NOW CLOSED: Open for many years (except when there was a fire there back in the day), Malay Satay Hut in the ID has finally closed forever. At the Redmond branch—which remains open—they report that the space was sold. The roti canai will be missed; fans who don't want to go to the Eastside should try (unrelated) Satay in Wallingford or Kedai Makan on Capitol Hill.

NOW OPEN: Jack's BBQ (3924 Airport Way S, 467-4038): A serious barbecue nerd, Jack Timmons grew up in Texas, then moved to Seattle, then went back to Texas to engage in some barbecue scholarship—including Barbecue Summer Camp at the Meat Science department of Texas A&M and worshipping at the temples of the Central Texas style (Louie Mueller's, Snow's, Cooper's, and more). You may know his oak-, mesquite-, and hickory-smoked work from his roving Seattle Brisket Experience, and now you can get it all the time at his place in Sodo/Georgetown, which is a homey, glowing roadhouse with a big American flag.

• Hommage (198 Nickerson St, 283-2665): Where the elegant and extremely well-received Book Bindery used to be near SPU, and from the same owners, Hommage opens Wednesday, October 1 (if all goes according to plan). The chef is Nico Borzee—of Artusi, SF's Coi, and Michelin-starred places in France—which bodes very well.

• Nate's Wings & Waffles (9261 57th Ave S, 722-9464): Nate is the basketball player and Seattle native Nate Robinson; Darren McGill of Happy Grillmore is in on Nate's in Rainier Valley, too. The chicken's all hormone-, antibiotic-, and preservative-free, and the wings come with six choices of sauce, from classic buffalo to coconut-jalapeno-lime.

• Manao Thai Street Eats (1222 E Pike St, 556-2964): On 13th and Pine, Manao has a cartoonishly cute interior and a menu that, despite the name, will be familiar to anyone who's ever been to an indoor Thai restaurant before. Stranger editor Paul Constant says the food is serviceable but not as good as (awesome, nearby, sidewalk walk-up) Little Uncle, though he notes that Manao is open late. Manao means "lime" in Thai.

• Muay Thai Max (muaythaimax.com): Seattle native Max Borthwick—formerly of Thai restaurant Toi downtown (with his mother as the chef), then Suite 410 (an early adopter of the craft cocktail), and now one of the owners of Primo on First Hill—runs Muay Thai Max, offering Thai-style pizza exclusively by delivery (at least for now). Pies include the Praram Long Song with peanut sauce, mozzarella, spinach, chicken, and cilantro, and the Kaeng Panang with panang curry, mozzarella, roasted red bell pepper, onion, and basil, which both sound possibly really good. Coming soon: a full menu of noodles, curries, stir-fries, etc.

• Fran's Chocolates (5900 Airport Way S, 508-4535): Fran's has moved its headquarters to Georgetown, and the industrial-chic shop there has a viewing area so you can watch the magic being made.

CHEF NEWS: Thanks to the Swedish Club, Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised superstar chef Marcus Samuelsson is coming to Seattle. Back in May, the Club made a four-course dinner of modern Swedish recipes from his book Aquavit, sang his praises, and signed a big card begging him to come. It worked: He'll be at the Swedish Club on Halloween, and those who cough up the ticket price ($75, which includes a copy of his new book, Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home) can meet the chef, eat canapés, get books signed, and toast him with a drink (plenty of aquavit!). See this article online for details, and hurry; this will probably sell out.

• Caprial Pence is the new chef at the Bookstore Bar & Cafe, attached to downtown's posh Alexis Hotel. She is, of course, one-half of the PBS sweethearts on Caprial and John's Kitchen, aka "America's Favorite Cooking Couple"—and aside from seeming nearly excruciatingly nice, was the very first winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest, when she was at Seattle's acclaimed Fuller's back in 1990.

BAR NEWS: Bartender great Murray Stenson has departed downtown's Elysian Bar, the upscale bar and restaurant that the brewpub chain opened in May. Stenson is now at Belltown's venerable Queen City Grill, Tuesday through Friday. (He characterized my July review of Elysian Bar—short version: expensive and fairly dismal food, great bar program—as "very accurate.") In fact, five of the six opening barstaff left: Dennis Brand is now also at Queen City, Connor O'Brien can be found at Artusi, Jason Diaz is at Roux, Adam Fream will be at the very promising-looking Single Shot, and Kacy Fitch (a founder of Seattle cocktail mecca the Zig Zag Cafe, where you could also find Stenson back in the day) is finishing cancer treatment and hopes to be back to work soon—very best to him. Reached by phone, Elysian Bar general manager Tyler Pascoe said, "We did have a little bit of a bar turnover, just like any new restaurant." recommended