Seattle’s Major Wine Event Taste Washington Plans Extra Food Firepower for 2020

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Superstar Chefs Signing Up for Taste Washington 2020

One of the biggest wine events of the year is taking its food game up a notch. Per Seattle Met, the minds behind the hugely popular Feast Portland festival are revamping the culinary aspect of Taste Washington, the four-day event in March at CenturyLink Field showcasing the state’s biggest and best wineries. While area restaurants have always been a big part of the festivities, Seattle’s food scene will be especially well represented this year, with parties, dinner, and collaborations. Among the star chefs confirmed to take part are Edouardo Jordan (JuneBaby, Salare), Rachel Yang (Joule, Revel), Ethan Stowell (Tavolata, How to Cook a Wolf), Shota Nakajima (Adana), Brian Clevenger (GH Pasta Co., Haymaker), Melissa Miranda (Musang), and Elisabeth Kenyon (Rupee, Manolin). The full chef and winemaker lineup will be announced January 13; tickets go on sale January 17.

New Seasons Market Will Leave Seattle

There’s a big supermarket shuffle in the works. New Seasons Market — the upscale, Portland-based grocer that came to Seattle three years ago — was just purchased by Metropolitan Market’s South Korean parent company, Good Food Holding. As a result of the deal, the New Seasons in Ballard will close, its Mercer Island location will be rebranded as Metropolitan Market in mid-2020, and a planned outpost in the Central District will be nixed completely. That latter development may have the biggest impact in the area, since the announcement of New Seasons’s arrival two years ago was met with pushback from the Central District community concerned about gentrification.

Fogon Plans Sibling Bar on Capitol Hill

Good news for Mexican food fans in Capitol HIll. Neighborhood favorite Fogon Cantina Mexicana looks to be prepping a sibling spot on E Pike Street, reports Capitol Hill Seattle. La Josie’s Tequila Bar will take over the spot recently vacated by East Trading Company, bringing margaritas, beer, and a relaxed vibe similar to Fogon (which has excellent happy hour specials, as well as underrated tortas, tamales, and tacos). The new spot should open sometime in early 2020.