event // Glitter Haus 2012

Holiday ornaments by Deeds & Petunia / Sarah Smith. Photo courtsey of Jessica Uhler Photography.

All that glitters is not gold. A lot of it is glitter, actually. And yummy frosted cupcakes. And sprinkles of fine culinary salts. And crusts of snow on tiny trees. The Art Department was pleased as punch to host Glitter Haus this year, a holiday open house featuring extraordinary artisan gifts, organized by Tacoma crafting mavens Sarah Smith of Deeds & Petunia, Laurie Cinotto of Lalalaurie and Lori Meyer of Parisienne Girl Design. Eight talented vendors decked the halls of the Berkley compound for one afternoon while locals savored cider, noshed on delicious nibbles and shopped their way through all sorts of seasonal treasures.

We believe the event was a great success, with all of the holiday bustle and none of the hustle. We love supporting local artists, and we hope Glitter Haus continues to flourish every year. You can find out more about the crafters here.

Tacoma photographer Jessica Uhler, whose work we very much admire, kindly provided us photos of the affair. (We were too busy shopping. And eating. And merrymaking.) Continue Reading

video // Musical Plates : OK Sweetheart

Lucky, lucky us. We again had the good fortune of joining Seattle’s only (and best!) mobile food tour as it added a local band to the mix for a night of indie pop, mouthwatering eats and a four-wheeled foray up, down and all about town and into some of Seattle’s best kept culinary secrets.

We’re firm believers that White Moustache gastro-guide Bryce Lathrop is one part Bacchanalian storyteller, two parts food anthropologist and three parts epicurean shaman. Meaning, he has the epicure for all that ails you and you’ll emerge from your food coma two days later boasting some anecdotal food history to boot. In a perfect interlacing of the senses, he invited one of our favorite up-and-coming bands OK Sweetheart to serenade a busload of gleefully gluttonous traveling tastebuds.  Bryce played raconteur and the band played songs sweeter than milk and honey and everyone filled their bellies with cupcakes, barbecue, fried pickles and heaven.

Take a look at the video above (or the shorter videos below) for a glimpse at the night.

If you like what you see, don’t hesitate to purchase tickets for the next Musical Plates food tour!

Continue Reading

video // A Good Baker

One of our favorite things about living in Sonoma is the bread.  Our community is lucky to have one of the world’s greatest bakers making bread just for us!  Take a look at the short feature we produced on the subject above for Cult Sonoma, which writes:

There is gravity to a good bit of bread—it carries a sort of sacramental heft that doesn’t fool around. The way the outside shatters like a mosaic as you take a carnal rip off the crust, or the way it springs forth like a cloud into your mouth, swirled with a slug of olive oil. Great bread tethers you to your mortal coil—to your teeth and tongue and bones and blood and the all the things and conversations going on around you. It keeps you from floating away into the zeitgeist and leaving nothing but status updates to show for it. Pair it with nice beer, friendly people and some amicable herbs and vegetables and you pretty much have another reason to live.

This is why we have vaulted Sonoma’s Mike [the bejkr] Zakowski to the echelon of artisanal god. What can we say? He maketh good loaves, the sort of bread that bores into your psyche, the sort that would keep ancient fishermen alive when adrift at sea or something. I guess what we’re trying to say is that there are a lot of breads out there, but his breads feels divinely necessary.

“Every town needs a good baker,” intones Mike from the shipping container in his backyard he’s converted to a professional, artisinal bread-baking shop.  We agree and we feel very blessed that Sonoma’s good baker is Mike!

Please try Mike’s bread for yourself if you get an opportunity—look for him at Sonoma Valley’s farmers markets. We look forward to a lot more from Mike as he prepares to represent the U.S. in the 2012 World Cup of baking in Paris
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music mixed by
Max Lynch