Michael Ruhlman, the boysih author of ruhlman.com, is one of the country's leading food philosophers. Mark Bittman, at NYTimes.com, may have a bigger platform, but Ruhlman's got the science of food down to a science. A journalist, he became a cook by attending the Culinary Institute of America in order to write "The Making of a Chef." Since then, starting with "The French Laundry Cookbook," he's written a string of culinary standards that mix theory and practice ("The Soul of a Chef," "The Elements of Cooking," "Ratio"). And he keeps writing turning out books about esoteric, non-culinary subjects like wooden boats and pediatric surgery. more ›

Staying in the city for the three day weekend? Whilst the masses trek over to Eastern WA for some big music festival, you'll have some very fine events to partake in. Events that will entertain you and expand your knowledge. Events where you can buy cookbooks so you can have friends over to celebrate your new creations. And events where you can pick up a few bottles of wine from a local retailer. Behold: more ›

Yesterday we were immersed in the flurry of James Beard-related news. Today we pay homage to the accolades of other hometown food celebrities. more ›

Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure (which we wrote about when it came out five years ago), has a new cookbook, and she's promoting it in Seattle today and tomorrow to spread the good word on healthy eating. (A French person doesn't say, "I'm full." She says, "I am no longer hungry." End of story.) more ›

God bless you, Kurt Vonnegut, life has been so much more dull without you here. And thank you, Sidney Offit, for making this collection possible! As the second posthumous short story collection from Kurt Vonnegut, Look at the Birdie is a great pick for longtime fans, or a great entry into his work for those who are unfamiliar. We don't normally buy hardcover books, but this was one that we couldn't pass up, as Vonnegut is one of our all-time favorite American authors, and we own a great number of his books in hardcover. Unlike his first posthumous collection, Armageddon in Retrospect, which speaks more of times of war and peace, Look at the Birdie contains stories reminiscent of Vonnegut's best work--those of the broader ideas and mindsets of America after World War II. Expect this collection to have Vonnegut's usual excellent wit and humor along with underlying themes of humanism, as, like Mark Twain, Vonnegut was a devout follower. If you love this awesome new collection, you may also consider a couple of his older collections that are just as excellent: Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons, or Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction--our very personal favorite (includes characters from stories in Welcome to the Monkey House, an added bonus for those that are familiar). more ›

So you thought it was going to be a lot of work, all this holiday cooking? We know, just thinking about it can be exhausting. The spirit of fussy Martha Stewart dueling with the ghost of drop-the-turkey-on-the-floor Julia Child? Top Chef duking it out with Iron Chef? Paula Dean versus Rachael Ray? It's enough to make you send for Chinese takeout. more ›

Is this something new? A chef who cooks, a spouse who writes. ("He tastes, she types." Or should that be "He cooks, she composes"?) more ›

Employee number 53, Charlie Ayers was hired in 1999 to run the lunchroom at Google. Before that, he'd been catering for musicians (including the Grateful Dead) around San Francisco. By the time he left six years later, still a hippie at heart, he had a staff of 150 and was feeding 4,000 googlers a day at 10 locations. ("Well, wouldn't you know it, some people got fat.") more ›