The art of hospitality is alive and well, with restaurants finding new and exciting ways to satisfy both their regular clientele and attract broader audiences. With sophisticated AI and other technologies spreading more broadly throughout our lives, restaurateurs and wine professionals are proving to be indispensable, offering advice, guidance and a sense of connection and community that the likes of ChatGPT cannot achieve.

You can see evidence of that in our newly revealed list of more than 3,500 restaurants that have earned Restaurant Awards from Wine Spectator in 2023. This year's winners, each offering outstanding wine programs, hail from all 50 states and more than 75 countries and territories. The awards are given across three categories: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award.

The state’s wine epicenter is becoming a full-fledged dining destination. But maybe don’t call it destination dining.

FERRY RIDES, weekends on the coast, and winding drives through the Palouse’s rolling plains all beg the same question: Where to eat along the way? Seattle Met’s food and travel editors spent a year traversing the corners and byways of Washington state to assemble our picks for meals whose memory stays with you long after you’ve returned home. These are tasting menus and taco stands, comfort food and outdoor oyster saloons.

One of the oldest settlements in Washington, Walla Walla was a trading post for the Idaho gold rush and French fur trappers. The French being French planted vines in the area around the 1850s. But a freeze took out the vineyards and the railroad skirted through to Spokane instead, nipping this fledgling agricultural center in the bud.

WALLA WALLA — The Walla Walla Police Department responded to the scene of an accident at 55 W. Cherry St. Saturday when a car crashed into Kinglet, a newly-opened restaurant in the historic Whitehouse-Crawford Building. Officers arrived at about 7:30 p.m. to find a small SUV, driven by a 20-year-old male, crashed into the side of the building. At the time of the crash, it was estimated about 100 people were inside the restaurant.

Walla Walla, Washington, offers an impressive range of delicious eateries and unforgettable dining experiences for food enthusiasts of all tastes. With its vibrant culture and flourishing food scene, this city has something for everyone, whether you’re searching for comforting foods or bold, innovative dishes.

WALLA WALLA -- Police say a 20-year-old man had to be hospitalized after crashing an SUV into the Kinglet Restaurant on Saturday evening.

Police say the crash happened at 7:30 PM at the Kinglet Restaurant, located in the Whitehouse Crawford Building at 55 West Cherry Street.

Shuttered for nearly two years, the historic Whitehouse-Crawford building at 55 W. Cherry St. is bustling with activity again.

James Beard-nominated Seattle Chef Maximillian Petty and his wife and business partner, Jennifer Petty, opened the building doors to a new venture Friday, Feb. 25: The Kinglet.

If you’ve spent much time dining in Walla Walla, you probably went to Whitehouse-Crawford, which closed during the pandemic. But the lights are on in that historic building again—you can now visit Kinglet, a new restaurant from Seattle chef Maximillian Petty of Eden Hill.

LIKE MANY COUPLES trying to buy a house in Seattle, Maximillian and Jennifer Petty broadened their radius significantly last year, seeking homes they could actually afford. Then the pandemic destabilized their two Queen Anne restaurants, Eden Hill and Eden Hill Provisions. Unlike most residential real estate searches, the upshot has ramifications for the state’s broader dining scene. And a rather unexpected (but excellent) outcome: The Pettys are opening a restaurant in Walla Walla. And they’re going big.

The Kinglet is the newest addition to the dining scene in Walla Walla and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Brought to you by James Beard-nominated Chef Maximillian Petty of Eden Hill and Big Max Burger Co. in Seattle, Chef Petty and his talented culinary team are serving up beautiful, hyper-seasonal dishes in the former Whitehouse Crawford space. Let’s take a look inside (and at the menu)!

Walla Walla has been waiting and it’s finally arrived; Chef Maximilien Petty’s The Kinglet Restaurant has opened in the former Whitehouse Crawford space.