If the rest of the year keeps up at this pace, 2018 is going to be very delicious: January has ushered in a crop of very exciting food news, like that the beloved Babirusa is re-opening in Kushibar‘s old spot, that Pho Bac’s Súp Shop is now open in the International District with Suzi An’s natural wine shop Vita Uva inside, and that Renee Erickson is opening a new bar and restaurant inside the Amazon spheres. Find it all below, along with other treats for your weekend, like Frankie & Jo’s new collab with The London Plane and a new Full Tilt Ice Cream on Capitol Hill, and one last chance to try 13 Coins before their Boren location closes on Sunday.
RESTAURANT OPENINGS
Cafe Mia
West Seattle’s Fiddlehead Fine Foods closed in November, and now wine bar and bistro Cafe Mia (not to be confused with Mia’s Cafe) has sprung up in its place, with wine, craft beer, tea, local coffee, organic juices and smoothies, and a brunch-centric menu offering brioche French toast and huevos rancheros.
Full Tilt
The funky, popular ice cream parlor-slash-arcade has opened a new location in Capitol Hill where the Starbucks on 15th Avenue East used to be, with the addition of ice cream bars and a new line of all-natural soft serve flavors that includes buttered popcorn and salted caramel, in addition to their regular lineup of distinctive scoops like ube and Thai iced tea. There’s also a selection of local beer.
Tacos Chukis
Capitol Hill’s favorite taqueria now has a third location on Beacon Hill.
The Westy
The laid-back West Seattle sports bar has opened a new watering hole in Roosevelt where Pies and Pints used to be, with craft brews and unpretentious pub fare.
Pho Bac Súp Shop and Vita Uva
The children of the founders of Pho Bac have opened Súp Shop, a hip new location in the space where their parents’ Pho Viet used to be. In addition to pho, the restaurant features a full bar with cheap beer, cocktails, and wine, and bites like prawn ceviche, sliders, and fried egg rolls. Their signature bar snack is the Unfortunate Cookie Mix, a blend of peanuts, crushed fortune cookies, chili oil, and black sesame. Inside is the new Vita Uva, an approachable shop offering natural wines by the glass and bottle, all made with minimal intervention. It comes from Suzi An, the former creative director of operations for Junebaby and Salare, so expect great things.
RESTAURANT CLOSURES
13 Coins
Lovers of the classic 24-hour steakhouse have been granted one last chance to slide into the leather booths at the historical Boren location: by popular request, the restaurant has extended their service to January 7. The last call for alcohol will be January 7 at 2 a.m., before the breakfast cooks will “crack one last egg and shut off the gas” at 6 a.m. The beloved institution now plans to open their new Pioneer Square location in February.
Closing January 7
LloydMartin
After six years of business, the upscale Queen Anne cocktail lounge shut its doors on New Year’s Eve.
Closed December 31
Oliver’s Twist
Cocktail bar Oliver’s Twist’s Magnolia location has closed and will be replaced by a sushi restaurant and bar called Yume. Owners Dan Braun and Sarah Hughes-Giles have also announced they’re handing the reins of their original location in Phinney over to new owners.
Closed December 29
Revolution Pizza Music
The vinyl-themed Pioneer Square pizzeria shuttered in December.
Closed in December
Schooner Exact
The Sodo Microbrewery has temporarily closed its taproom for renovations, to reopen March 1.
Closed December 28
Ten Mercer
Space Needle-adjacent wine bar Ten Mercer closed on New Year’s Eve after a decade.
Closed December 31
FOOD SPECIALS
A La Mode Pies
The pie bakery unveiled cookies-and-cream and lemon meringue pies for January.
Caffe Umbria at La Marzocco
As the current roaster-in-residence at KEXP’s La Marzocco, Caffe Umbria is offering three exclusive limited edition drinks until January 8th: a marzipan-inspired mocha, a citrus-flavored barrel-aged nitro, and a cold-brew nitro with barrel-aged coffee and whiskey.
Cupcake Royale
For the new year, Cupcake Royale pays tribute to the King with their annual Velvet Elvis flavor: banana cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting, topped with a banana chip and optional bacon. It’ll be available through the end of the month.
Frankie & Jo’s
The plant-based ice creamery is teaming up with The London Plane for three to-die-for-sounding January flavors showcasing the Pioneer Square wine bar’s spice blends and preserves: Carrot Za’atar, with roasted, caramelized Oxbow Farms chantenay carrots, London Plane’s za’atar spice blend, and sesame seeds; Preserved Meyer Lemon, made with London Plane’s sweet-and-salty preserved lemons in kosher salt with cardamom and star anise; and Cured Persimmon Pudding, with chunks of spiced cake with hoshigaki (dried persimmons made with a Japanese technique) in a butterscotch base with caramel swirls. They will also have two events coming up in January to celebrate the partnership: California Dreamin’, an ice cream social and flower arrangement party, and Levantine Supper, a multi-course family-style Mediterranean dinner at the London Plane with a steady flow of wine and lots of scoops of ice cream.
L’il Woody’s
The burger chain is the latest to add the bloody, buzzed-about vegetarian Impossible Burger to their menu offerings, after Rhein Haus and the Carlile Room. For the next two weeks, the realistic meatless patty can be added to any of their burgers, including their current weekly special, the Orange You Glad It’s 2018 Impossible Burger (chipotle orange marmalade, frisee, caramelized onions, Impossible Burger patty, and mayo, with an option to add blue cheese for $2). Check out our veggie burger round-up for more herbivore burger options.
Mean Sandwich
Stave off the winter blues with a carne molida sandwich with tostones and beef minestrone from the excellent Ballard sandwich shop.
Mighty-O Donuts
The organic vegan donut chain’s fragrant, floral Orange Blossom flavor makes a triumphant return to their menu.
Molly Moon’s Ice Cream
The local ice cream parlor chain’s newest flavor is Yeti, the abominable wintry counterpart to their springtime Sasquatch (a chocolate base with granola and caramel), with vanilla, house-made granola, Theo chocolate chunks, and a swirl of vanilla bean caramel sauce. Plus, they’ve got a “Sundae Morning” sundae of the month that will take you straight back to weekends spent in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal, featuring sweet cream ice cream covered in organic caramelized puffed rice cereal and drizzled in butterscotch sauce (and topped with whipped cream and a Chukar cherry, of course). Can breakfast sundaes please supplant smoothie bowls as the new trend for 2018?
FOOD NEWS
Great news for fans of Babirusa, the beloved bar from the now-defunct Blind Pig Bistro: Owners Rene Gutierrez and Charles Walpole are re-opening in the space that was previously home to Kushibar, with an opening currently slated for the end of March. In the meantime, they’re raising funds for the renovation on GoFundMe, with incentives ranging from hugs from Gutierrez and Walpole to a private four-course-dinner in your home.
Is Seattle’s serious dearth of Jewish delis at last coming to an end? On the heels of the announcement that Jonathan Silverberg of Napkin Friends is opening his Jewish deli spinoff Schmaltzy’s sometime late this year or early next year comes the news that Dingfelder’s Delicatessen, an “old-world authentic” New York-style Jewish deli from Vance Dingfelder and Stephanie Hemsworth of Nourish catering, will open in Capitol Hill. Dingfelder and Hemsworth promise corned beef, pastrami, knishes, whitefish, smoked salmon, bagels, cookies, and more. (If, understandably, you don’t want to wait until they open to get your Jewish deli fix, Schmaltzy’s pop-up teaser series debuts January 15 at Stoup Brewing.)
Lively, irreverent French natural wine bar L’Oursin nabbed the honor of Best Wine Bar of the Year in Imbibe magazine.
Renee Erickson revealed that she will be opening a bar and restaurant in the ominous glass Amazon Spheres downtown, sometime in spring and summer. The restaurant project will be an informal Italian eatery, inspired by Erickson’s college days in Rome, and will feature pizza and salumi, a wood stone oven, and a solid happy hour, while the bar will feature upscale Manhattan vibes. Starting later this month, Amazon employees will also get exclusive access to a new General Porpoise coffee and doughnut shop as well as Rana E Rospo, the name for new sandwich and salad counters from Erickson, inside the spheres.
Tom Douglas is opening Department Bento, a customizable bento box counter, inside Nordstrom Bellevue Square in late spring. The restaurant will replace Nordstrom Grill, which is set to close on March 4.
UPCOMING FOOD EVENTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5
Cloudburst Brewing’s First Ever 2nd Anniversary Party
Help Cloudburst Brewing usher in their terrible twos with food and booze. They’ll be releasing some brand new beers as well as reprising some old favorites just for the occasion.
Coffee Tasting: Spotlight on Brazil
Brazil is by far the world’s largest coffee producer, responsible for over a third of the world’s coffee. At this free event open to the public, learn about the history and context behind the country’s coffee trade from Chelsey Walker-Watson of Atlas Coffee and big-name coffee producer Aida Batlle, and taste Brazilian coffees and bourbons.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 6
Korochka’s Russian Christmas & Anniversary Party
Korochka’s two-for-one Russian Christmas and anniversary bash features free live accordion music and drink specials all night.
Saturnalia: Roman Disco Party
The Barnacle crew honors Saturnalia, the ancient Roman festival celebrating Saturn, the god of transitions, with amaro cocktails, Italian small plates, “soul-filling” seasonal punches, Cinzano 1757 sweet vermouth, and a ’70s Italian disco playlist.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 7
Boozy Hot Chocolate Bar
Get cozy with a deluxe boozy hot chocolate from indi chocolate (up to you whether to spike it with OOLA Chili Pepper Vodka or OOLA Bourbon Whiskey) and customize it yourself with all the fixings from a toppings bar, including toasted marshmallows, flavored whipped cream, sprinkles, cookies and more. You’ll also get a mini doughnut from Pike Place’s Daily Dozen and a tour of the chocolate factory (with tastings, of course).
Food Truck Round-Up
Chow down on fare from a variety of food trucks. There’s even one with baked goods for your canine friends!
Shellfish Showcase Begins
Shellfish Showcase is the seafood counterpart to Restaurant Week, organized by Dine Around Seattle. The organization has rounded up a host of restaurants to devise exclusive menus with four items highlighting fresh local shellfish, at least two of them entrées. Some notable participants include underground Pike Place trattoria Il Bistro, cozy Belltown wood-fired kitchen Orfeo, Fremont sushi bar Chiso, Sodo Korean steak house Girin Ssam Bar, Wallingford Japanese yakitori joint Yoroshiku, and Frank’s Oyster House in Ravenna, just to name a few. It’s a great opportunity to slurp some briny bivalves and scope out some hidden gems you wouldn’t otherwise try, and it will run through January 25.
MONDAY, JANUARY 8
Backdoor Spirits Sessions: Rum 101
At this remedial class at the Backdoor, a craft cocktail speakeasy tucked away behind Roxy’s Diner in Fremont, seasoned spirits specialist and mixologist Matt Harvey from Young’s Market will teach you everything you need to know about rum—what it is, the history behind it, how it’s made, distinctions between different types of rum, and how different regions affect the flavor profile. You’ll get to taste appetizers as well as six different rums—all for the sake of education, of course.
