Nosh Pit

Local 360 Mercantile To Open Tuesday, June 21

The supply store will stock meat, produce, dry goods, beer and wine—all from around these parts.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jun 14, 2011 at 02:07PM 0 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

Local 360 Mercantile, photographed back in February

Belltown: If you’re tired of shlepping it to the SLU Whole Foods to pick up your Washington-made, all-natural whatnot, this should come as welcome news.

The mercantile from Marcus Charles, the man behind Local 360 restaurant, will be open for business beginning Tuesday, June 21.

Like the restaurant—which opened in the former Flying Fish space last winter—the retail operation will focus on sourcing local products. Those will include meats, produce from Full Circle in Carnation, custom condiments (pickles, dressings, ketchup, mayo), dairy products from Twin Brook Creamery in Lyden, dry goods, and wine and beer from Washington. It will be open from 11am to 8pm daily.

The store, which takes up the space once occupied by Flying Fish’s private dining room, has a separate entrance from its sister restaurant next door. The inhouse butchery, run by meat carver Ben Frey, will supply both eatery and shop.

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Tags: Belltown, Locavore News, Grocery Shopping, Grand Opening, Pantries and Mercantiles

PCC Natural Markets Is Opening a New Store in Green Lake

This is the tenth branch for the Seattle cooperative.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 27, 2011 at 12:03PM 0 Comments

PCC Natural Markets comes to eastern Green Lake.

On Wednesday morning an ebullient Seattle Food Geek retweeted the news that PCC Natural Markets is breaking ground in Green Lake.

According to press materials on the PCC website, the 25,000-square-foot mart, the second in the vicinity, will join several retailers in a “new mixed-use project—currently referred to as Green Lake Village—located between N.E. 72nd Street and N.E. 71st Street along Woodlawn Avenue N.E. and 5th Avenue N.E.” The development also will house about 300 apartments.

Look for it to open in 2013.

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Tags: Grocery Shopping

Random Question: Where Can I Get Marmite in Pike Place Market?

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 30, 2010 at 03:02PM 0 Comments

Marmite. Available at the Crumpet Shoppe.

I spend inordinate, insane amounts of time in Pike Place Market.

Therefore, if someone asks me a question pertaining to Pike Place Market and I don’t know the answer, it sends me into a bit of a shame spiral. It’s not like I’m being asked about the phonetic intricacies of archaic languages. It’s a market, and I loiter there all the time. I should know where to get stuff.

Thankfully this did not happen when I was asked, recently, where one could buy Marmite at the market. The answer is The Crumpet Shoppe. It’s on the back interior wall on the shelves where they stock the teas. You can get Nutella there too.

Next?

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Tags: Pike Place Market, Grocery Shopping, Marmite

Three Things I Learned at Madison Market Last Night

Cheese by the half-wheel, Ethan Stowell pasta, and losing perspective on customer service standards.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 09, 2010 at 11:47AM 1 Comments

Madison Market, school of life.

I stopped into Madison Market last night to pick up some groceries. In the process I managed to learn three things. Those things are these:

1. You can get Dinah’s cheese by the half wheel: Madison Market now cuts the circle of Camembert-style cheese into two half-moons and sells each separately. I asked cheesemaker Kurt Timmermeister why, and he said it was the store that repacked the cheese that way, not Kurtwood Farms.

But it’s a convenient thing to know if you’re planning a cheese plate that will include—but not be limited to—Dinah’s.

2. Madison Market sells Ethan Stowell’s pasta line, Lagana, and it’s excellent. I bought the radiatore and had to eat it practically plain (I threw in a little pesto but not much) due to a sad stomach. It was plumped-up, freshity fresh perfection. Seriously, this is your new dinner-party secret.

3. People cause scenes at co-ops. Usually the worst thing that happens at Madison Market is that you have to wait in line forever because someone forgot to label the twisty on his organic farro. But last night the worst (slash best!) thing that happened was that a middle-aged woman went “all banshee”—as my Australian relatives like to say—and started yelling at this cashier about how rude he was, and about how she always tries to avoid his line because he’s so freaking rude.

And the funny thing about that is that said cashier is like the nicest person ever. Even by the high, happy-hippie niceness standards of Madison Market employees he is nice. Irate lady: If you think Madison Market employees mistreat you, you might try shopping anywhere else in the world besides an upscale organic market in Seattle. Not five minutes before, I saw a store worker, upon noticing a customer with too many items in her arms, run across the shop to get her a cart. And that employee who got the cart? He’s not even as nice as the guy at whom the banshee was shrieking.

Still, I have to admit, I appreciated the show. “Who needs TV?” asked the guy in front of me, clutching his pointy bike helmet and employing a bit of a British accent. Certainly no one at the co-op needs TV! I thought. And then I shoved my groceries into my purse, so as to avoid the shame of a plastic bag (or “devil sac” as we call them at the co-op), and went home to eat plain Ethan Stowell pasta in front of the boob tube.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Cheese, Grocery Shopping, Ethan Stowell

The Newest Item to Hit the Shelves of DeLaurenti: Skillet Bacon Jam

And it’s coming soon to Whole Foods, too.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Aug 17, 2010 at 09:17AM 0 Comments

Skillet bacon jam, now at DeLaurenti. Photo courtesy Skillet.

In our Food Lovers’ Guide we proffer props to Skillet ’s Joshua Henderson for his bacon jam, going so far as to call it “the novelty condiment of 2010.” To the uninitiated, the spread is quite heavenly, a simmered-down mix of rendered bacon, onions, and spices.

Jam junkies will be happy to know more and more retailers, smart gunners that they be, are starting to stock bottled portions around town. They’re now lining the shelves of Pike Place’s DeLaurenti, where an 11 ounce container checks out at $13.99, and according to Skillet’s Facebook page, you should be seeing them this week at Whole Foods.

Bring on the bacon jam–slathered grilled cheese…

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Tags: Trends, Street Food, Grocery Shopping, Skillet, Seattle-Made Condiments

Olympic Sculpture Park, Pioneer Square Markets Debut This Week

North and south ends of downtown debut new weekly bazaars.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jul 13, 2010 at 10:03AM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy http://ospfarmersmarket.wordpress.com/

The inaugural Olympic Sculpture Park farmers market is Thursday, July 15 and takes place every week thereafter 3:30-7:30pm.

Amid all the talk of Pioneer Square and Belltown losing ground come two new markets bound to bring in a crowd—especially the food-loving kind.

Opening this Thursday at 3:30 is B-town’s Olympic Sculpture Park culinary crawl, for which more than 30 Washington vendors will proffer their edibles along the park’s herky-jerky walking path. At 5:30 Taste restaurant’s pastry whiz Lucy Damkoehler will lead a cooking demo. She is one of nine prolific chefs—Ethan Stowell, Zoë ‘s Daniel Newell, Tilikum Place Café ’s Ba Culbert among them—scheduled to wow shoppers up until the market’s final run September 9.

Bookending the other edge of downtown is the summer-long Seattle Square, which gets underway this weekend 11am-5pm in Occidental Park. Though more of the flea than farmer variety, the Saturday market is hosting food carts Skillet, Parfait Organic Ice Cream, and the newly minted Ram and Rooster Dumplings. Or get your grub on with sandwich slingers Delicatus, also slated to set up shop.

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Tags: Locavore News, Grocery Shopping, Farmers Markets, Mobile Food

What’s New in Kirkland?

A couple of noteworthy things.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on May 14, 2010 at 02:20PM 0 Comments

Pretty.

Madrona isn’t the only neighborhood welcoming a warm-weather farmers market today.

At 3pm Kirkland will kick off the Friday Night Market at Juanita Beach, during which over 35 vendors set up shop. Located along the waters of Lake Washington, this one gives Olympic Sculpture
Park ’s upcoming market a run for most picturesque food fair.

In other Kirkland news, Metropolitan Market has announced plans to open a sixth store at 10611 NE 68th Street and 108th Ave NE in the former Houghton Center. The 27,500-square-foot, 24-hour store, Met’s first on the eastside, will open June 3.

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Tags: Grocery Shopping, Farmers Markets, Farmers Markets

Farmers Market Season Is Here!

New to the scene this year: Georgetown and Belltown.

Posted by: Hayley Poole on Apr 30, 2010 at 02:15PM 3 Comments

Wednesday was a big day for the locavore crowd—that’s when Columbia City’s farmers market opened, marking the first of the warm-weather neighborhood food emporiums.

This year, two new nabes are set to christen their own markets: Georgetown and Belltown. When it debuts June 5, Georgetown’s 70 vendors will flll the lot of the former Rainier Cold Storage at the junction of Vale Street. The space will serve as a hub for both foodstuffs and eclectic secondhand goods—organizer Jon Hegeman gave the go-ahead for a fresh produce and flea market duo. The Georgetown market place happens Saturdays.

Belltown’s bazaar will live—how cool is this?—in Olympic Sculpture Park. That market is set to open July 15 and take place subsequent Thursdays.

Until then, check out your neighborhood market. Here’s a look at when they open:

Broadway: May 9, Sun 11–3, at Broadway & E Thomas

Lake City June 3, Thu 3–7, at NE 125th & NE 128th

Madrona May 14, Fri 3–7, at E Union and MLK JR Way

Magnolia June 5, Sat 10–2, at 2550 34th Ave W

Phinney May 28, Fri 3–7, at 67th & Phinney Ave N

Queen Anne May 20, Thu 3–7, at W Crockett St & Queen Anne Ave N

Wallingford May 19, Wed 3–7, at N 45th & Wallingford Ave

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Tags: Locavore News, Grocery Shopping, Farmers Markets

Here’s One to Mark on the Calendar

Dining Out for Life is coming up.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 22, 2010 at 01:20PM 5 Comments

On any given day, you’re going to A) get a coffee (or, in my case, two) and B) eat dinner, either at a restaurant or with the groceries you picked up on the way home from work. It’s not every day, though, that said activities benefit a great local cause.

Thursday, April 29 marks the seventeenth year of Dining Out for Life. What makes this event so cool—and doable—is that it’s not restaurant exclusive. Bakeries, grocery stores, ice cream parlors, coffee shops—they all participate. So while you go about your everyday business, you’ll be helping out Lifelong AIDS Alliance.

Check out the list of participants here.

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Tags: Charity Dinners, Special Dinners, Grocery Shopping

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: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Cheese, Locavore News, Grocery Shopping, Melrose Market

Taste of the Town: Julie Whitehorn

The director of Queen Anne Farmers Market tells us where to find “heaven with an egg on top.”

Posted by: Caitlin King on Mar 02, 2010 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

The Queen Anne Farmers Market is set to open May 20. If you eager eaters can’t wait until then for a taste of what’s to come this season, treat yourself to the neighborhood market’s benefit dinner Sunday. While you’re there, say hello to Julie Whitehorn, who stepped away from party planning to tell us about the foods that make her swoon.

What is your favorite ingredient of the moment?
We try to eat foods in season, and right now I’m having fun with cabbages of all kinds: green, red, Napa, Savoy. Cabbage is terrific in soups, salads, stir fries, or in a kid-friendly bacon potato dish called Bubble and Squeak.

What is your favorite cookbook?
I have too many favorites, but my dog-eared copy of In Season by Greg Atkinson has a special place in my heart. It was my first Pacific Northwest cookbook, and I’ve long admired Greg’s writing and unpretentious approach to food.

What is your favorite coffee and coffee venue?
My favorite coffee is whatever my husband brews and our daughter delivers (in the prettiest cup she can find). Next to that, a Cuban con leche from El Diablo, or a scalp-tingling Herkimer double shot from Muse. Queen Anne is thick with indie coffee shops. Walking the dog is always an exercise in restraint.

When you have out-of-town guests, what restaurant do you take them to?
We have great options within walking distance: How to Cook a Wolf is consistently fabulous, and now we have Emmer and Rye, where the chairs are ugly but the food is divine. Seth Caswell is a rock star.

Where is your go-to place for cheap eats?
Let me get on my soapbox for a minute and say there is no such thing as cheap food—we always pay sooner or later. Food that doesn’t ding our health or the planet will always be the best value. That said, I love great street food and not paying for table service. Marination Mobile ’s kimchee fried rice is heaven with an egg on top.

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Tags: Taste of the Town, Grocery Shopping, Farmers Markets

Seven-Dollar Food Find

Thanks to extra light olive oil, sound sleep is reclaimed.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 25, 2010 at 12:50PM 1 Comments

There are those who scoff at the thought of cooking with extra light olive oil, claiming it’s nothing more than a barely there, diluted version of the real stuff. Fair enough. But to these naysayers I ask, Have you smelled my kitchen after I’ve pan seared fish? Have you woken up in the middle of the night nauseous because your entire living quarters reek of the Shedd Aquarium? Because it’s happened to me. Many times.

I’ve tried sautéing fish with butter—burns too easily—and regular olive oil—still stinky. Last week a friend mentioned he heard Mario Batali on TV saying ELOO cuts down on fish fetor. Apparently the oil handles high heat better. So I picked up a bottle. QFC carries this big ole’ guy for $6.99 (on sale). Gave the oil a test-run the other night, and ta-da! It worked. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a stink, but it doesn’t linger nearly as long. Think of it this way: I slept soundly.

I’ll keep using ELOO (which is lighter in flavor, not in fat) until something better comes along, so If you’ve got any other cooking-fish tips, I’m all ears.

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Tags: Cooking, Food Finds, Grocery Shopping