Nosh Pit

Cheap Eats: $2 Sausage

Through October, Fonté will bring you a two-buck brat when you buy a brew.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Oct 05, 2010 at 02:18PM 4 Comments

You gotta love the Bavarian Deli, that most charming little German sausage shop in Pike Place Market.

Through October, Fonté Cafe and Wine Bar will charge you just $2 for a bratwurst from Bavarian Deli when you buy a beer. I may not always love the service at Fonté, but I can always get behind the beers they serve, especially the Unibroue Maudite from Quebec.

Also currently on tap at Fonté: Leavenworth Oktoberfest.

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Tags: Downtown, Cheap Eats, Total Sausagefests

Lecosho Opens Along the Harbor Steps

The downtown restaurant starts serving at 3pm every day; lunch will begin in a few weeks.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 23, 2010 at 10:39AM 0 Comments

Matt Janke’s new restaurant Lecosho is now officially open for business.

I stopped by to check it out yesterday evening and was impressed by how smooth things felt among the servers. This, plus the fact that Janke’s ridiculously adorable child was happily running around outside the restaurant, recruiting an ATM machine for a game of hide and seek with another adorable child, gave the restaurant a preternaturally lived-in feeling. I wouldn’t have known it was brand new if I didn’t know it was brand new.

Besides entrees and a selection of sides, the menu includes a number of small plates/apps—short ribs, a goat cheesecake served with crackers, a bibb lettuce wedge—and a casual bar section where you can eat them.

Janke says that for the first few weeks he’ll open at 3pm for happy hour. Dinner begins at 5 and then the restaurant has a late night HH that starts at 10pm and goes until 1am.

Lecosho will start serving lunch in a few weeks. It is open every day.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Downtown

Sushi and San Fran Jam: Two Very Cool Cooking Classes

There are lots of cooking classes in Seattle. These two look especially enticing.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 16, 2010 at 06:19AM 0 Comments

1. Did you know that sushi chef Hajime Sato, a guy we consider to be one of the most fascinating food people in Seattle, teaches classes on sushi-making at Diane’s Market Kitchen in Post Alley Downtown? It’s true. The next class is on Sunday, September 26 and costs $125; the price includes sake samples as well as the box of sushi you go home with. Register here.

2. Seattle foodies are crazy for jam. Making jam. Talking about making jam. Jam. So it’s a bit of a big deal that Kim Ricketts Book Events has invited jammer extraordinaire Rachel Saunders, author of The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, to come up from San Francisco and give us a demo. The event takes place at Dish it Up on Tuesday, September 28 at 6:30pm. You pay $65, a price that includes the demo, wine and apps, a jar of jam, and a signed copy of the cookbook. Get your ticket here.

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Tags: Downtown, Sushi, Canning and pickling,

Openings

Five Forthcoming Restaurants to Watch

Where you’ll find us in the coming months.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 14, 2010 at 08:46AM 2 Comments

Summer is on the out, and with it the swell of restaurant openings that leave foodies (and the journalists who cover them) both exhilarated and exhausted. But before you wipe clean that fork, let’s look at five more eateries to keep on your checklist. Given their building buzz, they just might prove the blowouts of the brand-news.

The Book Bindery
Patric Gabre-Kidan, the erstwhile business partner of Ethan Stowell, is heading the venture of Mike Almquist at 198 Nickerson Street. He partners with longtime friend and chef Shaun McCrain, a Seattle native who brings with him a storied culinary background that’s placed him at Michelin favorites the world wide. Last time we checked in with Gabre-Kidan, he expected construction would be complete September 15, with a soft open “probably somewhere around the 22nd.”

The Skillet diner
After years of trolling Seattle’s streets, the seminal burgers-and-more mobile goes brick-and-mortar. Though early reports have placed the retro diner on Capitol Hill come early spring, Josh Henderson is getting a head start recruiting sit-down regulars: He’s previewing the forthcoming menu —including seared sockeye, mac and cheese, poutine, spiced pork belly—at Mount Baker Club through September 15.

Terra Plata
The contentious legal battle surrounding the proposed restaurant has kept Brasa mourners on tenterhooks: will or won’t Tamara Murphy open her latest kitchen in the Melrose Market? Murphy will, she’s confirmed. Construction is underway, and, cute, hanging flower baskets line the exterior. Look for it preholiday season.

Lecosho
The Matt of Matt’s in the Market stakes a claim on the Harbor Steps. Matt Janke’s no longer affiliated with the Pike Place mainstay, and here partners with Jill Buchanan and chef Mike Easton for a local, seasonal, and occidental menu. Considering the name (“lecosho” is the Chinook term for pig or swine), expect a porcine plate or two. There have been murmurs of live music and outdoor seating, too. The opening is imminent.

Din Tai Fung
The international dumpling canteen has fans in Anthony Bourdain and the Michelin folk, who just awarded the Hong Kong outpost with a star. Those hand-rolled soup dumplings, called xiao long bao, are the thing to order at the Bellevue branch when it opens in October or November, though note the $10-and-under lunch-dinner-late-night menu also offers rice and noodle dishes.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Bellevue, Downtown, Capitol Hill, Skillet

Openings

Japonessa Sushi Cocina Debuts Downtown

Here’s a peek at the signature dishes.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Aug 03, 2010 at 12:20PM 2 Comments

The doors are open at Japonessa Sushi Cocina, the restaurant occupying 1400 First Avenue, aka the former home of Union.

Co-owners Jason Koh and Billy Beach have created a Japanese-heavy menu with a tinge of Latin flair. “The fusion [is] mainly in the marinades and sauces,” Koh told Nosh Pit in June. Beach is also the chef and used to be affiliated with Umi Sake House and Kushibar.

Deal-oriented diners will be pleased to know happy hour is long and often. In the dining room it runs daily 11:30 am-6:30pm, then 6:30pm-8pm in the bar, and again 10pm-1am Thu-Sat. During this time, rolls top out at $4.50, sashimi costs $5-$10, and bites from the kitchen are $4 and $5.

Lunch is served every day 11:30am-2:30pm; dinner, Sun-Wed 2:30pm-11:30pm and Thu-Sat until 1am. Here’s a peak peek at Beach’s specialties:

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Downtown, Seattle Restaurant Openings

Openings

Former Matt’s in the Market Owner Moving into Harbor Steps

Construction begins on his new restaurant, Lecosho.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jun 02, 2010 at 01:50PM 0 Comments

Word’s out on Matt Janke’s new restaurant, Lecosho, opening on the Harbor Steps downtown. Rumors have been floating for some time that Janke—the Matt from Matt’s in the Market, the Pike Place showstopper he once owned—had been eying the former home of Koji Osakaya, and today word comes via email that he and business partner Jill Buchanan have signed a lease.

Anyone familiar with Harbor Steps has no doubt noticed the buzz of activity there in recent months. Construction has commenced, and the restaurant should be ready for business toward the end of summer. As for who will chef the venture, Janke’s keeping mum, only noting “talks have begun.” Diners can expect a lunch-dinner menu inspired by regional, seasonal fare. Considering the name (“lecosho” is the Chinook term for pig or swine), we’re guessing porcine plates will dominate.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Downtown, Seattle Restaurant Openings

Openings

Sullivan’s Steakhouse Opening June 19

The chain takes over the Two Union Square space left vacant by Lost Lady American Cantina.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on May 18, 2010 at 09:30AM 1 Comments

Here’s hoping the third time’s the charm. National chain Sullivan’s Steakhouse is set to open June 19 at Sixth and Union, the corner formely occupied by the trouble-ridden Lost Lady American Cantina, and before that, Union Square Grill.

In addition to fresh seafood and an obviously meat-heavy menu, big-bucks Sullivan’s promises nightly entertainment, an impressive booze list, and a handsome cigar collection, living up to its claim of recreating the WWII–era Chicago chophouse.

When it opens, the Seattle location will will mark the twentieth for Sullivan’s but the first in the Pacific Northwest.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Downtown, Seattle Restaurant Openings

Midday Matters

Oh Happy Day for Downtown Drones

Cherry Street has brought back the good bread.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 09, 2010 at 01:34PM 3 Comments

Fast, healthy, tasty: the all-important, all-too-rare qualities we need from our weekday lunch spots. For a long time Cherry Street Coffee possessed all three. A cup of its homemade black bean soup topped with feta and accompanied by toasted olive bread was a happy little break on a wet, wintery Wednesday.

But then Cherry Street switched from sandwich bread to these sad, sad, rolls that never tasted totally fresh and left your mouth feeling all powdery. But now—oh happy day—the sliced bread has returned.

“We had a olive revolution!” Cherry Street’s AJ Ghambari wrote to me in an exclamation point-packed email. “The sliced bread is here to stay! Also sliced wheat! Our customers said ‘bring it back.’ Plus the rolls we getting to be way too inconsistent.”

Way to go Cherry Street customers. The good bread is back.

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Tags: Downtown, Lunch, Bread

Food Events

Baconopolis Returns!

Pig out (pun apologies) on bacon this Friday, February 26.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 22, 2010 at 03:10PM 2 Comments

It’s that time a year again, the time when Tom Douglas’s Palace Ballroom showcases 10 (count ’em) different dishes featuring salty hog strips: Baconopolis returns for a second year this Friday, February 26 from 6 to 8pm.

Your dishes, should you choose to accept them:

* B.L.A.T. * Bacon Cured Whole Pig * Bacon Cornbread Muffin * Pork n’ Beans * Bacon Explosion * Elvis’ Favorite: Hot Peanut Butter, Banana and Bacon * Classic Carbonara (the winning item from last year’s event!) * Bacon Fried Rice * Bacon Biscuit Sandwich with Gravy * Bacon Filled Doughnut with Maple Glaze and Bacon Salt

The cost is $30 per person and includes a glass of beer or wine. Call to reserve: 206-448-2001. Just don’t go telling the doctor we sent you.

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Tags: Downtown, Food Finds, Tom Douglas

Lunch Issues

Talk Soup

You can never have enough soup sources, can you? Here is a roundup of downtown spots that ladle up the good stuff.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 17, 2010 at 02:08PM 1 Comments

I work downtown and I eat soup. You too? Let’s talk.

Let’s talk about onion soup first, and how the oh-so-civilized Le Pichet makes the real deal just the way they do in Lyon: that means a stewlike consistency with a beefy broth and a no-fear approach to buttery onion content, two massive croutons, and a blanket of thick, gooey gruyere that forms strings from the bowl all the way up to the spoon at your mouth. Suck those up nonchalantly and hope your dining companion pretends not to notice. Place Pigalle also makes a mean onion soup gratinee.

Let’s move on to lentil soup. You’ll encounter one of two types at the Crumpet Shop: French lentil and tomato ginger lentil, they never serve both on the same day. Order a bowl of either with sour cream and cilantro along with a crumpet doused in butter and topped with honey.

Cafe Paloma in Pioneer Square makes a fine lentil soup in the lemony Lebanese style, and they serve it with an ample pile of fresh pita triangles for dipping. By all means, dip. But prepare to exercise patience, the service here is not speedy.

In Belltown, tiny Cafe Lieto (1909 First Ave)—now also a late night biscuits-and-gravy spot on weekends—serves up expectations-defying homemade chicken and dumplings for weekday lunch. Be warned: it sells out fast.

The various Cherry Street Cafes have two or three healthy soups daily, usually some combination of tomato, clam chowder, Egyptian lentil, black bean, or coconut curry with tofu. These come with a side of buttered toast—the olive bread is the best one. Elliot Bay Café tends to have beef stew and vegetarian chili, but we won’t talk about that since it is moving. [UPDATE: I was mistaken. The EBC will continue to operate in Pioneer Square.]

As far as I can tell (please let me know if I’m wrong) the best pho in the area is to be had at Julie’s Garden in Pioneer Square. This recommendation does not necessarily extend to everything on the menu, but the soup is delicious.

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Tags: Downtown, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, Lunch, Soup

Openings

Something Unexpected at the Hard Rock Cafe

There aren’t a lot of surprises at the new Seattle Hard Rock, until you get up to the roof.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 08, 2010 at 10:54AM 3 Comments

The new Hard Rock Cafe on Pike Street at First Avenue will have its soft opening on February 10; I went over this morning for a sneak peak.

Downstairs, the place looks exactly like what you’d expect from a Hard Rock Cafe: there is a gift shop, and booths with individual TV screens—diners vote on what song they hope to hear next over the sound system. Seattle rock paraphernalia lines the walls. There’s an acoustic guitar along the body of which Eddie Vedder taped notes on the lyrics to “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” to help him remember; an incoherent ramble of a letter sent by Courtney Love to Spin Magazine; a totally 80s jagged white electric guitar that once belonged to Heart.

Inside a drinks menu are bright images of cobranded cocktails like the Blue Devil: Captain Morgan, Curacao, margarita mix, and Monin wildberry syrup. Yowsa.

I asked director of operations Kelly Marshall what differentiated the Seattle restaurant from the 161 other Hard Rocks around the globe and she pointed to the beer taps—the Hard Rock here pours Northwest brews like Deschutes Black Butte and Mac and Jacks. She talked about the “Java Lava” burger: an espresso-rubbed patty covered in some kind of tangy coffee sauce, and the philanthropic partnership the Hard Rock has brokered with nearby Pike Place Market. She also mentioned that the Hard Rock Seattle is working towards a gold-level LEEDS certification, the first in the company.

One level up is the stage area: capacity 400, according to press materials. The Hard Rock has started booking local bands and shows will begin in early March. The memorabilia continues on the walls upstairs, so you can engage in the incongruous activity of watching some struggling band while standing next to a framed man purse once toted by Jimi Hendrix.

Go up one more level and you’re on the Hard Rock’s surprising rooftop deck: a very beautiful, understated lounge with gas firepits and its own small bar, not to mention an addictive view of the market and sound beyond. It was really quite something to walk around this virgin space this morning, before one Blue Devil has been poured in the face of one distressed jeans-wearing douchebag, before one Black Eyed Peas song has defiled the state-of-the-art sound system.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Downtown, Seattle Restaurant Openings

Eat and Give

Eat Food, Help Haiti

Full Tilt, Coastal Kitchen, Campagne, and Theo Chocolate donate profits to relief organizations.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 15, 2010 at 03:00PM 3 Comments

Horrified by the devastation in Haiti? Here are ways to help:

Profits earned this Sunday, the 17th of January at Full Tilt ice cream will go to the Red Cross’s relief efforts.

Meanwhile next Thursday, January 21st, 25 percent of sales on EVERYTHING sold at Coastal Kitchen between 8am and 10pm will go towards Mercy Corps—another aid organization helping Haiti.

On Monday the 25th, Campagne is hosting a three-course bouillabaisse dinner. Suggested donations $100 per person, and 100 percent of that will go to Doctors Without Borders—the organization many are calling the most effective in Haiti right now. Call 206-728-2800 for reservations.

And Theo Chocolate fans: 100 percent of the price of classic milk and dark chocolate bars are currently going to CARE.

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Tags: Downtown, Haiti, Benefit Dinners