Jackie Varriano

5 days ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

This weekend, more than two dozen Seattle restaurants, bars and hotels are offering 30% discounts to Canadian travelers as fans of the Toronto Blue Jays visit town for a series of games with the Seattle Mariners from Friday to Sunday. The plea for our neighbors to the north to spend time (and money) in Washington state comes as tourism from Canada has declined in President Donald Trump’s second term.

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

I love sitting in a beloved neighborhood restaurant; it truly warms my heart. And though I live close to the pocket of North Seattle that encompasses Ballard and its subsections of Whittier Heights, West Woodland/Stumbletown and Loyal Heights, I had never been to Take 5 Urban Market until recently. It was a gorgeous spring Saturday, with cherry blossom petals dancing around in the breeze.

3 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jackie Varriano

Portland-based ice cream titan Salt & Straw announced two new Seattle-area scoop shops Thursday morning. Cousins Tyler and Kim Malek will unfurl their signature red-and-white awnings sometime this year at 102 Pike St., Seattle, in the 2,453-square-foot space across from Pike Place Market that was most recently a Starbucks. The second location is planned for a new building steps away from the Redmond light rail station. That shop, at 16595 Redmond Way, clocks in at 1,282 square feet.

1 month 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.

1 month 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.