Food pop-ups, trucks and carts are blossoming all over Seattle – but not all of them are above board. The city is seeing a huge spike in mobile food vendors that aren’t permitted. Today we tell the story of how Tan found out about this trend thanks to the hottest food truck of the summer, and talk to Seattle Times reporter Jackie Varriano about how to tell if a food vendor is following health rules.

Plus, Seattle is having an al pastor taco moment. Tan shares tips for where to get a great bite.

Read Tan and Jackie’s story in the Seattle Times.

Recommendations in this episode:

• Tacos La Cuadra – Rainier Beach, Mount Baker, Northgate
• Tacos Extranjeros – inside Fair Isle Brewing, Ballard

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teriyaki as we know it was invented in Seattle in the 1970s. It’s why there’s a teriyaki joint almost every other block across the city. On this episode, we join author and food influencer J. Kenji López-Alt on his mission to eat at every single teriyaki restaurant in Seattle (and some outside) and discover the ultimate form of this native Seattle cuisine.

Plus, Kenji and Tan discuss one of the best restaurants in Colombia that may soon be making an appearance in the Seattle area.

Recommendations in this episode:

• Rainier Teriyaki, Columbia City
• Grillbird, West Seattle
• Prudencia, Bogota, Colombia

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pho and Banh mi shops are ubiquitous in Seattle, but Vietnamese food here is evolving far beyond these two dishes. In this episode, Seattle Times Food Writers Bethany Jean Clement and Jackie Varriano join Tan for a taste test of their favorite Vietnamese dishes in the city, courtesy of the Times’ Vietnamese Food Guide.

Plus, a neighborhood in Seattle with great cheap eats that you’ve probably never heard of.

Read the Vietnamese Food Guide: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/the-best-of-seattles-vietnamese-food-scene/

Our favorite Vietnamese dishes in Seattle:

Paté Chaude — Q Bakery, Hillman City

Bún Chả Hà Nội — Ba Bar, multiple locations

Banh Mi Nem Nướng Hà Nội — Voi Cà Phê, Georgetown

Other recommendations in this episode:

The Tin Hat, West Woodland – 99¢ Taco Tuesdays

Molly Maguires, West Woodland – lunch buffet

The Dray, West Woodland

Anchovies and Salt, Renton — try the fish sauce coffee

Hello Em, Little Saigon — try the Caphe Trung (egg coffee)

Phin, Little Saigon — pick up some pandan waffles

Voi Cà Phê — try the Miso Caramel Latte or Pho Spice Latte

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible. Please consider joining and subscribing at kuow.org/eats and seattletimes.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.