The Weekly Compares & Contrasts Ethan Stowell, Tom Douglas

We have to wait another week for Hanna Raskin to drop her first official review, but today's issue of Seattle Weekly gives us an in-depth cover story on "empire-builder" Ethan Stowell. Nice cover, by the way guys. In this era of quick-hit blog posts (us most assuredly included) it's downright luxurious to read such a thorough piece of reporting, filled with insidery tidbits about Stowell and the man he's often compared to, restaurateur extraordinaire Tom Douglas. Neither man is terribly jazzed about that comparison, by the way.

While Douglas has seemingly opening a new restaurant each week (sometimes two) of late, Stowell has been busy creating a dining map of his own, and making a few entreprenurial forays, like a cookbook and his Safeco Field concessions. Writer Nina Shapiro chronicles how Stowell's path differs from Douglas--and why. The piece also traces Stowell's culinary lineage, from his first days as kitchen lackey to the opening of Union in 2003 and his subsequent four restaurants, and Seattle's dining transition from Pacific Rim cuisine to the roots of the locavore movement. Hell, Shapiro even explains the origins of the cap the chef has been sporting around town of late. The only thing that gave us pause--a parenthetical definition of crudo as "a kind of Italian sushi."
· Ethan Stowell, Empire Builder [Seattle Weekly]
· All Ethan Stowell Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]
· All Tom Douglas Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]