Jackie Varriano

Seattle

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

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Articles

Los Angeles-based fried chicken chain plots Seattle-area expansion

1 week ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Dave’s Hot Chicken, a Los Angeles-based Nashville-style hot chicken chain, announced this week that it plans to build four new franchises in Western Washington, expanding on the restaurant’s Capitol Hill footprint. Construction is slated to begin next week in Redmond, with shops in Tacoma, Puyallup and Federal Way following.
Hop aboard this Seattle-Portland train that's essentially a rolling national park

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Life moves pretty fast when you’re aboard an Amtrak train chugging along at 80 mph. Some sights — like Mount Rainier — are in view for long, delicious minutes while others — like the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Clark and Cowlitz counties — are here and gone in the blink of an eye. “Yeah, you missed it,” Stuart Snyder, a volunteer with the National Park Service Trails & Rails program, chuckles as a passenger asks about catching a view of the lilacs.
Jackie Varriano: New Seattle H Mart will open June 5 in Ballard

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

May 19-H Mart has announced a June 5 grand opening date for its latest Seattle-area store. The Ballard H Mart will mark the 10th store opened in Greater Seattle by the New Jersey-based Asian grocery company since 2017. In addition to the extensive range of Asian groceries that H Mart is known for, the 25,000-square-foot store at 951 N.W. Ballard Way will include a deli, a curated K-Beauty section, and Artbox, a lifestyle shop with gifts and home goods.
These 2 restaurants dish out excellent fusion pizza in Des Moines

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

My kids don’t believe me when I say there’s always time to change your mind about food. They can’t imagine that one day they might actually like roasted broccoli or red sauce on spaghetti. As a former tomato hater, I get it. But after eating in Des Moines recently, I came home with a fresh example for the next time we bicker about marinara. My latest ingredient revelation came in the form of pizza — more specifically, pizza toppings.
Seattle baker’s obsession with Italian cookies makes for a sweet pop-up

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

WHEN IT SEEMED like the whole world was babying sourdough starters in 2020, Louisa Hays Tremonte was working to summit a different baking peak: the Italian rainbow cookie. A staple of Italian American bakeries across the East Coast and Midwest, the colorful stacked wonder takes three layers of almond-scented cake in red, white and green (yes, the colors of the Italian flag) and sandwiches them with thin layers of apricot jam before enrobing the entire thing in chocolate.
New Asian grocery store in Ballard sets opening date

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

H Mart has announced a June 5 grand opening date for its latest Seattle-area store. The Ballard H Mart will mark the 10th store opened in Greater Seattle by the New Jersey-based Asian grocery company since 2017. In addition to the extensive range of Asian groceries that H Mart is known for, the 25,000-square-foot store at 951 N.W. Ballard Way will include a deli, a curated K-Beauty section, and Artbox, a lifestyle shop with gifts and home goods.
Small WA town, cut off from Mount Rainier, faces fresh existential crisis

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

WILKESON, Pierce County — Wilkeson has caught precious few breaks in the past century. In the town’s heyday, 10,000 pounds of coal were smelted monthly in 160 coke ovens. A rail line terminated here, and outdoors outfitters shepherded adventurers from Seattle and beyond to Mount Rainier’s Carbon Glacier. But much of the town burned in the 1910s. Coke production stopped in 1937; coal mining dried up in 1972. The railroad left in 1982. If not for Rainier, Wilkeson would now be on the route to nowhere.
Jackie Varriano: 3 great restaurants in White Center

3 weeks ago | bellinghamherald.com | Jackie Varriano

May 14-As evidenced in a recent episode of my colleague Tan Vinh's "Seattle Eats" podcast, I eat out a lot. And a lot of that time is spent at good restaurants - even occasionally great restaurants - which leads to me thinking about food and what I'm eating a lot more than the average person. It's like having a radio on all the time - a low, constant buzz that's always begging for attention. But sometimes there's an earworm of a sound that just won't stop begging for attention.
Jackie Varriano: 3 great restaurants in White Center

3 weeks ago | theolympian.com | Jackie Varriano

May 14-As evidenced in a recent episode of my colleague Tan Vinh's "Seattle Eats" podcast, I eat out a lot. And a lot of that time is spent at good restaurants - even occasionally great restaurants - which leads to me thinking about food and what I'm eating a lot more than the average person. It's like having a radio on all the time - a low, constant buzz that's always begging for attention. But sometimes there's an earworm of a sound that just won't stop begging for attention.
Jackie Varriano: 3 great restaurants in White Center

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

May 14-As evidenced in a recent episode of my colleague Tan Vinh's "Seattle Eats" podcast, I eat out a lot. And a lot of that time is spent at good restaurants - even occasionally great restaurants - which leads to me thinking about food and what I'm eating a lot more than the average person. It's like having a radio on all the time - a low, constant buzz that's always begging for attention. But sometimes there's an earworm of a sound that just won't stop begging for attention.