The week has brought another wave of delicious new things to eat and drink to Seattle: You can try a Korean-inspired Relay Burger with caramelized bacon kimchi mayo from Rachel Yang at Li'l Woody's, plunge your spoon into the decadent Deathcake at Cupcake Royale, or puff on cigars and sip spirits at the Winter Drams Spirits Festival. Plus, say goodbye to West Seattle's Tap Station before it closes on Sunday, celebrate the return of legendary laundromat-teriyaki joint-donut shop King Donuts, and feast on lobster with a throwback hiphop soundtrack at Marine Hardware. Hungry for more? Check out last week's post and our food and drink calendar.
OPENINGS
20 OZ TEA
This milk tea shop, which had its grand opening last week, features sought-after additions like activated charcoal and ceremonial-grade matcha, and offers non-dairy options like almond and soy.
Eastlake
Barkada
Tom Douglas alum Brian Madayag has opened a Pacific Island seafood-focused getaway in Edmonds, with specialty tiki cocktails (such as frosty adult slushies) to complement Filipino, Hawaiian, and Japanese fare, including his aunt's famous pork adobo recipe and a Dungeness crab sushi burrito.
Edmonds
Cafe An'Clair
This cafe offering a variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, kale and Cobb salads, baked goods, coffee, and tea has popped up in the former space of the Eltana shop in Amazon Apollo Building.
Bellevue
Congeez
This stand in Uwajimaya's food court sells steaming bowls of savory rice porridge with toppings like chicken, pork, and tofu, along with other treats like a grilled pork belly sticky rice sandwich, wonton soup, and Chinese donuts.
International District
Gyu-Kaku
The international chain, which serves yakiniku (a type of Japanese barbecue where guests get to cook their own meat right at the table over a smoldering gas grill) has launched its first location in Washington. Currently available by reservation only.
Bellevue
Devil’s Reef
This moody, mysterious craft tiki cocktail lounge from the owners of Tacoma's popular Tacoma Cabana softly opened this Wednesday and will have limited hours. Expanded hours and a food menu will follow.
Tacoma
Le Messe
A new "contemporary Italian" restaurant from Brian Clevenger of Vendemmia, with an open kitchen and chef's counter and lots of freshly extruded pasta, seafood, and fresh local produce. There's also burrata and made-to-order mozzarella, and cocktails and wine.
Eastlake
Uncle Eddie’s
An all-ages public house called Uncle Eddie's, which we first announced in May, has opened in South Park across from Loretta's Northwesterner, serving hearty soups and sandwiches, beer, cocktails, and wine. The pub is a labor of love for its owners, couple Michael Goldsmith and Keasa Jones, who went on their first date at Loretta's. Goldsmith is the former Operations Manager of Elliott Bay Brewery, where he's worked for the past 17 years, and Jones is a full-time architect who did the plans and designs for the new project.
South Park
Vikings Cafe
A cafe proclaiming itself "Ballard’s coziest beer and coffee shop," serving "coffees, beer, mini pies, puddings, and some sweets," has opened in Ballard.
Ballard
The Walrus and the Carpenter
As of yesterday, Renee Erickson's Ballard oyster bar is officially open for business again after a renovation.
Ballard
CLOSURES
The Butcher and The Baker
The artisan sandwich shop was spotted with a "For Sale" sign on its door and has been reported closed.
Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches
The Fremont location of the local fast-casual chain has chosen not to renew their lease and is now closed.
Skillet Ballard
Following a flood snafu earlier this summer that caused them to shut their doors for two months due to water damage, the modern Southern-inspired diner has closed again for good. Their homestyle comfort fare can still be found at its other locations in Capitol Hill, their counter in the Seattle Center Armory, and Skillet Regrade downtown, as well as at their traveling food truck.
Tap Station
The West Seattle to-go wine and beer station, which expanded to add a restaurant component over a year ago, will close this weekend. If you'd like to say goodbye, they'll have one last trivia night tonight, January 25, at 7 pm, and they'll shut their doors at the end of the day on Sunday, January 27.
FOOD SPECIALS
Cloudburst Brewing
As a clever counter to Not Your Father's Root Beer, the Belltown taproom has created a "Definitely Your Father's" winter warmer, brewed by actual dads. In classic dad-joke fashion, they invite guests to "come on down and give it a try around the same time you’d go to the dentist...tooth hurty."
L’il Woody’s
L'il Woody's kicks off its annual Burger Month, a month-long collaboration of weekly burger specials with the culinary luminaries of Seattle, with the return of Rachel Yang's Relay Burger: "pickled Korean peppers and onions, caramelized bacon kimchi mayo, butter lettuce, 1/3lb Painted Hills grass-fed beef," available at all locations from Tuesday, January 23-Monday, January 29.
Next on the lineup: the Ranch Lamb Burger with "lamb, curry lime mayo, pickled red onion, shaved raw cauliflower, arugula" from Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita (Jan 30-Feb 5); the Osaka Burger with "Painted Hills grass fed beef, miso aioli, karashi aioli, caramelized onions, shredded cabbage, Calbee chips, aonori seaweed sprinkled on top of a sunny side up egg" from chef Shota Nakajima of Adana (Feb 6-12); the Oishi Pork Burger with "kurobuta pork, maitake mushrooms, scallions, yuzu kosho aioli, sesame seeded bun" from Lark's John Sundstrom (Feb 13-19); and finally, the high-low Tuxedo Shirt Burger with "Painted Hills grass fed beef, red leaf lettuce, bacon relish, foie gras aioli, fried duck egg, Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar cheese, everything bun" from Shaun McCrain of Copine (Feb 20-26).
Cupcake Royale
Cupcake Royale's Deathcake, a lethal trifecta of sea salted "chocolate decadence" from Jacobsen Salt Co, Cupcake Royale's award-winning chocolate cake, and Stumptown espresso ganache featuring Theo Chocolate, is back for Valentine's Day season, and if that description doesn't get your attention, we're not sure what will. Past Stranger writer Megan Seling has documented the Deathcake's deadly powers in previous years here and here. If you'd like to get your hands on a jar, they're offering samples at their locations, and it's available at all Cupcake Royale locations and online through Valentine's Day. Cupcake Royale suggests warming it up and digging in with a spoon. Plus, there will also be a gluten-free version available.
Parfait Ice Cream
The farm-to-table, small-batch ice creamery's newest flavor is a crimson blood orange sorbet.
Ray’s Cafe
The Ray's Boathouse sibling is serving their limited-time Shellfest menu, with "an array of fresh, local shellfish including oysters, snow crab, clams, shrimp and more," through January 31. Standouts include their snow crab and frites and a smoked scallop carbonara.
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Heavy Restaurant Group acquires Proven Bread + Pastry
Heavy Restaurant Group, which includes Purple Café and Wine Bar, The Commons, Barrio, Lot No. 3, Thackeray, Pablo y Pablo, Meet the Moon, and Cast Iron Studios, has added Woodinville's Proven Bread + Pastry to its team. Proven, which has expanded into wholesale production and sells through PCC Natural Markets and local restaurants and wineries, will provide baked goods and breads for Heavy's nine restaurants.
Brick-and-mortar Buddha Bruddah location coming soon
Asian-Hawaiian food truck Buddha Bruddah plans to open a restaurant in the former Best Pho and Deli space, which owners Mark and Andrea Mizer currently use as a kitchen for their truck and catering business and are in the process of remodeling. They will maintain the food truck and catering services and expect to open in March.
Molly Moon's announces nail polish colors
Molly Moon's Ice Cream has teamed up with Redmond-based Veque Beauty to release three nail polish colors based on their Earl Grey, salted caramel, and honey lavender flavors, available on their website.
Pecos Pit establishes headquarters and production facility in West Seattle
The local barbecue chain, which originated in SoDo and began its foray into expansion with its first franchise in West Seattle last year, is building a corporate headquarters and "central pit" production facility in West Seattle and will build nine Seattle-area stores, with locations expected to arrive in Federal Way, Kent, Ballard, and downtown Seattle over the next three years. Gerry Kingen, the owner of Salty's and the man responsible for making Red Robin a worldwide operation, is behind the expansion. A Pecos Pit food truck is also underway and will make appearances at various locations and festivals this summer.
EVENTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26
Elysian Brewing Capitol Hill Series Release – Prometheus IPA
Join Elysian Brewing for the ceremonial tapping of their new Prometheus IPA, a "bold, unapologetically hoppy Northwest-style IPA" that's "brewed with Pale, Munich and Crystal malts with a portion of sugar" and "bittered and finished with Chinook, Centennial and whole flower Cascade hops all over the place." Elysian Capitol Hill's Lead Brewer Hiawatha Rhyans will give a toast and Seattle band Ruler will perform.
Fremont Barrel-Aged Tap Takeover
Mammoth has hoarded Fremont Brewing's barrel-aged series just to throw them all on tap for one night. The lineup includes Rusty Nail '17, Bourbon Dark Star '17, Bourbon Dark Star Coffee '17, Bourbon Dark Star Spice Wars '17, B-Bomb '17, B-Bomb Coffee Cinnamon '17, and B-Bomb Coconut '17.
Paella In All Its Forms
Study up on the saffron-spiked delicacy in all of its various iterations at this dinner from Chef Joe Bayley, former Chopped winner and creator of the Spanish-Filipino La Colonial pop-up series (and forthcoming restaurant).
Winter Drams Spirits Festival
Surrender to hedonism in style at this festival hosted by the Seattle Spirits Society, where you can glut yourself on a supply of unlimited tacos and appetizers from Marination, sample more than 100 different spirits (all types of whiskey, including bourbon, Scotch, and Japanese single malts, as well as tequila, mezcal, rum, gin, and others) from more than 25 distillers, and smoke hand-rolled cigars from San Juan Cigar Company while looking out at the view from the rooftop deck.
JANUARY 26-27
Keep It Surreal
In exchange for your fundraising generosity, Nordo's Culinarium pledges a "mind-melting dining experience" inspired by the painters Dalí and Magritte—whose works you're encouraged to embody in costume. (You can also go as "an 'artist's palette' (dressed all in whites and grays)." The meal will be followed by a teri-oke (teriyaki and karaoke) party.
Strange Brewfest
Port Townsend's annual beer festival offers pours from over 30 breweries, from classics to Northwest-inspired oddballs.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27
Third Year Anniversary Toga Party
For their third anniversary, Greek eatery Omega Ouzeri bids you to break out your bedsheets and dress as whatever god or goddess (or, alternately, philosopher, Spartan warrior, or Minoan woman) you were in a past life for a chance to win prizes such as wine, honey, and olive oil. They'll serve lots of wine and a pikilia platter (an assortment of small bites).
Caledonian and St. Andrews Burns Dinner
At this traditional dinner, which is catered by Kaspars Seattle Catering, you can listen to recitations of poems by Robert Burns, an “Address to a Haggis,” bagpipes, and music by harpist Ruthann Ritchie.
Help! I'm Going Vegan
Taking the plunge into veganism comes with a lot of questions. Animal-product-free eaters are invited to ask about nutrition, ethics, and more.
King Donuts Grand Opening
Legendary laundromat-teriyaki joint-donut shop King Donuts relaunches under new ownership. To celebrate, they'll have complimentary bites of donuts and treats, chances to win prizes, and 25 percent off all donuts.
Ninth Annual Belgian Fest
Hooray for Belgian yeast, enabling top Washington breweries to produce exotic tripels, dubbels, saisons, wits, abbeys, and lambics! Yes indeed: at this beer fest featuring over 100 brews, all beers have been made with imported Belgian yeast. Sample deliciousness from local brewers.
Pie Party 2018
Party with pastries sweet and savory at this fundraiser for the Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. There'll be a smorgasbord of pies, "pie princesses" and "a la mode girls," live music, a silent auction, and raffle prizes.
The Food and Wines of Trentino Alto Adige
An evening inspired by the food and drink of the mountainous Trentino Alto Adige region of Tavola in northeastern Italy, known especially for its speck (a dry-cured, smoked ham) and canederli (boiled dumplings).
Winterfest 2018
Warm up with Scotch whisky, cigars, craft beer, and live jazz.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 28
Brew Your Own Kombucha
Learn all about kombucha's health benefits and how to make and bottle it at this hands-on demo, and go home with your own SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) and a treat.
DeLille Cellars Dinner
The Bellevue brick-oven pizzeria teams up with Woodiville's DeLille Cellars for a five-course dinner featuring fare like foraged mushroom crostini and wild boar mezzaluna alongside wine pairings.
Lobster HipHop Night
You've heard of a rock lobster, but how about a hiphop lobster? This dinner from Ethan Stowell's Marine Hardware pairs seafood, coleslaw, and Old Bay-seasoned fries with throwback hiphop tunes.
Pastrome Pop-Up
Jewish-deli-style pastrami purveyor Pastrome will sell their sandwiches, cured pickles, and other offerings.
Tapas: A Full-Circle History
Chef Joe Bayley, previous Chopped winner and creator of the Spanish-Filipino "La Colonial" pop-up series, will share a three-hour crash course in Spanish tapas and discuss the history and cultural context of the "small plate," alongside traditional eats like tortilla espanola and albondigas and libation pairings.
Tarik Abdullah Pop-Up Brunch
This brunch pop-up from raved-about chef Tarik Abdullah promises Mediterranean and North African-inspired dishes like braised lamb, masala prawns, and Abdullah's famous chamomile squash bread and hibiscus tea.
