Wondering what's up with chef Kelly Gaddis now that he's closed Porcella? He's preparing for a night -- OK, a lot of nights -- at the opera. In his new starring role as McCaw Hall's executive chef, Gaddis is looking forward to running the show, catering to patrons of Seattle Opera, PNB and special-event goers at the Seattle Center performance venue. And, as a former restaurant owner, he says he's especially excited to have "an opportunity to do some great stuff that the budget at Porcella never afforded me." Meantime, though, he's in the market for rousing chorus of qualified sous-chefs, cooks and stewards to help get his show on the road. "The food and beverage contract was awarded to a new vendor," Gaddis explained in an e-mail after his first day on the job early this week. He says he's pretty much "starting from scratch" with his opening act: staffing. Anybody up for an audition? You can contact him here.

Marty House wrote, wondering: "Do you or any of your readers know of a place to find a list of farmers with roadside produce stands? I can easily find farmer's markets, but would love to have a directory of roadside farmers. Nothing better than produce straight from the fields!"

Ain't that the truth, Marty -- though I'd amend your comment to suggest that produce is even better when it comes straight from your own "fields" -- a homegrown advantage that more and more folks are taking advantage of these days. While the potatoes on my "back forty" look pretty good in the photos, below, if you were to take the wider view or my garden, you'd see that with exception to those spuds, the pickins' are slim -- thanks in large part to bad husbandry (mine, not my husband's) and my very brown thumb: