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Olson and Pardo are out at 12th Ave steakhouse concept Manhattan Drugs leaving a man in control of the restaurant who, until now, had been a silent partner in the project funding the restaurant from its beginning. Though, really, remaining Manhattan partner Jin Park remains silent, at least as far as CHS is concerned. We talked to a representative for the investor turned restauranteur to ask about what happened and what's next at the restaurant -- now re-dubbed to a simplified, and focused Manhattan. "What you're going to see are very subtle shifts," Park's rep told CHS. "We think it should represent a higher focus for fine dining." "It's been known for drinking and fun place to be -- that was what Pterodactyl is known so well for," he said. "There needs to be a higher focus placed on fine dining. There was a bit to be desired on that front." That last part is probably an understatement. You can give this brutal review from the Seattle Weekly a read for a taste of what was was amiss at the Drugs-incarnation of the restaurant. To achieve the goal of producing a higher quality experience, the re-energized Manhattan plans to do more to empower the people running its kitchen to succeed. It's part of the reason Park is staying out of the spotlight -- chef Khampaeng Panyathong should have a chance to shine.
The plan, the representative said, is to give the executive chef "complete control" of the menu to allow the chef to be "more inspired" and bring "more fun elements" to the offerings. "The old menu was more represenatitive of what other steakhouses around town had," the representative said. You can expect more surprises with the new slate. "The main face is KP," the rep said of the new Manhattan. Other parts of the plan are more about making a deeper investment in Manhattan as a fine dining experience. There are plans for a more up-to-date selection of wines and pairings. Manhattan also plans to invest in its staff. "We brought in some new staff with more experience in fine dining establishments," the rep said. More experience can cost more. The rep also insists Manhattan's new ways will maintain the restaurant's current price points. "We just want to make sure that the restaurant and its space can be as succesful as possible," the rep said. "It fills a niche but at the same time we want to be hitting price points and quality. If those things require a larger investment, so be it but I don't want to get into that." We first reported on the plan for Manhattan Drugs last September. Just before New Year's, the new joint snuck under the 2011 wire and debuted. The new Manhattan is very careful not to trash its old self -- the rep wouldn't comment on why these kinds of initiatives weren't part of the restaurant from the start. But the break-up of the partnership was certainly never in the plans. "Things changed as events happened," the rep said and would not comment further. Via email, Pardo told CHS only "our vision for the direction of the restaurant differed." "We love the space and wish them success in all their endeavors," Pardo wrote. Manhattan and Auto Battery are CHS advertisers.
I always thought that you needed an ice cream maker to make ice cream. Not so! I’m not saying this recipe is a completely casual undertaking, given the daredevil feat of making a dark amber caramel. But once that's done, all you need are a pan and a fork and a bit of freezer space to produce a perfectly creamy scoop of Molly Moon's salted caramel ice cream at home.
Luckily, just in time for summer, the new Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream cookbook makes this salted caramel recipe, and many others, available to home cooks on Capitol Hill and beyond. The book has all the classic and quirky flavors you've come to expect of Molly Moon’s. Scout mint? Check. Baby beet sorbet? Indeed. Honey lavender? Oh, yes. Salted Caramel Ice Cream 1/8 tsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
When the butter has melted, begin to add the cream and milk verrrry sloooowly. Seriously, slowly. The caramel will steam and bubble and some hard little caramel lumps may form. No worries, keep whisking, be patient, let them dissolve. When the mixture is smooth, remove it from the heat. Pour it into a shallow pan and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least an hour. Remove the cold creamy pan of deliciousness from the refrigerator and whisk in 1 Tb. (yes, 1 Tb.) kosher salt. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (I churned mine longer than a usual batch, about 35 minutes, because the salt makes this ice cream so soft). Or if you don’t have an ice cream maker (or if it’s busy churning another flavor already), leave the mixture in the pan and transfer the pan to the freezer. If you’re going the no-ice-cream maker route, stir the mixture thoroughly with a fork every half hour or so until the entire pan of ice cream is a uniform texture (at first it will freeze around the edges, then you will stir it up, then it will freeze around the edges again, etc.). When your ice cream is ready (it will still be quite soft), transfer it to a sealed freezer container and freeze at least four hours before serving. This ice cream never freezes very hard because of the salt content, so plan to serve and eat it quickly! Note 1: I thought that the saltiness of this ice cream was perfect. If you find the finished product too salty-tasting, however, serve it over a rich brownie or under a blanket of hot fudge. Now it’s perfect, right? Note 2: This magic no-ice-cream-maker method works better with this recipe than with others I’ve tried it with. Just a heads up in case you plan to use this method with other recipes: it always works, but usually the texture of ice cream made with the fork-and-pan system is icier/grainer than ice cream made with an ice cream maker. With this recipe, however, the results were indistinguishable. Capitol Hill Cooks is a home cooking recipe series featuring ingredients, ideas, and recipes from the neighborhood. Have a recipe you think we should share? Drop us a line at chs@capitolhillseattle.com. Em also writes about home cooking at emmycooks.com Previous Capitol Hill Cooks Posts After a few false starts, Capitol Hill's first new dance club to open in years debuted Friday night to an enthusiastic crowd and with only a few reported hiccups. Is it hot in here or is it just me!?! It's me. Picture of the first Friday night at The Social and its little friend EVO Tapas Kitchen, below. The Social project is one of this year -- the Laura Olson-Chris Pardo-Alex Garcia-backed the Social and Broadway's Q Capitol Hill. This is how the Social's social media-savvy backers described their venture:
Early on, the Social gained some buzz for its plan to incorporate technology and social media into its experience. We don't know about the iPads but we noticed the club issuing drink coupons via its Facebook page. Kinda beats Groupon, no? The club has also walked a fine line around its positioning as a gay dance club. "Everyone is welcome at The Social!" Garcia told Seattle Gay Scene. "All people, gay or straight, will feel comfortable. We want it to be a place where everyone can come in with their friends and have a good time." We visited Todd Nordahl to talk about his food+drink component of the project here.
Thanks to CHS contributor Douglas McLaughlin for all of the pictures. His slideshow below will take you from an early evening at EVO into the night at the Social. Unlike the plans for the soon-to-be-former state liquor store at 12th and Pine, the Broadway store has faced a more uncertain future -- there might be a more lucrative way to put the property to use than joining the new era of privatized spirits retailing on Capitol Hill. The Washington Liquor Control Board announced this week that the winning bidder for the rights to the Broadway store has backed out on his bid making the store one of 18 in the state heading for another auction one week before the June 1st rollover to the new way of doing booze business:
Earlier, CHS reported that the rights to the store at 400 Broadway E had been won with a $255,000 bid by a man named James Hasty . CHS has attempted to contact Hasty to find out more about this plans -- and find out if he's the same James Hasty as the NFL great and Bellevue business man -- but we our messages were never returned and the Broadway property's owner say it had been fielding inquiries from "non-liquor store" tenants about the space. The winning bidders in the state auction only acquire the right to sell liquor at the existing store or at a nearby location within a one-mile radius. While acquiring the state store rights could put the winner in the unique position of being able to operate a smaller-than-10,000 square feet liquor store in the heart of a major city, there is concern the spirits retailing business might not be as lucrative as it has been in the past with QFC across the street and many local bars and restaurants transitioning to the new booze economy. The Broadway store did more than $2.9 million in gross sales in fiscal year 2011, according to the state. While it's not clear if no deal could be brokered between the landlords and Hasty, CHS was told by the winner in an auction for another Seattle store that the 2nd Ave location's buyer ended up backing out because he couldn't settle on a lease with that location's owners. We've checked in with the 400 Broadway E property owners to see if we can learn more about the situation and will update if we hear back. UPDATE: No leases have been signed for the space, CHS has been told, and landlords are open to working with the winning bidder should one emerge from the upcoming live auction. Unlike employees at 12th and Pine who will retained, the new owner told CHS, the state liquor store workers on Broadway will, of course, lose their jobs if the space transitions into a new area of business. In the meanwhile, you can add one more Capitol Hill store to the roster of those planning to deal booze in the post 1183 world. Last week, Central Co-op announced that its board had decided to apply for a spirits retailing license following a community process to gauge the cooperative members' interest in adding hard liquor to the E Madison grocery's offerings.
Capitol Hill food+drink | Wandering Goose raises funds from the flock, Li'l Woody flips free burgers
Her goal is to create a home for The Wandering Goose on 15th Ave E by depending on the very customers that have come to love her work over the years in Seattle and most recently at Capitol Hill's Volunteer Park Cafe. "I love the idea that the future Wandering Goose customers, (a lot of them already know me and what I did with VPC), people that I have trusted relationships with, can help to fund the business by prepaying what they intend to buy in the future! What an amazing concept!" Earnhardt said of The Wandering Goose Founders' Club.
"While helping to put something unique and beautiful in their own neighborhood, when the doors to The Wandering Goose open it will be because of them," she said. Those doors and the buildout creating two new food and drink spaces around them won't come cheaply. Earnhardt must raise more than $200,000 to get the Goose off the ground. She has a traditional investor involved for a portion of that and Dani Cone of High 5 Pie and Fuel Coffee is also in the mix. But the rest, Earnhardt hopes, will come from neighbors, friends and long-time customers. The concept of a founders' club is based on getting customers involved in the business early -- before the first biscuit comes out of the oven. For most of us, it is, for all intents and purposes, the process of raising capital by selling gift cards with a built-in bonus. In the case of the Goose, founders will gain 25% for their investment. So, if you put in $1,000 today, you'll gain $1,250 in value at the Wandering Goose doled out in $100 monthly increments until your value has been returned. For those that buy in above 5 grand, there are exclusive perks including private dinner parties, baking classes, and your own personal founder's layer cake. You can imagine the challenges faced in trying to find people to step up to that level of support. But you might also imagine a few families in the area doing the math and taking Earnhardt up on her offer. It's a route Skelly and the Bean recently used to open its doors on 10th Ave E and it's a path you're likely to see more and more as payment systems and online services ease the ability to scale out founders' programs.
We first told you about the bakery and cafe involving an all-star cast of Capitol Hill food+drink mavens back in January. Ethan Stowell's participation has been cemented since we talked to him in March before the paperwork had been signed. On one side of the under-construction re-working of the old Tilden Gift Shop (and one-time Piggly Wiggly) will be Earnhardt's The Wandering Goose, described as a "thirty seat Southern influence cafe in the heart of Seattle's North Capitol Hill neighborhood." Neighboring and separated only by a wall of a "demising wall" of "vintage leaded glass" will be Stowell's more secretive production. We weaseled it out of him in March that the space was being planned as a trattoria. "The idea is to be more sit down with a full bar program and a more involved menu," Stowell said at the time. "There will be some viewing between the two spaces, some cross marketing, some crossing over of energy." On the paperwork, he lists the company name as Fifth Quarter, LLC, by the way. There's no word of a founders' club for Stowell who already operates restaurants in Seattle including Capitol Hill's Anchovies & Olives and Staple and Fancy in Ballard. The latter's symbiosis with The Walrus and the Carpenter is a similar model for what to expect in the physical space, at least, on 15th Ave E. In addition to turning to a founders club to fund her cafe, Earnhardt is also taking a route-less-trafficked to getting the place built. While Stowell's side is being built out by the larger, more established Dovetail (a CHS advertiser), Earnhardt went with the "little guy." Dolan Construction also finished High 5 Pie and Little Water Cantina so they're not totally green. And, apparently, they're a handsome bunch. "They guys are all super cute, super fast and have been working with me every step of the way to save money and still make The Wandering Goose look beautiful," Earnhardt said. "These guys rock." To get involved and learn more, check out thewanderinggoose.com.
Anyhow, free burgers at Li'l Woody's on the 28th, 2-5p. One burger per person, piggy. Inconveniently, Free Fry Friday at Pike St. Fish Fry is this week.
CHS has learned details of two new Capitol Hill food and drink establishments that will fill in the blanks after the recent closures of Pike/Pine businesses that seemed to shut down without saying much. Details on the new restaurant destined to take over the Kiki space on E Pine and a rum bar slated for lower Pike, below.
Cortez, who lives within not-so-long walking distance of the new restaurant's space, says he knows the checkered history of the location -- he'd been to Kurrent -- and that he and his partners are ready for the challenge. "[Mi Tierra] is more like Mexican restaurants that you might see in the suburbs," Cortez said. "Going on Capitol Hill, we're not going to try to change a lot but maybe refine it a little more." He expects to put the 10 years of experience ---- and recipes -- from Mi Tierra to work at Fogon but with smaller, simpler preparations. And, yes, great margaritas. "We know the clientele is it a bit different and we need to step up our game a little bit," Cortez said. Cortez said he thinks the space also needs more work to help enliven it and make it visible to the thousands of people who travel up and down E Pine every day. The partners behind Fogon were looking for a place to open a new restaurant in the area for about four years. Cortez said he's excited to be part of changes coming to this stretch of E Pine as construction of the Terravita apartment building draws to a close and new residents begin to move in. He is also excited about fewer trips to Monroe and Woodinville. "We want to bring life back to that corner," he said. "It's a little bit of an experiment for us but I think we can do it." There are no sites or Facebook pages yet but the goal is to have Fogon open sometime in June.
Rumba is slated to open late this summer on E Pike in the space formerly inhabited by street fashion dealer Goods. That shop abruptly skated off in February. Sliding into its place will be Rumba, an offshoot of the neighboring Tango. The new Travis Rosenthal project will feature a wide selection of rum and rum cocktails matched with Caribbean style food like empanadas. The "classic Cuban/caribbean themed bar" is described as "more bar and less restaurant" than Tango. It will serve until 2a. Tango manager Kate Perry who will be moving over to Rumba said Rosenthal had been planning a new project and seized the opportunity when a nearby space opened up: "Travis bought Tango 6 years ago and has been excited about opening a second place from the ground up," she writes. "We love our lower cap hill neighborhood and when the opportunity to build out the old goods space (although we miss them dearly) happened, he jumped on it." Apparently Rosenthal is a rum man so the theme for the project was obvious. "We are excited to see what happens and to be the first rum-oriented bar in such a fantastic cocktail town," Perry writes. The project already has a Facebook page to keep you posted on progress. Judging by early pictures featuring piles of old drywall, there is plenty of work to do to complete the $140,000+ buildout. The plan is for the new bar to be open in "late summer 2012."
Beer nerds rejoice! You made it to the 4th annual Seattle Beer Week running May 10th - 20th. With the recent addition of beer haven The Pine Box to the neighborhood, Capitol Hill has a stacked line-up of events to choose from. Beer can car derby? Yes. Pig roast? Yes. Beer industry legends? Yes. You can even bring mom along for half-off drinks at a Mother’s Day brunch.
Pine Box co-owner Ian Roberts is also one of the event’s founders. Continuing its lifelong tradition, Beer Week organizers have dubbed Elysian’s Split Shot espresso milk stout made with Lighthouse coffee as this year’s official beer. More than 100 beer-related events will be happening throughout the city. To keep track of it all, Beer Week set up a calendar so you can make your own custom itinerary. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of all the Hill events. THURSDAY (5/10) SBW 2012 Kickoff pt. 1
SBW 2012 Kickoff pt. 4
SATURDAY (5/12) Pig Roast and Homebrew Competition
Pine Box Can Derby
SUNDAY (5/13) Mother’s Day Brrrunch! w/ Dinner
TUESDAY (5/15) 3rd Annual Trappist Dinner -- SOLD OUT --
Firestone & Frans Beer & Chocolate -- SOLD OUT --
Exotic Meats & Local Lagers
WEDNESDAY (5/16) New Belgium Sour Symposium
4th Annual Firkin-Firkin
THURSDAY (5/17)
Beer & Oysters
The Art of Arrogance
FRIDAY (5/18) Pallin’ Around with Fal Allen
Sound Brewing Night
‘Beer Cocktails’
EVERY DAY EVENTS Beer O’Clock
Four Roses Boilermakers
List of all Capitol Hill participating venues: Seattle has claimed the 2012 James Beard Award for best chef in the Northwest thanks to Capitol Hill restaurant émigré Matt Dillon of Sitka & Spruce:
In 2011, the award went to Andy Ricker of Portland's Pok Pok. In 2010, Jason Wilson of E Madison's Crush claimed the award for Seattle in 2010. Portland chefs claimed three of the five nominations in the category for the 2012 award. The award comes as Dillon's Sitka & Spruce completes its second year on Capitol Hill after moving from its Eastlake birthplace to become part of the Melrose Market. The 38-year-old also is a partner in the market's wine and coffee cafe Bar Ferd’nand and Georgetown's The Corson Building. Dillon told the Beard Foundation he would someday like to spend his days "hunting, shrimping, and starting a second career in social justice or ski patrol."
Marguerite typically does the talking for the CHS Crow Q&As. She tried to take the Taco Challenge this weekend in Volunteer Park. All we're going to say is somebody got tacos, MK -- check out Alex's pictures. -- jseattle Last week, my jaw dropped a little bit when I read the CHS article about the “The Fiesta 5K Ole and Taco Truck Challenge,” scheduled to take place in Volunteer Park in celebration of Cinco de Mayo (that's "the sink of mayonnaise," for all you non-Spanish speakers). Usually, when the words “taco truck” are followed by “run,” the next words are “to the bathroom,” so the concept struck me as a bit … off. Don’t get me wrong—I love a good Fun Run as much as the next person. And I think we can all agree that tacos are inherently better when they’re served out of a truck. However, I kind of feel like 5Ks and taco trucks are circles on a Venn Diagram that should never, ever overlap. Nonetheless, the siren call of multiple food trucks drew me out to the event. Most of all, I wanted to find out what constituted the “challenge” in the titular Taco Truck Challenge. Even on the website of the event, they’re very cagey about this detail. Would the taco trucks face off in a Fast and the Furious-style street race? Or maybe an interpretive dance contest? A cage fight to the death? By the time I arrived, several hundred people were clamoring around the six taco trucks parked on between the Asian Art Museum and the Conservatory. Based on the ridiculously long lines, you’d think these restaurants-on-wheels contained the very last tacos ever to be served on Earth. People were lined up in front of the trucks as if they were the last airplane (or the last taco truck, as it were) out of Tehran in1979. In one case, the line was literally more than 40 people deep. I stood in it for about fifteen minutes before realizing that the line wasn’t getting any shorter.
ABOVE: After waiting so long, I hope they at least got some Radiohead tickets thrown in with their meal...
It occurred to me that, in the time it would’ve taken for me to get a taco, I could—without hyperbole—run a 5K. And I wasn't any closer to uncovering the secret behind the Taco Truck Challenge. Looking at the people in the standstill line, I wished for a moment that I’d ever wanted anything as much as these people wanted a taco, to wait in line for an hour for it. I asked the guy in front of me, a 25-year-old waiter named Jordan, if he knew what the “challenge” was. He thought for a second. “Not starving to death while you wait in line?” As it turned out, the biggest challenge was to stay sane while listening to a staggeringly mediocre cover band sing slightly off-key renditions of various 80s pop songs. I did not rise to the challenge, and fled the park at a healthy clip, turning it into my own private version of a (running from a…) taco truck fun run.
That was surely worth the wait, no? By which we mean the wait for Monday and the latest crispy, crunchy batch of Capitol Hill food+drink notes. Got a tip? Drop it here.
In Sunday's debut, the tiny shop neighboring Montana and the Rachel's Ginger Beer HQ was hit hard by enthusiastic throngs of customers leaving much of the pastry depleted but the macarons keeping up the pace. Robertson said the new shop will keep hours 7a-5p on Tues through Fri, and be open between 9a and 4p on the weekends. It's a small space and dedicated almost entirely to the bakery and the display case full of treats. "It's a pastry shop, not bread," Robertson told CHS last fall. "It will be mostly breakfast style, with some dessert-y [treats] and some cookies. We'll start small and be seasonal." Caipirinha macaroons, cinnamon rolls, vanilla cream puffs, a "smoked paprika croissant and rhubarb financier" were just some of the delights people were a-Twitter about on Sunday's opening. The shop is located at 1500 E Olive way on the E Howell corner. Learn more at crumbleandflake.com.
It's rock and roll to be a little late. Barboza, a new stage and bar beneath Neumos designed to feature smaller acts and more intimate performances, debuted Friday night. Pictures of the new nightspot and the first man to take the Barboza stage are below. "It's fun to say, and has BAR in it," booker Eli Anderson told CHS about the project's name in February. Earlier this year, CHS reported on the Neumos ownership's new lease to stay in the 10th/Pike location through 2024. Friday night's debut came after weeks of construction delays for the venue. After cancellations and moving shows to Neumos and other clubs around the neighborhood, Barboza's first live set was performed by Willis Earl Beal. Earlier this week, we introduced you to EVO Tapas Kitchen & Cabaret and told you to watch for the opening of the new E Olive Way restaurant's dance club counterpart the Social. You'll need to keep watching. While EVO is ready for the public tonight (UPDATE: But delaying until next week also, according to a man in the know in comments), the Social has had to delay things and is currently planning its grand opening for next Friday, May 11th. Management says construction and a pending inspection are responsible for the delay. But it's possible there is something else at work here. Blame Ming. According to the police report on the incident, a mysterious burglary last weekend at the building housing the club, the restaurant and a salon seems to have involved someone breaking out of the building. SPD speculates that an employee or a guest at an EVO preview party that night is to blame:
The curse of Ming may have finally lifted for Barboza. The new subterranean venue beneath Neumos is slated to be open for its first Friday of business. The Social? Only time will tell. 3:19PM - - UPDATE - Mike Meckling posted this teaser photo from Barboza. 4:10PM - - UPDATE - Another tease. You can learn more about the opening weekend on the Barboza Facebook page 11:23AM - - UPDATE 5/10/12 - Take note -- the Social has pushed back its debut another week. New plan is to debut Friday, May 18th. We're told to blame fire inspection delays. Also, hey, opening news things is hard. Thanks to a fleet of taco trucks taking over Volunteer Park, this Saturday's Cinco de Mayo festivities on Capitol Hill promise to be even more divertido than usual. Here's a quick rundown of the fun. We'll have our full roster of weekend On the List highlights on Thursday.
Bimbos and Poquitos are current CHS advertisers. Muchas gracias!
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In a move that will delight lovers of a good Capitol Hill cup of coffee and more thoroughly complicate the situation around a planned development set to transform a block of E Pine into a new mixed-use development, the owner of Bauhaus tells CHS he has a deal worked out to return the nearly two decade-old cafe to the preserved portion of the Melrose Building when the new project is complete. "It looks like Bauhaus will be back," Joel Radin tells CHS. "The building is going to look the same when it's all said in done." Radin said it's too early to say what the plan for Bauhaus will be once construction begins on the project in the coming year or so but he confirms that the Melrose Building's new owners have made a place for Bauhaus in their plans for the new mixed-use development. In early April, CHS reported on the acquisition of a half-block of parcels between Bellevue and Melrose along E Pine by the Madison Development Group. Merchants and residential tenants in the buildings were told they had until summer...
It's a busy week for the Capitol Hill food+drink economy as two (three?) highly anticipated plan to make their debuts. Got a tip? Drop us a line.
"The atmosphere is definitely different than the nightclub but it draws and pulls off of it," EVO's Todd Nordhal tells CHS.
The Social and EVO are set to make their public debuts this week with a planned opening in their new E Olive Way space Thursday night. With the debut of the Social, the first of two ambitious new dance clubs will start to make its impact on the Pike/Pine nightlife economy. EVO is a big component of that -- but also plans a life of its own. The small plates restaurant will feed the entire operation but its portion of the building is dedicated to the food and drink experience. "It's a place to just come to get away, to meet friends and have a great meal if you want," Nordahl said. He compares the set-up to the symbiosis of another Laura Olson-Chris Pardo project -- Grim's and The Woods. The food is based around the ability to serve appetites large and small and to be sharing-friendly. EVO's flatbreads, empanadas, croquettes and plates will be priced around $6 to $8 with a few of the specialty items around $12. You can check out the menus here. Nordahl said there will be a 3-5p happy hour and that he won't be doing regular brunch service but that specialty events for days like Mother's Day and Pride are being planned. EVO also plants to entertain -- but you had better be ready to stay up late. Starting with shows planned for the 10p hour on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, EVO will mix karaoke nights, music, an in-house DJ and probable Saturday night burlesque into a swirl of activity to keep you entertained if you're taking a break from the dance floor drama or just out for a drink. "I knew I wanted to have a restaurant with really cool, small bite food," Nordahl said. "But I also knew I was going to marry that with entertainment." "It's a neat thing to be able to go have a meal and at the same time keep you engaged." To make it happen, Nordahl said he is turning to friends he has made in the entertainment industry and bringing together a staff of people with Capitol Hill connections. In many ways, EVO will be the manifestation of ideas and concepts Nordahl wanted to make real at The Rosebud as he ran into conflicts with his landlord about the future of the space. Today, St. John's has a happy home in the old 'Bud space and Nordahl is living his dream -- and planning more with the investors behind EVO and the Social to open up similar venues in California and Arizona. "This is a great opportunity for me to bring the community together that I wanted to bring together," Nordahl said. You can learn more about EVO at www.evo-seattle.com. UPDATE: In other Olson-Pardo news, the couple is no longer part of the Manhattan Drugs ownership, Seattle Met reports. Pardo said via email, “we don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but experienced creative differences on the vision of the food and feel of the restaurant.” The restaurant’s website is, um, a little vague on the current state of ownership, but original partner and general manager Corey St. JohnManhattan Drugs is a CHS advertiser.
The Broadway Farmers Market swung back into action last week, offering a bounty of spring produce to rescue Capitol Hill from winter's scurvy and a good excuse to linger in the sunshine. Below, you'll find a fresh and easy recipe to help celebrate the market's return.
Although the couple is now in the process of relocating to their farm full-time, they’ll be back in the neighborhood for the Broadway Farmers Market on Sundays. In keeping with the apparent trend toward tech-savvy, social-networked local farming, Local Roots Farm maintains a blog about their farming adventures. The page featuring seasonal recipes will be of special interest to home cooks, and I can highly recommend their arugula pesto to top just about anything else you pick up at the market. Its bright green flavor tastes like springtime swirled into scrambled eggs or pasta, and it would be equally at home alongside a roasted piece of fish or atop a big sauté of market greens, baby turnips, and radishes -- you’ll find that recipe on the Local Roots site as well. Arugula Pesto Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until uniformly combined. Capitol Hill Cooks is a home cooking recipe series featuring ingredients, ideas, and recipes from the neighborhood. Have a recipe you think we should share? Drop us a line at chs@capitolhillseattle.com. Previous Capitol Hill Cooks Posts As grocery stores secure their 1183-won liquor licenses, a wildcard in the future of retail hard spirits on Capitol Hill has been the state operated stores on Broadway and 12th Ave. With the auction of rights to the stores now complete, one of the Capitol Hill shops is likely to be part of the new privatized liquor economy of Washington while another state store location could soon be transitioning to a new line of business. Hardial Gill spent $500,100 to secure the rights to the 12th and Pine store -- the second highest bid in the state. He tells CHS he already had a lease worked out for the space before he placed a bid. is on track to open the first day the law allows -- June 1. "The store has been there for 20 years," Gill said. "We're going to bring in more wine, beer and some other good stuff to increase the variety." He expects that variety to be key to competing with the likes of QFC and Safeway. "They're going to carry a third of what we have," Gill said. He also said he plans to keep most of the 12th and Pine employees and their experience should also help make the store successful and earn him a small rebate from the state. Gill is on the hunt for a wine expert to join the squad, if you're interested. Gill, owner of the Bergman Luggage chain, said he has realistic expectations that revenues at the store and two more that he won the rights to in Bremerton and Silverdale won't match past totals from the days of the state-controlled environment. might have a more lucrative future beyond retail spirits. The winning $255,000 bid for that store came from a person named James Hasty. CHS has attempted to contact Hasty to find out more about this plans -- and find out if he's the same James Hasty as the NFL great and Bellevue business man -- but we haven't had our messages returned. The Broadway property's owner say it has fielded inquiries from "non-liquor store" tenants about the space. Tim Panos, of Panos Properties which owns the Broadway store location, said he's asked Hasty for a business plan and is assessing the situation. The $255,000 doesn't guarantee Hasty a lease to run his liquor store. The winning bidders in the state auction only acquired the right to sell liquor at the existing store or at a nearby location within a one-mile radius. A person familiar with Broadway real estate who has looked into the potential viability of an independent liquor shop in the area tells CHS he's not convinced the store will be as lucrative as it has been in the past with QFC across the street and many local bars and restaurants transitioning to Costco, etc. provided booze. The Broadway store did more than $2.9 million in gross sales in fiscal year 2011, according to the state. If both state stores continue dealing booze, Capitol Hill could be awash in liquor as the transitioning shops would join these six grocery and drug stores, this co-op, a Trader Joe's and a few more chains noodling on it, as spirits retailers. Meanwhile, the state store at 23rd and Union could continue on, also. Even with 1183 size restrictions prohibiting stores smaller than 10,000 square feet from retailing liquor, that's a lot of competition. On 12th Ave, Gill said he and investors have been in the liquor industry before and his business plan will pencil out. He also said he's a single malt guy. You can expect an excellent Scotch selection at his store starting in June.
It's the saddest news since Broadway lost Grubwich. CHS got a few tips on the closure but tipster Scott put it best:
CHS found a shuttered restaurant Monday. We're checking in with Gyro World's owner Morteza Chini to see what more we can learn about the decision to shutter. According to filings with the City of Seattle, the Broadway Market shopping complex's management group is readying plans for construction on the "north end of the first floor. The budget is listed at $265,000. Businesses on that end of the complex included Gyro World, Broadway Video and the Broadway Shoe Repair. A quick check-in with the shoe repair guys revealed they're staying put and will be part of what's next. "We've got a very long lease," CHS was told. Meanwhile, work is also underway to overhaul the Broadway Market QFC with the addition of more self-serve checkouts, a Murray's Cheese counter, and more changes including a new space for the internal Starbucks. We're reaching out to management group Madison Marquette to ask about the construction. Last March, the group announced a $14 million investment in the shopping center. UPDATE: We're reminded to include that the BECU branch could also be part of the construction work in that area of the market.
"The look is still very much In the development stage but you can probably imagine knowing both SMITH and Oddfellows it will have a very Capitol Hill vibe," Derschang told CHS vis email. "My goal will be to create a new favorite place in the neighborhood. It's still more than a year away so it's hard to design something that far into the future."
According to a representative, Tallulah's is planned as a restaurant and bar cut from similar cloth to Derschang's Smith and Oddfellows but with a lighter, brighter take and more of a focus on the simple, rustic food the sister locations have specialized in. It will start as a dinner and brunch restaurant -- no lunch -- with plans to be open seven days a week in the eastern reaches of Capitol Hill's leafier, quieter and more wow there are a lot of kids in here-ier end of things. Tallulah's will have around 75 seats and what is being described as an enormous patio. It will not, however, have Tallulah. CHS reported on the decision for Linda Derschang's daughter Tallulah Anderson to branch out from her mother's businesses earlier this year at E Pine's Linda's celebrated its 18th birthday. The Derschang representative said the restaurant is "inspired by" Anderson but she isn't currently part of the project.
How that inspiration takes shape won't be visible until next spring as the year-long construction of the four-story apartment building that will wipe out the current Holiday Craft Store structure across Mercer from the Kingfish Cafe is planned to begin this summer. The space where Tallulah's will live is an empty parking lot today. Starting from scratch will be a new challenge for Derschang who has always worked with someone else's space to create her bars and restaurant. With 6,000 square feet of retail to fill in the building, having Derschang on board will also help with recruiting commercial tenants for the space. The addition of Tallulah's will add to the pocket of successful food and drink ventures in the area. Kingfish continues to draw a line at opening while Monsoon, Fuel Coffee, a Tully's branch and Vios also appear to be thriving. 19th and Madison's Lawrence Lofts project could add an additional restaurant or cafe to the street a short distance away. It does not appear that any other big names are currently part of the restaurant and bar plan outside the Derschang camp. Derschang worked with Ericka Burke to bring Oddfellows into the world in 2008. Smith, by the way, opened way back in 2007 -- bonus points if you can remember what it replaced without clicking. The Derschang representative said Tallulah's will differ from Smith in the way 15th Ave differs from 19th. CHS posted about the west to east arc of Capitol Hill life here. But it will likely have at least one thing in common with all of Derschang's Capitol Hill ventures. "I think the thing Linda does really well is make the place that just becomes the favorite," the representative said.
Less than a year after debuting in the Joule building, Saizen Sushi has apparently turned off its conveyor belt and is clearing out its space. Details and pictures from tipsters Art and Todd:
Last summer, CHS talked briefly with Saizen restauranteur Kevin Kim. "We celebrate really good quality and fresh meat," he told CHS. "Everything will be fresh." Kim said Saizen was his first restaurant after running a smoke shop business selling pipes and cigars on Aurora.
The Stranger had recently mentioned Saizen as the only Joule commercial tenant that is "a single, independent business." Make that was. A person familiar with the situation said the restaurant had been struggling to make rent for months We've left messages with Saizen and Kim and will follow up if we hear more. Capitol Hill's sushi options remain strong with Sushi Maki, Liberty, Pinto Thai, Aoki, Hana, Octo, Momiji, Genki and, um, QFC still providing solutions for your avocado roll and sashimi needs. Thanks again to Art and Todd for the pictures.
11:58AM
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UPDATE
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CHS spoke with a partner in the business who was helping with the clean-up and confirmed that, despite the paper sign's message, Saizen's closure is permanent. "In the summer this area was fine. But the winter..." -- apparently things got a little too quiet for Saizen on north Broadway during Seattle's bleakest period to be outside. The partner said something "large chain" would be following soon. CHS has found records on file with the city for a Menchie's Frozen Yogurt joining the Joule. It's not clear if it will be located in the Saizen space (likely) or the large, still apparently unclaimed retail unit at Broadway and Republican (less likely given how large that space is). CHS reported earlier this year that the Eat Local pre-made meal business was adding its third Seattle-area location inside the Joule with plans to be open this summer. The retail area has also recently spawned a GNC store.
Menchie's currently has franchise locations operating in nearly every state in the union including three in Seattle. Like Yogurtland which opened on Broadway near Pike/Pine in spring 2011, Menchie's is a pay-by-the-ounce operation. "Mix up as many flavors and toppings as your little heart desires," the marketing copy reads. "At Menchie’s, you pay by weight not by topping so you can have as much or as little of everything you want."
1:48PM
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UPDATE
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Thanks to KeithH for the intel on updated commercial tenants for the Joule. As he points out, Menchie's appears destined for a currently open slot in the retail strip -- not the Saizen space. And, yes, a rather large yoga operation -- Core Power Yoga -- appears to be slated for the big space on the southeast corner. We'll have to check in to see if we can find out what chain *is* destined for the Saizen space.
First, some images from last year's opening. Ah, that's nice. Now, let's dispatch with a little bit of bad news. The arrival of the First Hill streetcar warrants celebration -- the groundbreaking ceremony is Monday. But the start of construction will also mean some logistical challenges for all of Broadway this summer and the farmers market organizers are especially concerned about how they'll be able to manage the already challenging load-in and load-out in front of Seattle Central this summer. By 2016, the market should be ensconced in a new home on a transformed Nagle Place behind the newly completed Broadway light rail station. By then, we could be talking about a year-round season for the market and an extremely pedestrian friendly surrounding environment. But this summer, the market will have its hands full trying to make space for the many trucks and vehicles that move goods to the market every Sunday on a Broadway that will be constricted as streetcar tracks are being installed and utilities, shifted. "We’ve been working hard to mitigate the construction issues, which mostly effect vendor load off," Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance operations manager Julian O'Reilley tells us. "Not everything has been ironed out as yet, but we’ve been working with SCCC, the construction company, and the city to ensure the market can stay the same size." 2012 Market Highlights
CHS figured you would want to start training. While the idea of combining anything involving a "Taco Truck Challenge" and running a 5k sounds pretty damn gross, there is nothing stopping you from enjoying one or the other. Apparently, South Lake Union hosted last year's challenge. In 2012, there's a run involved. You can learn more and register to run at the Fiesta 5k website. It's the only currently planned Capitol Hill foot race that we're aware of. Give it your best. We'll be checking out the tacos.
Note to attendees: You'd do best to take the bus. Grab the 10 anywhere between downtown and Capitol Hill. "Plenty of parking is available throughout the neighborhoods," indeed, but it will probably be full.
Capitol Hill food+drink | Quinn's leads 'grassroots' Ides of May, the Social & EVO Tapas coming soon
There's been a lull in what sometimes feels like a frantic rush to open new bars and restaurants on Capitol Hill. Never fear, food+drink news seeker, there is plenty more to come. Dance clubs and tapas bars, patisseries and cafes. Soon, impatient one. Soon. In the meantime, we'll take a look at another mania altogether -- and the calm solution to it dreamed up by one loose confederacy of restaurants.
"A few of us were talking about the prospect of doing a grassroots promotion - something without the need of ads or marketing overhead -something that was straightforward, low maintenance and had nothing to do with discount dining," Quinn's GM Regan Vaughn tells CHS. "And, more than anything, we wanted it to be about giving back to our loyal guests... and this is what came of it!"
All you have to do to participate is eat at one of the restaurants listed above and ask for your raffle ticket. If you think you couldn't possibly win, there's hope. One time, when CHS was small, he entered the raffle at the Arctic Circle Drive-In and won a t-shirt entitling him to a free Icee whenever said shirt was worn to the Arctic Circle. You have a chance. Vaughn said the restaurants involved came together in a "pretty organic process of 'Hey, I bet so-and-so would be into it' and 'hey, whats-his-name' would be totally down'. What we ended up with was a group of great independent restaurants who share some core values of quality, simplicity and community." The hope, Vaughn says, is to make the game a regular thing whether it's good for business or only fun.
The tale of this month’s recipe begins in an exotic land far away: Columbia City. That’s where I first got hooked on the clean, spicy, true-Thai flavors of Little Uncle’s food, at the weekly farmers market stand known then as Shophouse. Those Wednesday night Thai picnics soon led us back home to Capitol Hill for Monday night pop-up delights, first at Licorous and later at La Bête. Along the way, Little Uncle picked up a host of well-deserved accolades: Best Pop-Up Restaurant of 2011 (Seattle Magazine), 20 Hottest New Restaurants in the U.S. (Restaurant Management), and the apt “It may be ‘little,’ but in the all the ways that count for food-lovers, this is something big” (All You Can Eat, Seattle Times). Lucky for us, Little Uncle has finally settled into a permanent hole in the wall (now with sidewalk seating!) right here on Capitol Hill at 15th and Madison. Starting this week, their hours are expanding to 11a to 8p Tuesday through Saturday. Which means that, while the Hill boasts plenty of Thai options, if you’re jonesing for Little Uncle’s food, there are still two days of the week on which you will have to make it at home. Fortunately, unlike the homemade curry pastes that lend such complex flavor to some of Little Uncle’s food, this dish is easy. And the husband-wife duo behind Little Uncle, Wiley Frank (formerly of Lark) and Poncharee Kounpungchart (you can call her “PK”), have graciously shared their recipe with CHS readers. My home recipe-testing revealed a few things that you might like to know. First, the nice folks at Mekong Rainier are very helpful if you’re trying to locate the ingredients for this recipe. And mangosteens are coming into season, which is another good reason to head down there; you’ll be wanting a bag for dessert. They’re mighty expensive, but worth it. Second, about those little Thai chilies. I made this dish twice to explore the spice level. Four chilies, as the recipe recommends, made the dish perfectly, enjoyably spicy. Eight made me cry a little bit. You’ll have to find your own middle ground. Finally, you can make this vegetable dish a meal by increasing the quantity of greens and adding diced chicken or tofu. No need to increase the other ingredients; this recipe made plenty of sauce to flavor a hefty bunch of curly kale (it sops up that sauce quite nicely) and block of tofu, which made an ample dinner for two over jasmine rice. After stir-frying the garlic and chilies, just add your protein of choice to the pan with the sauce to give it a few minutes’ head start before adding your greens, then add a few spoonfuls of water to keep the pan from drying out while everything cooks.
In a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic and chili into a rough paste (alternatively, you can chop it with a knife, but the flavor will be slightly different). Mix the yellow bean sauce and Thai soy sauce together in a small bowl. In a wok or sauté pan, fry the garlic and chili in oil over medium heat until you are coughing up a storm from the chilies. Add the sauce and optional chicken or tofu and cook for a few minutes, until the chicken/tofu begins to brown. Raise the burner temperature to high, add your greens or veggies, and mix everything together. At this point, you may need to add a few spoonfuls water in order to cook whatever veggie or green you have in the pan. If so, add a bit of water and stir-fry until greens or veggies are crisp-tender. Serve with rice. Previous Capitol Hill Cooks Posts 
Recently, I stopped into a brand new gelato shop on Capitol Hill called D'Ambrosia to pick up some gelato for our Italian cooking club night. I was curious about the shop, especially since it's so very close to Molly Moon's. Of course, gelato is different to ice cream, but when you see that long line outside of Molly Moon's, it would be tempting to head two blocks up the street to something comparable for your sweet frozen treat. So, I wanted to try it out! The Ray Doc had advised to get chocolate and something fruity - which is exactly what I ordered. While I was just about to pay, my eye caught a glimpse of their cannolies lined up beautifully and looking quite tasty. However, I am not a fan of cannoli, and yet I was still tempted to ask what type they were. There are actually a few, but the one that caught my tastebud was the chocolate chip cannoli. I then just had to give it a try - so I ordered one to go! I usually think of cannolies as too much rich cream stuffed in a dry pastry shell. Until that...
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