And she's off! Again? Yes, again. Only this time they'll be no trips to East Coast delis, nor (fingers crossed) to the emergency room for me. Instead, I'll be taking a trip to Santa Fe to attend the Association of Food Journalists conference, and then home to work on my annual Dining Out cover story for our Pacific Northwest Magazine.

Dining Out: it's what I do. You can read a decade's worth of those stories in this blog-post.

I'll be back blogging in October. Meantime, you can stay in touch with what's going on in my food world -- locally and otherwise -- via my All Your Can Eat fan page or my Twitter account, fed to you in full or in part, below.

Six Seattle chefs are putting the "fun" in fundraiser, lending a hand to high schoolers at the Shorewood Culinary Arts program by preparing a special Harvest Dinner Friday, September 10. Taking part are some of the best in the business:

From left: Maria Hines (Tilth), Holly Smith (Cafe Juanita), John Sundstrom (Lark/Licorous), Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy), Dana Tough and Brian McCracken (Spur Gastropub/Tavern Law)

The event begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails at a private home in Shoreline's Innis Arden neighborhood, where the high-profile chefs will prepare an intimate dinner for 50. Proceeds from the a multi-course meal fund the high school's long-running culinary arts program and a major expansion of its Master Gardener's Youth Education Garden located on the Shorewood campus. At $200 per person, the price may sound steep, but considering the talent on hand and the cause that inspired them to be there, it's a ticket worth securing -- via the King County Master Gardener Foundation Web site, here.

Tom Douglas and Jackie Cross finally got their latest restaurant off the ground, several months later than anticipated. Adding to their Seatown smackdown, this time they've cornered the Market -- or, more precisely, the corner of Western and Virginia -- with their casual eats-joint, Seatown Snack Bar, open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Seatown Snack Bar, from the outside looking in, and the inside looking out -- at Steinbrueck Park.

If you pay attention to such things, and I know you do, chances are you've heard about Ethan Stowell's new Italian kitchen. No, not his forthcoming cookbook showcasing dishes from his four restaurants, Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook a Wolf, Tavolata and Staple & Fancy Mercantile. The kitchen I'm talking about is the focal point of that last venture, his latest. Open a week, Staple & Fancy's rustic Italian-oriented menu is brazenly brief -- if you discount the chef's fancy, divulged in a menu-note that has this to say about that:

Thanks for joining us at Staple & Fancy Mercantile. Please feel free to order as much or as little food as you like. And, if you would like to avoid the trouble of ordering altogether, please feel free to hand your menu back to your server and let the kitchen prepare you a family style supper served in four courses for $45 per person. Participation by the entire table is required. We would also like to inform you that you really should do this.

No truer words were ever said. You really should do this. And here's one of the many reasons why:

Why trouble yourself? Leave it to the chef and you might end up nibbling speck with fresh figs, part of the $45/per person family-style menu that blew my mind opening week.

The sun was shining on the sea (and nearby Shilshole Bay) when I made the acquaintance Renee Erickson's new oyster bar, the Walrus and the Carpenter. The sun was also shining through the patio doors, casting a golden glow on the zinc bar (the province of co-owner Jeremy Price), on smiling patrons supping on seafood (among other prettily arranged small-plates) and on Renee herself, who has plenty of reason to smile these days.

Huitres? Treats.

The Cheshire Cat has nothing on Ms. Erickson, whose latest venture, open two weeks, is named for the poetic oyster-poachers in Lewis Carroll's "Through the looking Glass" and the kind of wondrous warren I'd want to tumble down a rabbit hole for regularly.

More than 120 Seattle restaurants are gearing up for round two of Seattle Restaurant Week set for Sundays through Thursdays October 17 through 28. (Yeah, yeah, I know: that's two weeks, but who's counting?)

Restaurant Week made its debut in April, with 106 restaurants throughout King County offering $25 three-course dinners while some added $15 three-course lunches. To celebrate the upcoming fall promotion -- and convince you to mark your calenders -- the group is holding a fundraiser next Tuesday, August 24 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Show up (at the corner of Western Avenue and Broad Streets) and you'll have a chance to rub elbows with 100-plus chefs as they gather for a photo-shoot and take part in a community food drive to benefit Food Lifeline. Representatives from the local hunger-relief agency will be on hand to accept donations of non-perishable food items or monetary contributions.

And get this: In exchange for every item collected or dollar donated you'll receive a raffle ticket. The prize, drawn at 11 a.m., is $1000 in gift certificates from participating restaurants. The Seattle Times is an organizing sponsor.

For the inaugural Seattle Restaurant Week, chefs gathered at Gas Works Park. Recognize anybody? I do. [photo courtesy Seattle Restaurant Cooperative]

The e-mail from a colleague came Tuesday afternoon, when I was hunkered down in front of my computer at the Seattle Times office: "On the Fly opened its door today. Just strolled down there to check it out. You should, too." A half hour later I was on the fly myself, strolling down street to check out the new Flying Fish's take-out adjunct, as directed.

Flying Fish's South Lake Union take-out joint, now open adjacent Flying Fish, just off the corner of Westlake Avenue North and Thomas Street.

So, there I was, perusing the goods, including a wall of wine-list-worthy wines to-go (all $18 and under), trying to decide between the shrimp tabbouleh or the tarragon-chicken salad ($4.50/$8.50) and the Frenchified ham, Gruyere and butter sandwich ($7.50) or its Italian counterpart with coppacola, salami and provolone ($6.50).

There was no "royal taster" to make certain his food was not poisoned. But there was some confusion as to what -- if anything -- President Barack Obama would eat when he sat down with a group of small-business owners Tuesday at Grand Central Bakery in Pioneer Square.

Prepped for the occasion, co-owner Gillian Allen-White was told he'd likely order a pastry and some Earl Grey tea during their round-table discussion at Grand Central's flagship cafe. "I said, `Is he going to eat it?' I was picturing him with croissant flakes on his suit! They said he usually nibbles, but he won't finish it, and we were told not to be offended."

Instead, His Royal Slenderness went whole hog with half a turkey sandwich and a spinach salad, and ordered a jam-filled biscuit for the road. While it's no secret that Secret Service agents were on hand to keep a close eye on the proceedings, the food-prep "was all in real-time," insists Allen-White, who sat at the president's elbow as he ate during their lunch-time chat.

From left: Obama; Gillian Allen-White, Joe Fugere, founder of Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Tiffany Turner of the Inn at Discovery Coast, talking biz at Grand Central Bakery in Pioneer Square. [Seattle Times photo by Ken Lambert]