I was in New York last week, looking for a publisher for our new cookbook. The first person I called to find out what restaurants had opened since my last visit was my friend Ed Levine, author of New York Eats and New York Eats More. I've known Ed for five years now and if there's a person who revels more in the glory of food, from the street scene to the see-and-be-seen scene, I've never met them. Ed is connected. He's got his finger on the pulse of the most amazing food city in the country.

When I called Ed from the hotel, he rattled off six new restaurants as possibilities for that evening's entertainment. Within hours of exiting the plane, we scrambled off to Le Cirque 2000, Ristorante Milos, Obecali, Bouley Bakery, and Mylovos and made plans on where to visit the next day.

Next time your heading to the Big Apple, pick up a copy of Ed's book; not just for the fine dining angle, but for the best knish, the best coal-fire clam pizza, the best hard candy sucker, the best peanut noodles, the best kosher dog. You name it, if it's in New York, he's found the best practitioner. I say practitioner because it's as important to Ed to discover the person behind the creation as it is to discover the creation. His book is an archeological dig into the weird and wacky personalities that are the inspirations behind the foods of New York.

As for the cookbook, we are excited to announce that after eight years of slow simmer, it's moved from the back burner to center stage. I would love to hear (by fax to 448-1979 or e-mail office@tomdouglas.com) if anyone has old favorites they would like to see included in the book. We will notify of the publishing date.

A quick note on a recent trip to Miami; some hot, hot, hot restaurants and nightlife to match. Had what we hoped would be a quick lunch at Madonna's hotel, The Delano in South Beach. It was all show and no go. In Coral Gables; a great meal of local fish and crab at Normans and an odd meal at the Pan-Asian/Cuban/Southwest inspired Heights Restaurant. If you have the opportunity, I really recommend staying at The Biltmore where fun in the sun is taken seriously. Johnny Weismuller and Al Capone used to hang out there - the original Miami Vice.

At our Holiday Party each year we single out a few of the many folks who go the extra mile for us in the work they do every day at our restaurants. This year's winners; Palace cook Dave Mecklenburg, baker Zola Holcomb, Palace bartender Derin Madia, Dahlia busser Thai Tran, Dahlia cook Daniel Perez, Etta's cook Gary White, and Etta's busser Morgan Darrah-Traub. The contributions of these folks and our other great team members are the secret to our success.

This success is why we are able to reach out and be a good community partner. Jackie and I were honored to receive the 1997 Northwest Philanthropy Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Small Business from the National Society for Fund Raising Executives. We appreciate this recognition of our 200 employees whose commitment to the community is exemplary.

The Taste of the Nation event is coming together and we are working hard to be ready for the 1,000 of you who buy tickets to support this great cause. The auction is looking pretty good too; the Grand Prize is a week-long trip for two to Italy to the Capezzana Winery & Culinary School. We will also auction a restaurant tour of Los Angeles, a trip to San Diego and a dozen other fantastic dining packages. This year I will team up again with Thierry Rautureau of Rover's for the "BBQ Meet Foie Gras Extravaganza" at the Palace Kitchen. How could you pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity to bid on dinner with the two most handsome (as voted by us) chefs in Seattle?

Cheers - Tom and Jackie