You can blame a long-gone street fair called Bite of Chicago. Back in the early 1980s, a guy named Al Silverman, who owned an Olde English joint behind the Factoria Mall called Barnaby's, smelled the bratwurst and an opportunity; he launched a modest festival at Greenlake.
Twenty-five years later, Bite of Seattle, still owned by Silverman's Festivals, Inc., takes over Seattle Center for three days at the height of summer, feeding over 400,000 visitors. Most of them look well-fed to start with, which doesn't prevent them from lining up for elephant ears, funnel cakes and churros.
Reassuring sight: Kathy Casey, whose Dish D'lish takeout at SeaTac makes leaving town tolerable. Coming soon, she confides, the first step in going national: a Dish at the airport in Vegas.
Most of the food barely edible; brisk biz at the beer gardens to wash it down.
Exception is Rainy Day Roll from Wallingford's Rain, $5 plate of California crunch topped with avocado salsa. Original, tasty, good value.
At other extreme is Steel Pig BBQ's side of collard greens, inexplicably voted best "Take a Walk on the Wild Side." Dry bitter, inedible sludge; $2 into the dumpster.
Scary sights:
* the line to dunk $3 ears of roasted corn into vats of butter when the same vegetable is sold perhaps 100 steps away at QFC for a dime.
* the 100-foot hot dog to celebrate Franz Bakery's 100-year history. More than I want to eat.
* the 53-foot hot pink semi trailer called Venus Vibrance. Something from Gillette to do with a vibrating, exfoliating razor for women. More than I want to know.
The International Kitchen
Cooking school vacations in Italy, France & Spain.
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