[Seattle] Farewell & Welcome: Closings, Transformations, Openings (Part 1)

[tighe]

Had dinner in Ballard last night and drove by a new place called Matador. Looked cool and was full...anyone have the 411 on this place?

[lala]

Friend and I had the misfortune of eating lunch at Matador the weekend after it opened. Had the eggrolls and chili. Eggrolls were misconceived...and the chili was...bland. Never had bland chili before. But there was a whole lot of it. Service was very bad, but it was that waiters first day there (we suspected it was his first day, anywhere), so that may not be indicative of overall service skill level.

Note: the entire place is liscenced as a Bar, so there's smoking throughout the restaurant. Just in case anyone is smoke-sensitive, now you know. And if I recall, they feature a wide selection of tequilas, which many folks would enjoy.

It looks like it's shaping up to be a hipster hangout, which is a good thing for Ballard, but I'll be taking my tummy elsewhere.

[tighe]

Well then...mediocre food, bad service and smoky....guess I'll be avoiding that one...

[elswinger]

I had a much better experience at Matador than you did I guess. There was a bit of a wait because, frankly, it's a meat market, but the Carne Asada I had was great, as was my friend's Carnitas Tacos. My steak was cooked the way I like it and the poblano mashed-potatoes were perfect. The waitress was just the right amount of friendly and I thought I got my money's worth. I will definatly go back, but I'll probably pick a Tuesday or Thursday night instead of Saturday.

Edited April 1, 2004 by elswinger (log)

[lala]

Being a new place, I'd expect that they could only improve from my experience. Like I (tried to) say, it's not for me, but others may enjoy it. Interesting that you note it's a meat market. While I don't imbibe, so to speak, it could be a good addition for the Ballard Neighborhood, if one likes that sort of thing.

*sigh* I'm missing Grapes right about now...

[MsRamsey]

Matador: I stopped in for a snack (quesadilla) last Sunday afternoon. It's okay. They got too cutesy with the design of the place. The best feature is the bar seating around the fire, but the rest is too concept/theme/Darden for me. It didn't seem like a place that "hipsters" would hang out--there are tons of places on Ballard Ave for that already. Frat boys, more like, but I haven't been there after dark, so what do I know.

Edited April 2, 2004 by MsRamsey (log)

[chuck]

Tried a new place in Roosevelt the other day. It's called 'Pies and Pints' and serves small, pretty good meat pies. Beer selection was just fine with about 10 choices. The room is really weird, long and thin with the bar in the back and a well lighted few tables in the front. Kitchen along one wall. It's just east of 12th N E on 65th.

I think the space used to be part of 'Presidio Cigars', the dismal cigar bar in that spot for the last few years that has since shrunk drastically in size and somehow gotten even more depressing.

[tsquare]

Coco Tree Cafe at 2224 2nd Ave (same block as Mama's Mexican) opened yesterday. Flyers distributed for half priced entrees through tomorrow - April 3. On the menu - jerks, stews, and grills. Goat, yes, goat. Jamaican and Caribbean.

[ScorchedPalate]

We went by Philly's Best tonight, and the place was dark-dark-dark at 7pm. There was a scary-looking notice of unpaid taxes taped to the window, and a couple of day's worth of mail bunched up by the door.

This morning there was a new sign on the awning:

"Philly Cheese Steak"

Well, hey, guess it worked so well the last time....

~A

[little ms foodie]

Had Happy Hour at Matador last night. From 4 to 6pm and again after 10 pm $4 plates. Very generous servings for the bargain price we thought. Shared nachos (great with black beans!), egg rolls, shrimp tacos and fish tacos. We thought everything was really good. Sat far from the bar as it does get smokey over there. Had good service and smelt a lot of other good things from the orders around us. My experience was good, will go again.

[tsquare]

Closing May 2 - Fandango.

[girl chow]

Closing May 2 - Fandango.

Yikes. R.I.P. Fandango

[blixa]

There's a new Moroccan place at Bellevue and Pine with "Coming Soon" and "Help Wanted" signs.

Oh, joy! This is Mammounia (or something like that, I've almost certainly misspelled it), the Morrocan place that, IIRC, used to be where Apocalypse Tattoo is now. I had a wonderful meal at the old location in around '87, and I never made it back before it closed.

[mb7o]

Closing May 2 - Fandango.

Yikes. R.I.P. Fandango

unfortunately, not too much of a surprise. last time i was there (~1.5 months ago), they'd closed the main dining room, made the lounge (along with the hall & wrong-side-of-the-entrance area) a dining room, and reduced the menu considerably.

Edited April 27, 2004 by mb7o (log)

[Sleepy_Dragon]

There's a new Moroccan place at Bellevue and Pine with "Coming Soon" and "Help Wanted" signs.

Oh, joy! This is Mammounia (or something like that, I've almost certainly misspelled it), the Morrocan place that, IIRC, used to be where Apocalypse Tattoo is now. I had a wonderful meal at the old location in around '87, and I never made it back before it closed.

The food there seems pretty good. So far I've had the lamb meatballs in a tomato sauce with poached eggs, and the rabbit stew.

They serve a few things different from Marrakesh, but otherwise it's still several sizeable courses for 17.99 including soup, salad (leaf lettuce, not the marinated eggplant puree), b'stilla and dessert with tea, plus options to order fewer courses for less money. It's a lot of food, and a bit of a mystery to me how either place can turn a profit.

Pat

[Sleepy_Dragon]

There is an Ethiopian "place" that opened up a couple months ago, called Tagla. Reason why I put place in quotes is because it's a convenience store with a bunch of Ethiopian spices and staples among the candy and chips in front, but with a spare room attached on the left where the wife of the couple running it will serve breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. Looks like an old storage room hastily converted with a fresh coat of paint, four tables and a TV hanging up in a corner.

"Breakfast" is substantial, especially if you tell her to just bring whatever she thinks is good. They have no menu, just a paper sign stuck on the door to that room mentioning breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

So far I've had the spiced eggs, a lamb stew of some kind, salad, a split pea stew, and my favorite item, which she called "shiro", which is a bean puree of some kind redolent with butter, spices, and especially cardamom. All of this goes on injera of course.

Plus Ethiopian coffee with her own spice infusion in it. She just says it's her style of coffee and she likes it that way. I do too, and I hate coffee. But this was so smooth and complex.

They have plans to expand into the space next door and become a full-fledged restaurant in "2-3 months".

Tagla is at 4423 Rainier Ave S., on the Rainier Ave S. and S. Genessee intersection, next to a tattoo parlor. They don't have any set hours for when they serve food, but my gut instinct tells me late morning and early afternoon on Saturday and Sunday are the times to go. At least, that's when I've gone so far.

Pat

[elswinger]

I liked the location of Fandango, particularly the view, but I wasn't as impressed with the food as many were. At least what I had ordered seemed bland for Latin cuisine. If memory serves, wasn't Fandango in the location that once housed AJay's Delicatesen? I miss that place (and it's location on First Hill. They had the best potato salad (and I usually hate potato salad).

[tsquare]

If memory serves, wasn't Fandango in the location that once housed AJay's Delicatesen?  I miss that place (and it's location on First Hill.  They had the best potato salad (and I usually hate potato salad).

Nope, first occupants of the space. Ajay's was at 1st and Cedar. What's there now?

So Fire and Ice is kaput, and Puck's Cafe (we must have already noted that.)

Someone is working on the space on 2nd that held the short lived Falling Water.

Lisa Dupar's name is on the space that was a catered dining space - Fairview Club? - at Denny and Boren. What's she up to there?

[girl chow]

Lisa Dupar's name is on the space that was a catered dining space - Fairview Club? - at Denny and Boren. What's she up to there?

The Fairview lost its caterer so the owners offered her the place as a catering facility. She's calling it "Julep." It has a ballroom, and several smaller rooms to host weddings, business meetings, etc.

She also is moving her Redmond facility to another location (also in Redmond).. and has plans to open a restaurant there sometime in the near future. It will at the top of my list to eat there, her food is reaaaaaaaaaly good. MsRamsey, LEdlund and I had a nice little time snacking on her desserts at Taste Washington.

[LEdlund]

Ajay's was at 1st and Cedar. What's there now?

CJ's is at 1st and Cedar. Are they the same place? I've been going to CJ's for quite a few years.

[tsquare]

The old Falling Water space on 2nd has a liquor license application posted - listed as "Alexandria's on 2nd". Good luck to them.

Between Mistral and Restaurant Zoe, on Blanchard, is Sea Sound Lounge. This place is so hip it made my head hurt just to look in the window. All white, glowing with candles and euro lighting, pretty pretty people. The windows open up the wall along the sidewalk. The interesting part? I heard rumor that the food is being supplied by Mistral. They supposedly have a web site, but I don't think it's up yet.

[girl chow]

Between Mistral and Restaurant Zoe, on Blanchard, is Sea Sound Lounge. This place is so hip it made my head hurt just to look in the window. All white, glowing with candles and euro lighting, pretty pretty people. The windows open up the wall along the sidewalk. The interesting part? I heard rumor that the food is being supplied by Mistral. They supposedly have a web site, but I don't think it's up yet.

Thanks for the tip Tsquare. After our Cascadia bar trip, we stumbled over to the See Sound Lounge for more drinks.

It's true, the food is provided by Mistral. We were still full from our Cascadia calamari and sliders, but the menu looked good from Saturday: Moroccan style quail with preserved lemon couscous, $12; an assortment of artisinal cheeses, $8; caesar salad, $8; Sicilian style pizza, $8; sashimi grade tuna with oil cured olives and potato salad, $8. Also, some sweets and a few nibbles. We sampled the comp flatbread with the chili oil.

Had the bartender, Karen, not been so damn cool, we might have bolted from the place because it is pretty sterile .. concrete floors, high ceilings and white pillars and low-slung furniture that is much more comfortable than it appears. Karen is a bartender with a good sense for balanced drinks. Several drinks were unusual and unexpected combinations .. like jaegermeister and absolut mandarin... and vanilla stoli and Rose's lime juice... all we sampled were pretty tasty.

[thelastsupper]

A new place is going in right next to the Baltic Room called Baguette Box. Baguettes Sandwiches Wine + Beer is printed on the window. Finally folks are figuring out that tiny hole in the wall places can work. We'll see when it opens . . . I always love a good sandwich.

[tsquare]

A new place is going in right next to the Baltic Room called Baguette Box. Baguettes Sandwiches Wine + Beer is printed on the window. Finally folks are figuring out that tiny hole in the wall places can work. We'll see when it opens . . . I always love a good sandwich.

By the Monsoon people.

[tsquare]

The old Red Robin near 4th and Spring - and the new downtown library - soon to be the most photographed building, at least this year - liquor license up for "Jasmine". Don't imagine that is the same as the Thai place in the Market.