OPENINGS
Don Lucho's
Seattle's first Peruvian food truck has opened a brick-and-mortar location in the former space of Barbecue Smith, which recently closed to transition into an all-catering business. Guests can look forward to dishes like ceviche, arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood), lomo saltado (a stir-fry with thinly sliced beef, tomatoes, onions, and French fries), Peruvian chicken, sandwiches, flan, and more.
Maple Leaf
Limoncello Belltown
This cafe, which opened a location in Queen Anne a year ago, recently opened an outpost in Belltown and had its first Yelp review on October 17. Offerings include Italian pastries, espresso, and panini.
Belltown
Street Bean Coffee Roasters
Want to put your coffee dollars towards an admirable cause? According to an email newsletter announcement, this roaster, which helps homeless youth find employment by providing apprenticeship and training opportunities and has a location in Belltown, opened an outpost downtown at 9th and Stewart last week.
Downtown
CLOSURES
East Trading Co.
Just a little over a year after it opened, this stylish, zodiac-themed Capitol Hill bar from I-Miun Liu (owner of Oasis Tea Zone and Dynasty Room) announced on Instagram that it would close on November 3. The post read, "We are sad that we were not able to make East Trading a staple on the Hill, but we are looking forward to future adventures," and encouraged guests to visit Liu's pop-up bar Dynasty Room in the International District before it closes in January.
Capitol Hill
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Tom Douglas settles $2.4 million lawsuit
Seattle chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas, infamous for his empire of 15 restaurants in Seattle (including Dahlia Lounge, Serious Pie, Lola, Etta's, Brave Horse Tavern, and Palace Kitchen, among others), will pay $2.4 million to current and former employees to settle a class-action lawsuit for not properly disclosing how much of an included 20 percent service tax on customers' bills went to the workers and for not providing adequate rest and meal breaks. Last year, restaurateur Josh Henderson of the restaurant group Huxley Wallace also settled a lawsuit for $1 million related to obscuring a service charge and not providing breaks.
Cafe Flora opening bakery in Beacon Hill
Get ready for vegan cinnamon rolls: Madison Park's charming, plant-filled vegetarian haunt Cafe Flora, which launched an outpost called Floret inside SeaTac in February 2018, is opening a new bakery outpost called the Flora Bakehouse in Beacon Hill next year. The commissary kitchen that produces baked goods for both Cafe Flora and Floret is located there, so owner Nat Stratton-Clarke decided to open a neighborhood cafe with coffee, pastries, and lunch bites, too. The space will be full of plants and designed by Sara Knowles, who also designed Floret and Homer, so it's safe to say it will be nothing short of eminently Instagrammable. If you want to sneak a peek before the opening, there will be a bakery pop-up preview at Cafe Flora on November 26 with pie and savory goods, plus local produce from Steel Wheel Farm, flower arrangements from Fortunate Orchard, tablewares from Karra Wise of In the Shed, and artisan bread from Sea Wolf Bakers.
New teriyaki joint coming to West Seattle
Teriyaki is Seattle's unofficial cuisine—just recently, famed chef and food writer J. Kenji López-Alt mildly maligned it in an Instagram post on a visit, prompting Seattle Times food writer Bethany Jean Clement to compose a spirited response in its defense. Now, the city can enjoy another option with the upcoming opening of Grillbird, a fast-casual teriyaki-focused restaurant in West Seattle, slated for early 2020. Owner Matthew Parker, who's served as creative director and designer for spots like Westward and Great State Burger, has planned a small menu of gluten-free dishes with vegan options and told Eater Seattle the joint will not be "elevated" teriyaki but "just your local teriyaki joint made a little more modern."
Korean corn dogs headed for International District
A new option for food on a stick is coming: Chung Chun Rice Dog, a behemoth Korean chain known for its "Korean corn dogs" dipped in rice flour batter and fried before being rolled in crunchy coatings like panko breadcrumbs for a chewy-crispy effect, will open its first Seattle location in the International District by the end of the year. The restaurant will take up residence in the former space of Tofully, which appears to have closed.
EVENTS
FRIDAY, NOV. 8
AAJA Seattle Chef Showcase 2019
Bid on auction items and sample food from celebrated local eateries like Adana, Hood Famous, and Nirmal's, all for the good cause of supporting the Asian American Journalists Association.
Washington GABF Winners Celebration!
Washington is home to many award-winning breweries—in 2019, 11 different breweries took home a total of 14 medals at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival. The Beer Junction will showcase these victors with as many of the award-winning beers on tap as they can manage, plus other beers from the winning breweries.
NOV. 8-9
America's Test Kitchen Seattle Eats Festival
It’s the return of public TV’s favorite cooking show, America’s Test Kitchen, for the Seattle Eats Festival, which is definitely cause for culinary celebration. The two-day event kicks off at Block 41 with ATK’s Cheers to 20 Years anniversary celebration, a party to benefit local nonprofit FareStart (which helps people experiencing homelessness or poverty with training and jobs in the service industry), and celebrate the release of ATK’s new How to Cocktail cookbook. ATK hosts and test cooks will be on hand (including mains Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison), with well-regarded local mixologists (like Amanda Reed of Heartwood Provisions) and chefs (Adana’s Shota Nakajima among them) serving bites and cocktails. The main event occurs the following day, with a bevy of local restaurants, cafes, eateries, and the chefs behind them offering food and drink alongside an afternoon of ATK-led cooking demos (like a how-to on Torta Caprese Italian chocolate almond cake, which is gluten-free and all for me), cookbook signings, photo ops, and more. This year’s featured guest chef is venerable Iron Chef-famed Masaharu Morimoto, who just opened a restaurant in Chinatown/ID.
SATURDAY, NOV. 9
2nd Annual New Belgium Spaghetti Feed
Dig into a bowl of hearty spaghetti (with optional meatballs) with a sauce made from a generations-old family recipe, free with the purchase of two pints of New Belgium beer, including varieties like the 1554 Enlightened Dark Ale and the Voodoo Ranger Hop Avenger IPA.
BBIS Variants and PNW Crush Release
The acclaimed craft brewery Reuben's Brews will unveil three never-before-seen, limited-edition variants of their award-winning BBIS (Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout) and a new batch of their hazy IPA PNW Crush.
The Gathering Table with Aran Goyoaga
Celebrate the release of Aran Goyoaga's new cookbook, Cannelle et Vanille (full of gluten-free recipes for "family-friendly modern meals prepared without fuss"), with an author meet-and-greet, a book signing, and a tasting of bites and sips from the book.
Hops on the Rock Beer Festival
Venture to Orcas Island to sample microbrews from over a dozen small Northwest breweries, savor local food, and take in some live music.
Northwest Chocolate Festival 2019
Now in its 10th year, this gathering of artisan chocolate makers actually extends beyond the Northwest to more than 20 countries around the globe, with exhibitors like beloved Seattle staples Fran’s and Bakery Nouveau, and Portland’s Moonstruck Chocolate and Bees and Beans joining names like Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolates (from the Philippines), Hogarth Craft Chocolates (New Zealand), Al Nassma Chocolate (Dubai), and FuWan Chocolate (Taiwan), among so many others. You’ll find milk and dark chocolate, truffles, bonbons, caramels, molten cakes, decadent desserts, and plenty more, in addition to enjoying demos, educational workshops and seminars, cooking classes, and tastings. Look, it’s a shit-ton of chocolate, okay? How can you argue with that? You can’t. Go get blissed.
LEILANI POLK
SUNDAY, NOV. 10
Bon Appétit! The Julia Child Operetta
Strolling through the Smithsonian Museum one afternoon, I stumbled upon a full replica of Julia Child's kitchen. I walked in because I had recently finished watching some classic episodes of The French Chef, including her infamous lobster show. "You have to cut him right here," Child says as she sticks her knife into the lobster's neck, "where all of his brains and hearts and feelings are." Genius. Anyway, in the Smithsonian exhibit, I saw a picture of Child bent over a counter in a small French kitchen. On the placard next to the photo was a quote from the famously tall chef: "When I get my own kitchen, I'm going to build the counters up to my waist. I'm through with this French pygmy bullshit!" If you haven't figured it out yet, Child is one of the greatest and funniest people ever to wield an eight-inch knife. In this light opera, a shade of the chef will crack you up while also making a giant chocolate cake, which I am told will be made with Theo Chocolate. A serving of cake is included in the ticket price. RICH SMITH
K’URB Street Food Market Pop-Up
Enjoy a curbside feast with "hyperlocal, globally inspired" cuisine from local vendors like T'Juana Tacos, Piroshky Piroshky, BeanFish Taiyaki, Kismet Turkish Cafe and Bakery, and more.
Salami Making 101 at The Shambles
Learn how to make the zippy cured sausage yourself by breaking down a pork picnic shoulder and grinding, mixing, and stuffing casings in this hands-on class. You'll take home a bag brimming with "charcuterie goodies."
TUESDAY, NOV. 11
Crafting Libations: Autumn Cocktails
Channel your inner mixologist by learning to make a holiday mulled wine and some "booze-forward warming cocktails," including an old-fashioned with a "special autumn twist" and a secret recipe for hot toddies from instructor Jared Wegner.
Fall Foraged and Game Dinner
Chef Jessica Rudell will prepare a meal revolving around wild game meats, like cured duck breast crostini and confit sunchokes with braised rabbit, along with optional wine pairings curated by manager Ross Crifasi.
Feuerzangenbowle!
Experience the fiery theatrics of a feuerzangenbowle—a traditional German drink in which a rum-soaked sugar cone is set aflame and drips into Glühwein (mulled red wine).
NOV. 11-16
Seattle Pizza Week 2019
If you were a fan of The Stranger’s Burger Week this past summer, we’ve got another exclusively crafted (and priced) food to deliver to your mouth: $2 pizza slices! During our inaugural Pizza Week, 11 restaurants are participating (Andare Kitchen & Bar, the Ballroom, Belltown Pizza, Humble Pie, Johnny Mo's Pizzeria, Little Maria's Pizza, Nine Pies Pizzeria, Ozzie's, South Town Pie, Southside Pizza & Gelato, and Watershed Pub & Kitchen), with three vegetarian offerings amid the meaty meats, and even one that’s gluten-free. Visit seattlepizzaweek.com for details on who’s serving what for this one-week-only event. LEILANI POLK
