Nosh Pit

Restaurant Shifts and Shakeups

This week: Regent Bakery and Café opens in Capitol Hill, West Seattle loses Avalon, and Branzino’s new chef has big plans.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Feb 10, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Brightly colored pastries keep company with savory hot pots at the new Capitol Hill Regent Bakery and Cafe. Photo courtesy of their website.

OPENINGS

Pomegranate Bistro
The sunny Redmond restaurant is adding a bar—Pombar —on Thursday, February 16. The Bistro website says that to celebrate the opening, happy hour will go on all night, from 3:30 till the bar closes at 10.

Ben and Jerry’s
The Greenlake ice cream shop re-opened Thursday after getting new owners and a remodel, says My Green Lake. Now we just need another sunny ice cream-worthy weekend.

Regent Bakery and Café
The new Pine Street outpost of the famed Redmond bakery opened Wednesday on the corner of 14th and Pine, reports Capitol Hill Seattle. The shop does, of course, have pretty Japanese-meets-French pastries, but to our happy surprise, also a full-on savory Chinese lunch and dinner menu with items like hot pots and fried rice. And booze! The new restaurant plans to capitalize on the neighborhoods nightlife, with hours from 11 to midnight and a full bar.

The Amber Den
After a softly-open first week, the laid-back Ballard spot is now officially open. Eater Seattle’s got photos, and it’s the sunniest wine bar we’ve ever seen.

Paseo
Fremont Universe brings the good news that Paseo reopens today, after a long, Cuban sandwich-less winter break.

COMING SOON

Hot Cakes
For the past 4 years, former Theo chocolatier Autumn Martin has been providing Seattle with decadent treats, first in the form of chocolatey bake-at-home jarred cakes, more recently with cookies, hand pies, and sauces. She’s been selling at farmers’ markets and in a few retail locations, but Rebekah Denn of the The Seattle Times says that Martin just signed a lease for her very own space on (where else) Ballard Ave and has plans to open in May.

Five Hooks Fish Grill
Recently shuttered Tenoch Mexican Grill atop Queen Anne will soon be replaced by a “renewable seafood” restaurant, according to Eater Seattle.

CLOSINGS

Big news. Le Gourmand and Sambar
Bruce and Sarah Naftaly are are closing down their seminal Ballard restaurant and companion cocktail spot in June, after 27 wonderful years. Cookbooks, baking, and family time will replace the bustle of kitchen life for the Naftalys. More here.

Avalon
After just over a year, this fine-dining option in West Seattle is closing its doors. Owners told the West Seattle Herald that the rent was too high, the location was far from ideal, and that maybe there’s only room for one fancy restaurant in West Seattle. Or maybe not.

663 Bistro
One of Tom Douglas (and our) favorite I.D. BBQ spots was temporarily shut down by the Health Department, says The Stranger. …We did say “dodgy.”

SHIFT CHANGES

Branzino
After hopping around from Verve to Oddfellows to Terra Plata, Chef Garrett Michael Brown seems to have finally settled at Branzino, where he’s planning to revamp the menu and revivify the restaurant.

RN74
A new chef and perhaps some big menu changes for Michael Mina’s Downtown French restaurant. Seis Kamimura of Spago and Boka (among others) is taking the helm, and though he was trained at the French Culinary Institute, expect “bold interpretations” of the classics.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Shift Change, Pomegranate Bistro, Ice Cream, Sambar, Le Gourmand, Seattle Restaurant Closings, Bar Openings, Bar Openings, Closings, Branzino

Full Tilt’s New Flavor: Cornflakes

Consider it an ice cream homage to New York City’s Milk Bar.

Posted by: Stephanie Rubesh on Jan 10, 2012 at 11:45AM 0 Comments

Tastes like sweet milk, smells like sweet milk—it is sweet milk. Just in frozen form.

Full Tilt Ice Cream is taking a page from Milk Bar, Christina Tosi’s much-loved dessert offshoot of David Chang’s restaurant empire. Owner Justin Cline, already known for his unconventionally awesome flavors, has been finalizing a new addition. Behold, cornflakes ice cream: the taste of sugary bottom-of-the-bowl cereal milk now in dessert form. Cline says the flavor, a play on Milk Bar’s famed cereal milk and its attendant ice cream, has been a hit thus far.

The ice creamery’s initial batch—complete with caramelized cornflakes—is going fast. But we’re in luck. Another batch is being churned and will be available at all Full Tilt locations this weekend (including the new Ballard shop). “From the small test batches we’ve done, I think this is going to be a summer favorite,” says Cline. Black sesame and chocolate tarragon are also in the works.

“But it’s January,” whines my practical side. Hush. This flavor promises to be as exciting in the 40-degree present as it will be in the theoretical 75-degree future.

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Tags: Ice Cream, Special Menus, Food Trends in Seattle, Full Tilt, Justin Cline, On the Menu

Parfait Ice Cream Goes Regional

The dessert truck will soon ship pints all over the Northwest.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 09, 2012 at 01:15PM 0 Comments

Be happy, Northwesterners: Parfait is launching regional delivery. Photo courtesy Parfait.

The brand building continues for Parfait, roving purveyor of seriously delicious ice cream. Adria Shimada says she’s implementing a delivery service that’ll reach all corners of the PNW.

“We are launching the mail order at a regional level so we’ll be able to send our pints to places as far away as San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Boise, Missoula, and Salt Lake City.” Also on offer are jars of Shimada’s dessert sauces, pictured here.

Shimada says this development is a “natural continuation” of the home delivery she started locally about a year ago. Like that service, far-flung orders can be placed on the Parfait website. Look for regional haulage to get underway by the end of the month, and check back soon for a hard date.

UPDATE 1/10: Shimada will have a dozen flavors, including season ones, available to ship at any given time.

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Tags: Ice Cream, Seattle Food Trucks, Parfait

Check Out Photos from the Molly Moon’s Cookbook

Another feather in the cap for the local ice cream scooper.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Nov 22, 2011 at 04:40PM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy mollymoonicream.com.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo courtesy mollymoonicream.com.

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Photo: Kathryn Barnard

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo: Kathryn Barnard

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo: Kathryn Barnard

Twas many months ago we first brought word of the Molly Moon’s cookbook, a 65-recipe manual Ms. Neitzel and her pastry chef, Christina Spittler, were planning to pen. Today we get our first look at the tome, put out by local publishing house Sasquatch Books. Click through the slideshow to see several yummy photos courtesy shutterbug Kathryn Barnard.

Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream is slated for a May 2012 arrival but you can preorder the book now.

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Tags: Cookbooks, Ice Cream, Molly Moon's, Molly Moon Neitzel

Bluebird’s Fremont Ice Cream Shop Opens Friday

Local microcreamery rolls out a third location for its sweet wares.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Nov 16, 2011 at 02:15PM 0 Comments

Minuscule ice creamery Bluebird sent along word that doors open at its new Fremont location on Friday, November 18, a day when weather forecasts suggest Seattle will be contending with a less exciting form of frozen matter. The ice cream shop’s third location, at 3515 Fremont Ave N, is tucked alongside The Dubliner and fellow sweets purveyor Pie.

Bluebird has been in expansion mode of late. The company introduced a new Phinney location just last month (with an on-site nanobrewery in the works there), and took to the streets with a new ice cream truck, which will be parked outside the new shop for the grand opening festivities. The Fremont storefront will be dispensing Bluebird’s fall flavors, as well as the classics.

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Tags: Fremont, Ice Cream, Bluebird Microcreamery

Full Tilt’s Ballard Location Opens Today

Prepare to revel in beer floats and pinball.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Nov 04, 2011 at 11:20AM 0 Comments

Seattle gains another Full Tilt…this time in Ballard.

Today Full Tilt Ice Cream unleashes its brilliant triumvirate of pinball, beer and creative frozen delights on Ballard. The shop at 5453 Leary Ave NW opens at noon.

Owner Justin Cline says Full Tilt Ballard will be “a lot more pinball-focused” than the White Center, Columbia City and University District locations. Right now 12 pinball machines await patrons, including this one, and Cline says he’ll ultimately have 15. Not to worry, there are arcade games too.

The new location is the largest Full Tilt yet, and will offer bottled beer and oh-so-trendy cans, including the wares of new Ballard brewery Hilliard’s. On the non-alcoholic side of things, look for Dry Soda and retro-tastic soft drink Moxie.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Ice Cream, Full Tilt

Bluebird Debuts Ice Cream Truck

The arrival of the mobile outfit means free scoops for you.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 31, 2011 at 09:51AM 0 Comments

The Bluebird ice cream truck. Photo courtesy bluebirdseattle.blogspot.com.

“It’s got this old-school, almost milkman look to it.” That’s Matt Mitchell, director of operations and wholesale for Bluebird, describing the local microcreamy’s ice cream truck. The rehabbed 1950s four-wheeler is slated to roll into town on October 31 around 3pm.

Upon its arrival the truck is parking at Bluebird’s shop at 74th Street and Greenwood, where freebies will be handed out (buy one scoop, get the second gratis ). After that? Mitchell says he and the Bluebird crew have yet to nail down a schedule but promises the truck will hit up nabes across the city.

The mobile outfit is the latest venture for the quickly expanding ice cream operation. In mid-October owner Josh Reynolds opened the aforementioned storefront in Phinney Ridge, also the site of beer and soda brewing. Construction is expected to wrap this week for another in Fremont, according to Mitchell. The original Bluebird is on Pike Street in Capitol Hill.

The truck—a former DIVCO milk wagon—hails from Iowa. There the owner operated it on the side as a means to fund law school, and it’s since been pimped out with a contempo cold-plated freezer. In there will be Bluebird’s full line of year-round offerings plus the seasonals (right now that’s pumpkin).

To keep tabs on the Bluebird truck, also available to rent out, check the microcreamery’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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Tags: Street Food, Ice Cream

Molly Moon’s Ice Cream Named King County Executive Small Business of the Year

Dow Constantine’s office calls out the sweet treats chain for being tenacious, perspicacious, and audacious.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Oct 12, 2011 at 12:33PM 0 Comments

Molly Moon’s wins small business award.

Photo: Molly Moon’s via Facebook

Molly Moon Neitzel, owner and founder of the Molly Moon’s ice cream empire (tag line: “Longer lines than a Cold War Era Russian Bakery!” Just kidding. About the tag line. The lines really are quite long), announced today via Twitter that her business was named King County Executive’s Small Business of the Year.

Neitzel’s competition in the category this year was Trophy Cupcake and Party (fantastic cupcakes, normal-size lines) and Lightel Technologies in Renton (nothing to do with food, probably no lines at all). Per Executive Dow Constantine’s website, the award is “given to the small business that best exemplifies the tenacity, perspicacity, and audacity it takes to successfully operate a small business.”

“But WTF does perspicacity mean?” You might ask. I’ll tell you. Perspicacity is defined as “an acuteness of perception, discernment, or understanding.”

The honor was announced this morning at a breakfast at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. KING 5’s John Curley covered the emcee duties, naturally enough. And there was a scheduled appearance by the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline—a bold choice for an event that began at the ungodly hour of 7:15am.

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Tags: Awards and Accolades, Ice Cream, Molly Moon's, Molly Moon Neitzel

Peaks Frozen Custard vs. Peaks Frozen Yogurt Bar

One similar name for two separate dessert shops confuses many people.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 27, 2011 at 08:44AM 0 Comments

The logo for Peaks in Bellevue, not to be confused with Peaks Frozen Custard in Roosevelt. Photo courtesy peaksfrozenyogurt.com.

A couple weeks ago I reported on Bellevue’s newly opened Peaks Frozen Yogurt Bar. As I mention in that write-up, it’s the first location of the pay-per-ounce froyo shop. But as several readers note on the post and another related one, it’s not the first dessert bar in the area to adopt the name Peaks: there’s also Peaks Frozen Custard in Roosevelt.

The latter, about two-and-a-half years old, has secured a rather rabid pack of fans with its Wisconsin-style custard. And some of them are scratching their heads at the double-up in name. Consider commenter Pete: WOW. Bad idea to name this place Peaks. Peaks frozen Custard in Seattle is amazing and I can’t imagine that this won’t cause a ton of confusion… And commenter Jen: Curious. There already is a Peaks Frozen Custard shop in Roosevelt. Could [Peaks Frozen Yogurt Bar CEO and president Tim] Riley not be more original?

Actually, both Peaks parties were well aware of the sitch, they just didn’t anticipate such a confused reaction. “One of our financial partners knows the owner of the other Peaks (Custard) and they had discussed this before the name was decided,” explains Riley via email. “Since custard and froyo and the concepts are so different, they agreed it wasn’t an issue.”

Sound familiar?

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Tags: Dining-World Drama, Ice Cream, Froyo

First Look: Molly Moon’s on Queen Anne

The scoop shop opens Thursday, September 15.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 13, 2011 at 09:13AM 1 Comments

A block of eats: the new Molly Moon’s is sandwiched between Via Tribunali and Top Pot Doughnuts.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

A block of eats: the new Molly Moon’s is sandwiched between Via Tribunali and Top Pot Doughnuts.

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On opening day kiddies can get free scoops between 3 and 5. Nosh suggests you adults order the ice cream sandwich.

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

When Molly Moon Neitzel opens her namesake business on Queen Anne, it’ll mark her first full-scale venture since planting a shop on Capitol Hill in early 2009. In between she pursued more newfangled approaches to brand boosting: she launched a food truck, opened a microstore in a Madrona laundromat, and set up a counter inside Chocolate Box —an opportunity to reach the downtown market “without having to do a build-out,” Neitzel told us earlier in the summer. Surely in time she and her waffle-coning crew will populate every Seattle neighborhood.

Until that happens, maybe—just maybe—the addition of this storefront at 321 Galer Street will dilute the block-long lines at the Cap Hill and Wallingford shops. When Nosh Pit swung by on Monday Neitzel was busy churning batches of the creamy stuff, stashing ingredients, and prepping to-go pints; workers were tending to finishing touches. Doors will open Thursday at 3, and hours are set for Monday through Sunday noon–11. To get a peek inside, click through the slideshow.

All photos by Carey Rose.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Ice Cream, Molly Moon's, Molly Moon Neitzel

Culinary Clips: Seattle’s Ice Cream Sandwich Addiction

Part two: Revel.

Posted by: Abby Tracy on Jul 20, 2011 at 09:20AM 0 Comments

Intrepid Nosh Pit intern Abby Tracy takes to the streets investigating Seattle food obsessions. First up: ice cream sandwiches. Why do we love them so? In part two of this three-part series, Tracy visits Fremont buzz spot Revel. Here the ’wiches come in zesty flavors and are a spin on the traditional: the restaurant used to serve your standard ice cream sandwich but recently switched it up, as chef-owner Rachel Yang explains in the video below.

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Tags: Ice Cream, Culinary Clips, Ice Cream Sandwiches

Culinary Clips: Seattle’s Ice Cream Sandwich Addiction

Part One: Street Treats.

Posted by: Abby Tracy on Jul 11, 2011 at 03:38PM 1 Comments

Intrepid Nosh Pit intern Abby Tracy takes to the streets investigating Seattle food obsessions. First up: ice cream sandwiches. Why do we love them so? In part one of this three-part series, Tracy visits mobile sweet-supplier Diana Diane Skwiercz at Street Treats to talk about the cookie ’wiches she stuffs with homemade ice cream.

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Tags: Ice Cream, Culinary Clips, Ice Cream Sandwiches