Seattle Eats with Tan Vinh – Details, episodes & analysis

Where should I take a date for dinner? What’s up with that taco stand down the street? Is the hottest new restaurant really worth waiting in line for an hour?

Whatever question you have about Seattle’s food scene, Tan Vinh has the answer. Join him on Seattle Eats, a new podcast that pulls back the curtain on the dishes – and the people – that make Seattle’s food iconic. Episodes drop every other Thursday, starting September 19.

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Where can you get the best slice of pizza in Seattle? That’s what the Seattle Times asked readers in its Summer Pizza Smackdown — and the Times’ food writers happen to agree with the answer. This episode, Tan counts down the 4 best pies in the city with fellow Seattle Times food writers Jackie Varriano and Bethany Jean Clement

Plus, tips on getting a table at the hottest new restaurant this fall: A giant dim sum hall in Chinatown.

Read more about The Seattle Times Pizza Smackdown.

Recommendations in this episode:

• - Bar del Corso, Beacon Hill
• - Delancey, Ballard
• - The Independent Pizzeria, Madison Park
• - My Friend Derek’s, Fremont
• - Post Alley Pizza, Downtown
• - Stevie’s Famous, Burien / Beacon Hill
• - Diamond Bay, International District
• - Sun Sui Wah, Bellevue

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible:

• Become a member today at kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes
• Subscribe today at seattletimes.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only one spot in Washington state made the New York Time’s list of 50 best restaurants this year: familyfriend. The Beacon Hill eatery’s menu is filled with stand-out meals from Guam and other Pacific Islands, but the one responsible for its meteoric rise is all American.

In this episode, Tan chats with familyfriend owner Elmer Dulla about the restaurant’s sudden success and its Guamanian roots. Plus, tips for enjoying fresh hop season in Seattle, even if you’re not a beer fan. 

Read more about Elmer Dulla and familyfriend in The Seattle Times. 

Recommendations in this episode:

• Familyfriend, Beacon Hill – try the corn soup, the shrimp and octopus tostada or the La Beacon Bachoy (if you’re feeling adventurous)
• Cloudburst Brewing, Downtown
• Single Hill Brewing, Yakima
• The Dray, West Woodland
• Chuck’s Hop Shop, Central District / Greenwood / Seward Park

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pho and Banh mi shops are ubiquitous in Seattle, but Vietnamese food here is evolving far beyond these two dishes. In this episode, Seattle Times Food Writers Bethany Jean Clement and Jackie Varriano join Tan for a taste test of their favorite Vietnamese dishes in the city, courtesy of the Times’ Vietnamese Food Guide. 

Plus, a neighborhood in Seattle with great cheap eats that you’ve probably never heard of. 

Read the Vietnamese Food Guide: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/the-best-of-seattles-vietnamese-food-scene/

Our favorite Vietnamese dishes in Seattle:

Paté Chaude — Q Bakery, Hillman City

Bún Chả Hà Nội — Ba Bar, multiple locations

Banh Mi Nem Nướng Hà Nội — Voi Cà Phê, Georgetown

Other recommendations in this episode:

The Tin Hat, West Woodland – 99¢ Taco Tuesdays

Molly Maguires, West Woodland – lunch buffet

The Dray, West Woodland

Anchovies and Salt, Renton — try the fish sauce coffee

Hello Em, Little Saigon — try the Caphe Trung (egg coffee)

Phin, Little Saigon — pick up some pandan waffles

Voi Cà Phê — try the Miso Caramel Latte or Pho Spice Latte 

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teriyaki as we know it was invented in Seattle in the 1970s. It’s why there’s a teriyaki joint almost every other block across the city. On this episode, we join author and food influencer J. Kenji López-Alt on his mission to eat at every single teriyaki restaurant in Seattle (and some outside) and discover the ultimate form of this native Seattle cuisine. 

Plus, Kenji and Tan discuss one of the best restaurants in Colombia that may soon be making an appearance in the Seattle area. 

Recommendations in this episode:

• Rainier Teriyaki, Columbia City
• Grillbird, West Seattle
• Prudencia, Bogota, Colombia

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

$20 burgers. $50 pizzas. Eating out in Seattle has never been so expensive – and there’s lots of reasons why. In this bonus episode of Seattle Eats, we share a conversation about the economics of restaurant prices with four local chefs and restaurateurs. 

Panel:

• Kristi Brown (Communion)
• Victor Steinbrueck (Local Tide)
• Ethan Stowell (Ethan Stowell Restaurants) 
• Rachel Yang (Revel, Joule)

Moderated by Jackie Varriano, Seattle Times food writer

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Food pop-ups, trucks and carts are blossoming all over Seattle – but not all of them are above board. The city is seeing a huge spike in mobile food vendors that aren’t permitted. Today we tell the story of how Tan found out about this trend thanks to the hottest food truck of the summer, and talk to Seattle Times reporter Jackie Varriano about how to tell if a food vendor is following health rules.

Plus, Seattle is having an al pastor taco moment. Tan shares tips for where to get a great bite. 

Read Tan and Jackie’s story in the Seattle Times.

Recommendations in this episode:

• Tacos La Cuadra – Rainier Beach, Mount Baker, Northgate
• Tacos Extranjeros – inside Fair Isle Brewing, Ballard

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Costco is a great place to stock up on holiday staples, and nowhere is that more true than its wine selection. Tan and sommelier Owen Bargreen break down their picks for this year’s best wine offerings, and share tips on how to find them. 

Plus, a loophole at restaurants that lets you save money by bringing your own bottle of wine to dinner. 

Recommendations in this episode:

Sparkling wine: Kirkland brand champagne, $19.99

Red wine: 2022 Kirkland Signature Malbec, $6.99

White wine: 2022 Kirkland Signature Premier Cru Chablis, $18.99

Corkage deals:

Canlis, Queen Anne

Mainstay Provisions, Ballard and Denny Triangle

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are thousands of restaurants all over Puget Sound, and each of these restaurants serve different dishes. So how do you know which ones to pick? Well, The Seattle Times food team tried over 1500 dishes in the past year, so you don’t have to.

In this episode, Tan talks with Times food writers Jackie Varriano and Bethany Jean Clement about the best dishes they ate last year.

Read more about their favorite dishes here.

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible:

• Become a member today at kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes
• Subscribe today at seattletimes.com

Recommendations in this episode:

• Gold Coast Ghal Kitchen, First Hill
• Tivoli, Fremont
• Tacos Extranjeros, Ballard
• Birrieria Grumpy’s, Tukwila
• Paju, South Lake Union
• Jeff’s Texas Style BBQ, Marysville

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are 15 new bars and restaurants that Tan check-marked as must visit this year. But there’s one opening that just might be the most anticipated. It’s called My Friend Derek’s. A hotspot for Detroit-style pizza, run by self-taught baker Derek Reiff. It’s in the Tangletown neighborhood, just south of Green Lake.

On today’s episode, Tan visits Derek at his restaurant the day before it opens to talk about what Detroit-style pizza is and what it’s like to go from a pop-up sensation to a sit-down restaurant. Even though Derek's new at this game, he’s a bit of a perfectionist who considers a four star yelp review a failure.

Read more about My Friend Derek’s. 

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible:

• Become a member today at kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes
• Subscribe today at seattletimes.com

Recommendations in this episode:

• My Friend Derek’s, Tangletown

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.