"I can't wait." "I love Greek food!" "A restaurant in a hotel...yuk!" "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there." These are just a few of the remarks I've been hearing for the last six months when we let our staff and customers know that we were opening a new restaurant this summer. So, what? Are we crazy?? A fourth restaurant? Right across the street from our first, and our flagship, Dahlia Lounge?

Seven days a week, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 365 days a year. Thanks to the hard work of many and the confidence of you, our valued customers, Lola has jumped out off the starting blocks with a bang! We are not without issues, as is any young (and even old) restaurant only three months old. But for the most part, things are working as planned. Yes, I know it's a bit noisy...we're definitely working on it.

Until those first diners sit in the seats we fretted about design-wise for months, it's always nerve racking. Until the first ouzo-laced lamb kebab is sizzling in front of the smiling faces of curious diners, we're holding our breath. Until the waiters, as a team, can talk a bewildered table of hungry eaters through a family-sharing menu concept like none that we have attempted before, we're losing sleep. And not until the kitchen crew makes it through a busy Saturday night with smiles and cheers instead of frowns and tears do we let out a sigh of relief.

Why a Greek restaurant? Well, I'll make a long story short. Jackie's grandpa, Louie, moved to Washington state in the early 1900s from the small mountain town of Arahova in central Greece. Louie never got a chance to fulfill the dream of revisiting his homeland, and Jackie and I have always wondered what he would think of a modern day Greek restaurant which has evolved in response to all kinds of changes such as the globalization of food today, the strong regional influences from countries such as Spain, Turkey, and Morocco, and oddly, even the influence of New Yorkers of Greek heritage returning to the mother country to open their own restaurants there. We had been playing with the idea of a Greek inspired menu for the last fifteen years, beginning with the ‘Grandpa Louie Greek Vacation Plate' appetizer on Dahlia's menu in 1990. When we published Tom's Big Dinners last fall, it included a chapter dedicated to Grandpa Louie and from there came the beginning of the menu concept for Lola. Louie Kakaris's "mail order" bride from deep in the heart of Kentucky, Grandma Lola, is the namesake. Jackie's mom, Rodothea "Dot" Cross, rounded out the family's contribution and lent her own expertise in training the cooks how to blacken, not brown, the butter for her signature Greek spaghetti.

Now all we need to do is learn how to speak Greek so we can converse with all the nice Greek folk who have come in to check us out and start talking like we might actually know what they're saying.

There are a few other new restaurants around Seattle besides Lola that I would like to "Crow" about...Check them out here!

Yes, it's peperonata season. It's the time of year when all those colorful, flavorful, waxy, sweet-hot peppers show up from the Yakima valley and on to the farmers' tables at the local markets. This is the time I slice and dice them, then slowly stew them with end of summer chanterelles, olives, capers, garlic and anchovies in extra virgin olive oil. Out comes the Tupperware and into the freezer go portion packed servings (enough for four people) for a quick and easy appetizer all winter long. Simply grill some rustic bread or serve with crackers, delish! If you want the recipe and more, check out the most recent issue of Fine Cooking magazine (the November issue). My co-author Shelley Lance and I wrote our third contribution for this terrific food mag—and we hope you enjoy.

Enjoy the Season!!!!

~ Jackie & Tom