Last Saturday I braved 20-mph winds to gorge myself on oysters at Hama Hama’s Oyster Rama, an annual festival dedicated to the bivalve. (There were also clams to be dug, if you so desired).

Hama Hama’s farm sits on the Hood Canal, a 65-mile long fjord separating the Olympic Peninsula from the Kitsap Peninsula. I’d only crossed over the canal when going to coast or to Olympic National Park, so it was a good excuse to check out the fishing villages on the canal itself. And to eat a whole bunch of oysters.

The festival included a u-pick opportunity, where you pay $5 to hand select a dozen oysters, right off the flats. The oysters sat in clusters or singles in what seemed like several miles of beach, and volunteers were on hand to help the uninitiated (including me) figure out what was good for eating. The flats themselves were a fascinating habitat of hermit crabs, shellfish, minnows, and even a sea cucumber. It was so windy I lost my balance several times, but it was worth it. Not only did I leave with a bucket of oysters and a belly full of good eats, I also learned how to shuck. I hope to be back next year!

I was sitting in Sea-Tac airport waiting for my very delayed flight to Maui to board when I got an email inviting me to a press event* for Cucina Fresca, a Seattle-based gourmet food company. I’d had their tasty butternut squash ravioli a while back and thought, why, yes, I would like to be wined and dined at a private event by your owner. Count me in.

Executive Chef Brad Glaberson prepared dishes using his incredible array of sauces, pastas, and raviolis, plus two souped-up mac-n-cheese dishes and a delightful clam chowder using Cucina’s pomodoro sauce. Between samples, we chowed on bread rounds dipped in various sauces, pesto, and artichoke dip.

While we ate, Chef Brad told us about his company. It’s clearly his baby, as evidenced by the fact he used “awesome” to describe his products. He called it “Seattle’s dirty little secret” because several restaurants use his products. As impressive as everything tastes, I think I’m most amazed at the growth of the company (they offer 130 products in over 1,000 grocery stores around the country) as it’s stayed true to its mission of providing great food from fresh ingredients. Every product is made in small batches that require lots of work by hand: picking fresh basil, chopping whole garlic, grating obscene amounts of cheese, simmering tomatoes, and sourcing first cold press extra virgin olive oil. The ingredients list is surprisingly short and free of fillers, preservatives, and lab-created crapola. They peel the annoying stickers off individual pears, people. I get annoyed when I have to do that a handful of times a week in my kitchen, but I can’t imagine doing it over and over, with countless bazillions of pears.

It was interesting to get a behind-the-scenes insight into how this stuff is made. Though I enjoyed the ravioli I bought years ago, I took it for granted that fresh, delicious food had somehow appeared in my neighborhood co-op’s refridgerated food section. I hadn’t thought about the massive amounts of fresh squash that is hand cut and roasted and pureed to fill the pillowy pasta squares I had scarfed. This food writer is suitably impressed.

*That counts as a disclosure. I got free stuff, but I decided to write this of my own volition, because Cucina Fresca is cool and the food is delicious.

I’ve heard many things about Revel, the much-celebrated Korean fusion restaurant in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Most of the buzz has been positive (life-changing food! nom!), but I’d heard some complaints, too (the drinks are too pricey! this place is too snooty!). I’m always more fascinated by restaurants that generate interesting conversation and some controversy than I am eateries that everyone likes. I finally had a chance to go last night with a group of friends to catch up with another friend visiting from out of town.

We sat in the cramped, dimly-lit bar next door, Quoin, for a while, until it and the restaurant cleared out. The cocktails are a bit pricey, setting you back about $10. Luckily, I’m not a fan of cocktails, and ordered a lovely, smokey-sweet brown ale from Two Beers Brewing.

Next we moved onto Revel proper, the adjoining space with significantly better lighting and an open kitchen. One of my friends remarked that it reminded her of Waffle House, until I pointed out that the last time she and I were at Waffle House together in college, many moons ago, the staff was scouring the grease behind the grills with a pressure washer. Torrents of light brown goop ran into the floor drains just as we ordered our food. Revel is nothing at all like freaking Waffle House.

The restaurant was surprisingly busy for a Monday night, so by the time we got our food I felt famished. My fault for going four hours without eating; beer is no substitute for actual, solid food, turns out. I made quick work of my Dungeness crab noodle bowl (Dungeness crab, seaweed noodle, creme fraiche, spicy red curry), which reminded of an alfredo pasta dish, only much tastier. There was savory coconut milk, a gentle touch of ginger, and bright sprigs of cilantro. My only complaint is that the sparse three leaves of bok choy were not sliced at all, making them a bit hard to get on the fork. Their presentation was lovely, but their large size compared to the other elements of the dish made the whole thing hard to eat. I didn’t let it stop me, though.

Yeah, I’d probably go back to Revel. Next time, I’ll have a snack first.

It’s technically still winter, though the irises and daffodils and crocuses are starting to bloom and the tulips are just pushing through the damp soil. We’re getting a little more sunshine, but there’s still plenty of rain and soggy, cloudy days ahead. It’s the perfect time of year to take advantage of all Seattle has to offer indoors. Read: drinking a lot of beer and eating a lot of food.

Friday I headed to Epic Ales with some friends to check out the new tasting room. Previously, if you wanted a sample, you’d have to sit at a picnic table and wobbly bar stools in the doorway of the weird storage/office building where Epic brews. Said table was next to Epic’s 200-square foot brewing space, which, as I remember, was cordoned off by chicken wire and plywood. Suffice it to say the tasting room is an upgrade, but either way, that beer is damn worth it. Hell, I’d probably stand out in the rain to drink it.

Epic also had free Hama Hama oysters on tap, and they’ll soon be permitted to sell oysters at a buck each. Cody the brewmaster collected all the shells for his Black Oyster Gose, a sour beer steeped with oyster debris. Mind blown. Can’t wait to try that in three weeks.

In other news, it’s finally time to start gardening again, so I put in some radishes today. When they’re done in a month or so, we’ll have salads with radishes from now til fall–that’s the plan, anyway. We’ll see if the slugs have something different in mind.