Now that the heatwave has mercifully receded and the city has fully reopened, there's a decidedly celebratory mood in the air. The week also brings plenty of welcome culinary developments, as Loxsmith Bagel Bodega Like List , Ekéko Like List , and Tio Baby's Like List find long-term homes in local restaurants, Spice Waala Like List introduces soft-serve ice cream at its Capitol Hill location, and Crumby Sandwiches Like List opens in Fremont. Plus, find out whether or not Taku Like List chef and fan favorite Shota Nakajima emerged victorious during last night's Top Chef season finale. Read on for all of that and more of this week's food news. For more ideas, check out our food and drink guide.
NEW OPENINGS
Crumby Sandwiches
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Ethan Stowell Restaurants alum Brandon Marie has opened this sandwich shop in Fremont, serving hearty creations stuffed with ingredients like steak, carnitas, crab cakes, salumi, and mortadella. The menu also includes charcuterie, dishes like steak tartare and roasted corn salad, beer, wine, and spirits.
Fremont
Pickup or dine-in
Ekéko
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Chef Jose Garzón of the Latinx street food pop-up Garzón is launching a new food cart called Ekéko next week, with a menu of Latin American drinking snacks ranging from Colombian-style "perros calientes" (hot dogs) to pineapple paletas. The cart will take up residence at Fair Isle Brewing
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(which previously hosted Garzón's Mercado pop-up) each Thursday in addition to appearances at other venues and may eventually settle down as a full-time operation in a fixed location.
Various locations
Pickup or outdoor seating
Loxsmith Bagel Bodega
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Seattle bagel fanatics will rejoice that they can now get their hands on the Capitol Hill pop-up Loxsmith
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's coveted rings of dough on a more frequent basis. On Thursday, Matthew Segal's bagel business soft-opened its new long-term location at Nacho Borracho
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, which previously hosted its events, and now shares the space with the bar's taco counter El Xolo
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. The operation is going by the name "Bagel Bodega" and mixes inspiration from classic New York breakfast sandwich joints with Korean influences—the menu includes a classic American bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich as well as a Korean take with gochujang bacon and fried kimchi. Other topping and schmear options include nova lox, whitefish salad, black cod, smoked salmon, scallion cream cheese, and kimchi cream cheese. Well-known food writer and chef J. Kenji López-Alt, who moved to Seattle last winter and has been steadily working his way through the city's bagel scene on Instagram, gave the pop-up his seal of approval in January. The bodega will be open on Saturday before closing for the Fourth of July on Sunday and will return next Thursday.
Capitol Hill
Pickup
Tio Baby's
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It's a big week for local pop-up residencies, apparently. The "high-quality bar food" pop-up Tio Baby's, which specializes in snackable favorites like nachos and wings, will now be available at Rose Temple
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seven nights a week beginning on July 8.
Capitol Hill
Dine-in
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Shota represents Seattle in the Top Chef finale
*NOTE: Spoilers for last night's season finale of Top Chef follow, so if you haven't watched yet and don't want to know how it ends, avert your eyes!* Seattle was cheering on local celebrity and fan favorite Shota Nakajima last night during the season finale of Top Chef: Portland. The Taku
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chef was one of three contestants competing for the show's $250,000 prize, along with chefs Dawn Burrell and Gabe Erales. He did Seattle proud in the finale, impressing the judges with his four-course meal, but ultimately lost to Erales, who was crowned the season winner. Aside from many fans' disappointment that Shota lost, other details have since emerged that contribute to the controversy of Erales' victory. Following the show, it was revealed that Erales was fired from the Austin restaurant Comedor in December 2020 after alleged harassment of a female employee. Erales admitted to the Austin-American Statesman that he had a sexual relationship with the employee in summer 2020 and to later cutting her hours "based on performance" and continuing to "communicat[e] with her in an unprofessional manner."
University District launches new street plaza
Even though restaurants can now open for indoor dining at full capacity, outdoor dining is still on the menu. The University District has unveiled a new street plaza with space for eating at several local restaurants, including Sweet Alchemy, Samir’s Mediterranean Grill
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, and Mark Thai Food Box
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.
Former Salare and JuneBaby employees come together
After allegations from 15 women that JuneBaby
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and Salare
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chef Edouardo Jordan participated in sexual misconduct, the majority of both restaurants' employees quit. Now, they're deciding on their next steps. Eater Seattle reports that the former staffers are considering pushing for legislation in Olympia that would support restaurant workers facing similar discrimination, as well as a potential pop-up that would raise funds for organizations working towards the same cause.
POP-UPS AND EVENTS
4th of July at the Mountaineering Club
Past Event
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Enjoy seasonal cocktails adorned with actual sparklers, local beers, natural wine, "camping-inspired bites," and tunes from live DJs on this hotel bar's charming rooftop.
The Mountaineering Club, Sunday, 4 pm-12 am
Paellapalooza
Past Event
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Pretend you're in Spain with this takeout pop-up from Ethan Stowell, starring a classic paella made with saffron rice, Spanish chorizo, mussels, clams, prawns, braised chicken, green beans, and piquillo peppers. Other options include a Valencia salad, patatas bravas, grilled spring onions, serrano ham, and frozen cocktails like the Hemingway daiquiri and the "Tequila por mi Amante" (tequila, strawberry, lemon, and ginger).
Bramling Cross, through July 3
45th Annual Jungle Party
Past Event
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The Woodland Park Zoo's annual fundraiser will give you the option to participate in person or tune in for a virtual party from home. Head to the zoo for appetizers and a catered four-course dinner from Lisa Dupar Catering, cocktails, up-close animal tours, an auction, and more, or enjoy meals from Ethan Stowell Restaurants, online auction bidding, a Jungle Party live stream, and other content from the comfort of your home.
Woodland Park Zoo or online, July 5-9
SPECIALS
Spice Waala
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On Thursday, the popular Indian street food spot Spice Waala rolled out soft-serve ice cream at its Capitol Hill location, much to the delight of denizens of the neighborhood looking for a frosty summer treat. The restaurant will offer one Indian-inspired flavor at a time and will rotate flavors every few weeks—the inaugural special is a rose cardamom ice cream.
Capitol Hill
Pickup