Nosh Pit

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner

This Week: opening days, closing days, chats about football, benefit dinners, and more.

Posted by: Brandon L. Bye on Apr 23, 2012 at 12:00PM 1 Comments

Sunny Sundays deserve a view, a brew, and a few tacos. Photo: Little Water Cantina via Facebook.

WEDNESDAY, April 25
NFL Predraft Dinner
Daniel’s Broiler partners up with local ESPN affiliate 710 ESPN and former NFL quarterback Brock Hurad to host an evening of eating, drinking, analysis, and speculation. The $100 ticket will get you a good meal and a chance to talk about how Andrew Luck will fill the void that Peyton left in Indy when he replaced Tebow in Denver, and how Tebow will likely become a utility man for the Jets behind incumbent QB Mark Sanchez. Football drama—phew.

THURSDAY, April 26
FARM::TABLE::PLAYGROUND
Treeswing, a local nonprofit, has organized a fundraiser focused on increasing physical activity and better nutrition opportunities in more Seattle area schools. Your $125 ticket gets you that warm, fuzzy charitable feeling, a cocktail hour featuring local distillery Oola, drinks by Erik Carlson of Bastille, a mini silent auction, live entertainment by Ronan O’Mahoney, and an intimate multi-course communal dinner prepared by Chris Opsata of URBAN Enoteca enoteca/, Ethan Stowell, and Baruch Ellsworth, pastry chef at Canlis.

Dining Out For Life
When you dine at a participating restaurant, cafe, or food retailer, up to 30 percent of your purchase is donated to Lifelong AIDS Alliance, providing practical support services and advocating for those whose lives are affected by HIV and AIDS. Plan a dinner or go out. Participants include Barrio, Skillet, Island Soul, and Bill the Butcher to name a few.

SATURDAY, April 28
Molly Moon’s Parade of Flavors Book Tour
Now you can spin your very own Molly Moon’s salted caramel (or whatever flavor is your fave). The new cookbook, Molly Moon’s Parade of Flavors, will be on sale and on display at a cookbook release party at 8pm in Georgetown. One $30 ticket gets two guests through the door and a signed book to call your own.

The Gerald Grand Opening
Ballard Ave’s Jet Age–inspired newcomer is offering happy hour prices all night long for its grand opening celebration. From 6pm till close, appetizers and wine are $2 off, and $1 gets knocked off the cost of a draft beer.

SUNDAY, April 29
Farewell to Joule (for Now)
It’s your last chance to enjoy a meal at Joule’s original location. Chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi are bringing back some favorites from menus past, like pickled beef tongue and Korean rice cakes with oxtail ragout.

Snouts and Stouts
It’s that time of month again: Head down to the Little Water Cantina for a whole hog roast, local beer, and music. $15 gets you a huge plate of roast pork tacos and a Schooner Exact beer. Music will be provided by Country Lips between 5-8.

BEYOND

FRIDAY, May 4
Rat City Rollergirls Fundraiser
The Rat City Rollergirls skate into John Howie’s SPORT Restaurant and Bar to raise funds for the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN). The event includes cocktails, light appetizers, and a raffle. $20 buys you two cocktails, a chance to rub elbows with the Rollergirls, and everything else the evening offers.

WEDNESDAY, May 9
Linda’s Tavern Prom: A Night to Remember
Complete with DJs spinning make-out jams, spiked punch, a photographer capturing ironic formal attire and drunken smiles, and a best-dressed award sash, this will be a night you’ll most likely forget. No cover.

Saturday, May 19
Classic Cocktail Course
Taste Restaurant ’s lead bartender Duncan Chase will take a class through a step-by-step presentation on how to mix classic cocktails right, each cocktail garnished with its own history lesson told by the honorable Mr. Chase. The course costs $30.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Joule, Molly Moon's, Little Water Cantina, The Gerald, football

Restaurant Shifts and Shakeups

This week: Japanese hot dogs in Fremont, bartenders are bouncing around, and Molly Moon’s is reopening soon in Madrona.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Mar 30, 2012 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Many a beer on tap at the newest Elliot Bay brewpub. Photo courtesy of Washington Beer Blog.

OPENINGS

Elliott Bay Public House and Brewery
The newest outpost of the local brewery opened Monday, March 26, in Lake City. The Washington Beer Blog has photos of the interior and some of the food.

Tokyo Dog
The Japanese hot dog truck had its first outing in Fremont this past week, and it sounds like a success. These JapaDog–style hot dogs are topped with east-west flavors, such as furikaka and bacon and the like. Facebook says the truck will be in Wallingford on Saturdays, Fremont on Sundays, for now.

Five Hooks Fish Grill
Eater Seattle reports that the renewable seafood joint is now open in Queen Anne. The restaurant doesn’t have a liquor license just yet, but it does have a very affordable menu.

Cafe Rozella
It’s technically a reopening, but the French-Nordic (think lox and crepes) cafe in West Seattle will have a little soft opening party on Thursday, March 29, then a public grand reopening on April 20.

CLOSINGS

Detention
The U-District bar (that used to be a Po Dog) is closed, says The Stranger. Maybe the owner, Laura Olson, is simplifying, seeing as she just added a brand new Ballard Po Dog to her roster of restaurants and bars.

HG Lodge
The owner (also owner of burger joint Li’l Woody’s) is shutting down the nightclub to make way for a sports bar called 95 Slide that will have a respectable food menu, says Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

SHIFT CHANGES

Chino’s
The self-labeled “urban tiki house Taiwanese cantina” hired Evan Martin (recently departed from Ba Bar) and has big tiki plans.

Tini Bigs and Vito’s
Ian Cargill, previously of Tavern Law Shorty’s will now be behind the bar at Tini Bigs and Vito’s.

RELOCATIONS

Joule
Good news for Fremont, sad news for Wallingford. Chef-spouses Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi are moving Joule into the Fremont Collective on Stone Way this summer.

COMING SOON

My Chef Lynn
A chef from Issaquah has decided to launch herself into the food truck world (Having a car dealer husband helped). She’ll be mostly on the Eastside, but may be Fremont too, slinging lamb sliders and smoked meats.

Yard House
What was once books will soon be beer. The closed Borders location near Fourth and Pike is slated to become Yard House, the Seattle outpost of a California chain.

Molly Moon’s
The mini-Molly’s in Madrona will reopen for the summer on May 1. The pop-up shop will have five flavors and those irresistibly delicious-smelling waffle cones. Also: shakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and pints from the little shop every day from noon to 10.

OPENING DELAYS

Marination
The June opening of the West Seattle Marination Station has been delayed by permitting problems. West Seattle Blog says that there will be an update in late spring, and until then Alki Kayak Tours will be the “interim concessionaire.”

Add a Comment »

Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Marination Mobile, Food Truck Pods, Tini Bigs, Chino's, Shift Change, Seattle Food Trucks, Molly Moon's, Joule, Seattle Restaurant Closings, Bar Openings, Closings, Seattle Bartenders, Fremont, Yard House

Joule Is Moving to Fremont

The beloved Wallingford restaurant closes April 30, reappearing this summer in a space some say will be the next Kolstrand.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 22, 2012 at 09:45AM 0 Comments

You have until the end of April to enjoy a final meal in Joule’s cozy original digs.

Chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi have announced plans to relocate Joule from Wallingford to Fremont. While its newer sibling Revel gets a lot of glory and love these days, Joule, which the couple opened in November 2007, remains a Seattle dining gem and a go-to favorite among local food folk. Seattle Met critic Kathryn Robinson once called it the culinary equivalent of a “mousy librarian who moonlights as a secret agent”—the sedate brick exterior belies the bold continental-Korean fusion happening inside.

Joule will close its doors April 30 and reopen some time this summer at 3506 Stone Way N. The new location is part of a project called the Fremont Collective, a mix of retail and restaurant space similar in spirit (if not design) to Ballard’s Kolstrand Building. It also happens to be owned by the same people behind the Kolstrand, who also partnered with Yang and Chirchi to open Revel. So there ya go. (Hmmm one member of that trio, Chad Dale, is also a partner in Ethan Stowell’s new fast-casual enterprise. Just sayin’.)

Why the move? Joule 2.0 will be larger, with 36 seats, an open kitchen, a full bar, communal table, and outdoor seating for 20 in warmer months, which should make the restaurant’s annual series of global barbecues all the more enjoyable. The new space will presumably bring out more of Joule’s secret agent side, with a bold minimalist vibe more aligned with Revel. While the spirit of the food won’t change, Yang says in a release that the new digs will allow for more shareable and family-style menu options.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Fremont, Joule, Revamps, Rachel Yang, Seif Chirchi, Relocations

Soup’s On at Joule

Each Sunday the Wallingford eatery ladles the “Best Soup in Town.”

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 28, 2011 at 09:47AM 0 Comments

Joule in Wallingford hosts weekly soup suppers. Photo courtesy Joule.

Regular readers of this blog know soup is sort of our thing right now. It appears Stranger staffers maintain similar sentiments—in this week’s paper a feature titled Soup! catalogs their favorite bowls.

One mention especially worth calling out is the soup-centric Sunday suppers at Joule. A couple weeks back the Wallingford favorite rolled out the winter series (dubbed “Best Soup in Town”, which we’re inclined to believe) happening every Day of Rest until March 27.

The supper costs $25 for adults, $10 for kids, and the menu switches weekly. Past offerings meant pork kimchi stew and cassoulet; coming up January 30 is Hungarian goulash to be followed by “red hot” chili, dungeness crab cioppino, and whole bunch of other promising globetrotters (the menu is available on Joule’s Facebook page). With the soup comes up to seven dishes served family style.

To reserve a seat, call 206-632-1913.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Special Dinners, Wallingford, Soup, Sunday Suppers, Joule

Feast of the Week: Urban BBQ at Joule

On summer Sundays, the Wallingford restaurant serves up regionally themed grilled goodies from around the globe. This week: Marrakesh.

Posted by: Judy Naegeli on Jul 14, 2010 at 02:35PM 0 Comments

On Sunday nights in summer, Joule serves up grilled specialties from around the world.

Who Joule

What Urban BBQ 2010

Why you should go On summer Sundays, the chefs of this fine-dining restaurant grill in the style of a far-flung locale—Halong Bay, Vietnam, Austin, Texas—known for its unique barbecuing traditions. The July 18 feast is inspired by the gastronomy of Marrakesh, Morocco. Your ticket buys you a choice of entree—in this case almond and chicken phyllo pie, shrimp kabobs, and lentil soup, or a merguez (spicy sausage) burger with red onion and aioli—and access to a buffet of cold salads and sides (spicy grilled eggplant and bulghur salad with raisins and almonds.)
Still to come: Marseilles, France; Sicily, Italy; and Busan, Korea.

Where 1913 N 45th St, Wallingford

When every Sunday, 3–9 pm

Cost $18/adult; $10/child

Reservations 206-632-1913 (recommended).

Add a Comment »

Tags: Special Dinners, Deals, Barbecue, Feast of the Week, Joule

James Beard Nominees Announced This Morning

Some May Surprise You

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Feb 13, 2009 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

The most frothing foodies in the country have been on tenterhooks all winter for the news that quietly landed in my inbox this morning: The James Beard Foundation Awards semifinalists.

And without further ado:

Tom Douglas is the only Seattle restaurateur of 20 national biggies (including Chicago’s Richard Melman and New York’s Drew Nieporent) nominated as Outstanding Restaurateur of the Year.

Tamara Murphy of Brasa is the only Seattle chef of 20 national biggies (including San Francisco’s Michael Mina of Michael Mina and New York’s Tom Colicchio of Craft) nominated as Outstanding Chef of the Year.

Higgins Restaurant and Bar in Portland is the only Pacific Northwest restaurant of 20 national biggies (including Babbo in New York and Greens in San Francisco) nominated as Outstanding Restaurant of the Year.Yes Seattle, you read that right: the only Pacific Northwest restaurant.

Jerry Traunfeld’s Poppy and Justin Neidermeyer’s Cascina Spinasse both showed up among the 28 nominees for Best New Restaurant in the nation.

Rachel Yang of Joule showed up as the only Seattle chef among 22 nominated as Rising Star Chef of the Year. Others include Gabriel Rucker of Portland’s Le Pigeon and Travis Lett of Gjelina in Venice, California.

James Miller of Café Besalu was the sole Seattle representative among 20 nominees (including Mindy Segal of Mindy’s HotChocolate in Chicago and Deanie Fox of Ubuntu in Napa) for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

Canlis was the sole Seattle representative among 20 nominees (including Emeril’s in New Orleans and Picasso at Bellagio in Vegas ) for Outstanding Wine Service.

Both Canlis in Seattle and Café Juanita in Kirkland were nominated in the category of Outstanding Service. Among the 18 others were Daniel in New York City and Alan Wong’s in Honolulu.

For Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional, Northwest nominees were Alex Golitzin of Quilceda Creek in Snohomish, WA; David Adelsheim of Adelsheim Vineyard in Newberg, OR; and Stephen R. McCarthy of Clear Creek Distillery in Portland.

And finally, in the category of Best Chef: Northwest, the entire roster:
Chris Ainsworth, Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen, Walla Walla, WA;Dustan Bristol, Brick 29 Bistro, Nampa, ID;Kevin Davis, Steelhead Diner, Seattle; Matt Dillon, The Corson Building, Seattle;Scott Dolich, Park Kitchen, Portland, OR;Renee Erickson, Boat Street Cafe, Seattle;Mark Fuller, Spring Hill, Seattle;John Gorham, Toro Bravo, Portland, OR;Maria Hines, Tilth, Seattle;Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez, The Harvest Vine, Seattle;Taichi Kitamura, Kappo, Seattle;Daniel Mondok, Sel Gris, Portland, OR;Naomi Pomeroy, Beast, Portland, OR;Andy Ricker, Pok Pok and Whiskey Soda Lounge, Portland, OR;Charlene Rollins, New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro, Talent, OR;Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR; Scott Staples, Restaurant Zoë, Seattle; Ethan Stowell, Union, Seattle; Jason Wilson, Crush, Seattle; and Cathy Whims, Nostrana, Portland, OR.

Whaddya think, Seattle? Who would you vote for?

Unfortunately I can’t provide any of the smart-ass commentary you’ve come to depend on from The Tablehopper, as I am one of the judges. Finalists will be announced March 23; winners May 4.

Until then…try and get some sleep.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Tom Douglas, Mark Fuller, Brasa, Poppy, Justin Neidermeyer, Cascina Spinasse, James Miller, Cafe Besalu, Cafe Juanita, Kevin Davis, Renee Erickson, Boat Street Cafe, Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez, Harvest Vine, Matt Dillon, Jason Wilson, Restaurant Zoe, Joule, Ethan Stowell, Maria Hines, Tilth, Crush, Steelhead Diner, Spring Hill, James Beard Awards, Jerry Traunfeld, Canlis, Rachel Yang, Tamara Murphy, Scott Staples