[Seattle] Farewell & Welcome: Closings, Transformations, Openings (Part 2)

[wesza]

Theres a sign up on the eastern side of Aurora Ave/91 st where the awful Pizza Italian Restaurant was located.

It's going to be opening as "Fu Shen" Chinese Seafood Restaurant. It's a welcome addition to this north end of "Seattle" with adjacent parking. Almost every Cantonese Style place that advertises fresh seafood generally has live tanks and often better food then the majority of similar establishments. Hope they deliver as I live nearby.

Irwin

[aaustin]

Any update on what's moving in to Luau? Also, and forgive me if I am just out of the loop, but is that pretty restaurant up in Madrona (btw cafe soleil and hi spot) still open? the name is escaping me.

[elswinger]

I was under the impression that Luau was turning into a new and improved Luau.

[ScorchedPalate]

Also, and forgive me if I am just out of the loop, but is that pretty restaurant up in Madrona (btw cafe soleil and hi spot) still open? the name is escaping me.

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Supreme is now an outpost of Sapphire.

[tsquare]

Any update on what's moving in to Luau? Also, and forgive me if I am just out of the loop, but is that pretty restaurant up in Madrona (btw cafe soleil and hi spot) still open? the name is escaping me.

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Luau was reacquired by the original owners and will be Luau, updated.

The Madrona spot is now outpost two of Sapphire (original on Queen Anne.) New Owners.

[rockdoggydog]

Also, The Lite Gourmet opened in the U-District just right down the place from my favorite pizza place lol

Nothing over $10, and they will try to get the food out fast for you if you are in a hurry. Open until 9ish every day.

Starters --- Bouillabaise, Mussels (YUM) and Baked Oysters. Soups --- Shrimp Bisque, Clam Chowder, Veg/Cheddar and Veg/Beef

Mains --- Only 2, but hopefully good --- 1/4 Roast Chicken w/ Tarragon and Paprika, and Prime Rib. (Hello, Beautiful!)

Sandwiches --- Roast Beef, Turkey, Seafood Salad and 'The Light Gourmet" Sandwich...Sorry, was in a hurry and didn't get the description on that.

Because I am an idiot, the owners name escapes me right now, but he's a real nice guy and I hope he does well.

See ya!

Jason

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Tried Lite Gourmet tonight with Dani. The restaurant is located where the Wing Dome on the Ave used to be and I must say they did a great job of cleaning up the space and ridding it of the smell of grease. I love grease but there's nothing worse than smelling the grease that useed to occupy a restaurant when it's no longer that restaurant. The menu is exactly as Jason described it and I too forgot to ask what's in a Lite Gorumet Salad.

I ordered the roast chicken and a bowl of clam chowder, and Dani had a Turkey Sandwich. The chowder was not bad but not great, but it was good size bowl and the garlicy herb toasts that came with it were superb. In fact I would totally be willing to order them alone if I could as an appetizer. Dani's sandwich was a standard turkey sandwich on Rye, the meat was pretty generic having the look and taste of standard turkey cold cut loaf. It did have one twist to it, there were apples in the sandwich taht Dani said were a nice addition. The chicken was great! Well seasoned the quarter chicken was well roasted and moist and the skin was crisp. It was served with some roasted potatoes and carrots that were pretty unmolested and just left to their own devices.

The people working here were very nice and still working out a few kinks but cheerful. The chef came out a few times to make sure everything was ok and asked for any comments we could offer. The entrees come out on those wooden bed trays you see for Mother's Day painted in a variety of pastels, and while a visually appealing touch took up a lot of room on the table. We also told the chef it would be nice to have the option of ordering a cup of soup instead of a whole bowl as it is a largish bowl.

Dani later commented that the portions seemd kind of small and while the apples were a nice touch in the sandwich it still wasn't all that unique. I replied to Dani that the portions only seemed small in comparison to the outlandish serving sizes we see all the time now in restaurants, and that for the price it was a good size. You can actually eat everthing on your plate and not feel bloated afterwards. Prices were very reasonable and friendly to the college student budget, the chicken was $6.99, and the prime rib listed on the menu was $9.99. For Dani and I, the total came to just $25 for the chowder, a pop, the chicken, and a sandwich including tax and tip.

Overall it was a positive experience and hopefully it will be able to thrive in this location. Many students may bypass it as it does look nice inside but hopefully the lunch crowd from offices on campus and Safeco will give it a boost. It's a nice break from all of the usual cheap eats places that dot the Ave.

Rocky

[elswinger]

I noticed yesterday a bakery is opening up next door to Curves on Lake City Way. I just mention it because I think it's a hilarious visual (decadent pastries next door to a place where "curvey"women are trying to stay in shape).

[aaustin]

Anybody know the ETA on the new & improved Luau?

Also, how is the new Sapphire, and do both locations have new owners? I've never been particularly impressed with Sapphire on QA, so...

[JasonTrue]

I posted about Fresh Flours planned opening (61st & Phinney)... They finished the final city fire inspection and are finally opening on Sunday morning.

We got a city permit today!

Now Fresh Flours will open its doors at 6015 Phinney Ave N, Seattle WA 98103 on Sunday July 17, 2005! 

Will open daily from 7am until 6pm, then switch to 6am - 9pm when we are ready.

Hope to see you all soon!

Keiji & Etsuko

Fresh Flours

I ate at Sapphire in Madrona tonight and found it a very pleasant experience. A lot of beautifully presented simple foods; generally seasonally appropriate; clever pairings of condiments for their cheese plate; a lot of dishes that I certainly could make at home, but most people wouldn't. Nice vibe, enthusiastic waitstaff. Nothing was a religious experience for me, but it was definitely a good "whole package" restaurant: good decor, good vibe, good service, pleasant staff, good food.

They seem to be adopting the trend of using Ritrovo truffle salt in at least one thing on the menu; in this case it was dessert, which was a dense chocolate torte. On savory dishes, they tended to be fairly sparing with salt, so one of our companions was salting everything. I was on the fence; on some dishes I appreciated really tasting the food, but sometimes I wanted a few more grains of salt.

[kiliki]

I just stopped in at Fresh Flours. They make Parisian Macarons!! The chocolate and rasperry were good-much better than Essential's or Le Panier's-though the green tea flavor tasted like...green tea. They had some interesting looking cookies and pastries I will try next time. Perhaps because it was the first day, they didn't have that much in the case-they had one or two of a number of different things displayed, which is sort of an odd look for a bakery case.

[JasonTrue]

I was quite fond of the green tea ones... but then, I'm quite familiar and comfortable with matcha.

They actually ran out of a lot of things this morning, perhaps due to the good weather encouraging lots of wanderers. We were there for an hour or so, and the case was getting bare. Based on a small sample, I think they had at least 60 customers pass through in the morning, probably a bit more, which is perfect for a coffee shop/bakery.

I had the kabocha muffin (pumpkin seed muffin, with some pumpkin flesh) and a matcha macaroon and was quite happy with both. It's rare to find a muffin that sparing in its use of sugar in US coffee shops anymore. My friend had their almond brioche toast, which is similar to Essential's, but looked a little nicer. We also had a matcha shortbread, which had a lighter taste of matcha than I would have expected. Keiji used to work at Essential for some time, when he first came here from New York.

I'm very fond of their chocolate almond and black sesame cookies, which I got a sample of a few days ago before they opened.

I just stopped in at Fresh Flours. They make Parisian Macarons!! The chocolate and rasperry were good-much better than Essential's or Le Panier's-though the green tea flavor tasted like...green tea. They had some interesting looking cookies and pastries I will try next time. Perhaps because it was the first day, they didn't have that much in the case-they had one or two of a number of different things displayed, which is sort of an odd look for a bakery case.

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[tsquare]

I also "sampled" Fresh Flours (eating in and throughout the day from the white bakery bag of treats.)

The orange chocolate brioche was a tad dry, but still good. Not a lot of chocolate or orange actually. The latte was quite good, though handleless ceramic cups are a might challenging.

I loved the matcha macaroon. Also the black sesame cookie and the chocolate hazelnut (?). The matcha shortbread wasn't as pleasing. The kabocha (not pumpkin!) squash muffin, eaten at day's end, may have been the best of the bunch! Moist, tender, not too sweet, with small chunks of preserved ginger, I think.

[kiliki]

I hope I didn't insinuate the green tea macarons were bad-I've never had a green tea dessert that I DID like, so that's just my own taste. The chocolate macarons were particularly good-they had an oozy ganache filling that was delicious.

[chefturnedbum]

wesza just told me Cafe Zaffarano is gone for good. I wonder if it sold. It was on the market. Now that confidentially is dead I can say I was one pen stroke away from buying that place but got a funny tickle at the back of my throat and walked away at zero hour. Why would super restaurant man Peter Lamb just want that place gone. That was my biggest question. I like that spot. I would take it for lease only. But there is good odds it will soon be something else. The kitchen in there is a chefs wet dream.

[elswinger]

On the Ave, there are two new places for Pho (one next to the new Subway across fron Bull Dog news) and one in the space formerly La Vaca. The teriyaki place that used to be a sushi place next to the Post office is now called "A Burger Place" and though I wouldn't suggest the Burger Buddies swing by, I would say it has the best burgers, fries (3 different kinds) and Onion Rings in the U-District (I know, that doesn't mean much). I though the food was tasty and ordered more food than I could eat. They give you a peice of paper, similiar to a sushi list, where you can pick and choose what toppoing you want. I got a double-paddied char-broiled hamburger (which was very juicy), stir fried mushrooms and onions, pickles, lettuce, & mayo, a side of steak fries and a side of onion rings and a Dr. pepper for $8.50, giving them 10 and telling to keep the change. I sat in the back and ate my lunch while watching CNN on the wide screen plasma hifi TV.

Next time I feel like a burger I'll be going back.

One complaint, no milkshakes, but I figure if I get the food to go, I can stop off at Tully's or hagen Dazs.

[rockdoggydog]

Tried Sakura Bistro tonight, located where NE 80th, 15th NE, and Lake City Way meet. It was mentioned in today's Seattle Times. The menu is very extensive and includes many items not seen very often on menus. Dani and I had a variety of small plates and maki sushi, the highlights were the beef tongue that had been miso marinated and then roasted, and the rainbow roll, which was well executed and very colorful. The sushi was pretty decent in general with good fresh fish. Service was very sincere but a little scattered as they had only been open a week and still learning. Prices were reasonable for Japanese food and the portions were very fair. I think I'll need to go back before I make up my mind about this place.

Rocky

[reesek]

wesza just told me Cafe Zaffarano is gone for good. I wonder if it sold. It was on the market. Now that confidentially is dead I can say I was one pen stroke away from buying that place but got a funny tickle at the back of my throat and walked away at zero hour. Why would super restaurant man Peter Lamb just want that place gone. That was my biggest question. I like that spot. I would take it for lease only. But there is good odds it will soon be something else. The kitchen in there is a chefs wet dream.

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that doesn't surprise me. i have a lot of theories about why zaffarano didn't work. it's the kind of place i desperately wanted to love - it's walking distance from my house! but i just couldn't. chefturnedbum - any ideas what's next up for that spot?

[chefturnedbum]

LOL..I am sworn to secrecy. They were actually doing pretty good. Did not go because of lack of sales. Peter Lamb is a smart cookie.

[tsquare]

The "sleazy" bar on Aurora across the parking lot from PCC has been gutted and they are installing ...a new bar! Well, it looks fresh and clean and they are working hard on the construction.

[vinelady]

The "sleazy" bar on Aurora across the parking lot from PCC has been gutted and they are installing ...a new bar! Well, it looks fresh and clean and they are working hard on the construction.

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Great I might actually have somewhere to go after assisting with the classes there.

[Fay Jai]

Talked to the owner of "The Light Gourmet" today on my way back from the bank.

Couple of things:

Seafood Risotto and Seafood Pasta coming soon.

And the Prime Rib? Yup....really is "Prime" Rib. Unless I am mistaken, he's probably the only place on the Ave to have Prime Grade meat.

Kudos to him

~Jason

[chefturnedbum]

The ave is such a tough place. Seems like prime rib may be a tough sell there as well as the risotto. Hopefully it does good.

[elswinger]

Where is the Light Gourmet? It will be 16 days until my next payday (when I can eat out again) and I'd like to give them a try.

Edited July 27, 2005 by elswinger (log)

[Fay Jai]

Old Wing Dome...Right up from my favorite Pizza Place

~Jason

[elswinger]

I'll remember that!

I have to admit I miss WingDome. I've worked for the UW for almost eight years and have lived in Seattle for 15, and I didn't try WD until last summer. They had a pretty good chicken sandwich and, as far as I know, the only place on the Ave for popcorn shrimp. I also loved their hot sauce (I only got up to #7).