There's a burger movement afoot in Seattle. Lunchbox Laboratory formally reopens in its giant new South Lake Union space this weekend (check out these great preview shots from frequent Seattlest Flickr pool contributor february 22). Local patty purveyor BuiltBurger recently opened a Pioneer Square storefront, offering downtown lunchers their signature burgers with toppings and flavors embedded inside the patty rather than on top. more ›

Talk about a city building a big ego: another set of "Best of..." awards have been bestowed to some of Seattle's finest culinary talent in Travel + Leisure Magazine's "50 Best New U.S. Restaurants." The judges were set on finding restaurants and chefs that owned a sense of culinary ambition--okay, crazy enough to dare to open in a shaky economy--who also brought a warm, welcoming and innovative approach when it came time to cooking a meal. Entire list of restaurants after the jump. more ›

Lots of talk about Rancho Bravo combined with a tough time with our taxes (and a need to stretch the budget), necessitating a visit. We'd been to the Wallingford truck, but who can resist the "real restaurant" feel of the old KFC building on Capitol Hill? more ›

• Capitol Hill Seattle has taken on an important question regarding the almighty hamburger. Which has the better burger, Quinn's or the Lunchbox Laboratory? The argument's raging in the comments.
• Subterfuge Seattle has successfully identified "Seattle's most socially relevant person," and they're kind enough to share not only the guy's name and bio information, but a photo as well!
• As usual, The Sable Verity has the inside scoop on all matters South End--this time, she's calling out the Seattle Public Schools superintendent for marking Rainier Beach High for closure before Goodloe-Johnson was even in charge. Ouch.

John's band, in light of America's financial misfortunes, will be returning to the home-made recording studio to use our economic meltdown as inspiration for new songwriting material.
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In the kitchen, Staples and chef-de-cuisine Daniel Newell stick to elegantly presented classics: halibut, scallops, duck breast, lamb loin, braised short ribs, pork chops. But if the devil is in the details, it's also in the small plates. Delicate white asparagus from Walla Walla, asking for nothing more than a simple steaming, is instead poached (barely! barely!) in a broth of salted white wine, and served with an egg foam (classic sabayon), lemon, and fried (why?) capers. Five stalks for $13 (twice the going price for big, fat spears of white asparagus in Europe), you wonder what they're thinking. more ›

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You haven't heard much from us about Capitol Hill's new "gastropub" Quinn's (owned by Scott and Heather Staples, who also own Restaurant Zoe). more ›