Chicken broth-based soups are some of the ultimate comfort foods, and are especially good when sick. We love them all, from matzo ball soup (a.k.a. “Jewish penicillin”) to tortilla soup to good ol’ Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (or, better yet, Chicken & Stars – our childhood favorite, though we shudder to think about the sodium content). more ›

Few foods are more fun – or more perfect – than xiao long bao. Originating in Shanghai, xiao long bao translates to “little basket bun,” but they are more commonly known as soup dumplings. Steamed in bamboo baskets which hold six to eight dumplings, the doughy wrappers serve as pouches for a fantastic filling of meat and meaty broth. more ›

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We don't need the Space Needle looming overhead to know we're in Seattle. We count on the minutia of the built environment to constantly remind us where we are. The shape of the curb, the width of the sidewalk, the placement and condition of the news boxes all serve to inform us, again and again, that we're home. We're in Seattle--a warm and familiar place--where we have friends and responsibilities. We know we're expected somewhere and we'll be missed if we don't show because when we're crossing the street we see the little, white walk-y guy change to a flashing, red hand-y thing and we better get our ass out of the intersection before we get a stern looking at by the drivers waiting to turn. When the curbs roll up to the sidewalk at a different angle and they're painted blue or something and the bus pulls up with some payment box of the future that only accepts smart cards purchased with giant two-tone coins next to the driver we know, hey, we're in Vancouver or Shanghai or somewhere besides Seattle because what is this weird shit. Or if the crosswalk sign starts suddenly counting down to doomsday while we're in the middle of the street and we get all disoriented and don't know if we should dive back towards the curb from whence we came or if we should simply fall down in the street cursing the strangeness of it all. So not Seattle! Get us out of here! more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... more ›

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, more ›

These pictures have a distinct "Usual Suspects" air about them, like something's about to happen and it's going to involve automatic weapons fire and European accents with a few mutants or extraterrestrials on the side. more ›

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. more ›

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Jagshemash! more ›

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? more ›

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. more ›

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. more ›

that we want to kill anyone and everyone that makes a "something on a something" joke. But then we realized that there was no way we could ever win this fight, and, hell, if you can't beat them, we might as well join them. And with that, you have the theme of this weeks' Gothamist network post. more ›

Sampaist is on the scene in São Paulo beginning this week to become the only ist south of the Equator. Editor Leandro M. Pinto leads the paulistanos down there. more ›

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. more ›

There's a whole wide world out there, and here's the proof: more ›

Gothamist posts on the capture of a NYC perv thanks to Little Brother and a camera phone. They also scour the city for vodka martinis and Shamrock shakes and spot the friend from the Wonder Years at a city law firm. New York police think that Littlejohn is their man. more ›

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi’s tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. more ›

Monday Nov. 28 more ›

Seattlest is thrilled to welcome yet another sibling into the fold: Today marks the debut of Shanghaiist. (Actually...figuring out the date and time of their debut makes our head hurt; we think they may have debuted yesterday for them, which is today for us, and...you get it, maybe, even if we don't.) And--although that sentence is barely in English--Shanghaiist consistently is in English. more ›

At long last, Central Cinema is now open. Though they've hosted some pre-grand opening events last month, Wednesday was their official opening night. And while Seattlest was not in attendance, we are certainly planning on going there sometime soon, especially after taking a gander at their menu. Mmmm...we're thinking that popcorn and roasted asparagus and a salmon burger and the quattro formaggi or sienna or pescara pizza, followed by some crème brulee and a nice nip of tawny port sounds delightful. more ›