Jackie Varriano

Seattle

Seattle Times food writer. Tell me about your favorite Seattle-area neighborhood spot! Drop me a line at [email protected]

Featured in: Favicon

seattletimes.com Favicon

medium.com Favicon

huffpost.com Favicon

chicagotribune.com Favicon

yahoo.com

mentalfloss.com Favicon

detroitnews.com Favicon

healthline.com Favicon

bostonherald.com Favicon

oregonlive.com + 107 more

Articles

Seattle restaurant Sushi by Scratch reopens after permit drama

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

The Seattle location of Sushi by Scratch reopened April 4 after being issued a permit by the King County health department. The 10-seat omakase restaurant, operated by Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee, had been closed since March 12 for operating without a valid permit.
Jackie Varriano: 3 hidden gem restaurants north of Seattle

2 weeks ago | tri-cityherald.com | Jackie Varriano

Hidden gems are one of my favorite recurring topics on the Neighborhood Eats beat: incredible food hidden in plain sight, from a small market in Kent to general stores on Whidbey Island and even an old converted house in a Burien neighborhood. I recently went on a hidden gem hunt in Lynnwood, where I was wooed by tacos inside a gas station and kebabs and dumplings tucked away inside a strip mall. Here's where to find it all.
Our food writer leaves Seattle on a hunt for hidden gems

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Hidden gems are one of my favorite recurring topics on the Neighborhood Eats beat: incredible food hidden in plain sight, from a small market in Kent to general stores on Whidbey Island and even an old converted house in a Burien neighborhood. I recently went on a hidden gem hunt in Lynnwood, where I was wooed by tacos inside a gas station and kebabs and dumplings tucked away inside a strip mall. Here’s where to find it all.
Skagit Valley tulips are back for 2025. Try 3 lunch ideas on your trip

3 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Tulip Town — which encompasses 6 acres of brilliantly blooming tulips in the quaint Skagit Valley town Mount Vernon — is officially open as of April 1. Of course, looking at all those flowers works up an appetite. This isn’t my first Mount Vernon rodeo — in the past, I’ve been wowed by honeycomb toast and glittery mimosas as well as incredible (and incredibly spicy) Thai noodles.
This WA rancher deeply loves his wagyu cattle, from birth to burger

4 weeks ago | wenatcheeworld.com | Jackie Varriano

Up on the hill at Palouse River Premium Beef in Eastern Washington, Richard Griffiths broke the silence. Looking out at rolling hills covered in green winter wheat, Griffiths called out to his yearling heifers — year-old female cows that have never given birth. "C'mon girls," Griffiths shouted, rattling a 5-gallon bucket filled with cracked corn, barley and protein-rich camelina: breakfast. kAmw6 42==D E96D6 4@HD QH62?6CD[Q 2D E96J 92G6 366? H62?65 @77 >:=< H:E9:?
Romance author Abby Jimenez talks new novel ‘Say You’ll Remember Me’ | The Seattle Times

1 month ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

We chatted with Jimenez ahead of an event with Seattle Arts & Lectures about the book, her characters and the romance genre.
Seattle sushi restaurant closed by health department for lack of permit

1 month ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

The Seattle location of Sushi by Scratch, opened in 2022 by Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee, has been closed by the King County Health Department for repeatedly operating without a valid permit. After shutting down Sushi by Scratch on March 5 and March 12, Public Health – Seattle & King County said Monday that the 10-seat restaurant’s kitchen is “unsuitable for the menu served,” and that it has “never been permitted as a sushi restaurant” — dating to its 2022 opening.
New Issaquah doughnut shop and a recently reopened spot both delight

1 month ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Bad doughnuts disappoint — but great doughnuts? Cue the angels singing. You can hear them at Issaquah’s newest doughnut spot, Good Lazy. These brioche doughnuts are puffed into a cloudlike orb, then coated in a light dusting of sugar that practically glitters in sunlight. Owners Noah and Annie Kim have around 70 fillings perfected, but they feature only a half-dozen daily, changing the lineup every two weeks.
Pioneering Seattle author, refugee and restaurateur Sam Ung dies at 70

1 month ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Pioneering chef and restaurateur Sam Ung — founder of Phnom Penh Noodle House, Seattle’s first known Cambodian restaurant, and author of a 2011 autobiography about his experience as a refugee and genocide survivor — died of a heart attack March 5 at his home in Independence, Mo. He was 70. Ung’s work ethic was legendary among his friends and family. The longtime owner of Phnom Penh Noodle House didn’t procrastinate — if he had a goal in mind, he wouldn’t wait to get started.
Our food writer ventures north of Seattle for 3 great happy hours

2 months ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Finding time to meet friends can be hard when you have little kids, so my friend and I sometimes meet for “sneaky drinks,” usually on a Friday around 4 p.m. We’ll meet for an hour or so for a drink and a snack, catching up before bouncing to pick up our respective children. (Yes, I could say we’re meeting for happy hour, but “sneaky drinks” is much more fun.)In the depths of January, we’re all due to catch up with friends for a sneaky drink.