Nosh Pit Blog

Reopenings

First Look: Hunger Reopens Down the Hill

The former Dad Watson’s space gets a Mediterranean makeover.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 24, 2012 at 11:45AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

A fancy new sign is the first indicator that Hunger is all grown up. Photo: Morgen Schuler

View Slideshow »

Hunger still has a Fremont Ave address, but the formerly tiny Mediterranean-leaning restaurant now occupies spacious new digs in the heart of the neighborhood. After shuttering the original space earlier this month, owners Brian Brooks and Jaime Mullins-Brooks have reopened in the former Dad Watson’s space. Hunger 2.0 is about three times larger than the original, and couple is still downright giddy about all their newfound space, large enough to house all their ideas and ambitions.

The menu is significantly larger, including a lot more fresh seafood. Mullins-Brooks says the old kitchen setup made it difficult to properly prepare dishes like tuna, scallops, and halibut now available to diners. Brunch will return in a few weeks; right now the couple is busy training all the new staff (larger space = larger staff). A late-night menu is available until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 11 the rest of the week. Happy hour remains 4 to 6, and the new back bar, relatively enormous compared with the old one, is stocked with an expanded array of booze.

Though the space is downright cavernous, it still feels like Hunger. Once Brooks and Mullins-Brooks hired a design team, the couple immediately invited them to dinner at the old Hunger, so everyone could get a feel for the cozy vibe they wanted to translate to the new space.

As for that exciting new staffer? The couple says they have four new cooks in the kitchen, and the couple says they decided “our staff is all equal and we’ve really created a family environment,” hence they’re hesitant to highlight any one person.

As soon as the weather cooperates, Hunger will fire up its spacious new patio,
sure to be prime alfresco real estate all summer long, but particularly during Solstice weekend. Meanwhile, check photographer Morgen Schuler’s slideshow of the space and one seriously come-hither burger.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Revamps, First Look, Hunger, Brian Brooks, Jaime Mullins-Brooks

Seattle Restaurant Openings

First Look: Collections Cafe

The restaurant at Chihuly Garden and Glass opens today with notable culinary talent in tow.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on May 21, 2012 at 02:00PM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Accordions hang the length of the space. Chihuly’s father and brother both played the instrument, which spurred him to start this particular collection.

View Slideshow »

We’ve got a few days until that Pie spinoff opens at the Armory, so in the meantime here’s something to chew on: Collections Cafe begins service today.

Designers have chosen an exceedingly cheerful palette for the lofty space—frankly, a welcome contrast to this city’s many subdued rooms—while the kitchen is backed by some equally colorful talent. Jason Wilson of Crush helped hone the Northwest-leaning menu that Jeff Maxfield and Ivan Szilak are executing. Szilak’s resume includes a stint as executive chef at The Hunt Club, and Maxfield’s sous cheffing at Canlis.

The restaurant is housed within the mammoth Chihuly exhibition at Seattle Center, and is informed by the glass guy’s rigorous collecting hobby (who knew?). Prominent throughout are vintage radios, accordions of yesteryear, bottle openers, and other tchotchkes reminiscent of those I Spy books, which you can peep in the slideshow.

All photos by Seattlemet.com photographer Lucas Anderson.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, First Look, Seattle Center House, Collections Cafe

Sugar Highs

First Look: Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

Brace yourself for salted pretzels with chocolate sauce, s’more cookies, salted caramel cinnamon rolls and Laphroaig milkshakes.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 18, 2012 at 09:15AM Speech Bubble 1 Comments

The space at 5427 Ballard Ave NW is now home to two cozy seating areas and a counter surfaced in wood from an old Oregon dairy farm.

View Slideshow »

Over on Ballard Ave, the nexus of all that is edible right now, Autumn Martin is readying her Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery for its opening. And even her construction detritus is adorable. Old-timey wooden clothes pins, a box of vintage photographs, and scads of diminutive glass jars and bottles are scattered around the dessert shop’s brick-and-wood interior.

Farmers market regulars know Martin and her Hot Cakes brand as purveyors of take-and-bake chocolate cakes that come in wee mason jars, and cookies in killer combinations like salted peanut butter and oatmeal, raisin, and bacon. Now the former head chocolatier at Theo (and before that lead pastry cook at Canlis) is about to give her creations a permanent home. On the menu: her signature cakes with custom toppings, s’more cookies, salted caramel cinnamon rolls, and pocket pies with fillings both sweet and savory.

There will also be booze—think milkshakes made with Laphroaig, smoked chocolate, smoked cocoa powder, and chocolate ice cream. Nonbooze versions come in flavors like blackberry lavender, salted caramel with dark chocolate, or malted vanilla sweet cream. Fend off sugar overload with a grilled cheese or broccoli salad from the small savory menu.

Hot Cakes opens officially on Monday, though if you’re wandering Ballard over the weekend—particularly during the Sunday farmers market—don’t be surprised if some sweets are for sale at the shop. Incidentally, Martin is taking a hiatus of six weeks or so from the farmers markets so all her employees can help the new space get off to a smooth start.

The kitchen, which also serves as the production headquarters for all things Hot Cakes, looks like one of those unrealistically quaint kitchens in movies where female chefs wander around with perfectly coiffed hair and wear lipstick all day. But instead of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Martin has Lucy Damkoehler, whose unofficial title is kitchen manager, and her job duties include staying up late at night with her boss, geeking out about dessert possibilities. The two met years ago, when Martin was at Theo and Damkoehler was at Taste. The doughnuts that made her famous in that job won’t appear at Hot Cakes (there’s no fryer here) but Damkoehler will be making her freaking awesome salted pretzels, along with some sweet dipping sauces (salted caramel, chocolate, jam, and peanut butter milk chocolate sauce).

Once the shop finds its legs, Martin plans to resume her chocolate work, teaching classes and holding events square in the middle of that kitchen. Meanwhile, hit up the slideshow above for more details, a glimpse at the space, the charm, and the smallest lounge in Seattle.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, First Look, Autumn Martin, Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

Openings

First Look: Evo Tapas Kitchen and Cabaret Opens May 4

The Social-adjacent space will offer small plates and big sound.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Apr 27, 2012 at 02:00PM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

The sleek exterior (designed to rust over time) at Capitol Hill’s new one-stop nightlife spot. Photo: Morgen Schuler

View Slideshow »

Capitol Hill: brace yourself. On Friday, May 4, the space at 1715 Olive Way ends more than a year of construction to unleash upon the neighborhood a huge new nightclub (or whatever the kids are calling it these days) from Chris Pardo and Laura Olson, as well as an adjacent tapas restaurant and lounge with a killer performance space (and patio) from Todd Nordahl, longtime owner of the dearly departed Rosebud on Pike Street.

Today Nordahl, chef David Leopoldo, and event manager Colby Barnes let us in for a preview of what’s to come when Evo Tapas Kitchen and Cabaret opens its doors at 3pm that Friday. Nordahl says the space has the same convivial, live entertainment–fueled spirit as Rosebud, but in sleek new digs that reflects his new partnership with Pardo and Olson, the couple behind Grim’s and the opening of Manhattan Drugs.

Evo and sprawling ultra lounge The Social want to offer an entire night’s worth of entertainment in one place. Enter beneath the metal-wrapped signage and a hallway leads to the Social, while Evo is on the right. The interior boasts the soaring ceiling, aged wood, and ornate wallpaper one would expect from a stylish Capitol Hill establishment. Add to that a compact elevated stage, projection screens, and an extreme sound system, and you’ve got a place that reflects Nordahl’s love of supporting local performers, in a space much better suited to house them than Rosebud was. The screens will also show some time-lapse footage of Olive Way traffic that sounds like it could be seriously hypnotic.

Evo’s menu is entirely tapas, drawing from countries all around the Mediterranean, including Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Italy’s Tuscany region. Leopoldo, a Hawaii native whose resume includes culinary study in Barcelona and, most recently, cooking at Barrio, says he’s particularly excited about his mussels with chorizo. The wine list will also hew Mediterranean, with some Washington shout-outs for local-leaning drinkers.

As the “cabaret” part of its name suggests, Evo will also be a place for music, karaoke, burlesque shoes and DJs. The joint ownership means Evo can coordinate its musical offerings with the Social, so live jazz won’t be fighting with hip-hop. Come to Evo for dinner and your cover charge to the Social gets waived; a wristband will let you roam between the two. A former parking area in front of the building is now a wood-wrapped patio that Nordahl calls his Mediterranean oasis, its high walls providing some separation from busy Olive Way traffic below.

Evo will be open from 3pm to 2am daily. Happy hour will run from 3 to 5, when the full dinner menu kicks in. At 11pm dinner service ends and late-night happy hour fires up, lasting until 2am. Expect the event calendar to fill up in the coming weeks, and Barnes has already promised “a full cast” for Pride weekend.

Right now the space is in the final throes of construction. It’s the stage that involves lots of boxes and detritus; hit up the slideshow for an in-progress peek at Evo’s dining room, stage, bar, and patio.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Bar Openings, Chris Pardo, Laura Olson, First Look, Evo Tapas Kitchen and Cabaret, Todd Nordahl, David Leopoldo, The Social

Openings

First Look: Ballard Pizza Company

Ethan Stowell’s newest Ballard Ave outpost will offer pizza, pasta, and lots of exposed brick.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Apr 10, 2012 at 09:45AM Speech Bubble 4 Comments

Ballard Ave’s new pizza destination will open its doors next week.

View Slideshow »

Ballard Pizza Company hasn’t yet opened its doors (that happens next week), but here’s a safe bet: Ethan Stowell’s by-the-slice pizzeria will be known to many for the giant faux pizza cutter protruding from the outside signage. It’s a nice complement to Bitterroot BBQ’s rotating piggy down the street.

The 50-seat restaurant is located at 5107 Ballard Ave NW, a block north of Stowell’s latest restaurant, Staple and Fancy. While the chef’s other restaurants apply his regional stamp to rustic Italian fare, he found his pizza inspiration domestically, creating thin-crust pies that pay homage to New York’s signature slices, best consumed folded lengthwise, often while walking down the street. Make that walking down the street late at night—Ballard Pizza Co. will be open until 3am on weekends, and 11pm Sunday through Thursday. As the sign out front attests, the restaurant will also sell whole pies.

This is the first venture from Stowell’s new Grubb Brothers company, which focuses on fast-casual dining designed to be family-friendly but also appeal to adults who want to grab dinner somewhere, but can’t swing a $20 entree on a random Tuesday night. However, ingredients are still locally sourced and of non-dubious provenance. Slices start at $2.50; a large cheese pizza is $15, and the add-on toppings options should please both picky kids (pepperoni, pineapple) and food nerds (arugula, eggplant, spicy coppa, fresh mozz). Also on the menu are a trio of salads, some pasta and gnocchi offerings that should look familiar to Stowell aficionados, and some rotating specials like a pork belly porchetta.

Running the kitchen is Jim Seath, who came over from Staple and Fancy and previously worked at Union. The pizza maestro is Michael Gifford, another Union alum who left for Portland in 2007, but returned to Seattle for the job. Ballard Pizza Co. will also sell pies to go. And delivery service starts in June. Hit up the slideshow for a look inside, and more details on the drinks, the decor, and the pin-up girls posing outside the walk-in cooler.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Ethan Stowell, Ballard Pizza Co, First Look

Openings

First Look: Restaurant Marché

Greg Atkinson’s modern Northwest bistro becomes a reality on Bainbridge Island.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 16, 2012 at 10:45AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Chef Greg Atkinson and wife Betsy’s long-awaited restaurant opens March 17. Photo: Lucas Anderson

View Slideshow »

One of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the season is happening on Bainbridge Island’s main drag, a ferry ride away from downtown Seattle. On my way to meet Greg Atkinson at his about-to-open Restaurant Marché, I ran into Brendan McGill, chef-owner of Hitchcock, right down the street on Winslow Way. McGill personally showed me the way to Marché, regaling me on our walk with reasons why he’s excited for the arrival of a restaurant that is technically his competitor (one being proximity to good steak frites).

The word “neighborly” is overused to the point of cliche when talking about places like Bainbridge, but really there’s no better way to describe Atkinson’s creation. Restaurant Marché opens its doors tomorrow, March 17, though island dwellers have been stopping in for months to ask when they can make a reservation and finally sample the modern bistro menu, filled with French technique and Northwest ingredients.

Atkinson is perhaps best known for his seven years as executive chef at Canlis, though he has also cemented his reputation as prolific food writer and cookbook author, even winning a James Beard award for food writing in 2000. He and his wife Betsy completely remodeled an old garage (that has also served as a framing store, maritime architect’s office, temporary museum, and antique shop) into a restaurant that is supposed to feel residential, as if diners are spending the evening in the couple’s home—another cliche flung around too often in the restaurant world, but highly appropriate here.

The color scheme in the dining room was inspired by a walk the Atkinsons took on Dungeness Spit last April while celebrating their 25th anniversary. Bainbridge Island craftsman Steve Trick fashioned the cabinetry and all the restaurant’s tables, which are made from a single giant Oregon walnut tree. The Atkinsons painted the chairs in their basement, a process that Betsy says helped her husband relax after a day of restaurant stress.

While the menu has its share of meat and fish, Atkinson is one of the region’s original champions of beautiful produce, and his market vegetable plate (five vegetables, five ways) is front and center on the dinner menu. The island farmers market is right outside the building’s front patio, providing inspiration for the restaurant’s name.

Restaurant Marché will serve lunch and dinner from Tuesday through Saturday. Atkinson is considering adding Sunday night family-style dinners in the far-off future. That sixth day of work will feel more like having friends over for dinner, he says, if he’s serving a single meal to just one seating.

Seattle Met web photographer Lucas Anderson captured details aplenty about the dining room, the cuisine, and the wine. Hit up the slideshow for more on Restaurant Marché.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, First Look, Restaurant Marche, Greg Atkinson

Openings

First Look: Bitterroot BBQ

It must be said: Ballard’s newest spot puts the “bar” in “barbecue.”

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 17, 2012 at 10:00AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

View Slideshow »

The latest arrival in the current parade of new Ballard Avenue destinations is Bitterroot BBQ, which opens Wednesday, January 18 at 11am, regardless of how much snow might be on the ground. Seattle has barbecue joints, sure, but Bitterroot is a more stylized version, complete with walls of chevron-patterned salvaged barn wood, artfully piled logs, and a fearsome list of whiskeys and bourbon, all hailing from the United States.

But just because the small 30-seat dining room isn’t a grotty, greasy, rickety table sort of place doesn’t mean that owner Grant Carter isn’t serious about his barbecue. He and wife Hannah (who runs the front of house) invested in a custom-built smoker from Missouri company Ole Hickory Pits. Patrons can sauce the dry-rubbed meat themselves using the four sauces planned (mustard, vinegar, ancho chile and classic) for each table.

My favorite thing about this space: Beyond the all-ages front dining room is a hallway that leads to a 21-and-over bar with an additional 30 seats. The green-tiled room has a totally different vibe from the front, and even its own back entrance. You can still get the full menu, and there’s a TV on the wall that will likely see lots of sporting action, but gets covered with a tasteful black screen so it’s fairly invisible most of the time.

My second favorite thing about this place: There’s a barber pole outside that contains a spinning pig! And a red light that gives this little fellow the appearance of rotating on a spit. Hannah Carter said the couple restored the old pole that hung outside the building from its long ago days as a barber shop. By a most fortunate coincidence, her mother happened to possess a rubber pig that fit perfectly inside.

Bitterroot’s menu is straight up American barbecue, including smoked pork belly, baby back ribs, or pulled pork sandwiches, made on custom pretzel buns from nearby Tall Grass Bakery. The back bar will stay open until 2am; Hannah Carter promises they will never close early, and the kitchen will serve food until about 1am. Check out the slideshow for more shots of the space.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Bar Openings, Bitterroot BBQ, First Look, Grant Carter, Hannah Carter

Seattle Restaurant Openings

Slideshow: Inside the Ridge Pizzeria

A handful of industry types open another family friendly spot on Greenwood Avenue.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 13, 2012 at 09:30AM Speech Bubble 1 Comments

A new neighbor for Ken’s Market: The Ridge, located at 7217 Greenwood Avenue North.

View Slideshow »

The most recent addition to the Phinney Ridge boomlet is, appropriately enough, The Ridge. The pizzeria and bar—open as of Thursday—is brought to you by a roster of familiar names: Chris Navarra (Prost, Die Bierstube, Feirabend), Chris Gerke (Nickerson St. Saloon), Larry Wikan of Columbia Distributing, and Tom Griffith (Ten Mercer, T.S. McHugh’s).

The affable Matt Coombs is manager. Before falling in with the above brood, he’d been looking to open his own place but “didn’t find something I wanted to hang my hat on.” Here he’ll be overseeing production of between six and eight specialty pizzas named after neighborhood landmarks: a school down the street, a couple of businesses, the fire department. Though the booze flows freely (full bar, baby), kiddles are most welcome—the Ridge proudly bills itself as family friendly (it’s a neighborhood thing).

Get a look at the bar, those promising pies, and more in the slideshow.

All photos by Seattlemet.com photographer Lucas Anderson.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Phinney Ridge, First Look, The Ridge

Seattle Restaurant Openings

First Look: The Wurst Place

Tour South Lake Union’s long-awaited sausage and beer emporium.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 12, 2012 at 10:42AM Speech Bubble 3 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

The Wurst Place, ne plus ultra of sausage revelry.

View Slideshow »

Sausage enthusiasts have anxiously (correction: impatiently) awaited the day Bob Liptak would open The Wurst Place. I’m happy to report the occasion is nigh.

Liptak is tending to finishing touches at 510 Westlake Avenue, he hopes to start doing business within the next week. Overhauling the former Outdoors and More proved tricky and time-consuming, but as the pictures here show the efforts were well-spent—the Wurst Place is proving to be one of the more eclectic interiors this blog has seen.

To take a look around and to learn what kind of food is in store, hit the slideshow.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, South Lake Union, First Look, The Wurst Place

Seattle Restaurant Openings

First Look: Capitol Hill’s Manhattan Drugs

This steak and cocktail destination opens for dinner tonight.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 05, 2012 at 10:20AM Speech Bubble 2 Comments

The restaurant’s unofficial mascot was inspired by a similar piece of art the owners saw in a SoDo gallery; that one featured a deer and uzis. Pardo contacted the Sacramento-based artist, Peter Gronquist, and commissioned one with a ram and M-16s.

Photo: Lucas Anderson

View Slideshow »

Manhattan Drugs has been softly open for cocktails, but tonight’s the night the new Capitol Hill restaurant begins dinner service. The 12th Avenue space is the latest project from Po Dog empire-builder Laura Olson, and her fiance Chris Pardo (who are also quite busy in Ballard).

According to Pardo, full dinner runs from 6 until 11 tonight, but cocktails carry on till 2am. Like many new neighborhood spots, Manhattan Drugs is an all-day affair; brunch service will begin next Saturday, and lunch on January 16.

Formerly (and briefly) home to Izilla Toys, Manhattan Drugs gets its name from a longtime Normandy Park pharmacy that shuttered in 2009. Pardo and business partner Corey St. John came across the pharmacy’s neon sign last year and became inspired. The menu is heavy on steak and steakhouse fare, but reportedly features one hell of a burger and other hefty classics like mac and cheese and pork belly sliders (technically not a classic, but probably should be). Click through to our slideshow for more details on the decor, including the restaurant’s unofficial mascot, a custom piece of art featuring a ram and some heavy weaponry.

UPDATE: Pardo was kind enough to pass along some additional info. The restaurant’s executive chef is Khampaeng Panyathong, who masterminded the menu at sibling venue Grim’s and, according to earlier reports, has worked at Spring Hill and The Herbfarm. Mark Bowman is running the kitchen. In addition to the four steak offerings, a mix of meat and seafood entrees run $17 to $27. And that burger people are raving about? It’s topped with tomato jam, white cheddar, truffle aioli, arugula, and fried leeks.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Manhattan Drugs, Chris Pardo, Laura Olson, First Look

Nosh Pit

First Look: Hunger Reopens Down the Hill

First Look: Collections Cafe

First Look: Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

First Look: Evo Tapas Kitchen and Cabaret Opens May 4

First Look: Ballard Pizza Company

First Look: Restaurant Marché

First Look: Bitterroot BBQ

Slideshow: Inside the Ridge Pizzeria

First Look: The Wurst Place

First Look: Capitol Hill’s Manhattan Drugs

About this blog

Recent Posts

Archives

Saga City Media, Inc.

Subscriber Services:

Email Newsletters:

Website Services: