Seattle: Star wattage

It’s obvious that the national media hearts Portland’s food scene more than Seattle’s, though our bakeries and artisanal markets get lots of ink. Still, our chefs soldier on, maybe because they clean up come awards time. We had 10 semifinalists for the 2011 James Beard awards; while Portland won Best Northwest Chef, we’ll live, seeing that Seattle’s dominance of the category (Jason Wilson, pictured, was the fifth straight Seattle chef to win in ’10) was getting downright embarrassing.

Score: 7