There’s a reason the line is so damn long… it’s worth the wait. I’d also like to think their penchant for alliteration as something to do with it as they call themselves “The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium”. Foie Gras and Sauternes duck sausage? Brown Ale and Chipotle Buffalo Sausage? Unlike many snazzy hot dog joints that just slather different crap on one or two commercial hot dogs (potato chips? peanut butter?), the folks at Hot Doug’s focus on the meat first and then complement it with appropriate (and delicious) condiments and add-ons. Not convinced? Three words: Duck. Fat. Fries. What are you waiting for? (Apologies for the iPhone photography.)

Despite the bunch of Indian restaurants in metro Seattle, finding a good one is harder than you might imagine. The only reason it took me so long to try is because it’s located 20 minutes south of Seattle in Renton. The distance will no longer dissuade me as I the savory crispy hot Chicken Pakora was the best I’d ever had.

What about Books Library? Or Instruments Music Shop? Wacky name aside, Chef Cafe stands out amid the plethora of Ethiopian restaurants that litter Seattle. My favorite was the Katenga — toasted Injera (spongy bread) coated in butter and spice. More please.

For the first time, we are actively looking for bloggers to help spread the word about great places to eat all over the world. You think you’re up for the task? We’ll see. Here’s what we’re looking for:

• You must love food and love to eat.
• You must take beautiful pictures of the food you eat when you go out to eat.
• You have numerous opinions on the topic of where to eat and aren’t afraid (and love) to share them.
• You’re willing to post here on TastingMenu at least once a week or more.
• You need to find a way to prove to me (Hillel) that you have great taste in food (or at least that we’ll agree most of the time).
• You love to travel and do it semi-regularly.
• You recommend restaurants and eating establishments based almost entirely on the flavor and texture of the food. Things like service, decor, typeface of the menu, and even food presentation to a certain extent and price are either not relevant or a distant consideration.
• You live in Tokyo, London, Paris, Rome, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hong Kong, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Bangkok, Tel Aviv or somewhere else with a large selection of extraordinary eating establishments that need to be recommended.
• You’re an honest and decent human being with a love for recommending wonderful restaurants to friends and strangers alike.

But not so fast, there a bunch of things we’re not looking for:

• People looking to get paid. There ain’t no money in this gig.
• People looking to get their meals paid for. (See above.)
• People looking to tell the restaurant they’re blogging about them in order to get a discount or better treatment. Tacky.
• People looking to exclusively own the photos/opinions they post to TastingMenu. You can own them but by posting them here you’re giving TastingMenu a perpetual license to do whatever we want with them. [TastingMenu Legal Affairs Department].

What’s in it for you? The distinct pleasure of getting to recommend wonderful food from around the world, not to mention the honor of being on the TastingMenu team. Other than that… not a whole hell of a lot. Oh… but you do get your glamour shot in the sidebar.

If you’re up for the task… get in touch.