Jennifer Matthewson

dailyblender.com — If you're flying through Sea-Tac with a long layover ahead, leave your luggage in storage and enjoy the best of Seattle Southside.

dailyblender.com — Even after two decades in the Pacific Northwest, I still had the idea that Woodinville wine country was a far off place in the distance...

www.dailyblender.com — Where does one even begin when writing about Anthony Bourdain? A chef whose fame has had more to do with sharp wit than kitchen skill, he is outspoken, unapologetic, and controversial. Recognized around the world for his renegade restaurant stories, his books, his shows, his raw, raucous comments have become the religion of guerrilla chefs everywhere, resulting in a reputation that certainly precedes him.

dailyblender.com — If you didn't know who you were looking for, I'm not sure you would've even noticed him standing there on the sidewalk. Pacing back and forth along the curb, a phone pressed to his ear, he had a black cap pulled tightly over his head, black jacket, black shirt, black pants.

dailyblender.com — There wasn't much English being tossed around on my flight from Canada to Brazil. Throughout the nearly-eleven-hour trip, I heard Portuguese, Spanish, French, German - but very few words I understood. I grew more nervous as we prepared for our arrival into Rio de Janeiro, practicing "Eu não falo Português" (I don't speak Portuguese) over and over to myself, as well as the other phrases I had learned.

dailyblender.com — On deck for the original Star Trek, amid traditional male forerunners Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sulu, appeared the stunning Lieutenant Uhura, played by actress Nichelle Nichols. Though Nichols was considered a supporting character, her poise and perfection, along with a surefire, commanding voice, made her a highlight.

dailyblender.com — It was tough to sleep on the red-eye from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Toronto, Ontario. When I initially booked my tickets from Portland, Oregon, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the cheapest route put me through Canada, which I certainly didn't mind.

dailyblender.com — Aside from your relationship with potatoes, you hadn't really crossed my mind over the years, your state little more than a hostage to the French fry existence. As it turns out, there's more to you, with over 180 agricultural products, a top producer of Austrian winter peas, trout, barley, sugarbeets - and yes, potatoes.

www.dailyblender.com — I was so enamored by my experience, so enthralled by my visit, that I couldn't wait to tell friends. Here are my pictures, I wanted to say. Let me tell you my stories, I started to stammer. Until I realized that I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to know about the treasure I had found. I wanted to keep it all to myself.

www.dailyblender.com — The magnitude of the show had my stomach in ropes long before Friday officially arrived. As I rolled through Chicago's suburbs on the L-train pre-dusk headed toward Wrigley Field, the butterflies became a frenzy of activity, the main event nearly within reach. Fellow music fans packed the train's car, anxiously, and some of them drunkenly, chattering about the concert, comparing notes on ticket prices and 'the first time I saw them' stories. It was all I could do not to lose my dinner.

www.dailyblender.com — Books that cook have really evolved over the last few years. A few - like David Chang's tale in the Momofuku cookbook of fighting anger and shingles - plunge even deeper into the cooking/storytelling vein, revealing the heart of the kitchen where memoir and measuring cup collide.

bbc.com — Centrally located within the heartland of the United States, Indianapolis -- the capital of Indiana -- has long been known as the home of the Indianapolis 500, one of the most important race car events in the world.

bbc.com — Everyone loathes a red-eye. A necessary evil on nearly every cross-ocean, and oftentimes cross-country traverse, red-eyes are those pesky flights that depart late in the evening, fly during the pre-dawn hours and have become a regular addition to nearly every airline's schedule.

dailyblender.com — Portland drink aficionados have long considered themselves lucky to find a seat at the bar of "Tommy Tweed." A heartfelt moniker for a spirits explorer with an affinity for fine fabrics, the magnanimous Tommy Klus has held command at the city's best bars and restaurants for the last two decades, building cocktails and bar programs at Bluehour, Teardrop, Kask, La Moule, and the Multnomah Whiskey Library.