This is what I do first thing every morning: I stumble downstairs to the home office and sit at the computer.  I go to the Tom Douglas website, click on Blog and News, then go right to Eat, Drink, Zack, Adrienne which is under “Blog Buddies” to your right. (Adrienne is our amazing Dahlia Sous Chef and she is on a 3 month travel adventure with her sweetie, Zack.) Then I check to see if the dynamic duo of Zack and Adrienne have posted any new adventures.  Repeat… several times a day.  This is what you should be doing too.

Today, Adrienne and Zack are in Denver, Colorado and they reviewed the restaurants Duo (above), and Colt and Gray, plus they give a heads-up about their friend Katy’s upcoming Denver cooking school, Stir.

Robyn says: Dahlia chef, Brock Johnson, served caramelized figs to over 400 people at Cheesetopia!

(Editor’s note: for more about the American Cheese Society’s annual conference, read Leslie Kelly’s review of the event from Amazon’s Al Dente blog.)

Pamela says: The American Cheese Society had a big sale in the Ballroom after their awards ceremony (see the 4 small photos above).   People were walking out with armfulls!!  A big thank you to Alexis (Catering Sales Manager), who supported this event with many hours of labor, both during the cheese conference and leading up to it!!

The first Salmon Chanted Evening took place yesterday evening at Victor Steinbrueck Park, and it was a great success!  It was fabulous to see so many people in the Pike Place Market relaxing and enjoying the park and the spectacular view while the Tom Douglas crew served up a grilled salmon supper with green beans and corn on the cob for 15 bucks.  All proceeds from the Salmon Supper will benefit the Seattle Parks Department, Pike Place Senior Center, and Foodbank.

Above and beyond the money raised, our goal for the Salmon Supper was to help generate a feeling of community and to establish Victor Steinbrueck Park as a destination to be enjoyed by all.  We hope our Salmon Supper will become a Seattle tradition and a collaborative effort of neighbors, local businesses, and the community as a whole coming together to celebrate one of Seattle’s iconic public spaces.

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered their time and to everyone who came out to the park to eat  salmon with us on a picture perfect Seattle summer evening!

Adrienne Lasko, one of our super-fabulous and uber-talented Dahlia Lounge sous chefs, has just embarked on a 3 month travel adventure- first a road trip across the country to the East Coast and from there to Europe with her sweetie, Zack.  Adrienne has promised to update us about her travel adventures, culinary and otherwise, on her blog- Eat Drink Zack Adrienne.  Click on the link.  From now on you can find the link by yourself just be looking to the right under blog buddies.

Be sure to check out Adrienne and Zack’s travel blog EVERY DAY. I certainly will be doing so. The adventure begins TODAY!!!!!

Note: the photo of Adrienne enjoying a Voodoo Doughnut in Portland has nothing to do with anything except that I love this picture of her!

My husband, Frank, and I had dinner at Thierry Rautureau’s new joint, Luc, last night.  At a quarter past six the place was already filling up, but we managed to snag a little table for two.  I enjoy the ambiance of this restaurant- the warm colors and Moroccan lanterns, the clatter of the bustling bar, the casual, neighborhood-y vibe juxtaposed with polished service…. and the food!  Thierry Rautureau’s crew cooking you up a very reasonably priced weekday supper- isn’t that a dream come true?

As this was our second visit to Luc, Frank was ready with his order for a Lucatini- a beautifully balanced cocktail flavored with St. Germain and Lillet- while I had a glass of the Cremant sparkling rosé.  Our server brought out an amuse bouche of cold cucumber soup served in tiny Illy espresso cups.  For appetizers, we shared an arugula salad with caramelized shallots and plums and an order of Thierry’s already famous souffle potato chips with a spicy dipping sauce.  The chips were light as clouds. As far as I’m concerned they can put our Lucatinis and a basket of the chips on the table as soon as we sit down on the next visit to Luc!

Frank cannot resist one of his favorite meats, tongue- so he was thrilled when the server told him it was possible to order the shared special of the day, braised tongue with mushrooms, Madiera, and farro, for just one person.  I went for the pasta special of the day- handmade fettucini with corn, clams, and chanterelles.  The tongue was fall-apart tender and delicious. Even the green beans were amazing. The pasta was superb- every strand coated with exactly the right amount of buttery sauce.

We had just enough room to share a berry cobbler with peach ice cream.  A delightful evening, we’ll return to Luc soon!

Check out this article on Bethe and Anna’s new restaurant, Italia Trattoria, in Spokane!  Anna makes all the pasta, like pappardelle lamb ragu!

Here’s a photo (right) of the charred octopus, spicy tomato oil, and lemon parsley salad.

Editor’s note: Bethe Bowman (front of house) and Anna Vogel (back of house) worked as managers at Tom Douglas Restaurants for years.  Then they moved to Spokane where they eventually opened up their own joint.  We love them and miss them.  If you have the chance to get over to Spokane, be sure to check out Italia Trattoria!

Cupcakes, that’s what’s happening!! Pastry Chef Extraordinaire, Garrett Melkonian, nailed 3 more recipes today for the upcoming Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: popcorn cupcakes with caramel corn buttercream, chocolate devil’s food cupcakes with chocolate flake buttercream, and  lemon thyme cupcakes with huckleberry buttercream.  I don’t think of myself as a cupcake person, but it took self control for me to stop “tasting” these lovelies made up of moist but fluffy cakes and smooth buttercreams with sophisticated flavors.  (I have to remind myself every day, that when I go past 2 bites, I am probably “eating,” not “tasting.”)  Even though this was a successful testing day, not every test recipe makes the cut for the book.  Garrett has tried the carrot cupcake three times in an attempt to simplify the method a little bit more for the home baker.  We have a bucket in the test kitchen for the rejects, but tomorrow is another day.

Here’s our amazing pastry sous chef, Randi, getting a pan of bacon scones ready for Baconopolis tonight!!

After Baconopolis, Leslie Kelly wrote a great post about it on Amazon’s Al Dente blog.  Read about it here.

Nancy Leson checks out Seatown Snackbar in this post from her Seattle Times All You Can Eat blog.  She even borrows (with credit) a photo from one of my posts here on Family Meal- but I have to fess up that my husband, Frank, actually took that photo.  He’ll be proud!

A beautiful day to take some photos for Seattle Restaurant Week!  Thanks to Brock, Nate, Stacy, and Cameron for representing the team!