Nosh Pit

Feast of the Week: Ventana

Once a month Joseph Conrad crafts multi-course meals covering the corners of the globe.

Posted by: Judy Naegeli on Aug 23, 2010 at 01:40PM 0 Comments

All photos courtesy Ventana.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

All photos courtesy Ventana.

View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration:

What: Monthly Sunday Supper

Where: Ventana, 2323 First Ave, Belltown

Why you should go: Food tastes better over conversation, so the Ventana folks serve family-style. Executive chef Joseph Conrad kicks off the convo by personally introducing the three-course spreads inspired by a rotating regional cuisine. Past menus have hailed from northern Italy—that one meant entrees of stuffed goose, a buckwheat noodle bake, and polenta curiga, with flatbread pizza to start and Nutella panna cotta or almond rosewater biscotti to finish—as well as Cuba, Greece, and Thailand.

Cost: $25/person for three courses; $15/person to add wine pairing

Reservations: Highly recommended; call 206-441-4789

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Tags: Belltown, Special Dinners, Feast of the Week

Brasa Closes

Owner looks forward to new projects

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on May 20, 2010 at 12:02PM 0 Comments

Earlier this week, Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times wrote a what’s-up-with-that? blog post detailing swirling rumors that Brasa, the Belltown behemoth with the most excellent of happy hours, had closed. Tamara Murphy responded with a letter confirming as much.

“Although an end of an era, it is also the beginning of a new one for Tamara and Bryan,” it reads. “There are many exciting opportunities in the works. I look forward to building Terra Plata, the new Elliott Bay Cafe opening on Capitol Hill in a couple of weeks, an event space in Pioneer Square adjacent to my cafe (aka the former Reading Room of the Elliott Bay Book Company) and my first book Tender to be released this summer.”

Brasa will be missed. I, for one, have always admired the urbane interior, it had a sweeping drama that set it apart from the little-restaurant-in-house pack.

And the situation with Belltown is an alarming one. Belltown, Downtown, Pioneer Square: three great city neighborhoods in serious peril. I’ve lived in a city where the downtown area was deserted on evenings and weekends. I’d hate to see that happen here.

Look forward to following what Murphy does next.

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Tags: Belltown, Seattle Restaurant Closings

Pinxto Opens Tonight

The Belltown tapas bar takes over the erstwhile Txori space.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on May 06, 2010 at 09:15AM 0 Comments

Pinxto, the new restaurant assuming the erstwhile Txori space, opens to the public tonight at 5pm. You may recall owners C.J. Chaney and Cory Chigbrow were originally shooting for an April 23 debut; that was delayed due to unforeseen “paperwork.”

The Basque bar will carry on in the tradition of its predecessor, with a rotating menu that will include Spanish-style tapas emphasizing Northwest ingredients.

Hours are currently set for Tuesday-Sunday 5pm-10pm, but those will likely be extended soon.

Read more about how Pintxo came to be here.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Belltown

Friday Night Specials: March 5

Sardines, salmon, or sturgeon? Belltown is serving up seafood tonight.

Posted by: Kaitlin Nunn on Mar 05, 2010 at 11:53AM 0 Comments

Belltown summons! Three excellent eateries are clanging their bells with great specials this evening.

The cooks at Basque tapas bar Txori does specials just like they do in the motherland: They let the chalkboards do the enticing. Every Friday and Saturday, a slew of raciones and pintxos are chalked down 20 percent. This Friday, it’s two fresh sardines with smashed potatoes (not mashed, mind you: a whole red potato gets smashed, then cooked again) for $11, or, for those of the vegetarian persuasion, there is baked eggplant with smoked sheep’s cheese for $6.

For a larger portion, go with the red wine-brushed lamb shank with potato mousse for $14, and pair that with the red house wine Protos Roble 2006 from Ribera del Duero in the North of Spain, $7 a glass.

Or, catch Flying Fish before it leaps over to South Lake Union. Tonight the iconic seafood joint is featuring spring Chinook salmon braised with kale and apple bacon chutney for $29. But start with the beet salad with Belgian endive, cinnamon-sherry vinagrette, and Roquefort cheese. Pair all that with a glass of Patient Cottat sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire Valley, $9.

Meanwhile, the very Italian Assagio has an appetizer of baby short ribs in a reduction of red wine over polenta for $15, and entrees include a sturgeon sauteed with lemon capers ($28) and risotto with beef, wild mushrooms, and a red wine demi-glace for $18.

Sounds delicious.

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Tags: Belltown, Special Dinners, Seafood

Flying Fish Jumps Ship

After 15 years in Belltown, the well-loved seafood spot moves to South Lake Union.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 13, 2010 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Seattle Times writer Nancy Leson reported this morning that Belltown’s Flying Fish restaurant will be moving to South Lake Union. The new location is at the corner Of Westlake Avenue North and Thomas Street.

Flying Fish chef/owner Christine Keff confirmed to me that she hopes to move by May, and said the 15-year-old Belltown restaurant will be open “almost to the very day” that the new SLU spot starts serving. What changes can we expect? “I think it will feel like the same restaurant but taste and look a little different,” said Keff. She plans to update the decor and add some “lighter more contemporary” dishes to the menu.

Other highend restaurants in the SLU area include John Howie’s Seastar and Mistralkitchen. The latter restaurant’s precursor, Mistral, was also in Belltown. Tom Douglas is reportedly considering a new restaurant in South Lake Union as well, though that project will be further down the line. Stay tuned.

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Tags: South Lake Union, Restaurants, Belltown, Vulcan