The Melting Teapot

It is Friday, which means means it's time for the first installment of  "Recently Clicked."  This will be a regular Friday entry  of interesting, informational, and sometimes goofy links to web pages I've recently visited.  Most will be at least somewhat related to food, wine, or tea.  I hope that you'll enjoy them as much as I did.

Without further ado. . .

Restaurant Opening

The Night Kitchen is a new all-night restaurant in Seattle.  They are located near Pike Place Market (216 Stewart), and the hours are 6pm to 9am. We don't have a lot of late night (much less all night) food spots, so this is a nice addition to the Seattle area food scene.  The folks over on the Tasting Menu blog have some wonderful photos, and they point out that this restaurant is not just another diner but a nice place with quite an interesting menu.  The menu looks great, and I'm hoping to check it out some late night soon.  Special note for Canadians:  you will be happy to know that the Night Kitchen has poutine!

Wine Events & a Cruise

The Wine Bloggers Conference, in Walla Walla, is tempting me.  I'm thinking about attending it, especially since there will be a focus on wine and food pairings this year.  It looks like early reservations are important, since there is a limit on attendees (and it is already half full).

My husband and I will be meeting up with some friends at the Exotic Wines Festival, being held under the Teatro Zinzanni tent in Seattle. There will be "occasional random performances from Teatro Zinanni artists" at this festive fundraising event, sponsored by Seattle Uncorked. The wines are all "exotic" varietals of Washington wine:  Mourvedre, Cinsault, Malbec, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Roussanne, Viognier, Albarino, and more. Tuesday, February 2, from 6:30-9:00pm at Teatro Zinzanni, 222 Mercer Street, Seattle, $40/person.  Tickets are available via Brown Paper Tickets.

Village Wines (in Woodinville) has teamed up with Cruise Holidays and Steven's Winery for a Great Alaska Wine Cruise on Celebrity Cruises.  The cruise leaves from Seattle on June 25th and returns July 2nd, with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, and Victoria, B.C.   The cost ranges from $1167-1729/person.  Knowing Lisa and Tim Bowen (of Village Wines), this will be a fun and special cruise, with lots of great food and wine.  Contact Cindy Beach of Cruise Holidays for more information:  cindy@luxurient.com

Tea Jars & Pots

One of my favorite tea bloggers, Stéphane Erler at Tea Masters, did an interesting experiment with tea storage containers. He found that the tea aromas and flavors changed after even short storage time in a porcelain jar, and he then went on further to try with and without a plastic foil cover.  It is interesting to read, and just as interesting to contemplate the impact of materials on tea leaves.  As always, his photographs are beautiful.

Tea Pot Project is a Clay Pottery Craft Project.  They claim it is easy, although it doesn't look that way to me!  I like how they refer to first attempts as a "dozing elephant," with a low-hanging spout and a "weary  body [that] slumps like it is melting under the force of gravity."  I've had several pottery friends tell me the art of teapots is very difficult, and making one that is useful (not just decorative) takes a long time to perfect.  It is not only the quality of clay that makes an yixing pot so expensive!

Fun Videos

I wanted to see what The Melting Teapot blog looks like on a handheld, so I did a quick web search on my iPhone.  This blog was at the top of the list (yay!), but there were also several links to melting teapot animations.  Evidently, the melting and burning effect is often applied to teapot images, using software like Fume FX.  I found examples of a steaming teapot, a burning teapot,  a melting teapot,  a flaming and melting teapot, and even a bouncing and melting teapot. For any animators who might be interested, there's even a tutorial.

Simons Cat 2 Big i Big i Box Problems: a video mash-up of  Simon's Cat and Maru.  It really has nothing to do with tea or wine or food, but it made me laugh this week.