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Restaurant Shifts and Shakeups

This week: the third Thai Curry Simple opens, Beecher’s is expanding to Sea-Tac, Where Ya At Matt finds a home in Fremont, and more.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Mar 09, 2012 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

OPENINGS

RoRo BBQ and Grill
The BBQ and burger joint in the location that was Zesto’s for decades opened Monday, reports My Ballard. No fancy comfort food here, just no-frills comfort: pulled pork, brisket, beans, and cornbread.

Fiddlehead Fine Foods and Café
A sweet new lunch spot has opened in West Seattle and has plans for breakfast soon. West Seattle Blog has photos of the sunny space and the cute mason jar chocolate caramel pudding cups.

Thai Curry Simple
The popular Thai restaurant’s third location in South Lake Union opened Monday, March 5, with an extremely busy ran-out-of-food day, according to Facebook.

Caffe Vita
One of Seattle’s mainstay coffee destinations has staked its claim in the big city. The New York Times reports that the outpost opened Monday on the Lower East Side, joining Stumptown as a representative for West Coast coffee on the Eastern seaboard.

CLOSINGS

Trattoria Cioppino
My Green Lake says that Trattoria Cioppino has shuttered after just nine months of serving, but it’ll soon be replaced by a second Seattle location for Portland-based Mio Sushi.

Grubwich
Broadway’s unfortunately named late-night sandwich joint has closed, reports Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

NAME CHANGES

The Burgundian
Due to legal complications with a Chicago restaurant of the same name, what was The Publican is now The Burgundian. But that’s all that’s changed; the not-messing-around beer program and hearty menu remain the same.

COMING SOON

Where Ya At Matt
Building on his Creole food truck’s success, Matthew Lewis is opening a sit-down restaurant Fremont Ave, called Roux. There’ll be beignets all day and a “sexy” dinner service that will surely include nighttime takes on truck favorites.

D’Ambrosia Gelato
Capitol Hill Seattle blog says that the second location of the Ballard gelateria will open its doors in a couple of weeks, with double the flavors of the original shop.

Top Pot
Bellevue Square is getting its very own Top Pot shop in May.

San Fernando Roasted Chicken
Peruvian rotisserie chicken is coming to White Center in April. The menu will be much the same as at the other two locations, with cumin-garlicky pollo a la brasa as the centerpiece.

Beecher’s
Layovers just got a lot better: Beecher’s is opening a Sea-Tac location. There’ll be mac and cheese (of course), as well as paninis, stratas, and a bit of charcuterie. And a mini Caffe Vita.

C.S. Finnegan’s
A new Belltown bar is coming, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. The bar, housed in a former 1900’s grocery store, might softly open next week, but if not there’s a very grand grand opening for St. P’s.

Juice Box
The culinary couple that put on a series of underground dinners in 2010 is at it again, this time with juice. They’ll be selling fresh, seasonal juices at the Broadway Farmers Market (and maybe the Queen Anne market too.)

Po Dog
The all ho dogs, all the time restaurant will be opening its third location in Ballard in just a week or so, says My Ballard.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Thai Curry Simple, Beecher's, Where Ya At Matt, Sea-Tac, The Publican, Grand Opening, Seattle Restaurant Closings, Bar Openings, Top Pot, White Center, Closings, Juice Box

Breaking News of Awesomeness

Where Ya At Matt Is Opening a Restaurant!

The popular food truck parks it at the former Buckaroo Tavern.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Mar 02, 2012 at 05:40PM 9 Comments

It’s official: Seattle’s roving Creole king is going bricks and mortar. Where Ya At Matt owner Matthew Lewis, he of the po’boys, king cake, and other addictive fare, says he has signed a lease at 4201 N Fremont Ave. You might know the address as the dearly departed landmark bar Buckaroo Tavern.

Lewis says the Buckaroo’s storefront exterior reminds him of some of his favorite New Orleans neighborhoods, including the Garden District and Magazine Street. He’s envisioning “a whole New Orleans po’boy shop feel,” complete with a walkup counter and chalkboard menu. He has christened his restaurant Roux, as in the mother sauce that forms the foundation for a lot of Creole cooking. “It’s something that’s always warm,” says Lewis. Sadly, he rejected my suggestion of Here I Am Matt.

The restaurant will do walkup service for breakfast and lunch, and beignets and coffee all day. For dinner and weekend brunch, the 75-seat space will revert to full sit-down service, which Lewis promises will be both impeccable and unstuffy. By day, the menu won’t stray too far from the po’boys, gumbo and grits he serves on the truck. He’s still deciding on exact dinner plans, but says “it’s going to be sexy truck.” To reiterate, “nighttime is going to get real sexy on you.” Sexy, and mostly less than $20.

Lewis hopes the full bar and a late night menu will draw an industry crowd. This flexible day-to-night formula is not unlike Skillet Diner, another popular food truck that made the jump last year to an equally popular restaurant.

Good news for the legions of fans (we can’t help but notice, many of whom are female) who line up for Lewis’s food: The truck isn’t going anywhere. He’s shooting for a late summer open, While he’s been living the truck life, Lewis is no stranger to running a restaurant. Before launching Where Ya At Matt in the summer of 2010, he worked in Seattle restaurants like Toulouse Petit and Restaurant Zoe.

Fremont Avenue is becoming quite the restaurant destination, with Uneeda Burger nearby, as well as the soon-to-expand Hunger. Another restaurant project is reportedly in the works. Lewis will also share the block with Paseo, whose sandwiches inspire just as much heartfelt devotion as Where Ya At Matt’s. “I think we can be friends,” says Lewis. “It will be sandwich row for sure.”

To summarize: He’s got a space, a name, a concept, an architect (Graham Baba), and a highly vocal fan base. And Lewis is quick to credit his customers for making Roux happen: “Without the support I get from my fans, I wouldn’t feel as confident as I do about this restaurant.”

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Tags: Coming Soon, Where Ya At Matt, Matthew Lewis, Roux

Food News Roundup

Neighborhood Food News: More Pasta at Il Corvo and Dine Around Seattle Is Coming Right Up

Plus: Cheese field trips with Calf and Kid, Proletariat Pizza delivers, and more.

Posted by: Anne Larkin on Feb 29, 2012 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

CAPITOL HILL
Melrose Market cheesemonger The Calf and Kid is reviving the elementary school joy of the field trip with day trips to Yarmuth Farms to tour the creamery, pet the baby animals, and eat a big, cheesy lunch.

DOWNTOWN
The bad news: Il Corvo, the fresh pasta joint tucked into a gelato shop, is closing Mondays, cutting its days to Tuesday–Friday. The good news: Owner Mike Easton is closing Monday to have more pasta-making hours, so he will actually be able to keep serving lunch until 3 on the days the shop is open and can have more beautiful specials. (Like ‘naked’ nettle ravioli).

GREENWOOD
Phinneywood reports that Chuck’s Hop Shop is hosting a beer tasting to raise money for Vision Greenwood Park tonight, Wednesday the 1st, from five to eight.

LYNNWOOD
There’s a new Whole Foods opening soon up north—the grand opening will be on Thursday, March 15. An hour of hoopla begins at 8, and the doors officially open to the public at 9. Then on Saturday, March 17, the store is having a family-oriented celebration from 10 to 2…free samples?

U DISTRICT
As part of Free First Thursday, the Burke Museum will be opening its Hungry Planet exhibit to the public free of charge. The exhibit explores the interplay between food and culture through photos of families in their markets and homes with a week’s worth of groceries, as well as a special display about traditional Native American foodways.

WEST SEATTLE
Proletariat Pizza is trying out a new delivery service—available Monday through Wednesday to addresses nearby the White Center shop, according to Eater Seattle.

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
On Thursday, March 1, the new Washington liquor legislation kicks in, making it possible for restaurants and bars to work directly with distillers and distributors without the state as a middleman. But things might not really change too much, for now at least.

Food-lover magazine Bon Appetit named the Hot Cakes bacon, oatmeal, raisin cookies served at Stumptown as one of the nation’s best coffee shop desserts. (And they’ve got a recipe!)

On the subject of accolades, Where Ya At Matt was counted amongst the nation’s 20 best food trucks by the most well-known arbiter of taste in the restaurant world, Smithsonian Magazine.

Dine Around Seattle, the 3-courses-for-$30 restaurant extravaganza, begins Thursday, March 1, with more restaurants this year then ever before. Start making your lists and your reservations.

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Tags: Pizza, Il Corvo, Neighborhood Food News Roundup, Liquor Privatization, Food News Roundup, Liquor Laws, Food News, Pasta, Dine Around Seattle, Awards and Accolades, Where Ya At Matt

Awesome Edible Collaborations

So, Anything Going On February 5?

Don’t miss these great food events just because they fall on Super Bowl Sunday.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 26, 2012 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

UPDATE: In a highly ironic double twist, both events have been postponed. The butchering demo will now happen February 12, and the gospel brunch is rescheduled for February 26.

The entire nation knows that Sunday, February 5 is the day Target releases its awesome Jason Wu collab Super Bowl 46. Where can you go to watch the game and its attendant commercials? Why, pretty much every bar and restaurant in town in possession of a television. However a couple of fairly kickass collaborative food events are also happening that day. It’s something to consider whether you prefer to watch the game sans empty stomach, or just hoping to avoid the football madness entirely.

Il Corvo and Dot’s Delicatessen
It’s the pig-slicing equivalent of a supergroup: Il Corvo pasta phenom Mike Easton and meat man Miles James of Dot’s Delicatessen are teaming up for a butchering demo. For $120 you can watch these two take down a whole pig, then attendees consume said pig in the form of porchetta, all part of a porky three-course lunch that comes with wine. This porcine smorgasbord is an all-day deal (11 to 5). James said the class had to be on Sunday due to the way the slaughter was scheduled, so just set your DVR and sign up, already.

Where Ya At Matt and Hilliard’s
Food trucker Matthew Lewis is teaming up with Hilliard’s Beer and two gospel choirs to put on a Southern-style gospel brunch. The first seating is at 10:30, leaving you plenty of time to park yourself in front of a TV later in the day. Even the second seating at noon should get you filled up on biscuits, gravy, and hush puppies, and out the door before the 3:30 kickoff. Tickets are $40; adult beverage details are forthcoming, but since this thing is happening at a brewery, you can read between the lines here.

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Tags: Il Corvo, Il Corvo, Mike Easton, Where Ya At Matt, Matthew Lewis, Dot's Delicatessen, Miles James

Food News Roundup

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

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

On the Menu

King Cake at Where Ya At Matt

This cinnamon-laced treat means carnival season has arrived.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 19, 2012 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

This is only the second Mardi Gras season for food truck Where Ya At Matt, but already his (highly enthusiastic) fan base knows that January and February mean house-made king cake.

A New Orleans native who roams the streets dispensing Creole classics like gumbo and po’boys, Lewis is offering this traditional pre-Lenten treat right up to Mardi Gras, February 21. The Louisiana version of king cake, he says, is “basically a braided cinnamon roll” iced in the colors of Mardi Gras. The purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power, and the braid is meant to look like a king’s crown.

King cake makes first appears on Epiphany, usually January 6. Whether you find it in a French Quarter bakery, or a Seattle food truck in an Interbay parking lot, the sweet’s arrival means it’s officially carnival season, says Lewis. Slices are $3 and you can preorder a whole cake on his website for $35.

It’s tempting to consume your slice quickly, as it does indeed taste like an enormous cinnamon roll. Just bite with care: Each cake has a tiny plastic baby hidden within. Traditionally, says Lewis, “Whoever finds it throws the next party.” It also has a few other meanings.

All this revelry leads up to Mardi Gras, one final blowout before Ash Wednesday puts an end to all the overindulgence and ushers in Lent.

“In New Orleans we have a way of turning anything into a party, including religion,” says Lewis. “Anything you do during Mardi Gras up until February 21 is forgiven by the church. I promise.” Including consuming gluttonous amounts of king cake.

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Tags: Seattle Food Trucks, On the Menu, Where Ya At Matt, Matthew Lewis