​Wasn't frozen yogurt an eighties thing? (I vaguely remember something called Frogurt...) Well, it's back, with Menchie's Frozen Yogurt among many vying for world domination. I watch as kids and adults alike flock to the Queen Anne store, where the "mix, weigh and pay" self-serve formula brings smiles to those wanting frozen treats.

I had to try for myself. Thimble-like sample cups took me from flavors such as pumpkin to piña colada to pomegranate tart. Already feeling full, I settled for a purchasable pour of simple vanilla (versus "very vanilla") and then hit the topping bars. I felt like a kid in a candy store, basically because I was in a candy store, watching boys and girls pile on fruity pebbles, gummi bears, peanut butter cups, and rainbow sprinkles at the "snackage bar," mochi and cheesecake bits at the "chill bar," and then hot fudge and caramel sauce at the "sauce bar" (or whatever it's called). Spooning a few items from this smorgasbord onto my yogurt, I placed my cup on a table and laughed when I saw it said "We make you smile."

So what does a cup of Menchie's yogurt teach us about sex?

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​Last week, Sexy Feast sized up 8 Oz. Burger Bar, one of the newest entries in Seattle's burger boom. But the boom isn't just about traditional burgers. Hajime Sato of Mashiko and sustainable sushi fame recently opened an incredibly popular and delicious new restaurant in Georgetown called Katsu Burger, serving "Japanese style burgers and beyond." These burgers are prepared katsu style: "dipped in tempura batter, coated in panko bread crumbs, and then deep fried to juicy perfection."

They're available in beef, chicken, and tofu varieties, but if you want classic katsu, you have to go pork. I chose the Ninja Deluxe: a pork cutlet with cheddar, bacon, Japanese mayonnaise, and tonkatsu sauce. (All burgers come with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, red onion, and pickles.) Add nori fries (seaweed-seasoned) and a green tea milkshake, and you've got an amazing East-meets-West fast food meal that's actually made to order.

So what does Katsu Burger's Ninja Deluxe burger teach us about sex?

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​Seattle's burger boom continues. With the opening of 8 Oz. Burger Bar in Capitol Hill, we now have a burger joint boasting about size as a differentiator. The namesake burger, "The 8 Oz.," is pretty straightforward, featuring a half-pound blend of sirloin, tri-tip, short rib, and chuck, along with iceberg lettuce, pickles, tomato, white onion, and the house special sauce.

The burger is a massive affair, a two-fister. I ordered one with the highly touted French fries, made with Kennebec potatoes. Combined, I already had the makings of a "supersized" meal. If hungrier, I'd have added a strawberry shake or chocolate malt, both featuring Bluebird ice cream.

So what does 8 Oz. Burger Bar's burger and fries teach us about sex?

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​It's been quite a pizza run. Two weeks ago, Sexy Feast took me to Queen Margherita for thin-crust, Neopolitan style pizza. Last week, in celebration of National Pizza Week, I went to Kylie's Chicago Pizza for a little deep dish action.

This week, I visited the new Queen Anne location of The Rock, a chain that started in Tacoma and has seen successful growth in the region and beyond. If classic rock whets your appetite, this is the place to be, with musical art on the walls, concert lighting above, and Aerosmith to Zeppelin out of the speakers. The pizza playlist is also interesting, as many of the pies are named after song or album titles.

So many of the pizzas had potential for this week's Sexy Feast column, from "Satisfaction" to "Bad to the Bone" to "Flirtin' with Disaster." My choice was "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy," a red sauce pizza that will ward away vegetarians with toppings of pepperoni, sweet sausage, peppered bacon, meatballs, ham, and extra mozzarella. This American-style pizza (between a thin and a thick crust) will satisfy any carnivorous craving.

So what does The Rock's Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy pizza teach us about sex?

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​Last week, Sexy Feast took me to Queen Margherita in Magnolia for thin-crust, Neopolitan-style pizza. This week, in celebration of National Pizza Week, I wanted more pizza, but something a little different.

Luckily, last month I purchased a Seattle Weekly VOICE Daily Deal for Kylie's Chicago Pizza. For $12, I had $24 to spend, which would cover any of the nine Chicago-style, deep dish pizzas. I went with the "Combo." The cornmeal crust stands tall, holding a layer of cheese and lots of chunky tomato sauce. The Combo is stuffed with fillings: pepperoni, sweet fennel sausage, onions, green bell peppers, mushrooms, and black olives. It's a beauty to behold, and will certainly make you wonder, "How am I going to take this whole thing in?"

So what does Kylie's Chicago-style pizza teach us about sex?

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​Queen Margherita in Magnolia is the kind of neighborhood place where everybody knows your name.

It's also a restaurant where workers take pride in their pizza-making. The Caputo flour, silk to the touch, is imported from Italy. Pies are carefully handcrafted, dispatched to the wood-burning oven, and then pulled after quick-cooking.

There are many varieties on the menu. Recently, I sampled the Queen Margherita, simple yet elegant with its buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil. The Puttanesca pleased me with its briny and spicy flavors from capers, olives, and chili flakes. There's even a dessert Pizza di Nutella with a little salt spiking the chocolate hazelnut spread. Most intriguing, though, was the Dattero, delicious with its dates, gorgonzola, prosciutto crudo, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

So what does Queen Margherita's dattero pizza teach us about sex?

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​One of Seattle's hottest new restaurants is hiding...in a gelato shop. And even if you know where Il Corvo is (inside Procopio, steps down from Western Avenue behind Pike Place Market, below Kasala furniture store), you'll have to find a way to get there during the week, preferably close to 11am and certainly before the day's pasta sells out--which can be as early as 1pm.

Hopefully the crowds continue to come, as Hanna Raskin this week reminded us that good restaurants like Il Corvo can close if no one supports them. I went last week, Il Corvo's last open date for 2011, and my partner and I enjoyed three types of pasta: sagnarelli alla Bolognese (our favorite), linguini alla carbonara (pictured, and note that Naomi Bishop included the recipe along with an interview in her two-part Grillaxin feature on chef Mike Easton and his restaurant), and gnocchi with brown butter, pine nuts, golden raisins, and rosemary.

So what does Il Corvo's pasta teach us about sex?

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​One year ago, I was at 107-year-old Maneki restaurant eating soba to debut the start of The Mein Man noodle column. Several months ago, I returned to watch as Andrew Zimmern shot a portion of his television program (due to air sometime next month) there. The "Bizarre Foods" he ate ranged from fermented squid guts (ika no shiokara) to sea urchin (uni).

Earlier this month, I visited Maneki again to research a new noodle article I'm writing, and saw the sushi chef sending out some opened uni shells as part of sushi orders. I asked how the uni tasted, and he said it was good--just coming into season. Next thing I know, he gifted me an order. One of my favorite foods in the world, I carefully drizzled on a little soy sauce and enjoyed my uni feast: smooth and creamy, briny and buttery--a rich, sweet taste of the ocean.

So what does Maneki's uni teach us about sex?

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What can pasta possibly teach us about sex?

​It's been about a year and a half since I started writing Sexy Feast. There's food porn aplenty to be found on the Internet. My column, though, takes food porn to next level by taking me to one restaurant each week, where I try to figure out what one dish (or one aspect of the restaurant) teaches us about sex.

In the past year, I've been lucky to look for sexual lessons at high-end restaurants like Canlis, RN74, and Cafe Juanita, as well as "on the street" places like Mike's Chili Parlor and Marination Mobile. The food is fine everywhere, and always stimulates my sexual thinking. My experiences have led to lessons about lubrication, threesomes, bukkake, prostitution, the Pirates adult video, Internet dating, and much more.

Here I present (with links to the complete column) my top ten Sexy Feast picks for 2011, each asking the weekly question: What does each restaurant teach us about sex?

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​Trellis probably tops my list of the most underrated restaurants in the Seattle area. It's low-key, it's in a hotel (the Heathman), and it's in Kirkland. No wonder I'm always answering the "Trellis...never heard of it...where is it?" question.

This is a gem of a restaurant. Go on a Sunday or Monday, and you get a three-course meal for $29. That's a steal. Plus, there are 29 wines available at half-price.

Trellis is so good that I chose it for my recent birthday dinner. Tomatoes are always terrific there, so I started with a rustic tomato soup while pilfering a couple of slices of flatbreads from my friends--including one with arugula and thinly sliced oranges, rind and all, that was mind-blowing. My entrée was hanger steak with peperonata, and then as part of shared desserts, an old favorite: lemon-sage flan with sweet lemon cream, candied lemon zest, and sage. Light and luscious, it was perfect for the palate as a meal-ender, the citrus simply refreshing and the sage spicing it up ever so slightly.

So what does Trellis' flan teach us about sex?

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