Nosh Pit

Nosh Pit Weekly Planner: Memorial Day Edition

This week: free burgers, free ice cream, an upcoming Skelly and the Bean event, and a Seattlecentric cookbook signing.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on May 21, 2012 at 11:30AM 0 Comments

Memorial Day and National Burger Day are officially one in the same this year.

WEDNESDAY May 23
Whole Food Veggie Happy Hour Benefit
For one day only: dodge the accidental $20 hot food bar trip; there will be a $6 vegetarian dinner from 5 to 7 at the Westlake Whole Foods. Baked artichokes, asparagus, and corn fritters are on the menu, and all the food sales go to Forterra, a northwest conservation group.

SATURDAY May 26
Mischief Distillery at Tulalip
Tulalip Casino Resort is bringing the Fremont craft distiller out for the summer launch party of the patio at the Mpulse Lounge. Though the letter “i” apparently won’t be in attendance, the founder of Mischief will. The $30 ticket gets you an afternoon of live music, giveaways, liquor-laced snacks, drinks, and…mischief.

Revelry at Col Solare
The first of the summer’s Auction of Washington Wine events takes place at Col Solare winery on Saturday. Aside from the beautiful scenery and 21 winemakers planned to pour at the event there’s an even better reason to make this the highlight of your Memorial weekend getaway: it’ll be raising money for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

MONDAY May 28 (Memorial Day)
Free Burgers at Li’l Woody’s
The 28th is doing double holiday duty his year: Memorial Day and National Hamburger Day. Actually, there’s some serious debate about the true day o’ the burger, whether it’s May or July 28. The Capitol Hill burger joint is celebrating the May date with free burgers for all from 2 to 5.

Free Scoops for Vets
Old School Frozen Custard is keeping its Memorial celebration, well, old school, and honoring the veterans who the holiday is actually for with free scoops for those who’ve served.

Sidetrack Distillery Feast
The berry liqueur–making crew out at Lazy River Farm is putting on a big Memorial Day party. Food, beer, wine, and sips of Sidetrack are all on the docket. The party starts at 2:30.

Raw, Vegan Potluck
Mayonnaise-y potato salad and a juicy burger not your thing? Those who aren’t taking advantage of Memorial Day as a day to indulge in an entire week’s worth of fat and sugar are meeting up at Discovery Park for a potluck. Drums and durian, that um…pungent fruit, are encouraged.

TUESDAY May 29
African Feast at Skelly and the Bean
From Morocco all the way down to South Africa in four courses for just $40 bucks. Arrive at Skelly and the Bean at 5 for drinks, and dinner begins at 6.

Seattle Cookbooks at Elliott Bay Book Co.
Seattle-o-rama at Elliott Bay. Molly Moon (of… Molly Moon’s), Mark Klebeck (of Top Pot Doughnuts), and Jess Thomson (of Pike Place Market Recipes) will all be at the bookstore signing their books from 5 to 6:30. And there’s promise of samples from all the mouth-watering books…

May Corner Table at Cafe Presse
This month’s Corner Table dinner is a benefit for Green Plate Special, the Central District nonprofit that teaches kids from primarily low-income families how to garden and cook. The Corner table menu will be put together by Laura Dewell, head of Green Plate, and the dinner is $55 with wine pairings. Call Cafe Presse to save your spot at the 6:30 dinner.

BEYOND
July 26 This year marks the third anniversary of the popular event Feast on the Farm. Ethan Stowell cooks, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready jams, and diners get to ride tractors around the farm before sitting down to a salmon-safe, local-food dinner under the sky. Tickets went on sale May 10, and you’d better act fast to get a spot on that tractor.

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Tags: Hamburgers, Molly Moon's, Cafe Presse, Whole Foods, Ethan Stowell, Elliott Bay Book Co, Microdistilleries, Free Food, Top Pot, Washington Wines, Cookbooks, Benefit Dinners, Wine, Wineries, Skelly and the Bean

Three New Brunch Destinations

Twisted duck, dim sum, and rabbit pot pie issue a weekend wakeup call.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 10, 2012 at 10:30AM 2 Comments

Skelly and the Bean brought in a certified (by me) chicken and waffle expert for its new brunch service.

I’ve had breakfast on the brain lately, probably because of all the Mother’s Day brunch emails alighting in my inbox. Three notable and decently new restaurants in Capitol Hill and Madrona have recently fired up a regular brunch service as well.

Bako
The Canton and cocktails destination that brought new life to the old Jade Pagoda space now does brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10-3. What this means: a destination for dim sum on Capitol Hill. Plates include dumplings of shrimp or pork, crispy daikon cakes and, on the slightly less Chinese end of the spectrum, breakfast sliders. Prices start at $5.50 a plate.

Skelly and the Bean
The House that Zephyr Built expanded to brunch service this past weekend (to get in a few services before the Mother’s Day craziness). And the person manning the kitchen for brunch is Mario Campos, who previously cooked at Brouwer’s Cafe, then went over to The Publican, er, wait, The Burgundian to make chicken and waffles so good they visit me in my dreams, and guarantee I will follow this man and his brunch stylings wherever he may go. Menu mainstays will include farro porridge, a seasonal scramble, and the intriguingly named twisted-duck biscuits. Some waffle experimentation is in the works, so cross your fingers.

Restaurant Bea
After reviving the former June address in late March, Restaurant Bea (pronounced “bee”) starts its brunch service on Saturday, May 19, also from 10-3. Chef Tom Black, formerly of Fuller’s and the Barking Frog, walks the line between polished and gluttonous in his florally festooned new digs. His morning menu will have brioche pudding, seafood crepes, a lamb burger, and the rabbit pot pie that is fast becoming the restaurant’s signature.

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Tags: Brunch, Bako, Skelly and the Bean, Restaurant Bea, Morning Matters

Geraldine’s Counter, Skelly and the Bean Host Bo Ramen Pop-Up

Ramen obsessives, this one’s for you.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Apr 20, 2012 at 08:30AM 0 Comments

Bo Maisano’s brothy goodness. Photo via Facebook.

The latest opportunity to nerd out on noodles comes courtesy unabashed ramen obsessive Bo Maisano.

It was David Chang’s inaugural Lucky Peach that triggered Maisano’s infatuation with the brothy bowls and sent him on benders throughout Seattle and Portland. “I became completely obsessed.” He’s tinkered with his own recipes ever since. “A breath of fresh air,” he says of the shift in focus from his more buttoned-up kitchen experience and being pushed to the “edge of your comfort level. "There’s a whole lot going in that bowl.”

Seattleites can sample Maisano’s resultant handiwork in a series of pop-ups titled Bo Ramen. Geraldine’s Counter owner Gary Snyder (“Bo and I go way back”) will host two of the dinners on May 5 and 19—an ideal opportunity for his restaurant, a breakfast-brunch stalwart that’s closed on Saturday nights. (Maisano, a New Orleanian, has clocked in at many local establishments, hence his connection with Snyder.) Skelly and the Bean is also on board. Dinners there are set for May 1 and 8.

Diners can expect three bowls: shrimp or veggie miso or a chick-and-pork broth Shoyu ramen, all abiding by the local-sustainable credo, all around $10. (Gluten-free folks can opt for yam noodles.) For dessert: green tea gelato from Bottega Italiana. Maisano is still honing a tonkotsu, which he hopes to introduce by the middle of the run (what do you say to some bacon in there, Maisano?). Also in the works are hum bao with fun fillings like praline.

Depending on how this series pan out, Maisano will organize additional feasts in the future. Check out the Bo Ramen Facebook page for more info.

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Tags: Seattle Pop-Ups, Skelly and the Bean, Bo Maisano, Bo Ramen, Geraldine's Counter

Neighborhood Food News: Brunch, Biscuits, Free Food, and Cheap Beer

Plus: Asparagus season hits, Seattle stadiums step up their food offerings, and more.

Posted by: Brandon L. Bye on Apr 18, 2012 at 11:15AM 0 Comments

Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.

CAPITOL HILL
Skelly and the Bean will start kicking out brunch in late April – just in time for Mother’s day.

Honest Biscuits, a local and organic biscuitry, will return to the Broadway Farmers Market this Sunday (don’t worry, biscuits will remain at the West Seattle Farmers Market as well). And because nothing goes with biscuits like a drag queen, “celebrity spokesmodel” DeeDee Royalis will be handing out samples both sweet and savory.

Rabidly adored Hawaiian-Korean joint Marination Station, lets loose at its brick-and-mortar location with $1 beers all day on Thursday, April 19 in observance of the brick-and-mortar’s one-year mark.

DOWNTOWN
Vessel is set to open its second iteration in mid-May. With a rotating cast of local and not-so-local bartenders, drinkers can expect new experience upon each visit.

Sazerac celebrates the finish of tax season with a refund in the form of free food. Cash in on Friday, April 20 from 4 to 5.

SODO
Seattle stadiums have some new eats this season. Ethan Stowell has filled Safeco with burgers, barbecue and other sandwich creations, while Beecher’s Cheese offers its much-lauded mac and cheese to hungry Sounders and Seahawks supporters at the CLink.

ALL OVER
Asparagus shoots turn woody. Go to your local grocer or farmers market and treat yourself to a bunch or two while the season is right. I top mine with a little almond gremolata.

As of yesterday, Starbucks now-house brand juice Evolution Fresh has replaced the Naked Juice bottles previously on sale at the counter. The new juice product’s cold-crafted, no-heat juicing process is meant to retain as much nutrition and actual produce flavor as possible.

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Tags: Vessel, Starbucks, Sazerac, Neighborhood Food News Roundup, Skelly and the Bean, Asparagus

Neighborhood Food News: Meatless Mondays, mini MODs, and a West Seattle beer-naming contest

Plus: Mondays are on at Dinette, a Girl Scout cookie locator, and more.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Mar 07, 2012 at 11:15AM 0 Comments

Dinette (home of many tasty takes on toast) is now open Mondays.

CAPITOL HILL
Skelly and the Bean’s unique chef incubator project began this week. Every Monday in March, Sarah Wong, instructor, chef, and member of the Butcher’s Guild, will be doing a meatless Monday menu, served up with a side of irony.

Eater Seattle reports that Dinette is now open Mondays. This means fancy toast is now available six days a week.

SODO
Ales from local brewery Two Beers will be available next week at CenturyLink Field. Starting March 17, some of the SoDo brewery’s most popular creations will be on tap during Seahawks and Sounders games.

SOUTH LAKE UNION
Tom Douglas’ Brave Horse Tavern will serve breakfast from 8 to 11 on weekdays, starting March 28. More importantly: Breakfast includes pretzel breakfast sandwiches.

WEST SEATTLE
Big Al Brewing is just about to launch a third ‘hood-exclusive charity beer, and the organizers are leaving the naming up to you, says West Seattle Blog. (Maybe they are hoping to avoid another double entendre …) Whoever comes up with the winning name gets to choose a charity to receive a portion of the beer’s proceeds, as well as a stack of gift certificates from a variety of bars, and eternal fame.

WOODINVILLE
Four intriguing meals are coming up at the Herbfarm: first Super Cattle, starting March 9, a meaty meal exalting Washington and Oregon–raised Wagyu. After that; Chambers of the Sea, Spring Forager’s Dinner, and Salmon Nation.

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
The Beard and Stache Fest will be bouncing around town all month, from bingo at Calamity Jane’s to a Skee Ball tournament at King’s Hardware.

MOD Pizza has just launched the Mini MOD, a pizza sized for kids (or not-so-hungry grown-ups) that costs just $3.88. The little pie will be available at four of the five locations: Alderwood, Bellevue, Capitol Hill, and the U District.

For those of you regretting not buying an entire case of Thin Mints, never fear. There’s an online cookie locator. Find cookies in your ‘hood (or just find a new cookie spot, so they don’t see you coming back for yet another case of Samoas).

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Tags: Beer, Dinette, Skelly and the Bean, Brave Horse Tavern, Pretzels, Neighborhood Food News Roundup, Cookies, Tom Douglas, Pizza, Breakfast Sandwiches

Local Butcher-at-Large Doing a Month of Meatless Mondays

Skelly and the Bean’s first incubator series caters to those who like their vegetarian fare with a side of irony.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 02, 2012 at 01:15PM 0 Comments

March Mondays are meatless at Skelly and the Bean.

Now that Skelly and the Bean has completed its first week in business, the Capitol Hill restaurant is launching the next phase of owner Zephyr Paquette’s uniquely community-focused vision.

On Wednesday through Saturday nights, Paquette is in the kitchen and it’s business as usual at SkellyBean. The other nights of the week, the chef turns her space over to her “incubator series,” which begins Monday night. First up is chef, instructor, and butcher-at-large Sarah Wong, who has studied the finer points of dismemberment both domestically and abroad, and is a member of the Butcher’s Guild.

And what will this butcher be cooking during her Monday night stints this month? Why, a meatless Monday menu, obviously.

Wong says she took on a month of meatless Mondays in part for the irony (“because all chefs love irony”) but also because the idea of sustainable eating is something she advocates as an instructor at Seattle Central Community College’s culinary program. Before becoming a chef-instructor, Wong worked at Café Flora and the Harvest Vine and, as the dinner’s ticketing website coyly states, “was a personal chef for two very famous Vegas-based tiger-lovers.” She’s an articulate advocate of eating lower on the food chain, and urges her students to become conversant in emerging needs like allergies and dietary restrictions.

The five-course dinners cost $35, and you can buy tickets for the March 5 installment online. The first dinner is devoted to Southern-style flavors and ingredients, followed by a vegan meal March 12, and five gluten-free vegetarian courses are on the menu March 19. The final dinner on March 26, says Wong, will be live food, fermented.

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Tags: Special Dinners, Meatless, Dinner Series, Skelly and the Bean, Sarah Wong

Restaurant Shifts and Shakeups

This week: Skelly and the Bean opens, Damiana’s Blue Truck officially closes, and more.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Feb 24, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Skelly and the Bean’s funky, cozy, “farm-fancy” space.

OPENINGS

Skelly and the Bean
Zephyr Paquette’s new place opened yesterday, February 23, after much, much anticipation. We’ve got photos (and menu teasers.)

Koral Bar and Kitchen
The latest restaurant from the duo behind Pearl Bar and Dining opens next Thursday, March 1 in the former Twisted Cork space in Bellevue’s Hyatt Regency hotel. Self-labeled as the “new American kitchen,” the menu includes dressed-up classics like blue cheese meatloaf.

COMING SOON

Mediterranean Mix
Otmane Bezzaz, owner of J and M’s Café in Pioneer Square, is opening a similar restaurant at 23rd and Union, in the old Beehive Bakery space, says Central District News. The menu will be similar to J and M’s, with a few added items thanks to the larger kitchen.

Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff
The burger-based food truck is expanding in all directions: a brick-and-mortar restaurant in West Seattle is slated to open this summer, and a concession stand on Green Lake will be open by mid-April. The menu may be a little different at both new locations, but you can count on cheesesteaks from every Charlie’s.

Tippe and Drague
Though it’s been a year since the Beacon Hill alehouse was announced, it seems that things are finally coming together and it might be open by May, says Beacon Hill Blog.

The Oak
The folks behind The Redwood in Capitol Hill are opening another arboreal-named, comfort food, craft beer joint, this time in Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill Blog that a major remodel is underway and the owners are planning on a mixed bar/restaurant space.

The Wandering Goose
Beloved former baker at Volunteer Park Café Heather Earnhardt is opening a Southern-slanting breakfast joint in Capitol Hill. The Goose’s Facebook states that Earnhardt plans to open in June and serve fresh pastries and brunch, the North Carolina baker bringing biscuits and grits to the table.

CLOSINGS

Damiana’s Blue Truck Special
The gussied-up comfort food purveyor is retiring, sadly, but she’ll still be available for catering and special events.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Restaurant News, Closings, Seattle Food Trucks, Skelly and the Bean, Charlie’s Buns N’ Stuff, Capitol Hill Openings,

First Look: Skelly and the Bean

Tour Zephyr Paquette’s new farm-fancy eatery before it opens Thursday.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 20, 2012 at 12:10PM 1 Comments

Salvaged barn wood lines the wall, while an equally salvaged chandelier serves as a weathervane.

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Salvaged barn wood lines the wall, while an equally salvaged chandelier serves as a weathervane.

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The restaurant’s logo, a garlic butterfly, hangs in the front window.

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The restaurant’s name comes from an elementary school-aged family friend Pascal, nicknamed Skelly, who heard Paquette wanted to open a restaurant and handed over $10 to be her first investor. His little sister Nina, aka The Bean, gets naming rights too.

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Staff make last-minute arrangements (like tying their plaid neckties) before a pre-opening private event.

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Paquette’s rainbow-hued wall of gratitude thanks some people by name, alongside shout-outs to “Anonymous OCD helper” and “tater-tot tester.”

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A popcorn machine tucked behind the wall of love portends fancy bar snacks to come.

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The Easy Joe’s sign is getting removed today. Hanging on the bathroom wall you’ll find pen-and-ink drawings of the restaurant’s former life as bistro Cassis. Skelly GM (and Cassis owner) Jef Fike pulled them off his own walls to hang in the restaurant.

Capitol Hill’s flurry of new arrivals continues February 23, when Skelly and the Bean opens its doors in the space that most recently housed Easy Joe’s (and before that, the original Tidbit Bistro). Skelly populates a quieter stretch of the neighborhood north of the hopping Pike-Pine and Broadway corridors.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Zephyr Paquette, a longtime local chef who spent three years cooking for Tamara Murphy at Elliott Bay Cafe, and before that worked at Café Flora and Ballard’s dearly departed Dandelion. Paquette somehow managed to put together an entire restaurant without taking out a single loan. Skelly’s tables and chairs were all donated, thrifted, or bought on the cheap with donations from the restaurant’s membership program. A considerable amount of manual labor and some unifying coats of green paint bring the eclectic assortment into harmony, beneath a sky-painted ceiling.

A Capitol Hill Seattle post about the project back in December uses the word “grange,” and the 50-seat space definitely has a charming farm feel. In a lovely twist of fate, the restaurant’s general manager is Jef Fike, who ran the popular bistro Cassis in that very same 10th Avenue address until it closed in 2004. Hit up the slideshow above for a sneak peek at the space, which includes a stained-glass garlic butterfly and a wall of love bearing the names of various people who contributed to making the restaurant a reality.

Paquette has planned a menu that doesn’t let its hyperlocal stance get in the way of having fun. Dishes include a “mystery half-chicken” whose preparation changes daily, and a plate saucily titled “three-way on the side” that consists of any three items from the side dish menu. The tater tots are likely to become one of the restaurant’s signatures, but in SkellyBean parlance they are referred to as “petit paquets.”

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Skelly and the Bean, Zephyr Paquette, Jef Fike, Capitol Hill Openings

An Opening Date for Skelly and the Bean

This most unusual of restaurants opens officially on February 23.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 02, 2012 at 09:30AM 3 Comments

Don’t let that insouciant pose fool you: This woman has been busting her posterior to open later this month. Photo courtesy of Skelly and the Bean.

Zephyr Paquette, a memorable personality in Seattle’s already colorful world of chefs, is less than a month away from opening her restaurant Skelly and the Bean. She has amassed tables and chairs and burnished the floors in rice bran oil. Upended old barn planks now line the walls like some sort of bucolic wooden fence beneath a sky-painted ceiling. She has also set a February 23 public open date.

To say this Capitol Hill establishment is community-driven is a comical understatement. Thanks in part to a membership program she devised last year, Paquette, a veteran of Cafe Flora, Elliott Bay Cafe, and the former Dandelion, is somehow managing to open a 50-seat restaurant without taking out a single loan. She has relied instead on member contributions, the kindness of strangers, and support from friends and acquaintances acquired through her career. And lots of her own manual labor, of course. Paquette won’t say exactly how many members she has, but she’s planning on capping the list soon and releasing a few memberships each subsequent season. She also meets each member in person before bringing them on.

The former Easy Joe’s space on 10th Avenue is now home to a most decidedly mismatched assortment of tables and chairs. Every item in the dining room, says Paquette, was donated or purchased with member contributions. This means every piece of furniture has a story, from the table some friends grabbed from the side of the road while en route to the airport (they still made their flight), to the freebie table from Craigslist. The owners originally promised it to another taker, says Paquette, but revoked the offer once they read about the restaurant.

The menu will also contain its share of stories, like the “Rowley bites” mussel po’boys and geoduck salad, named in honor of sustainable shellfish superstar Jon Rowley. Other items sound like the chef herself: deadly serious about sourcing, but pretty damn fun. There’s the “buckets of rain” dessert (yes, named for the Dylan song) that’s an actual bucket of raindrop-shaped doughnuts with chocolate and jam to dip. Or the secret half-chicken: It could be stuffed, fried, braised—you won’t know till it arrives at the table. But do know this: There will be tater tots, made in-house and dubbed “petit paquets” (har).

In addition to dinner service, Paquette plans to open her space to classes and an incubator series that give young chefs and other un-restauranted talent a chance to do their thing. She’s already signing up chefs for the incubator calendar but is looking for more “upstarts” who might be interested.

Members get a monthly dining stipend and a few other perks, but the rest of us can start making reservations shortly after Valentine’s Day.

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Tags: Coming Soon, Skelly and the Bean, Zephyr Paquette

Neighborhood Food News: Lunar New Year Celebration, King Cake is Back at Where Ya At Matt

Plus: Free house-made Samoas, a cookbook callout, and the return of Cupcake Royale’s “Deathcake”

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Jan 25, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

20 International District restaurants are participating in the Lunar New Year Festival with a smattering of $2 dishes.

BALLARD
In the name of spreading latte love, on Valentine’s Day the cafe/flower shop Emerald City Orchids will choose two fans to receive a free latte every day that the cafe is open.

CAPITOL HILL
Zephyr Paquette’s much-anticipated community-driven restaurant Skelly and the Bean is looking for for donations of dinner plates. Mismatched plates can only contribute to the ultra-communal feel of this unique restaurant.

CENTRAL DISTRICT
Urban farming collective Alleycat Acres is putting together a community cookbook and wants your recipes (well, only if you live in the Central District or Beacon Hill.) When the cookbook is complete, it’ll be available as an eBook for less than $5.

DOWNTOWN
Free house-made Samoa cookies, inspired by the Girl Scout classic, at BOKA this Friday 11—1. Stop by on your way to the boat show for a shortbread topped with caramel, dipped in chocolate and coconut.

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
In celebration of the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, a variety of restaurants such as Fuji Bakery and Fu-Lin Ramen House will be offering $2 dishes at the Second Annual Lunar New Year Food Walk this Saturday from 11 am. After dim sum, check out Wing Luke Museum’s exhibit From Fields to Family about the history of food in the neighborhood.

WEST SEATTLE
The newest location of ever-growing froyo chain Menchie’s is having a grand opening this weekend. The California Avenue shop will offer up free frozen yogurt 11–1 Saturday and lots of other activities and freebies all weekend long.

KIRKLAND
Lilli Pilli, the macaron-only bakery run by an local-food-loving Aussie, is offering free delivery on Valentine’s Day for orders of $50 or more. Someone in your life (or you) probably needs a couple boxes of Fleur de Sel caramel macarons, one of our favorites in last year’s taste test.

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Cupcake Royale’s decadent Deathcake is back for another chocolate-drenched Valentine’s Day. Now available in babycake size, the Deathcake consists of Theo chocolate paired with Stumptown espresso ganache, topped with fleur de sel.

A sweet pre-Mardi Gras indulgence, sugary cinnamon-laced king cake is back at Creole food truck Where Ya At Matt.

Food tour company Savor Seattle is putting on a food hunt this February; follow them on Facebook or Twitter to get in on each day’s puzzle. For the first to figure it out each day, there will be a prize ranging in value from $25 to $200 and a ticket to enter in the drawing for the grand prize—a tour for two through every Tom Douglas restaurant.

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Tags: Valentine's Day, International District, Cupcakes, Macarons, Skelly and the Bean, Frozen Yogurt, Where Ya At Matt

Five Openings I’m Awaiting in 2012

We’ve celebrated the newcomers and mourned the shuttered. Now let’s look ahead.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Dec 28, 2011 at 01:15PM 0 Comments

This year: hair salon. Next year: majorly anticipated bakery Crumble and Flake.

The Internet masses will be slogging through a few more days of “year in review” posts/articles/tweets before 2011 makes its grand exit. Hence I’d like to take a minute to cast an eye toward the future and point out a few restaurants that have me counting the minutes until next year arrives.

Ethan Stowell’s fast casual undertaking
One of Seattle’s most accomplished (and delightfully sardonic) chefs is still working on a series of fast casual establishments under the name Grubb Brothers (along with wife Angela Stowell and business partner Chad Dale). The first joint to open its doors is likely to be Ballard Pizza Co. some time this spring. But the group’s restaurant plans also include steak frites, fried chicken, sandwiches, and more. Hence whatever spot becomes a reality first, chances are I’ll be waiting outside the front window, chanting “o-pen, o-pen, o-pen!” like the ladies in those ghastly old Mervyn’s ads. Hey, nobody accused me of having an active social life. Estimated open: Majorly TBD.

The return of Restaurant Zoe
There is some fast and furious buildout happening over at the former La Panzanella bakery, now home to Oola Distillery and soon Restaurant Zoe (also, Chinese restaurant Lucky 8). Scott Staples’s first restaurant is planning to reopen mid-January in its new Capitol Hill digs. It shouldn’t take a relocation to get diners excited about an enduring favorite. But, nonetheless…excitement. Estimated open: January.

Skelly and the Bean
Zephyr Paquette’s forthcoming Capitol Hill restaurant is many things: an incubator. A community space. An ambitious experiment in membership-based funding. So it’s easy to get sidetracked from the fact that Paquette is a pretty badass cook. And said badassery will be in effect Wednesday through Saturday, when Paquette will be in the kitchen and her multi-faceted space is a restaurant, plain and simple. Estimated opening: Late January or early February.

Crumble and Flake
Pastry chef Neil Robertson garnered a loyal following at Canlis, cemented it at MistralKitchen, and now he’s adding to the roster of great food and drink spots creeping down Olive Way. What’s currently a hair salon will soon become Crumble and Flake, a tiny shop that Robertson will fill with a takeout counter and whatever cream puffs, cookies, and croissaints he feels like conjuring up in the tiny shop’s kitchen. Estimated open: April-ish.

Queen of Ballard
Don’t get me wrong, I’m plenty interested in Manhattan Drugs, the Capitol Hill spot from Laura Olson and Chris Pardo, that’s probably opening in the very first days of 2012 (in other words, late next week). But the small plate Scandinavian restaurant the couple is planning over in Ballard puts an interesting spin on the neighborhood’s heritage and will be unlike any other place I can think of in town. Estimated open: January or February.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Restaurant Zoe, Ethan Stowell, Queen of Norway, Skelly and the Bean, Ballard Pizza Co, Crumble and Flake, Zephyr Paquette, Neil Robertson