Editor’s Note: Rachel Belle is down for the count with a winter cold this week (fingers crossed it clears up in time for the holidays, and that she is currently consuming some sort of delicious, electrolyte-rich soup. Pho, perhaps? Now I want pho.) I’ll be kicking things off for us this week, and Rachel will be back in your inbox in the new year. - Sophie Grossman
The holidays always seem to be followed by a flurry of diet culture content; listicles and TikToks and social media discourse about carb cutting, macro counting, intermittent fasting and other restrictive food-related New Year's resolutions. Bah humbug to that.
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In the true spirit of the season, we asked local food people – reporters, cookbook authors, restaurant owners – what they want to eat more of in the new year. Their answers ranged from candied fruit to French dip sandwiches to salmon rillette, and we hope they inspire you to eat well (whatever that means to you) in 2026.
Scott Heimendinger
Founder, Seattle Ultrasonics & culinary innovator
I want to eat more fussy little hors d'oeuvres in 2026. Moreover, I want to make more fussy little hors d'oeuvres in 2026. Not (just) because I'm a fancypants, but because it means I've carved out sacred time away from the chaos of work and the world to stand in my kitchen with a glass of wine and fiddle with precise little knife cuts and puff pastry and mascarpone in a piping bag for hours. It's not the final product that counts; it's the act of spending mindful time making them. Salmon rillette in a cone. Stuffed morels. Tempura pearl onions. Pan de Cristal with paper-thin jamón ibérico . These are the rocks in my 2026 hors d'oeuvre zen garden.
Naoise McGee
Events Manager at Book Larder
I want to eat more Vietnamese food and more South Asian food, in general. We have an embarrassment of riches here in Seattle and we need to make sure they stay around! Billiard Hoang, Voi Cà Phê, and Tony’s, here I come. Roy’s Southern Thai on Phinney Ridge is a great new spot that everyone should try.
In 2026 I’d love to start candying and preserving fruit, especially winter citrus and all our gorgeous Northwest cherries, under the tutelage of the cookbook author Camilla Wynne; her books Nature’s Candy and Jam Bake will be my guides.
Hsiao-Ching Chou
Cookbook author
I love French dip sandwiches, and I want to eat more of them — and find the best one in Seattle. I also want to practice making biryani, because it’s so good!
Naomi Tomke
Food and Drink Editor, Seattle Met
My new year’s eating resolution is to eat more food with more people. In my job, it’s often easier to just run out and grab a bite I need to try, or to pop into a restaurant on my own when I’m nearby. But one of the great joys of eating is sharing a meal. So, even though it makes things far more complicated and requires much more planning, my resolution is to share more meals with other people. And that goes for meals at home, too! Inviting people over for casual meals and cool dinner parties.
Holly Robinson
Co-Owner at Sunny Hill
In the new year, I want to revisit more of the classics. These are the restaurants I love but somehow forget when someone asks, “Where should we go??” Le Pichet is my birthday spot, Palace Kitchen for show nights, Stoneburner is for friends in town and everyone needs something different, Tai Tung for all the obvious reasons. And at home, my goal is to cook more from my pantry, freezer and garden. There’s nothing better than pulling together a meal from what's on hand, versus going to a grocery store for one or two ingredients. It feels so efficient!
Zoe Kahn
Seattle sandwich and bagel enthusiast
This will not surprise anyone who knows my platform, but I want to eat more sandwiches in the new year. I've been compiling a savable Google Maps Sandwich List that covers places I've been and places I want to try soon. Here are a few I'm particularly excited about: the Pan Con Mechada from Bad Chancla, the chicken Caesar wrap from Vindicktive Bar and Wings, and the focaccia sandwiches from My Friend Derek's.
A goal I have for 2026 is to make my own olive oil cake! Other than carrot cake, which is my weakness and will hopefully be my wedding cake, olive oil cake is one of my favorite desserts. Also, I want to get back into bread-making. During Covid, I was doing a lot of baking (like many others), and I was perfecting a challah recipe. I hope to get back to that in the new year.
Mark DeJoy
Seattle food writer
Food goal for 2026 (and every year, really): Go to those certain few restaurants I’ve been meaning to try forever. January is a great time to get into a restaurant: It’s an infamously slow month, so reservations tend to be readily available. The atmosphere at restaurants is more mellow, too, so there’s more time to be chatty with the staff if they’re up for it. And ultimately, it’s good to give places business during the slow season. I'm really looking forward to heading to White Center for Sap Sap Lao Deli & Cafe, South Park for Bajon en Seattle and Hillman City for Mi Patría. All three specialize in cuisines (Lao, Argentine and Puerto Rican, respectively) that are boldly flavorful and not very common in the area.
Andrew Rubinstein
Owner & “Bagel Mensch” at Hey Bagel
At home, I want to expand my pizza making to dialing in a good NY style pizza and finally taking on some tavern style pizzas. I also resolve to eat out at more at the restaurants on my list this year. I’m so wrapped up in bagel land, that I just don’t get out enough. I’ll get new stretchy pants to accommodate!
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Have a food- or drink-related question? (Need a restaurant rec? Have a mystery that needs solving?) Send me a note: rachel.belle@cascadepbs.org
XO
Rachel Belle
