We continued our quest for a second month to answer the question: “Is Seattle teriyaki dying?” We will lead with our conclusion: There are worthy options in and around Seattle, but the focus has moved out from downtown and broadened to include wider menus.

Working in downtown Seattle once meant that teriyaki for lunch was never more than a block or two away. In fact, one of the first editions of this column 18 years ago reviewed teriyaki shops in Seattle, and we could barely scratch the surface of the options available.

Dining columnist Christopher Howard presents an insightful tour of restaurants. A lauded Napa restaurant shined during its robust course. Then one of two French bistros was a clear favorite, with elevated fare in a lively setting. Further north, a Geyserville staple impressed with unpretentious but memorable Italian eats, including a standout bread.

Every so often we get up early and go out and look for a good place to eat breakfast. We found a few good options. Most of these are well established but were new to us, at least for breakfast.

Mardi Gras events start in January and will be in full swing about the time you receive this issue. And there is always a reason to head down to New Orleans, so we went down for an early parade (the Chewbaccus Krewe) and scouted out some dining options for you to consider on your next trip to the Big Easy. We paid special attention to places that would accommodate gluten free and other special diets. We were pleasantly surprised by the frequency with which restaurants in New Orleans asked about food allergies on their own initiative, more than we have experienced in any other city, including Seattle.

There have been many new restaurant openings in the second half of 2024. We are trying to catch up with a few before addressing many new openings set for 2025.

Every so often, especially before we start our post-holiday season diets, one just needs a burger. This month we tried burgers joints that we have not previously reviewed. (That rules out a number of places such as Lil Woodies, Red Barn, Taurus Ox, Quinn’s Pub, etc.) We found a few good options, both here and on the road, for you to consider when next you want a burger.

There have been a number of new restaurant openings this fall in various parts of Seattle. We were only able to get to a few (more to follow next month). We also checked out one well-established restaurant you may have overlooked.

Yes, we have impressive fall foliage here in Washington. But everyone (from the North East) talks about how good the autumn leaves are in New England and New York’s Hudson Valley, upstate (or at least up river) from New York City (“the City”). So we decided to check it out. In the process, found a few places for you to try next time you head upstate in New York (and new England).
 

There have been plenty of post-Covid openings and we certainly have not been able to get to them all. This month we are trying to catch up on that, at least a little. And, as our exploration continued, this edition ended up with a post-Spanish Empire theme.