Announcing Plate of Nations 2018!

Seattle, WA. – SEATTLE FOOD LOVERS UNITE! From March 23 to April 8 Seattle’s most diverse community will transport taste buds from across the city on a culinary expedition of world cuisine unlike any available in the 206 as part of the 8th Annual Plate of Nations [PON].

For two mouthwatering weeks, South Seattle restaurants representing more than 30 cultures from around the world will assemble to present a rolling banquet of global cuisine.

Notably inclusive Seattleites can savor Mediterranean seared lamb kababs, Vietnamese duck noodle Soup, Eritrean stewed lentils, and satiate the palette with luxurious red wine from the Argentinian province of La Rioja.
Such a feast would normally mean exhaustive globetrotting and depleted frequent flyer mile accounts, Plate of Nations involves a simple venture to Seattle’s most historically diverse neighborhoods in Rainier Valley.
While the community houses more than 80 ethnicities and 57 languages, Plate of Nations will see it play host to the most universal language of all: Exquisite cuisine.

This years PON invites all who love food, all who embrace culture, and all who prize togetherness to unite in showing the rest of this great country that when it comes down to it, there may be many plates, but we are one nation!

As in previous years, the nearly three-week event will see participating restaurants offer special $20 and $30 sharable meals. Participating restaurants include the Original Philly’s (American East Coast), Café Ibex (Ethiopian), Little Chengdu (Sichuan), Bananas Grill (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern), Rainier BBQ (Vietnamese), The Wine Station (international), Taco Chukis (Mexican), Bar del Corso (Italian), Big Chickie (Peruvian), Olympic Express (Southeast Asian/Cham Vietnamese Halal), Foo Lam (Chinese), Momona (Eritrean), and Taco Street (Mexican).

Kicked off in 2011 by the MLK Business Association, Plate of Nations was created to showcase the rich cultural traditions and breadth of great food found at MLK restaurants. It was the brainchild of Asari Mohamath, a Cham Muslim refugee from Vietnam and former owner of Salima restaurant, who wanted to develop a unified marketing event to highlight the unique and authentic cuisines offered by his fellow restaurants owners in the area.

Last year’s event amassed tens of thousands of attendees from more than 5 different states, 20 different cities in Washington State, and neighborhoods from all quadrants of Seattle.

The 8th annual Plate of Nations is sponsored by the MLK Business Association, City of Seattle’s Office of
Economic Development, Vulcan, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, and HomeSight.

“We get so many new customers during the event not just because our food is so good,” said one of The Original Philly’s owners Guy Thomas, “but also because it is fun to participate in Plate of Nations.”

The MLK Business Association (MLK BA) is a non-profit organization established in 2008 to
serve the businesses along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in Seattle. Its vision is to “build a
strong, vibrant, and culturally diverse business community that is a destination second to none in the Pacific Northwest.”