Fresh Today

Jackie Roberts was pleased about the new brighter mercury lights in Post Alley near the Pink Door, her restaurant and cabaret at the Pike Place Market. Pleased, that is, until they were turned on for the first time. The intensity washed out her trademark pink door entrance, turning it a hue closer to dishwater yellow.

Roberts took her complaint to the Pike Place Market Historical Commission, explaining that the door was a major form of identification, and the situation was confusing to customers, including one who asked: ``Did you change ownership? Is this the Yellow Door now?''

First-timers are used to finding the Pink Door by looking for a pink door. Commission members, sympathetic with Roberts' seeing red over the yellow door, gave approval for the restaurant's chef, Joanne Sugura, an artist with the paintbrush as well as the kitchen whisk, to add some faux detailing to the entryway, making it more pronounced, perhaps with some molding. And perhaps even by writing the word ``Pink'' on the door.

Restaurantouring

John Pence will join his wife, Caprial Pence, as co-chef of Fullers restaurant in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers May 1. John, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, worked at Fullers from 1985 to 1987, followed by chef duties at La Fleur Restaurant, Cafe Sport and Place Pigalle. Now he's working at Pacifica Restaurant in Woodinville. Caprial has been chef de cuisine at Fullers since 1987. .

. . Reiner and Flavia Greubel have renovated the former Lowell's Dining at 1106 Eighth Ave. and opened the 1930 restaurant as Reiner's, serving such specialties as smoked salmon with cranberry horseradish, sauteed red snapper on savoy cabbage with smoked bacon and red wine sauce, Dungeness crab cakes with two sauces - tomato and mustard - and bread pudding with warm apple custard sauce. It's a realization of Reiner's long-held dream to own a restaurant after years of hotel restaurant work. He began his culinary career in his native Germany, then worked as a chef in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Honolulu, Los Angeles, the Westin Hotel in Seattle and the Plaza Hotel in New York City. . . . Eight restaurants will participate in Classic Cuisine - Sunday Brunch Extravaganza, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Seattle Airport Hilton ($20; call 283-2183). This benefit for the Muscular Dystrophy Association will feature specialties from the Hilton, Red Robin Restaurants, Ivar's Restaurants, the Space Needle, 13 Coins Restaurants, the Carillon Room at the Woodmark Hotel, Duke's Yacht Club and Prego at the Stouffer Madison Hotel. . . . Diana Dillard, chef and co-owner of the Rain City Grill, offers a new luncheon menu featuring such items as grilled salmon with miso, soy and brown sugar and an open-faced eggplant sandwich. And Rain City's sous chef, James Goodall, won first place for best presentation in the recent Chocolate Dessert Competition, a benefit for the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Taste treats

New from Oroweat are Australian Toaster Biscuits. Inspired by the baking powder biscuits of the Dunk Island Resort on the Coral Sea, they're shaped like an English muffin, but they have a buttermilk flavor and a texture resembling a biscuit. They're versatile - toasted for breakfast, for hot and cold sandwiches, and even for dessert as a substitute for shortcake. Try them for tuna melts and fried egg sandwiches. . . . Greenlake Baking Co., makers of Italian style biscotti, have a new product, Italian Amaretti, a crisp, airy almond cookie, made with sugar, almonds, apricot kernels and egg whites. Similar to the cookies imported from Italy, they're especially good with a cup of espresso or an after-dinner liqueur. Available at markets and espresso stands.

What's stirring

Chocolate alert: The World of Chocolate Expo & Extravaganza will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 16 and 17 in the Flag Pavilion at the Seattle Center, with chocolate tastings and demonstrations by hotel and restaurant pastry chefs. Admission is $5, with proceeds benefiting Women's American Organization for Rehabilitation Through Training. . . . Tom Douglas, owner/chef of the Dahlia Lounge, represented the Association of Chilean Salmon Farmers by preparing two of his recipes, Salmon Salad Santiago (with raisins, pine nuts, corn, pumpkin, fresh basil and green olives) and Aromatic Steamed Chilean Salmon with Cucumbers for the International Food Media Conference in Dallas. . . . Executive chef Ed Keeling of the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers developed a bento box lunch including sushi, broiled beef, cucumber salad and sweet cake with red bean paste for a luncheon of 50 Japanese businessmen. Japanese style breakfasts have been available at some Seattle hotels in recent years, and the Sheraton is considering expanding the service to lunch for Japanese and non-Japanese health-conscious guests. . . . Nancy Carlman of Vancouver, B.C., won the annual Penn Cove Mussel Festival recipe contest with her potato and mussel salad. For copies of all the recipes used in the festival's all-mussel dinners last month, send $4.50 to: The Captain Whidbey Inn, 2072 W. Captain Whidbey Inn Road, Coupeville, WA 98239. . . . Larry's Markets is sponsoring a nine-part food education series for 4-H members focusing on foods produced in the Northwest and teaching preparation techniques. . . . The American Iron and Steel Institute predicts that consumers soon can expect to find steel containers that will work in microwaves without creating fireworks displays of sparks reminiscent of the Fourth of July. ``Thinner, lighter tinplate with polymer coatings will be used for single-serve microwavable trays and containers in the near future,'' said George Silagyi, marketing manager for Bethlehem Steel. . . . Linda Hierholzer, an honors graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has become an instructor in the culinary arts program at Seattle Central Community College. . . . The Seattle Repertory Organization's annual cooking series is from 10 a.m. to noon March 11, 18 and 25 and April 1 and 15 at The Rep's Stage Door Canteen. Chefs include Yannis and Vasilios Katotakis of Orestes', Curtis Sousontana of the Arrowhead Cafe, Paul Michael of the Queen City Grill, Luigi DeNunzio of al Boccalino, and John Sarich and Marianne Zdobysz of Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery ($75; call Claire Malena, 932-7487).

Fresh Today by Larry Brown appears Wednesday in the Food section of The Times.