This week, Rebecca and Nathan Lockwood of the respected Altura launch their new Capitol Hill venture featuring fresh pasta and Italian food on carts—fun!—and West Seattle gets a revamped PCC. Read on for more essential food updates, like a location of Korean grocery giant H Mart headed for Capitol Hill, and events for this weekend, like the 17th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival, the 15th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, and Taste of Seattle Made.
OPENINGS
Carrello
Altura owners Rebecca and Nathan Lockwood opened a new restaurant called Carrello (named for an Italian word that means a small cart with two or three trays used for serving food and tea) in the former space of the recently closed Capitol Hill institution Poppy on Thursday, according to a press release. Servers will push carts with small plates such as stuzzichini (snacky Italian bites), antipasti, salumi, and seasonal vegetable dishes that guests can choose from for their meal—think dim sum, but Italian style. Diners can also order fresh pasta made daily by hand, as well as roasted meat and seasonal fish served whole.
Capitol Hill
PCC
On Wednesday, the local, community-owned grocery store PCC re-opened its location in West Seattle, according to a press release. The 24,000-square-foot space is almost twice the size of the previous store and is also the first grocery store in the world to commit to the Living Building Challenge’s Petal Certification, the “world’s most rigorous green building standard.” The location also boasts an expanded produce department, the chain’s largest selection of bulk items, a full-service meat and seafood department, a cafe, a deli, and a Little Free Cookbook Library for shoppers to donate to or borrow from.
West Seattle
U DupBop
University of Washington students have a new place to grab yakisoba, teriyaki, bibimbap, kimchi fried rice, sushi, poke, and other staples at this recently opened Asian fusion joint, which had its first Yelp review on September 25.
University District
CLOSURES
Cafe Solstice
After five years of business, Cafe Solstice, a popular haunt for students and denizens of Capitol Hill, will shut its doors in two weeks to make way for an expansion of next-door veterinary clinic Urban Animal, which is adding on a second waiting area with a separate entrance just for cat owners. The coffee shop’s University District location will remain open.
Capitol Hill
Henry’s Tavern, Stanford’s, and Palomino
After filing for bankruptcy, the Seattle-based restaurant group Restaurants Unlimited has abruptly shut down several of its restaurants, including all three locations of Henry’s Tavern, the Southcenter location of Stanford’s, and the downtown restaurant Palomino. The Northgate location of Stanford’s has been bought by Bellevue-based restaurant group Ascend and will stay open.
Multiple locations
Little Uncle
It’s a sad week for lovers of khao soi gai and free pandan tea: Poncharee Kounpungchart and Wiley Frank closed their Capitol Hill Thai restaurant over the weekend, writing in a Facebook post, “Little Uncle has allowed us to spend the past 9 years exploring Thai cuisine through pop-ups, farmer’s markets, catering of all sizes and shapes, take out windows, to small, medium and large restaurants. We feel that Little Uncle has reached a state of contentedness and being who we are, we ask ourselves, ‘What is next?’ We need to move on and feed our curious minds.” They also hinted that Little Uncle’s existence may live on “in the form of books, catering, and classes.”
Capitol Hill
Mercato Stellina
The Bellevue brick-oven pizzeria Mercato Stellina has shuttered its Pike Place location and adjoining bar Bar Mercato. The reason for the closure is currently unknown.
Capitol Hill
OTHER FOOD NEWS
Caffé Vita employees protest recent firings
On Wednesday, Caffé Vita employees gathered outside the Capitol Hill cafe to protest a recent string of firings and resignations that allegedly resulted after employees gave out old pastries and coffee to homeless people. In an email to employees, now-former general manager Isaiah Washington wrote, “We’ve recently learned that some employees have been giving away Vita gift cards, food, and coffee to homeless people in the neighborhoods we occupy. Although these were well-placed intentions, please understand, it is our belief that feeding homeless people without comprehensive services actually enables, increases and promotes homelessness” and added that “giving away products is theft and the grounds for immediate termination.” (Washington has since quit and told The Stranger he “regrets” going along with upper management’s plan to send the email.) According to Caffé Vita employees, one barista was fired for giving out two refill coffees before the email went out, and a total of 10 full-time employees have since been fired or have quit for reasons related to that policy.
Mecca taken over by David Meinert
The 90-year-old diner and dive bar Mecca is now fully owned by entrepreneur David Meinert, who was accused of sexual assaults by 11 women in 2018. It was announced in June that Meinert planned to buy the longtime Queen Anne institution, but the deal wasn’t complete until Meinert received a liquor license. Previously, a campaign had urged the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board not to grant Meinert the liquor license on the grounds of criminal convictions, but since Meinert did not face charges for the accusations, he was not denied a license. Some patrons have called for a boycott of the bar.
H Mart headed for Capitol Hill
It’s official: By the looks of permits, the Korean grocery behemoth H Mart will open a location atop Capitol Hill Station, an upcoming mixed-use development on Broadway, in 2020. The chain recently opened a location of its high-end grocery concept District H in South Lake Union last month, with a downtown location of H Mart to follow soon.
Homegrown opening in University Village
The local sustainable sandwich shop chain Homegrown is set to open a new location in University Village this November, replacing the previous sandwich spot Even Stevens, which announced that it had filed for bankruptcy in March—before that, in February, Katie Herzog reported that Even Stevens was failing to donate to charity despite continuing to advertise that they were.
New owners taking over Roanoke
Roanoke Park Place Tavern owners Chris and Jeff Price have announced they will be leaving the beloved pub (affectionately known as Seattle’s “Chia Pet” for its exterior coat of ivy) after running it for 25 years together. They plan to sell the bar to couple Sean Donovan and Teresa McElhinney, who Capitol Hill Seattle says have “served many a drinker from behind the pub’s bar.”
EVENTS
FRIDAY, OCT. 4
Celebrate National Taco Day at Poquitos
Celebrate everyone’s favorite tortilla-wrapped street food by digging into a half-price taco plate with three tacos, rice, and beans (normally $13-$17). Specials like the new autumnal chipotle maple-glazed yam tacos and the popular beer-battered mahi mahi fish tacos will be available, too.
Halloween Themed Drink Tasting Event
Taste witchy cocktails and snag recipes to use for a Halloween party the Sanderson sisters would approve of.
Malasadas for Ma Kai’s Anniversary
Bite into a fluffy, sugar-dusted malasada (a type of yeast-leavened Portuguese doughnut) in plain, ube, or coconut to mark Ma Kai’s birthday.
National Taco Day
Snag fish tacos for just a buck and wash them down with $4.95 El Jimador house margaritas.
Tom Douglas and Mark Ryan Wine Dinner
Watch Seattle culinary juggernaut Tom Douglas demonstrate a six-course wine dinner with black cod, Dungeness crab, cèpes, foie gras, squab, and rib steak on stage, paired with wines from Woodinville-based Mark Ryan Winery.
World Pho Day
Dive into a steaming, fragrant bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup to celebrate the dish’s unofficial holiday. Tacoma’s i5 Pho will provide music, giveaways, free food, a spicy food challenge, and a “buy one, get one free” deal on pho just for the occasion.
OCT. 4-5
15th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival
Though pumpkin beer is a decidedly divisive beverage, Elysian Brewing Company’s annual squash-themed celebration continues to draw fans year after year. The great pumpkin in question—a gigantic gourd weighing in at several hundred pounds—is scooped out, scorched, filled with pumpkin beer, sealed, conditioned, and tapped at the event. What’s more, over 80 pumpkin beers, including around 20 from Elysian, will be poured.
Bier on the Pier
At this two-day festival, quench your thirst with beer from over 40 Pacific Northwest breweries and ciders, and savor food truck offerings as you stroll along the Anacortes pier. Local bands Miller Campbell, Randy Weeks, and Gin Gypsy will provide live music.
Delta Presents: The 17:00 Bar
Beer lovers can take a trip around the world by tasting brews from Europe to Asia, knowing that proceeds will benefit great causes: USO Northwest, Habitat for Humanity Seattle, and Northwest Harvest. Participants will even get the chance to win flights to one of Delta’s featured destinations from Sea-Tac.
OCT. 4-13
Little Skookum Inlet Fundraiser
Washington-based conservation group Forterra is campaigning to conserve Little Skookum Inlet, an area that spans 816 acres of riparian habitat, wetland, and forest in Mason County and that is crucial to the health of our orca and salmon populations. Do your part by feasting on a specially created “Little Skookum” seafood dish at any of the 28 participating local restaurants (including Joule, Sitka & Spruce, Kamonegi, Homer, Lark, and other big names)—100% of the proceeds will go to Forterra’s efforts.
OCT. 4-19
Leavenworth Oktoberfest
Since Leavenworth is Washington’s Bavarian-style village all year round, we believe them when they say that their Oktoberfest celebration is “the next best thing to Munich.” Kicking off with an opening ceremony complete with a keg tapping and an oompah-style marching band dressed in dirndls and lederhosen leading a procession, the festival promises German-style fare like bratwurst and coleslaw, family activities, and enough beer to keep your stein full at all times.
OCT. 4-NOV. 2
Nightmare on Wall Street
Continuing a spooky-season tradition started last year, Belltown’s award-winning tiki bar Navy Strength will temporarily transform into a “fully immersive haunting experience,” with libations inspired by horror films like Friday the 13th, The Babadook, Midsommar, The Ring, Pet Sematary, and more. They’ll switch out their usual kitschy drinkware for vessels like pumpkins and Jason Voorhees–masked tiki mugs, and employ ingredients like “candy corn orgeat.” Frightening horror-film soundtracks will contribute to the spine-chilling milieu.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
13th Annual Piper’s Orchard Festival of Fruit
Take advantage of the PNW’s bountiful harvest season by taking an orchard tour, pressing your own apple juice, tasting heritage apples, checking out a mason bee display, and more.
17th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival
Amazingly, Yakima Valley supplies more than 75 percent of the nation’s hops. During this time of year, local craft brewers avail themselves of the proximity and abundance of the hops crop, making ales with hops processed no more than 24 hours after being harvested. The result? Brews with a milder, more botanical profile and less bitterness than is normally associated with hoppy beers. Because of the fragile nature of those little green, cone-shaped flowers, it’s hard to rival the range of fresh hop beers found in our region, and they’re available for an extremely limited time. Yakima’s Fresh Hop Ale Festival, which benefits Yakima County–based arts and science organizations, provides a rare opportunity to taste a range of these hyper-seasonal, ephemeral beers in one place before they’re gone.
The Big Cheese Event
Taste dozens of cheeses made locally and shipped from afar and chat with cheesemongers. All specialty cheese will be 25% off.
Fresh Hop Fest & Fall Beer Showcase!
This events taps into (sorry) the fresh hop, pumpkin, and Oktoberfest beer trends with 30 taps featuring just those types of beer, plus fall seasonals and cider. Grab nosh from the Cheesesteak Madness food truck.
Halloween Cookie Decorating
Learn how to frost spooky royal iced sugar cookies with flair and finesse from a professional baker, and go home with a half dozen to show off.
Magnolia SteinWalk
Go for an Oktoberfest stroll at this three-brewery hop, where you’ll be given a neat ceramic stein that gets you one free eight-ounce pour and as many $3 additional pours as you can drink.
Rainier Beer’s R Day
Join Artist Home and the Georgetown Merchants Association for a celebration of a tried-and-true Northwest standby, Rainier Beer, with live music from Red Fang, Wild Powwers, and Chong the Nomad. They promise a rowdy community mini-fest with plenty of Rainier to drink. This event will also double as a benefit for the Georgetown Merchants Association.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
addo Themed Brunch (October): Trick or Treat
Tuck into a Halloween-inspired brunch tasting menu prepared by chef Eric Rivera.
Boston Invasion
Visiting Boston chef Jeremy Sewall of seafood restaurant Row 34 and his crew will dominate the Ballard sandwich shop Mean Sandwich for a day with lobster rolls and New England clam chowder, along with freshly shucked oysters from Island Creek and Hama Hama. Attendees can also look forward to cornhole, ping pong, drinks, and more.
Leif Erikson Day Happy Hour
Gather at Ballard’s Scandinavian beer hall to celebrate the day dedicated to the first Icelander to travel to North America (which also happens to be Spongebob’s favorite holiday).
Taste of Seattle Made
Now in its fifth year, this annual event is hosted by Seattle Made, an alliance of local producers and manufacturers, and it aims to bring attention to the prolific makers in our city and their delectable wares. To that end, they’ll concoct culinary mash-ups incorporating the goods of more than 40 different participating businesses—for example, a killer-sounding spicy mac-and-cheese kimchi sandwich made with tangy, crunchy kimchi from Firefly Kitchens, a dash of small-batch Ballyhoo Hot Sauce, hand-crafted macaroni from Lagana Pasta, and flaky, buttery Honest Biscuits. You’ll get to try that and more, plus sip five sample pours from breweries like Ghostfish, Fremont, Stoup, and Peddler, and distilleries like Oola.
MONDAY, OCT. 7
Chef Jeremy Sewall at Bar Melusine
Chef Jeremy Sewall of Boston’s Island Creek Oyster Bar and Row 34 will pay a visit to Renee Erickson’s French-inspired oyster bar Bar Melusine, with specials like warm buttered or creamy lobster rolls, Island Creek oysters, caviar toast, Cape Cod striped bass ceviche, Marblehead scallops, and butterscotch pudding.
