Thanks to Providence for a Great Review of Tavern Law in Today's Seattle Times

Cicero's review is entitled: "Tavern Law salutes the glory days of American bartending and offers an alchemy of flavors both in the glass and on the plate". It reads in part, "Tavern Law isn't for those who drink to forget; it's the thinking drinker's watering hole. You get an inkling of that as you browse the drinks menu, an almost scholarly tome complete with glossary and historical notes. The bill of fare, on the other hand, isn't even printed. It's written in chalk and lists just eight plates. But don't for a minute think food is peripheral here, not with Brian McCracken and Dana Tough in the kitchen.
These creative young chefs dug their Spur into Belltown and galloped to national attention last year. Now they've opened Tavern Law in the restaurant thicket of Pike/Pine. Who should go? Hedonists (over 21 only), cerebral cocktailians and anyone who's ever wished they'd lived through America's first Gilded Age."

To read the entire mothwatering review, go to the Times website: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2010163657_cicero30.html

Photo of bartender Philip Thompson by the Seattle Times' Cliff Despeaux.

Rebekah Denn Writes Up Ivy Manning's Adaptable Feast Cookbook for CSM.com

For those of us commonly cooking for a mixed bag of dietary preferences, Denn wrote a great piece today on the CSMonitor blog about client Ivy Manning's new book The Adaptable Feast (Sasquatch). Denn writes, in part:

"My sister was trying to figure out how to make dinner for her meat-loving husband and vegetarian teen, and I had the perfect book for her: “The Adaptable Feast,” the newest cookbook by Portland-based writer Ivy Manning. It’s aimed at “mixed-diet households,” teaching how to satisfy vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike without turning into a short-order cook.

The book is a timely one – not just in my own household, with a 7-year-old vegetarian and a 2-year-old who carefully removes every fleck of chard from his chicken – but also seems well-timed for a country just starting to coalesce around the idea of dining compromises. Die-hard vegetarians and vegans have their followers and have their own cookbooks, but those preach to a converted audience. I think now we’ve suddenly hit the era of meeting each other halfway."

To read the entire article, click on the blog title above. And to learn more about Ivy's great new book, check out her blog at http://www.ivysfeast.blogspot.com/

Thanks Rebekah!

Photo of borscht from Ivy's new cookbook, by Gregor.

Our Life is Better Because: More Than Eight Minutes of Happiness Sharing in less Than 24hrs on Our Local NBC Affiliate

You all know about our clients and friends Cathy Haffner and Ginny Hutchinson, founders of the powerful global groundswell forming: Better Because. In the last week their story's gotten real traction with our friends in the media including KIRO's Jason Brooks and KING TV's evening news and morning news. What a great feeling to know that the media, oft tasked with reporting the negatives in our society, is open and hungry for stories of goodness.

Why do websites like F*** My Life get so much traffic and attention? Recent studies show negative words are way more catchy than positive ones. Defeated by such news and trends? NO WAY. Not these two pals, Ginny and Cathy decided to DO SOMETHING. They both have stories to tell like Cathy who went from being a baby in a bamboo hut in the Philippines, to rocking a Fortune 100 career, to ditching it all to launch a movement dedicated to inspiring positive action after seeing the terrifying impact of teen depression in her own daughter's life. The result? http://www.betterbecause.com/ in just a few weeks over 4,000 folks have friended us on Facebook and sent in their smiles and stories from around the GLOBE of what makes their life "better because of" today. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Better-Because/104319583705?ref=ts

This week's great news? In addition to all this wonderful media, Nordstrom just grabbed the duo's book to carry in their stores nationally and the University Bookstore, where we did a TV taping the other day, is carrying their line of merchandise too.

Thanks to all! We're better because of you.

Photo of Cathy and Ginny with KING 5's Carolyn Douglas by Kat.

a bittersweet celebration: Tavern Law's excellent Gourmet magazine write up

The news that Gourmet magazine's been given the axe has us all crying over our cutting boards and our key boards. We love Gourmet. We love Ruth. We love the photos, the recipes, the stories. We're stunned.

And here we've been on pins and needles for weeks, awaiting the article we knew was coming on Tavern Law. Written by Matthew Amster-Burton, and accompanied by a great photo of the chefs by Kristin Zwiers, we hope you'll take a moment to click on the link above and read the entire article at Gourmet.com. Who knows , maybe the extra web traffic will employ a few more talented folks over there under the Epicurious.com umbrella. We can only hope.

Some of what Gourmet said included, "...you have full access to Tavern Law’s encyclopedic drink menu, equipped with a glossary in case you don’t know your fizzes from your flips. The food—poached salmon, fried oysters, sautéed pimientos de Padrón—is expertly cooked and appropriately modest, as if devised to keep your mind on beverages. "

Thank you Matthew and congrats to our friends and clients Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough with Bartender/Manager David Nelson of Tavern Law on a terrific piece. This article's one we'll all keep pinned to our bulletin boards. A sweet celebration indeed.

HUGO BOSS Grand Opening Party with DETAILS magazine

This Thursday night DETAILS magazine debuts the new BOSS store from 6:00-8:30 at Bellevue Square and you're invited. To be added to our guest list please RSVP to: details_rsvp@condenast.com

What's in store that night? DJ "Risk One" from the famous Scratch DJ Academy in NY will be there while you sip Redhook brews and Kim Crawford wines. Play roulette for cool prizes including $500-$1000 Boss shopping sprees, gift certificates to Dahlia Lounge, Spur Gastropub, and Tavern Law, plus an overnight stay at the Westin.

The new HUGO BOSS store is located at 575 Bellevue Square. Visit www.hugoboss-store.com to register to receive exclusive info on HUGO BOSS and for a chance to win a $1,000 Hugo Boss wardrobe.

Part of Bellevue's Fashion Week, come on Thursday, ready to get your photo taken and to check out some great new fashions. RSVP required to this invitation-only event. Email us with questions!

Glamour Magazine's Vitamin G Invites Folks to Share Smiles with Better Because

We're gettin' our own Friday afternoon happy on, because Glamour mag Health and Fitness blogger Sarah Jio wrote about Better Because. Jio invites, "Let's Start Our Own Happiness Project: What Little Things Make You Happy? Share!

Share the little things that make you happy--your simple little everyday mood boosters! And, if you need a little boost of happiness yourself, read the comments for some inspiration...

My list:
*Clean sheets on my bed. (As it turns out, there's some truth behind the claim that a made bed increases your happiness!)
*Yoga.
*Zinnias--my new favorite flower!
*Cooking in my kitchen with jazz, a glass of wine, and my boys (husband, toddler and baby) playing in the distance--life doesn't get much better.
*Napping children.
*Stationary (like these cute envelope labels I found recently). I'm a total nut about stationary.
What's on your happy list? Let's inspire each other, shall we?

P.S. You have to check out the super-cute efforts of two women, Cathy Haffner and Ginny Hutchinson who have launched on their site, Better Because, a "Smile Campaign." The goal? To gather smiles (well, photos of them) from each of the world's 192 countries.Too cute!"

Thanks Sarah and hey everyone, won't you go to http://www.betterbecause.com/ to share your smiles?!

calling all women with great inventions

We're excited to be partnering with a smart Pacific Northwest gal, Melinda Knight, who traveled to Chicago recently, getting up the nerve to audition her invention for Kelly Ripa's new TLC show about women inventors and their creations. Melinda's invention? A tray that'll hold your laptop while you're multitasking on a recumbent bike at the gym. She practically turned herself into a human pretzel getting a prototype made for the open call.

Her audition? It went great but alas she wasn't chosen as a finalist to compete on the new show. But here's the upside. While waiting in line in Chicago, Melinda met a bevy of other inventive gals with cool creations-- all who needed the venue to sell them and the marketing know-how to really launch with a splash. Seeing a hole in the e-commerce world, where it's typically either arts-and-crafty Etsy or corporate-giant Amazon, Melinda is launching a new e-commerce site in late October made expressly for such inventors and the kind of women who want to shop for stuff made especially for them.

The eshopping site? Womentorz.com Take a look at her pre-launch blog http://www.womentorz.blogspot.com/ and let us know if you or a pal have an invention we should be showcasing and selling. We can't wait to see what you've got gals!