I lied. I mostly always love it.
​(I just lied again.)

​I also lied my way into my first paid writing gig (as a food intern at Seattle Weekly) with a cover letter that read: “My mother always wanted me to be a doctor. Maybe now, at least, I can tell her I’m an intern?” I've been mouthing off at the keyboard ever since. I've yet to write the novel that burns a hole in my heart, but I have written for Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Town & Country and Time Out London, edited a stack of travel guidebooks (see right) and my byline appears on nearly 1500 columns, restaurant reviews, chef profiles, feature stories and blog posts at The Seattle Times, where I kept a desk—and files full of stolen menus—from 1998 through 2014. Here are some recipes I've written about and can't live without. Below, find a broader taste from my archives. 

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Flour. Yeast. Water. Salt. And the magicians who turn it into the bread we love.

Got crabs? We do. That's why they call us the Family von Trap. 

From the "Noshing with Nancy" files: in which I take Gina Batali out for lunch. 

Hello, poison control? Dangers lurk—in my mother-in-law's kitchen.

It's 2 a.m. Do you know who's making the best doughnuts around?

She's Seattle's call-girl. And she's got my number.

He's the salt of the earth, and he'll sell you some too.

For more than 100 years, Pike Place Market has drawn crowds. I celebrated its centennial with a front page love story.

Travel writing? I'm willing and able to hit the road. Come along as I search out gold-medal dining in Vancouver, B.C., take a tasting tour of the Paris market along rue Cler, and pay an overdue visit to Washington's Walla Walla Wine Country.

Praise be! Rant about service all you want. Or read this rave.

I've written a restaurant review or two (zillion), including this Pair. And this look at the long-awaited expansion of Matt's in the Market. And then there's this roast chicken roundup, where I give my readers the (best of the) bird.

What goes on in the kitchen of a busy Chinese restaurant? On one very long day, I found out.

I left in 2014, but people still stop me and say "I love your column!"

I told 13 million people about my Instant Pot (click this image for the story).

I've written and edited stacks of guidebooks (above) and championed food and restaurants in Seattle for eons.