth – that I don’t like sake? Well I don’t – and I passed on the first three samples that were served with dinner. More for everyone else, right? But then came that aroma – enticing sweet crisp fresh - that arrived before the cup even hit the table. Wow, I thought – but I don’t drink that. Bummer. But the aroma prevailed, I tasted the lovely green apple sake and my mind is forever changed! I think it could be a very dangerous drink for me, you have been warned…
We tried many more excellent dishes – waffle cut sweet potato fries, wok-seared edamame, 12th Ave french dip, ahi trio, etc. and you really can’t go wrong with any of the choices. In fact, if I lived closer to Chao, I’d be in serious danger of eating several times a week here, thanks to the great variety in the menu. Many thanks to co-owner Tony, manager Paula and Chef Kevin for a fantastic evening.
And now, back to the drawing board for my “food myths” – I think I need to work on a couple new ones…can’t wait for the next Tastecasting event to find out what they will be!
Chao Bistro & Bar, 1200 E Pike, Seattle, 206-324-1010 www.chaobistro.com
Filed under Events, Restaurants, Reviews
Are you on the list of 136 Twittering restaurants?
It’s time again to update the list of Seattle-area restaurants on Twitter – we’re up to 136 restaurants/chefs now! Please take a look at the list and let us know if there’s anyone missing or any new restaurants we should add.
The holidays are a great time for restaurants to be tweeting about specials, holiday parties, group events, and other festitivites to draw customers in for another visit. And we know everyone is trolling around out there on Twitter looking for a great deal or to discover the new hotspot, so this is a great time for companies to establish their presence. Building the clientele – or strengthening the relationship – during the already-busy holiday season is a great headstart for the post-holiday months when sales drag and clients are few and far between.
Here we go – please add any additions in the comments!
| 35th Street Bistro | 35Bistro |
| 5 Spot | ChowFoods |
| Alabardero | Taberna_Seattle |
| Andaluca (chef) | chefwaj |
| Andaluca Restaurant | Andaluca |
| Anitas Crepes | AnitasCrepes |
| Archery Bistro | ArcheryBistro |
| Art of the Table | ChefDAOTT |
| ART Restaurant | ARTRestaurant |
| Atlas Foods | ChowFoods |
| Barrio Restaurant | HeavyRestaurant |
| Bastille | bastilleseattle |
| Beach House Kirkland | BHKirkland |
| Belltown Pizza | Belltownpizza |
| Benihana (corporate) | Benihana__ |
| Bin on the Lake | binonthelake |
| Bistro on Yale | BistroOnYale |
| Black Pearl | BlackPearlSEA |
| Blue C Sushi | bluecsushi |
| Blue Moon Burgers | BlueMoonBurgers |
| Boat Street Café | BoatStreet |
| BOKA Kitchen & Bar | BOKAchef |
| Boom Noodle | BoomNoodle |
| Boxleys | boxleys |
| Brasa | Tamara_Murphy |
| Brasserie Margaux | Margaux_Seattle |
| Brouwers Café | brouwerscafe |
| Buckley’s Pubs | buckleyspubs |
| Café Campagne | Cafe_Campagne |
| Café Campagne (chef) | daisgord |
| Café Flora | CafeFloraVeg |
| Café Revo | CaféRevo |
| Campagne Restaurant | EasyFrench |
| Canlis | bcanlis |
| Carmelita | carmelitaveggie |
| Chandlers Crabhouse | SchwartzBros |
| Circa Ale House | circaalehouse |
| Coastal Kitchen | coastalkitchen |
| Counter Burger | counterburger |
| Crush | Crush_Seattle |
| Cucina Fresca | CucinaFresca |
| Daniels Broiler | SchwartzBros |
| Del Rey | DelReySeattle |
| Delancey Pizza | delanceyseattle |
| Dragonfish | DragonfishSEA |
| El Gaucho Bellevue | ElGauchoBell |
| Elemental/Elemental Next Door | Elemental_Food |
| Elliott Bay Brewing | elliottbay_beer |
| Emmer and Rye | emmerandrye |
| Endolyne Joes | ChowFoods |
| Enotria | enotria |
| Epulo | epulo |
| Feedback Lounge | feedbacklounge |
| Fox Sports Grill (Seattle) | FSGSeattle |
| Fresh Bistro | freshbistro |
| Frontier Café | FrontierCafe |
| Frontier Room | frontierroom |
| Gordon Biersch (corporate) | Gordon_Biersch |
| Grand Cru Wine Bar | grandcruwine |
| Herbfarm | Herbguy |
| Here and There Grill | heretheregrill |
| Hi-Life | ChowFoods |
| Homegrown | homegrownian |
| Huiyona | huiyona |
| Hunt Club | TheHuntClub |
| Icon Grill | iconGrill |
| Il Bistro | ILBistroSeattle |
| Il Fornaio | ilfornaio_sea |
| Ivars | IvarsClam |
| Jimmy’s On First | JimmysOnFirst |
| Joule | joulerestaurant |
| Julias Café | JuliasSeattle |
| La Bocca | LaBocca |
| Lark | larkseattle |
| Licorous | licorousseattle |
| Lombardis | lombardisdining |
| Lowells Restaurant | LowellsSeattle |
| Maggianos (corporate) | Maggianos |
| Malt & Vine | MaltandVine |
| Marination Mobile | curb_cuisine |
| Maximilien | maxi_sea |
| Maximus/Minimus | somepigseattle |
| Meza | mezaseattle |
| Mioposto | mioposto |
| Mobatta | mobatta |
| Monsoon East | MonsoonEast |
| Night Kitchen | night_kitchen |
| O/8 Twisted Cork | TwistedCork |
| Olivar Restaurant | OlivarSeattle |
| Olivers Lounge | OliversLounge |
| Pagliacci Pizza | pagliaccipizza |
| Pearl Bar and Dining | PearlBellevue |
| Pike Brewing Company | pikebrewing |
| Pike Place Chowder | PikePLChowder |
| Ponti | PontiGrill |
| Poppy | poppyseattle |
| Portage Bay Café | portagebaycafe |
| Purple Café | HeavyRestaurant |
| Queen City Grill | queencitygrill |
| Rays Boathouse | raysboathouse |
| Redhook Brewery | Redhook_Brewery |
| Rovers | thechefinthehat |
| Ruth Chris Steak House – Seattle | RCSHSeattle |
| Salty’s | SaltysSeafood |
| Seastar | SeastarRawBar |
| Seastar (chef) | ChefJohnHowie |
| Serafina Osteria | SerafinaOsteria |
| Shallots Bistro | ShallotsBistro |
| Six Seven | Six_Seven |
| Skillet Street Food | skilletstfood |
| Sorrentinos | MammaEnza |
| Space Needle | space_needle |
| Spazzo Italian Grill | SchwartzBros |
| Spinasse | spinasse |
| Spring Hill Restaurant | springhill_us |
| Stir Martini Bar | STIRBellevue |
| Taphouse Grill | taphousegrill |
| TASTE Restaurant | tastesam |
| The Hunt Club | TheHuntClub |
| The Loft | theloftlounge |
| The Spot Off Main | TheSpotOffMain |
| Tidbit Bistro | Tidbit |
| Tiki Bob’s Cantina | TikiBobsSeattle |
| Tilth (chef) | mariahines |
| Tom Douglas Bakery | TDRBakery |
| Tom Douglas Restaurants | TDRcreampuff |
| Top Pizza | top_pizza |
| Typhoon Restaurants | TyRestaurants |
| Uber Tavern | UberTavern |
| Urbane Seattle | urbaneseattle |
| Ventana | VentanaSEA |
| Watercress Asian Bistro | Watercresslily |
| Woodman Lodge | WoodmanLodge |
| Zaw Pizza | zawpizza |
| Zayda Buddy’s | ZaydaBuddy |
| Zeeks Pizza | zeekspizza |
Filed under Restaurants, Twitter
26 ways to Dine Around Seattle!
It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year for a “foodie” in Seattle - it’s Dine Around Seattle month ! For the better part of November (every Sunday-Thursday, with some exceptions), you can score fantastic deals at 26 of Seattle’s finest restaurants – so get your appetite on!
Now in it’s 7th year, Dine Around Seattle provides a great opportunity to sample our city’s great cuisine at fantastic prices – as in a three-course meal for only $30! Many of the restaurants also offer a three-course lunch deal for only $15.
The full lineup can be viewed below and full contact info is at this link: http://www.dinearoundseattle.org/restaurants.php. By clicking on each restaurant logo, you can view the scrumptuous menu choices before you go….warning, drooling may ensue!
And as the Twitter-happy strategist that I am, I have conveniently listed all the restaurants with their Twitter addresses below – so you can “eat and Tweet” and let us know all the juicy details of your culinary outings!
And p.s. I’m still working to get ALL these restaurants on Twitter, so if you can make an introduction to any of them for me, I’d be happy to chat with them about how I can help create a splash on Twitter!
| DINE AROUND SEATTLE | Twitter Address |
| 35th Street Bistro | 35Bistro |
| Andaluca | Andaluca |
| ART Restaurant | ARTRestaurant |
| Barking Frog | |
| Barolo | |
| Campagne | EasyFrench |
| Chez Shea | |
| Dahlia Lounge | TDRcreampuff |
| Earth & Ocean | |
| Etta’s | TDRcreampuff |
| Eva | |
| Flying Fish | |
| Hunt Club | TheHuntClub |
| Lola | TDRcreampuff |
| Monsoon | |
| Monsoon East | MonsoonEast |
| Nell’s | |
| Nishino | |
| O/8 Twisted Cork | TwistedCork |
| Ponti | PontiGrill |
| Rays Boathouse | raysboathouse |
| Restaurant Zoe | |
| Serafina Osteria | SerafinaOsteria |
| Spring Hill Restaurant | springhill_us |
| Steelhead Diner | |
| Szmanias |
So, which one is your favorite? Which menu looks the most enticing to you? The dish I’m most excited about = pumpkin risotto at Andaluca! Please come back and share your comments – bon appetit!
Filed under Events, Restaurants, Twitter
39 great reasons to dine out in October
October is one of my favorite months of the year – football, pumpkins, falling leaves, Halloween – and now Urban Eats! Of course I – The Incredible Chef - would have a favorite dining activity to recommend, so listen up!
Urban Eats is a special dining out program that features 39 Puget Sound region restaurants providing fabulous 3-course dinners for just $30! As they say, it’s a good deal for a great meal, and I’m already trying to figure out how many of them I can visit during the Oct 1-29 promotion (Sunday-Thursday nights).
As a huge proponent of Twitter who actively seeks to help restaurants use Twitter to be the “talk of the town“, I’m listing the Urban Eats restaurants here along with their Twitter accounts. I hope you’ll “tweet” often about your great experiences with each establishment, and let us know how you eat well and spend less!
But I do have to ask – why are only 16 of these 39 restaurants on Twitter?? So if you dine with a non-Twitter restaurant on this list, please do me a favor and ask them why they aren’t using Twitter to make more money and talk with their customers! And then kindly point them in my direction – and let’s keep the regional Twitter foodie scene live and vibrant…bon appetit!
p.s. You can find Urban Eats on Twitter @urban_eats_Sea
| URBAN EATS — SEATTLE | ON TWITTER |
| 94 Stewart | |
| Anchovies & Olives | |
| Anthony’s Home Port Shilshole | |
| BOKA Kitchen & Bar | BOKAchef |
| Brasa | Tamara_Murphy |
| Carmelita | carmelitaveggie |
| Crush | Crush_Seattle |
| Divine | |
| Huiyona | huiyona |
| Il Bistro | ILBistroSeattle |
| Impromptu Wine Bar Café | |
| Juno | |
| La Rustica | |
| Maximilien | maxi_sea |
| Palace Kitchen | TDRcreampuff |
| Salty’s at Redondo Beach | SaltysSeafood |
| Salty’s on Alki | SaltysSeafood |
| Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar | SeastarRawBar |
| Shuckers | |
| Six Seven | Six_Seven |
| Stumbling Goat Bistro | |
| Taberna del Alabardero | |
| Tavolata | |
| Ten Mercer | |
| The Georgian | |
| Tidbit Bistro | Tidbit |
| Tilikum Place Café | |
| Union | |
| Urbane Seattle | urbaneseattle |
| URBAN EATS – EASTSIDE | ON TWITTER |
| Anthony’s HomePort Kirkland | |
| Bin on the Lake | binonthelake |
| Cellar 46 | |
| Flo Restaurant and Sake Bar | |
| Pearl Bar and Dining | PearlBellevue |
| Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar | SeastarRawBar |
| Terra Vista @ Snoqualmie Casino | |
| The Calcutta Grill | |
| The Third Floor Fish Café | |
| Trellis | |
Filed under Events, Restaurants, Twitter
Perfect event for “non-Twittering” restaurants, chefs, food-companies!
YOU ARE WHAT YOU TWEET!
Using Twitter as your recipe for online success
Monday, October 19, 2009
Mayflower Park Hotel, Seattle
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
$50 for early-bird registrations (by Oct. 9); $65 after Oct. 9/at the door (if space available)
http://youarewhatyoutweet.eventbrite.com/
As a restaurant, chef or food company, do you dream of:
- Being “the” neighborhood destination for socializing, eating and drinking
- Connecting with customers and your community
- Making more money
- Multiplying repeat business
- Making frequent customers feel special
- Attracting a steady stream of new customers
- Getting name recognition for making delicious food
If so, we have an event for you! Using the micro-blogging tool “Twitter”, you can accomplish all these things and more! This is a customized event for restaurants, chefs, wineries, breweries, and food-related companies that are not using Twitter – but that are pretty sure they should be! If you are scared, curious, skeptical or not sure about what Twitter can do for your business or how to get started then this is the event for you!
You’ll hear success stories and sage advice from featured panelists:
- Chef Wayne Johnson, Andaluca Restaurant
- Nancy Leson, Seattle Times Food & Restaurant Writer
- Linda Stratton, Asst. Marketing Director, Pike Brewing Company
- Clay Loges, Taste and Tweet/CEO of Yodio.com
- Moderator and Presenter – Karen Rosenzweig, Incredible Chef/Social Media Strategist
We’ll show you how using Twitter effectively can deliver:
- “Talk of the Town” status
- Access to your customers through engaging conversations and feedback
- Full restaurants/stores with adoring fans
- Loyal customers as you provide inside info and/or special offers
- “Raving Fans” by acknowledging and interacting with your customers
- New customers attracted by recommendations and special promotions
- Positive feedback about your food in a highly visible and viral platform
And the end result of this event? You’ll be inspired and motivated to take the plunge and join us on Twitter, thus creating a more robust community for all of us in the Puget Sound food scene. Information will be provided on programs available to help you start Tweeting! We look forward to seeing you there!
TO REGISTER: http://youarewhatyoutweet.eventbrite.com/
Hosted by the Mayflower Park Hotel and Andaluca Restaurant
Food and beverages provided by: Andaluca Restaurant, Woodhouse Family Winery, Buchanan Chocolate
Filed under Beverage Companies, Events, Food Companies, Restaurants, Twitter
