For the latest installment of our "Tell Us Something Good" celebrity recommendation series, we talked to Lauren Ko—founder of the Instagram account @lokokitchen and the author of the best-selling cookbook PIEOMETRY—about how she's been staying entertained in Seattle during quarantine. Read on for favorite local spots (like Karachi Cowboys Like List ) and the media she's been digging lately (like Bryan Washington's Memorial), and make sure to pick up a copy of her book—the perfect way to celebrate National Pie Day this Saturday!
What are your favorite restaurants for takeout or outdoor dining right now?
Karachi Cowboys Like List , Brunchbox Like List , Jade Garden Like List , Tamari Bar Like List , Breezy Town Pizza Like List , and California Burrito Taco Shop Like List .
What are your favorite local businesses or shops, aside from restaurants?
The Works Like List , The Pastry Project Like List , Calm and Cure Candle Co, Book Larder Like List , Danielle Elliott Photography.
What movies or TV shows that you've seen recently would you recommend?
I don't really watch a lot of TV, but my partner and I did just go through the entire series of The Good Place. I loved the way the show wrapped.
What music or podcasts have you been listening to on repeat lately?
I listen to a ton of podcasts while I work in the kitchen! Some of my favorites in the regular rotation include: "Code Switch," "Radio Ambulante," "Point of Origin," "The Walk-In," and "Call Your Girlfriend."
What are the best books you've read in the last few months?
I spend pretty much all my free time (and some of my working time, heh) reading, and quarantine has really amped up the volume of tomes I mow through. Recent highlights include: Furia (Yamile Saied Mendez), Memorial (Bryan Washington), Soledad (Angie Cruz), The Making of Asian America (Erika Lee), Cantoras (Carolina de Robertis), Clap When You Land (Elizabeth Acevedo), and The Vanishing Half (Brit Bennett).
What outdoor spots or activities have you enjoyed recently?
Between trying to stay home most of the time and being stuck in West Seattle...our outdoor activities have been largely limited to walks with the pup around the neighborhood and enjoying our backyard firepit anytime it's not raining.
How else have you stayed entertained in Seattle during COVID? Anything else you'd recommend?
Is it too on the nose to recommend getting into tart art and pie design? Ha!
What are you most looking forward to doing in Seattle when COVID is over?
Hosting dinner parties, meeting friends for happy hour, and resuming in-person pie workshops!
PIEOMETRY is available at Book Larder, Indiebound, and wherever books are sold. Read more interviews in the Tell Us Something Good series here.
