Coming up Tuesday is the second annual Seattle Hot Picks. Sponsored by Wine & Spirits Magazine, this event celebrates the June issue’s annual Critics’ Picks—the magazine’s favorite inexpensive wines from around the world. It also honors ten of Seattle’s best young sommeliers and wine experts (all under age 35), who work in area restaurants and wine shops. The critics sampled more than 9,000 wines, paring the list to about 60 that you can try,......

Capitol Hill is brunch central, and god help us, we love it so. Besides Monsoon (mmm BBQ pork buns) and Kingfish (mmm French creole eggtorte) on 19th, there's Coastal Kitchen (mmm always crowded), 22 Doors, and Smith on 15th. We hadn't ever tried brunch at 22 Doors because of a longstanding feud with them, but they were highly recommended by a competitor, so we popped in. It was Saturday, say, 10:30 a.m. No lines (unlike......

For some reason, though we are committed Capitol Hill brunchers, we had not discovered what wonders Monsoon has going on in their little 19th Ave E hideaway. Behold, the Monsoon brunch menu (pdf)! Last Tuesday night, Eric and Sophie Bahn, the chefs, invited a passel of foodie blogging folk over to try out the brunch menu. You had people like Matthew aka the rootsandgrubs guy, Angela from the Stranger -- and somehow we made the......