February 2013

Tour Seattle's Chocolate Factories

Tour Seattle’s Chocolate Factories

No Oompa Loompas at these candy-making centers, but peeking behind the sugary curtain is a delight.

Theo ChocolateRevamped in 2012, the tour at Fremont’s 6-year-old Theo Chocolate is more educational than Willy Wonka–ish. It starts with a 30-minute seminar that includes not just how chocolate is made, but why Theo set out to change the way cacao is sourced. (The company is part of a fair-trade network that polices the cooperatives…

Maria Christofilis: City Chic

Maria Christofilis: City Chic

Style expert and founder of Anthousa Collection on her personal style.

Uptown girl, laidback-style: “I flip from carrying my black Celine Phantom bag from Barneys to a Navajo-print cotton tote that I got for free,” says Maria Christofilis, a scent-savvy Seattle native who has been on the advance guard of home fragrances for more than a decade (at anthousacollection.com—which she recently sold). She shakes things up…

Viridian Farms' Verde Island

Viridian Farms’ Verde Island

The flavors of Spain reach Seattle via Viridian Farms in Oregon.

As you read this, farmers Manuel and Leslie Recio are probably in Spain—sampling Tempranillo in Catalonia, learning traditional recipes in Andalucía, or deep in a conversation about growing techniques with a producer in a market in Madrid. This is how the owners of the Oregon-based Viridian Farms spend the darkest weeks of winter. And their…

For the Love of Lardo

For the Love of Lardo

Chef Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita revels in the melty goodness of her favorite topper.

Lard used to be a dirty word. And its Italian cousin, lardo, would prompt puzzled looks followed by the inevitable “What’s that?” But now, lardo—cured pork fat—is cool, thanks to chefs such as Cafe Juanita’s Holly Smith. She has long adored the snowy white stuff for how well it stands alone or adds a little…

Flutter and Twirl Mobiles

Flutter and Twirl Mobiles

These beautifully crafted mobiles would make an excellent shower gift.

Mobiles, when done as artfully as those created by Burien-based Sara Lawrence for her line Flutter and Twirl, are a delight to all who behold them, not just babes in their cribs. There’s something so soothing in the way they lazily rotate and bounce gently overhead. Lawrence, a librarian by trade, crafts paper, wool roving,…

Urban Animal: Seattle's Hip Veterinary Clinic

Urban Animal: Seattle’s Hip Veterinary Clinic

Capitol Hill’s new vet clinic features DIY pet portraits.

You’re staring at the photo booth in the lobby of Urban Animal, Capitol Hill’s newest veterinary practice. What’s that doing here? It’s the for-real, film-based, wait-four-minutes-for-slightly-wet-prints kind. The last one you saw was, probably, in a bar. But you are sober. And here for your pup’s checkup, for heaven’s sake. Then, you look around. The…

Spaetzle Occasion at Feierabend

Spaetzle Occasion at Feierabend

Käsespätzle mit zwiebel-buttersosse anyone?

German brats that pop and burst with meaty juices, hoppy pilsners and citrusy wheat beers are what draw many of us to South Lake Union’s convivial German pub. And with tender schnitzel and warm, soft pretzels showing off, it’s easy to overlook the humble Käsespätzle mit zwiebel-buttersosse at Feierabend, or spaetzle with onion-butter sauce, fresh…

Best Chocolate Shops

Best Chocolate Shops

Our city hosts a bounty of boutique chocolate shops.

Intrigue Chocolates Co.Aaron Barthel says he wanted to be a mad scientist when he grew up. That dream nearly led him to a career as a botanist, until he spotted a recipe for chocolate ganache truffles in a botany magazine his mom had sent him. Now this Pioneer Square–based child of Minnesota dairy farmers is…

Questions for David Shields

Questions for David Shields

In his new book Seattle author and UW professor David Shields answers the call of his own manifesto.

Seattle mag: What compelled you to write How Literature Saved My Life?  David Shields: I wanted to take [his previous book] Reality Hunger: A Manifesto…a call to arms to writers and other artists to dissolve the distinction between fiction and nonfiction and create new forms for the 21st century… and undermine its imperial tone by…

Seattle's Best Candy Makers

Seattle’s Best Candy Makers

Artisanal confectioners are giving candy back to grown-ups with an explosion of handcrafted treats.

Somewhere along the road from childhood to adulthood, our conception of candy shifts from direct arrow to the brain’s pleasure center to guilt-tinged indulgence (and bribery tool used on our own kids). But today’s artisanal confectioners are giving candy back to grown-ups with an explosion of handcrafted caramels, high-quality toffee and even cotton candy, in…

Seattle's Best Sipping Chocolate

Seattle’s Best Sipping Chocolate

We scoured the city for its best liquid indulgences: thick, rich, hot melted chocolate and milk.

ChocolatiCayenne Hot ChocolateIf you’d abandon subtlety and nuance in favor of a hot chocolate with eye-popping flavor, Chocolati’s flavored hot chocolate menu is for you. Try the cayenne, with big, hot high notes that hit your sinuses right as you sip, then mellow as you get farther into the cup. $2.95 for 8 ounces of…

A Bucket List for the Seattle Chocoholic

A Bucket List for the Seattle Chocoholic

If we could create our dream box of chocolates, these 10 local treats would be in it.

Chocolate grows on trees, but after testing and tasting everything Theobroma cacao, we’ve learned one thing: Not all chocolate is created equal. It’s all made from seeds from a football-shaped fruit that grows in the globe’s equatorial regions. But everything from where it’s grown to how it’s made affects taste and quality—and some chocolate treats…