Neon Taco Turns Two

Monica Dimas' exploratory Mexican pop-up grew into a full-fledged restaurant, slinging tacos from a little window in the back of Broadway bar Nacho Borracho. Now, they've been open for two full years, and serve up a menu of Dimas' grandmother's recipes alongside more modern offerings. (General Tso's tacos, anyone?)

"Neon Taco is turning two and I'm excited to see what direction we go this year," says chef/owner Monica Dimas. "Probably just going to keep being weirder, hosting stranger parties, and continuing to make the tastiest Mexican food in Seattle."

I'm kind of blown away that it's only been two years of Neon Taco, because Dimas has since opened Tortas Condesa, as well as three iterations of Sunset Fried Chicken Sandwiches, her crispy chicken emporium that comes standard with every new Rachel's Ginger Beer location. But then, every time I stop at Nacho for a Tecate and some suadero tacos or hit RGB up for a cucumber tarragon shandy and her perfect frites, I'm reminded why she was able to seize power so quickly. More info on the two-year anniversary party here.

Ernest Loves Agnes Ends Its Run

The upscale 19th Avenue Italian joint will call it quits at the end of the month, according to CHS Blog. The restaurant replaced 19th Ave's beloved Kingfish Cafe, and while I found the speck pizza to be mad decent, I missed the living shit out of Kingfish's amazing collards and perfectly herbaceous fried chicken.

Owner Jason Lajeunesse says the closure will make way for a "wonderful new project," but declined to offer the CHS crow any further details.

Wood Shop BBQ Opens in the CD

Wood Shop BBQ is the latest successful food truck to go immobile, opening a brick and mortar Central District location on the 21st, reports Eater. The Kansas/Texas-style hybrid announced plans to lay down roots across from Standard Brewing last year, and they've made good on the move. Also good is that Wood Shop will serve Standard Brewing's excellent beers along with a cocktail menu. The food will be pretty similar to the truck, according to Eater, with meats available by the pound or in sandwiches.

Bruciato Pizza Pop-Up Becomes Brick and Mortar

Speaking of pop-ups becoming full-fledged restaurants, Brendan McGill's popular pizza experiment, Bruciato, is now a soon-to-be-popular pizza restaurant on Bainbridge Island, Seattle Met announced. The Hitchcock wunderkind tells Seattle Met that the menu will be much less technical than the precise delights of Hitchcock, leaning more toward the rustic side of things. McGill promises, in addition to the Neapolitan-style pizza, "roasted vegetables, meatballs, and [...] 'bagna cauda and vegetables until the end of times.'" May they never come, because I could eat bagna cauda forever.

No More Gold Flakes for Naka

Naka, chef Shota Nakajima's popular Japanese prix fixe place, has closed as of yesterday. The restaurant will be reborn, reports CHS Blog, as a more casual concept, replacing the 10-course menu with a three-course, customizable deal. Essentially, food will be dusted with gold flakes far less frequently, and price points will drop commensurately. He says he's keeping the fancy-assed Japanese whiskies, though, which sounds like a wise decision on many fronts.

Goodbye Good Citizen

Justin, my guy, you're one of the most top-notch neighborhood bloggers to ever do it, but what's up with this lede?

"Another impending business closure on Capitol Hill illustrates the varied ways coincidences of similar events can form together to make you say, hey, what’s going on around here. This time, a loss for lovers of coffee and couches is a win for Capitol Hill’s two-year-olds."

What our dear friend and CHS publisher/reporter/editor/accountant/etc. goes on to explain in more explicit terms is that Good Citizen—the second venture of Liberty mastermind Andrew Friedman—is getting the boot from Harvard Avenue School to make way for expanded day care. Andrea Hackman, the school's founder, tells CHS that, “There is an enormous demand for full day care since Amazon has brought so many new families to Seattle."

I hate to point this out, but if you, say, fight against the $15 minimum wage—something that might have helped more working class folks stay in the city even as Amazon takes over—it's kind of poetic justice to be forced out by the spawn of Amazonians. However, Friedman was already on the way out of his businesses, according to CHS, as he's a newly minted breeder himself.

“We had a kid, and we decided we’d rather spend time with her than be in a bar 18 hours a day,” he told the CHS crow. Thank heavens I'll never be faced with a Sophie's choice like that.

Bourbon and Bones

In other closure news, Bourbon and Bones, the Frelard BBQ shack brought to us by a Wandering Goose alum, is no more, reports Eater. The closure is of the abrupt and surprising variety, as the restaurant made no formal announcement besides ceasing to do business.