A few weeks ago, I went with my son and grandkids to the Sunday Mexican buffet at La Hacienda Santa Fe(811 S. 3rd St,) in downtown Renton. I'd gone there more regularly when it was simply called La Hacienda, and it's something of a downtown Renton institution, having been a Mexican restaurant for over thirty years. It was the original location of the Torero's chain. It was La Hacienda for 20+ years, then Javier sold it ,and it became La Hacienda Santa Fe, it became more expensive and not as good. Then Javier took it back, and then resold it again. So we went for the buffet, and it was pretty good, and not too expensive. I mentioned to my son that a couple of the employees appeared to be Indian(Mumbai, not Navajo), but he dismissed it, saying that some people from Mexico and some people from India look alike. Then another week goes by, and I'm walking on S 3rd St, downtown Renton's main drag, and see a sign for a new weekday Indian lunch buffet at the Aasthaa Indian...

A few weeks ago, I read a recipe for eggplant parmesan that called for Passata, something I'd never heard of before. It was from a British website, which claimed that passata, or strained tomatoes sold in a glass jar, was better tasting than canned tomatoes. I figured that it was just something that wasn't sold on this side of the pond. I was wrong. A few days ago, I was wandering the aisles in the wonderful DK Market(7th and Lind in Renton), and there it was!  The DK has all kinds of unusual imported goods, or foods catering to immigrant communities. It's so much fun to shop there. Anyway, not far from the Filipino tuna cans and the Polish chocolate, was the Passata, from Italy. So of course I had to try it. And then in the dairy section in the front of the store? "Chicago" cheese, with writing in Arabic. So of course I had to try it. Anyway, two successes! I used the Passata on my Trenton tomato pie, which is a New Jersey cousin of pizza. Unlike pizza, whe...

Befitting an old coal town, and a factory town, Renton is blessed with a lot of places to go out for a beer.  I have been to a few, especially those places that also serve at least pretty good food. If I just want a beer, I'll usually go to the most excellent Four Generals brewery, but if I also want a meal, I have a big choice. There are places that strive to serve food that's a cut above typical pub food, like The Whistle Stop Ale House( the Verona burger is a thing of beauty) or The Brick, both places that also feature a variety of microbrewed beers.  The Red House is more of a classy restaurant that also has a wide selection of great beer.  There are places that serve top notch pub food, and have a limited selection of microbrewed beer available( like the Williams Avenue Pub, with great wings, Philly cheese steak, and ribs),there are Vietnamese dive bars with Vietnamese chicken wings and clams( The Burnett) and then there are those places with numbers in their names. ...