Nosh Pit

Two New Specialty Shops Set to Open in the Melrose Project

First-time business owners bring artisanal touches to the urban marketplace.

Posted by: Tiffany Wan on Mar 11, 2010 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

An architectural rendering of the Melrose Project, located between Pike and Pine Streets on Capitol Hill.

In the coming weeks look for two new storefronts at the Melrose Project on Capitol Hill.

Sheri LaVigne will finally open cheese shop Calf and Kid after flaky financial backers bowed out last summer. Expect to find local offerings from Black Sheep Creamery, Blue Rose Dairy, Mt. Townsend Creamery, and more, as well as a variety of cheese accompaniments (olives, pâté, crackers) and fresh bread. LaVigne plans to work with Homegrown (a soon-to-be fellow Melrose Project merchant) to offer a daily sandwich featuring cheese from Calf and Kid.

“There’s great cheese counters in other grocery stores,” she said, “but in my store it’s going to be an incredible amount of expertise from myself and the other employees behind the counter.”

Bonus: Sampling is highly encouraged. LaVigne is shooting for an early-to-mid April opening.

Though Marigold and Mint will primarily function as a flower shop, owner Katherine Anderson, a Harvard-educated landscape architect, will also carry a selection of seasonal produce—lettuce, carrots, pears, plums, broccoli, and kale— from Oxbow Farm, which is located south of Duvall.

She also plans to operate a produce delivery service between May and October. (Note half-portion orders will be offered.) During the off-season, Anderson will stock starter vegetable plants, like heirloom tomatoes, and she hopes to grow edible flowers and sell them to bartenders and chefs. Marigold and Mint will have a soft opening April 1.

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Tags: Openings, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Locavore News, Grocery Shopping

Taste of the Town: Linda Derschang

Want to get in good with Cap Hill’s coolest lady? Then stock up on cookies and Dick’s cheeseburgers.

Posted by: Caitlin King on Mar 09, 2010 at 08:50AM 1 Comments

Fierce. Linda Derschang shows Amsterdam what Seattle style looks like.

Linda Derschang first gave Hill dwellers a place to party when she opened Linda’s in 1994, and since she’s followed up with other hot spots like Smith and Oddfellows. Though she’s often jetting off to hang in her NYC apartment with dog Jack, home is still where the Hill is—you’re likely to find Derschang sipping coffee at the Pine St Stumptown or sneaking into the Oddfellows cookie stash.

What is your favorite cookbook?
Here’s a short list: Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin; A16 Food and Wine by Nate Appleman; Momofuku by David Chang; and Pork and Sons by Stephane Reynaud. I have quite a large collection for someone that rarely cooks. Perhaps that’s why I typically choose cookbooks with gorgeous photographs.

When you have out-of-town guests, what restaurants do you take them to?
Spinasse, Café Presse, Corson Building, and Cantinetta are my current faves.

What is your guilty food pleasure?
Cookies! In New York I love the compost cookies from Milk Bar. In Seattle I can’t stay away from the Oddfellows cookies, which is convenient as I’m there quite a bit.

Where is your go-to place for cheap eats?
It’s a tie between Rancho Bravo Tacos and Skillet. And I do love to go to Dick’s for a cheeseburger and a Diet Coke every so often. It’s so old-school Seattle.

What’s your favorite book?
I love to read (and only the old fashioned way—no Kindle for me) so it’s hard to pick a favorite, but I just finished, and absolutely loved, Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids. Also, I’m a huge Christopher Isherwood fan and am about to start A Single Man. I loved Tom Ford’s film so much.

What is your staple drink?
Usually a Manhattan made with rye, but that will probably change with warm weather to an Americano or a Tom Collins. With no alcohol involved, I always love an Arnold Palmer. Say that three times fast.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Taste of the Town, Linda Derschang

Chicken Coop Potluck on Capitol Hill

Learn the ins and outs of raising your own chickens at The Cherry Hill Urban Farm on Saturday, March 6.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Mar 05, 2010 at 09:35AM 1 Comments

We are watching.

I saw this on the CHS blog yesterday, thought it was pretty neat. The Cherry Hill Urban Farm (1127 15th Ave) on Capitol Hill is having a potluck slash BBQ slash chicken coop-building party on Saturday, March 6 from 9am to 9pm, with live music to boot.

But there will also be live chickens poking about, so maybe this isn’t the potluck for showing off your famous CHICKEN WINGS recipe. Or maybe it is, what do I know? I’ve never attended a potluck slash BBQ slash chicken coop-building party. I don’t really know the etiquette. But this sounds fun, and if you’ve ever considered raising your own chickens, here is your golden opportunity to pick the brains of the egg-eating, coop-building elite. Just know that if you bring DEVILED EGGS, the chickens will watch you with their beady little chicken eyes as you offer around your delicious snacks made from their unborn young. Or maybe they won’t. I don’t know!

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Locavore News, Party, Sustainable Such and Such

Cheap Date: Roast Chicken for Two

You’ll have to wait an hour for the feast, but this Cafe Presse specialty is worth it.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Mar 04, 2010 at 10:00AM 1 Comments

In the back is where it’s at.

When it’s the middle of the week, and the days have been long, and you need to ditch reality for a few, go to Café Presse. Request to sit in the back, where the narrow bank of tables is beset by cascading, candle-lined windows. Order the whole roasted chicken for two. Order it as soon as you sit. Because, as is stated on the menu in underlined letters, it takes one hour to cook. To the weary traveler, this seems like a long time, almost not worth it.

But it is, and it’s not when you have a pichet of red wine, which can cost as little as $14, and a frisée salad with beets, bleu cheese, and pear. All finished? Ask for a demi-pichet, which starts at $7 and gets you two more (generous) glasses of wine, then nibble on the eye candy: a fashionably boho bunch of servers who wear Euro-waif in that only-in-Seattle way. If this tasty scene doesn’t, hearty baguettes will hold you over until the chicken finally arrives.

When it does, your server brings two ramekins filled with seasoned mayo. Ask for four. Gluttonous, yes, but also necessary to soften the salted crunch of pomme frites against the insanely tender chicken, which is conveniently apportioned for two, and, at $26, is a ridiculous deal.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, cheap eats, Cheap Date

Seeking Something Fishy

Where to go when a whole fish is what you want.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 22, 2010 at 02:00PM 2 Comments

It looked like this.

Went to Monsoon over the weekend and tried out one of the evening’s specials: an entire grilled sea bass stuffed with lemons and herbs. The server took out the spine but kept the head on at our behest (love those cheeks), and then we went to town scraping away fluffy hunks of filet. Things can get a bit bony—you do need to take care to avoid swallowing any. Still, the dish makes for a fun feast that’s out of the ordinary.

I want more, but I can’t for the life of me recall seeing this on other menus around town. Anybody have some suggestions?

Psst: When you order this, ask your server for sprigs of mint, glass noodles, and full lettuce leaves. In the lettuce spoon up the noodles, then add a mint leaf or two. On top of those plop a healthy serving of fish. Roll it up and dip in a spicy vinegar dressing. It’s a delicious trick I learned in Thailand. Think of it as an Asian taco.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Food Finds