I know a celebrity. AZA. Chef Rachel Yang is continuing her rise to the top ranks in the culinary world and her secret weapon is Korean food. Her restaurant Joule in Seattle has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Gourmet Magazine, Food and Wine, and countless other publications. Over the summer I had the opportunity to go to her restaurant and I still have dreams about her cornbread and gouda dish topped with black truffle dish. Also, her yukgaejang was the best I've ever had. If you don't recall, Rachel was in Korea last May and she did a cooking demonstration for the Tteok Festival.  Rachel did an amazing rice cake pasta dish topped with a soy tempered egg and a Makgeolli Sabayon.  I don't know the results of the show, but I heard that she used many Korean ingredients to make interesting versions of classic Korean dishes. I think that the Korean government should bring this rising star back to Korea to show everyone how they can make Korean food work o...

I know. I talk about Rachel Yang and Joule all the time and it's because they are both awesome. On my food tour of the United States, I had to make sure that I stopped by her restaurant in the Wallingford district of Seattle. So on my first Friday in Seattle, I went there with my kind hosts Noah and Beth and Paula and her husband, Wayne. The restaurant stands out but in a whimsical way in the historical district. Wallingford is home to ironical Gas Works Park. The restaurant is quaint, inviting, and energetic. It's a place you can take a boring date to and not get bored. What was that? I mean the open kitchen with Rachel zipping around cooking and her large, friendly husband: Seif, striking up conversations with guests, you simply can’t get bored. Joule has a family feel to it; if you had a hip aunt and uncle in your family. Now for what you've been waiting for: the food. We started out with a Kimchi Pancake and the Smoked tofu with honshimeji confit, and soy-truffle vinai...