One of Intrigues beloved truffle bars.
One of Intrigue's beloved truffle bars. Intrigue Chocolate Co. FB

Intrigue Chocolate Co. to Take Over Healeo Space

The popular Pioneer Square chocolatier will be bringing their truffle-y goodness to the space vacated by Healeo on the corner of 15th and Madison, CHS reports. In addition to selling the truffles, truffle bars, and chocolatey ingredients (nibs!) they've won a following for, the new space will be a full coffee shop as well.

"Full coffee service is a relatively new endeavor for us, so we are going to partner with a local coffee roaster Conduit Coffee," they wrote in a blog post announcing the new location, adding that, "Chocolate will be the extra detail that we hope puts the experience over the top. We want to provide the best chocolate beverage experience available, from hot cocoas, to mochas, to sipping chocolate, even to serving a small piece of chocolate with each cup of coffee."

I'm still sad that the block in question is losing its cheap, sublime anchovy pizza provider, but, um, lose a pizza and charcuterie bar, gain a truffle-focused artisan coffee shop, I guess? Capitol Hill is truly a magical place.

You Cannot Make This Shit Up

I'm just going to print Eater's full headline here because, really, what else is there to say? It's nowhere near April 1, and this is an actual headline about an actual thing that is actually happening: "Jason Stoneburner Bringing Fast Casual Restaurant to New Indoor Surf Park."

Apparently the man behind Bastille and Stoneburner is an avid surfer, and is extremely enthusiastic about getting to shred some indoor gnar, which he will soon get to do at the upcoming Issaquah Highlands indoor surfing megaplex CitySurf. So enthusiastic that he's doing their restaurant. I hope he calls it "The Green Room," because that would be, like, a totally sick pun, bro.

The Old Station Space Sees New Life as a Wine Bar

Technically, The Station's owner, Luis Rodriguez owes me free coffee because of this horrible Jed Durray gif he and Brett Hamil created, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to say that a glass of free wine would also make things right. The occasion being, of course, the opening of his new wine bar, The Wine Station, in the funky little space his coffee shop used to occupy.

The mission of the Wine Station is pretty much the same as that of The Station itself, which is, as Eater put it, "to act as an inclusive community gathering place welcoming of people of color." And all people, really, as I've never seen Luis not want to engage every single patron in friendly, spirited banter. Wine is every bit as welcoming and inclusive of a beverage as coffee, so I'd imagine this new place will be the perfect evening version of The Station experience. Which is a very, very wonderful experience. Congrats, bud!

Also, before I forget, there will be the usual wine bar fare—charcuterie and cheese—but also snacks from Umami Kushi, a local purveyor of Japanese specialties. Yum.

Mutsuko Soma's Eagerly Awaited Soba Spot is Finally Open

Kamonegi threw open its doors on Friday the 13th, making the traditionally ominous day one to celebrate for Seattle's soba lovers. The former Miyabi 45th chef took a hiatus from making her handcrafted soba noodles, leaving her many devotees in the lurch. She recently thrilled Seattle's food scene by announcing that she was taking over the former Art of the Table space, and that takeover is now complete.

The new space features an open kitchen where diners can watch Soma work her magic, and the food will of course be great. In addition to the hot and cold soba, there will be tempura with local veggies, and appetizers like a beet salad with pickled herring or foie gras tofu with sake-poached shrimp. Eater has some nice photos up of the space.

Reuben's Wins Big at GABF

Washington breweries took home 10 medals from the Great American Beer Festival, reports the Washington Beer Blog, with Reuben's Brews grabbing Seattle's only gold in the International-Style Pale Ale category. Their Triumvirate IPA beat out 104 other contestants to take top honors.

Fremont Brewing won silver in the Fresh Hop category for their Amarillo Fresh Hop and Ghostfish won a silver in (obviously) the Gluten-Free category for their Meteor Shower Blonde Ale. The full WBB post is worth reading for Kendall Jones' detailed breakdown of why 10 medals, despite being a drop from last year's 14, is still a great showing for our state.

L'Oursin Drops Brunch

#lebrunch, we hardly knew ye. The wonderful French seafood joint on Jefferson is reigning in their brunch ambitions after only a few months. Alas.

2 Fingers Social Opens in South Delridge

2 Fingers Social is an eclectic new bar at 9211 Delridge Way SW, built inside the former home of a payday loan place and a medical marijuana dispensary, and they're now open, reports the West Seattle Blog. Interestingly enough, the bar will be all ages from 4-8pm every night. Makes sense, however, when you consider that owners Andrew Spence and Ed Wheeler are both parents, and that the bar serves food in a family neighborhood. They're also both alums of El Chupacabra on Alki, so it also makes sense that they're getting pâté custom made by Alki's Marée Bistro & Bar, for use in their menu of mostly hot sandwiches.

The place looks like a quintessential neighborhood bar, but the two owners are proud nerds, and have interwoven hints of that into the decor. Tabletop patterns based on the movie Hellraiser, for example, and can lamps with emblems from Star Trek, Star Wars, and Mad Max.

May they live long and prosper!