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Happy Birthday, Seastar

John Howie, perhaps the most philanthropic chef in town, is closing the Seattle Seastar location in January.

A year ago this month, John Howie became the first headline chef to colonize South Lake Union with his Seattle outpost of Bellevue’s creamy Seastar.

(Look what he started. Tom Douglas of Dahlia Lounge et al. just announced that he’ll be opening a place in that nabe, followed by Christine Keff’s announcement that she’ll relocate her terrific Flying Fish there this May.)

So starting this Thursday, Howie lays out a full week of birthday festivities, including gifts for his patrons. All week from 1/21 through 1/27, drop your business card in the fishbowl for a chance to win a Seastar dinner for eight on your birthday.

The rest of the fun:
Thursday 1/21: $1.27 Sushi all night long, featuring Howie’s Washington Roll (smoked salmon, Dungeness crab, and Granny Smith apples), shiro maguro ngiri, ebi ngiri, vegetarian futomaki roll, kappa maki, and maguro roll.

Friday 1/22: Every couple that comes in and orders two entrees at lunch or dinner will receive a $27.09 dinner gift certificate. (Get it? The birthdate?)

Saturday 1/23: Enjoy a glass of Krug and finish dinner with a one-ounce pour of Louis XIII Cognac for $127.09 (Valued at $200.00).

Sunday 1/24: $1.27 Happy Hour beer, wine, and cocktails all night.

Monday 1/25: “Choose Your Charity” evening. Choose Food Lifeline, Muscular Dystrophy Association, or Bailey-Boushay House and 12.7% of your bill will be donated there.

Tuesday 1/26: The first 127 dinner guests will receive a glass of bubbles and a dessert trio with the purchase of their entree.

Wednesday 1/27: On the actual birthday, a six-course (with wine pairings) “Happy Birthday Seastar” dinner will include seared ahi, sushi, diver scallops with local black truffles, pear panna cotta, and plenty of chocolate—for $127.09 per couple (tax and gratuity not included).











Kathryn Robinson
Kathryn Robinson
Senior Writer Seattle native Kathryn Robinson, award-winning restaurant critic and senior writer at Seattle Met, has been anonymously reviewing restaurants for over 30 years—first as editor of the Best Places guidebook series, then as staff critic at Seattle Weekly and contributing critic at The Seattle Times and Seattle magazine.  Midcareer she spent a year-long sabbatical studying comparative religion as a Knight Fellow at Stanford University where she had been an undergrad 10 years earlier, gaining a knowledge base she now calls upon for her monthly “Back Fence” column on our collective urban existence and the meaning it holds for our personal lives. In her off hours she is a partner and a parent—which means she has no off hours.