Above: a table at the new Sitka & Spruce in the Melrose Project. Below, the Supersonic Gin & Tonic at Joey's on Lake Union; seared foie gras at Marjorie on Capitol Hill
Ah, summer! You can smell the smoke from ten thousand backyard barbecues (wait, unless those are the BC wildfires), so why would you even think of going inside? Wrong answer. There are more new restaurants this summer than in the past two years, so what are you waiting for? A fatter wallet? Fat chance. Here's a (partial) survey of what's new...and what's closed.
SOUTH LAKE UNION, BELLTOWN
You could do a lot worse, on these fine summer evenings, than hit the deck at one South Lake Union's “Big Six” view decks: McCormick & Schmick's Harborside, Daniel's Broiler, Duke's Chowder House, Chandler's, Joey's or BlueWater Bistro. Should you find yourself at Joey's (a Canadian chain, so you know they'll be polite), don't miss the Supersonic Gin & Tonic, a good, stiff drink enlivened with a refreshing glob of lemon slurpee for $5.
Two more new bars in South Lake Union as the neighborhood fills in and up: Citrus, and re:public.
Armin Moloudzadeh has left Ventana, the gaping hole of a dining room & bar on First Avenue where he was general manager of a confusing concept (small plates? Shared plates? Full meals?); he joins the bar staff at Tavolata. The signs in the window say to expect a “new” Wasabi Bistro any day now, but they've been up for a couple of months now. Meantime, Japanessa Sushi Cocina (wow! what a frightening metaphor) has opened at First & Union. At Second & Denny, Barracuda is serving up $4 tacos: housemade corn tortillas filled with Mexican street delicacies like lengua (tongue) and menudo (tripe), bravo! .The Local Vine, named one of the best wine bars in the country earlier this year, is now closed, moving to the Trace Lofts on Capitol Hill. Their building, the McGuire, is being torn down.
QUEEN ANNE-MAGNOLIA
La Mondellina, the Italian kitchen & deli run by the folks who own nearby Mondello and Enza Cucina Sicliana on Queen Anne, will soon become a pizzeria. You'll have to look in the window to see the Neapolitan-style pizza oven being maneuvered into place. Temporarily closed, with no date for the reopening announced. Dish It Up, the cookware & cooking-class store in Magnolia Village, has plans for a second location in Ballard with twice as many classroom spots, to open in late October. How to Cook a Wolf has a relatively new chef, Matt Fortner.His predecessor, Ryan Weed moved to June in Madrona, which has the same owners as Portage, across the street from How to Cook a Wolf.
WEST SEATTLE
Official opening Friday the 13th, in the Ovio-O2-Beato-Enness restaurant graveyard on California Avenue, Blackboard Bistro. Owner-chef is Jacob Wiegner, who's spent the past couple of years as sous-chef at Capitol Hill's Olivar. Next door, the former chef and co-owner of Harvest Vine, Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez, takes over as culinary director at The Swinery in the wake of Gabriel Claycamp's departure.
CAPITOL HILL
Marjorie is back in business, with a charming patio and an equally charming menu, produced by Harvest Vine alum Kylen McCarthy. Best dish: a seared foie gras. The Melrose Project (1531 Melrose) continues to grow. Sitka & Spruce has opened, with another Harvest Vine alum, Taylor Thornhill, and Bastille refugee Nick Coffee in control on nights that owner Matt Dillon is down at The Corson Building in Georgetown. There's a nifty little wine bar called Bar Ferdinand (also a Dillon project), a terrific butcher (Rain Shadow Meats), and an excellent artisan cheese shop, Calf & Kid. Coming soon (construction not yet underway) is Tamara Murphy's venture, Terra Plata, with complete with rooftop dining.
Tidbit Bistro is now open at Broadway & Union, a mile and a half south of its original location. La Bete (The Best), the Tyler Moritz-Aleks Dimitrijevic venture in the old Chez Gaudy space on Melrose, will be delayed--hopefully just for a short time. Long lines out the door at Po Dog earlier last night for a cheese-dog giveaway; there's also a new sports bar, Auto Battery, next door. Big Mario's is now open next to Caffe Vita; same owners and same owners as Via Tribunali, too. But Tribunali is all about Neapolitan pizza; Mario is Noo-Yawk -style.
If you're walking along Pine, stop in and say hello to the young lady in the window at Cakespy's new retail outlet. She's Jessie Oleson, cute as a bug's ear, an original writer and talented illustrator who created a national phenomenon with her sweet-natured Cuppy character (a leftover blob of cookie dough) and user-friendly baking recipes.
WALLINGFORD / FREMONT / UNIVERSITY
The Buckaroo Tavern on Fremont says it's going to close. A block away, Hunger has just opened in the Persimmon space. That bustling neighborhood spot, Cantinetta, is opening a seconed location in Bellevue with Tomer Shneor at the stove. Former sous Emran Chowdhury takes over in Wallingford. (Cantinetta's original chef, Brian Cartenuto, is now cooking at a steakhouse in Mississippi.)
We note with sadness, meantime, that Avila, on 45th, has closed its doors. So too has Divine, in Roosevelt. And Marcus Martini Heaven, down the stairs in the netherworld of Pioneer Square.
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