L'Italo-Americano

GIOVEDÌ 23 LUGLIO 2026 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano lated by a handful of senior c i t i z e n s – j u s t 1 2 i n a l l . Residents of the same retire- m e n t c o m m u n i t y i n Bellevue, Washington, the group eats out together once a month in a relaxed setting where the martinis flow and the laughs follow. Started by a fellow resident who selects the restaurant and preps the s t a f f – s e p a r a t e c h e c k s , please! – the supper club has been a hit since it began l a s t y e a r , o f f e r i n g t h e s e lucky seniors a chance to dress up, step out, and con- nect with their neighbors in new ways. Varriano had a different, a n d m o r e p e r s o n a l , f o o d story to share with readers a f e w y e a r s a g o w h e n h e r daughter Nova, then aged represent her community at the Salone del Gusto in Turin. As an added bonus, the dates of the food expo coincided with her honey- moon, enabling the couple to spend three weeks tour- ing Italy. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters. "People hear I'm a food w r i t e r a n d a u t o m a t i c a l l y a s s u m e I ' m a r e s t a u r a n t r e v i e w e r , " s h e s a i d . " B u t f o o d i s m o r e t h a n j u s t what's on your plate. There is so much that takes place o u t s i d e a r e s t a u r a n t s e t - ting." V a r r i a n o ' s i n t e r e s t i n food and community led to one of her most recent sto- r i e s a b o u t a n u n u s u a l Eastside supper club popu- four, was diagnosed with celiac disease. "From our f o o d - o b s e s s e d I t a l i a n American family, hearing that Nova had celiac disease devastated me," she wrote, noting she experienced all the stages of grief during the first few months after the d i a g n o s i s . T h e f a m i l y s e a r c h e d f o r , a n d f o u n d , workarounds, breaking old eating habits and forming new ones. The Christmas tradition of ravioli? Now, it's prime rib. "We have a lot of it dialed in," said Varriano. "Luckily, Nova is not a natural foodie. I think she would forget to eat if I didn't make it for her. But she is starting to find things she loves, and I a m f i n d i n g n e w w a y s t o cook them, like meatballs. M y s e c r e t i n g r e d i e n t : gluten-free crackers instead of breadcrumbs." Although the celiac diag- nosis keeps the family from eating out often, as a food w r i t e r , V a r r i a n o i s n o stranger to restaurants. She e a t s o u t f o r l u n c h n e a r l y every day and has dinner in a restaurant at least once or twice a week. S o w h a t d o e s a f o o d writer eat for dinner when she's lazing at home? "My guilty pleasure is spaghetti with jarred red sauce," she admitted. "I love the sim- plicity and comfort of it." Varriano is not sure what her next career move might be. She has thought about writing a book from time to time, but it likely won't be a cookbook. "I don't cook the s a m e w a y I u s e d t o , " s h e said. "I don't have the same e n e r g y . I d o n ' t c h a l l e n g e myself in the same way. But I m i g h t c o n s i d e r a n o v e l with a strong food element o r f o o d a s a p l o t l i n e . O r maybe I'd write a memoir, which for me would be an extension of what I do for a living – telling other peo- ple's stories about food." For now, she'll continue digging into the stories that help Northwest audiences d i s c o v e r t h e i r n e i g h b o r - hoods, embrace their cultur- a l d i f f e r e n c e s , a n d f i n d shared ground – all through food. t h e n t o E u g e n e , O r e g o n . She continued to work in restaurants as a waitress, bartender, and other front- of-house positions to earn m o n e y w h i l e b u i l d i n g a freelance writing portfolio. The jobs also gave her some insight into the restaurant and food business. As a food writer, Varriano h a s f r e e l a n c e d f o r T h e Oregonian, Boston Globe, a n d E u g e n e ' s R e g i s t e r - Guard as well as niche pub- l i c a t i o n s l i k e E a t e r a n d Serious Eats, among other outlets. She was also an edi- t o r a t Z a g a t , a p o p u l a r restaurant guide. I n 2 0 1 4 , V a r r i a n o w a s appointed a Terra Madre food delegate, selected by the Slow Food movement to J ackie Varriano thinks about food a l o t . A s a f o o d w r i t e r a t T h e Seattle Times, she digs daily into stories about why we eat what we do, how food connects us to our past, and the ways that food and community intersect. "Food is such a big part of people's lives," said Varriano. "It's how families connect." Since she began working a t T h e S e a t t l e T i m e s i n 2019, she's covered stories as varied as self-serve ice cream, Seattle's bagel scene and the best bites for base- ball fans at T-Mobile Park. A l t h o u g h V a r r i a n o h a s been writing for more than t h r e e d e c a d e s – h e r f i r s t published article was a gos- sip column for her YMCA summer camp in 1990 – she did not set out to be a food writer. "I actually thought I'd be a music writer," she said, "but I never felt fully confident doing album cri- tiques or concert reviews. I didn't know the technical terms or the stylistic lan- guage. I decided I was more interested in writing about people who like to eat and who wanted to talk about food." Varriano's family immi- grated from a small town in s o u t h e r n I t a l y n e a r Campobasso, Molise. She g r e w u p i n F a r g o , N o r t h Dakota, a community not o f t e n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a thriving culinary scene. "We always had a garden grow- ing up, and we did a lot of preserving and canning," she said. "Plus my dad was a big hunter. So I can say that, despite my North Dakota r o o t s , m y f a m i l y d i d n o t come from a land of Jello m o l d s o r m a r s h m a l l o w fluff!" A few years after graduat- ing from college in 2004, V a r r i a n o a n d h e r f u t u r e h u s b a n d t r a v e l e d t o Australia for nine months where she worked in a fine d i n i n g e s t a b l i s h m e n t i n Brisbane. After returning to t h e U . S . , t h e y m o v e d t o Tahoe City, California, and Food writer Jackie Varriano digs into the Northwest food scene RITA CIPALLA Jackie Varriano, right, and her friend Sarah Lemmon enjoy a meal together at Goldies and the Roost on Whidbey Island (Photo: Jackie Varriano) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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