Jen Chiu, mastermind behind the Roll with Jen food blog, is one of the most fun people to go out to dinner with. She knows all the hot spots, many of the chefs, and is constantly asking questions about recipes, flavors and everything else that makes for fun dinner conversation. As such, we thought we’d ask HER a few questions about what she likes about the Seattle – and northwest – food scene. 

Jake Uitti: If you could only eat at one Seattle restaurant – breakfast, lunch and dinner – for the next month what would it be?

Jen Chiu: It would be a toss-up between my two Monday night favorite pop-ups: Middle Eastern night at La Bete and Taco Mondays at Sitka and Spruce. Oh, and I’d throw Sushi Kappo Tamura into the ring too. Japanese food is so diverse that I don’t think I’d ever get sick of it. And their weekend lunch sets are off the hook.

JU: You’re so good at finding out the new hot spots in town, is this a natural ability, or is there something you can share as to how you find out?

JC: You naturally hear and see stuff when you are out and about, and I love to be out and about. Also, it helps to have a lot of fun pals in the restaurant industry who give you the scoop on new places!

JU: Can you compare and contrast the cuisine styles that you’ve observed with Portland, San Francisco, Vancouver and Seattle?

JC: I think Portland and Seattle have a lot of similarities, due to similar climates and produce. I’d say a differentiator of Portland: There seems to be a high concentration of young entrepreneurs and lots of creative young energy (makes me wonder if the state of Oregon is more business-friendly for young people starting out), which yields loads of fun brunch spots, food carts, etc. with cool exteriors/interiors. There are so many cute and quirky spots that make dining out so much fun. But with fun restaurants like Westward in the mix, Seattle is pretty stellar too. San Francisco is probably my favorite city in the United States. Want great Chinese? You got it. Craving a kouign amann? Check. Want high end? No problem. On a budget, but want to eat something good? Burritos, Burmese food, and more await. But no one can top the oysters, crabs and other seafood at our disposal in Seattle.

JU: What’s your first food memory?

JC: Fighting over a Chinese red bean bun with my sister. It’s actually my first overall memory. My second all-time memory is fighting over a pencil with my sister.

JU: What is the best part about food trucks?

JC: The lack of pretension and the honest hard working owners behind food trucks is the best. Also, I like how a lot of food trucks focus on a specialty item, which reminds me of restaurants in Japan (e.g. a restaurant that focuses only on eel or on yakitori).

JU: If you could open your own restaurant and have any budget, what would you create?

JC: I’d consider investing in a restaurant, but I’d never open my own. Restaurant owners work so hard. My glutton slacker butt is not cut out for that type of rigor.

JU: What do you like to cook at home?

JC: Unless my pal Rachel Belle comes over and cooks with me, I keep it simple. I’m a living Seattle cliche, where I go to the University and Ballard farmers markets on the weekend, buy whatever looks good, and cook it up. My staples are usually buying mushrooms from Foraged, Found and Edible and whatever is in season at Wilson’s Fish. In the summer, I gorge myself on berries and make blueberry pancakes (Smitten Kitchen’s recipe yield the best results, I find) and lots of fruit crumbles!