[Seattle] Farewell & Welcome: Closings, Transformations, Openings (Part 3)

[crouching tyler]

Au revoir to Saint Germain, in Madison Park.

http://saintgermainseattle.com

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I, too, am sorry to see them go. They fit a particular niche for me, and now I'll have to find another place to fill it. Drat.

[crouching tyler]

Stickman Coffee is open in Fremont. It is sort of in the alley, just east of Deluxe Junk and the Lenin Statute.It is the old downstairs of the Fremont City Peoples' shop for all you old-timers.

3516 Fremont Place N

(between 35th St & 36th St)

Dismas is the guy behind the gleaming machine and his americanos make me very very happy.

Edited January 4, 2008 by crouching tyler (log)

[tsquare]

We tried a new place tonight "Fana's Cuisine" located at 3621 33rd Ave S, just off Rainier Ave (a bit south of the MLK intersection.) The storefront restaurant was crafted by the owners with curry and paprika painted walls, and great black and white photos, in a stretch of waiting to be filled new retail spaces in the Courtland Place housing development.

Family owned and operated, this is East African food that is far superior in freshness to the average Ethiopean joint around town. They have a butcher's license and cut their own meat from the whole cow or lamb. Fresh, fresh, fresh. They are young to the restaurant business, so you will need to accept that some items may not be available (like lamb,) but the beef, chicken and vegetables sides we ordered were excellent, as was the injera. And, of course, two orders were far more than we could we finish. We also received a warming (and filling) bowl of soup before our meal - it was made with oats, and had a wonderful restorative heartiness about it, while still being light and tasty.

They also serve Italian dishes - the Eritreans were colonized by the Italians in the early 20th century and they continue to have a connection with the food. Unfortunately, no wine or beer are served, though coffee and some other beverages are available. Call before you go - they are working out their schedule - hopefully something less than the 7 days a week, lunch and dinner currently posted. 206-708-7417 or 327-9176.

(Sorry about the cross posting!)

[Shalmanese]

Was wandering down the Ave recently and saw one of the boarded up stores with "Samurai Ramen, coming soon" for all of you who are craving a ramen fix but don't want to head all the way down to the ID.

Edible food on the Ave? Could it be? Fingers very tightly crossed!

[mamster]

That's great news, Shalmanese. Do you remember what block of the Ave it was?

[duck833]

Eugene, Oregon

Willie's on 7th closed the first of the year. Been there for many years and was one of the local upscale dining establishments.

Apparently a group from Portland bought the real estate and next door building also. Probably going to put in another fast food wonder.

[cupcakequeen]

i ate at boom noodle. pretty average. samurai is much better, cheaper & you can get straight up pork broth (crack soup). they were out of gyoza, but during the middle of our lunch, the delivery driver brought hand truck after hand truck of frozen Ajinomoto dumplings, and various other ready-made frozen goodies. it was just kind of a bummer to see. especially with their prices. a salmon tataki appetizer was good, seasoned perfectly. fried chicken appetizer was okay. bottled katsu sauce, on-the-bone pieces were juicy & good, the boneless nuggets were dry.

also, i ordered a apple-shiso juice & they juiced it directly into the glass they served to me, complete with the unappetizing head of brown foam that most people know to pour off. i know it's a division of Blue C and i shouldn't hold much hope, but i was still disappointed.

[jkonick]

Looks like the new Samurai is going in on 43rd and the Ave.

[Underfoot]

Okay, so this may not be a new restaurant opening, but it's an oldie-but-a-goodie opening in a new location! Actually it's been open for a few weeks but to cut to the chase, Willie's Taste of Soul has relocated to Rainier from Beacon Hill. I just had some of their bbq chicken and sliced pork tonight, delicious, tender, and a great bbq sauce. And yes, the proprietor's name is actually Willie and my family has been patronizing him for years. Always good.

Here's the website.

[Shalmanese]

Looks like the new Samurai is going in on 43rd and the Ave.

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It's actually between 41st and 42nd. Just north of Chapel on the Ave.

[Fay Jai]

According to the Stranger, Andy's Diner is closed...Looks like I'll never have another meal "compromised" there again!

~Jason

[jkonick]

Has anyone been to Kaname, the new Japanese place that is now occupying the former Takohachi space? I'm not sure how long it's been there, but I just walked by today. The menu looks pretty similar to Takohachi's; they've still got the saba shioyaki, but no bacon fried rice Looks like they also have a good selection of shochu/sake.

[Sabrosita]

Has anyone been to Kaname, the new Japanese place that is now occupying the former Takohachi space? I'm not sure how long it's been there, but I just walked by today. The menu looks pretty similar to Takohachi's; they've still got the saba shioyaki, but no bacon fried rice  Looks like they also have a good selection of shochu/sake.

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I was there about a month after it first opened (it has been a while now). Great selection of shochu, but the staff knew nothing about it. Ramen was sub par, katsu don was great.

[chefturnedbum]

Hey..my new place is old news on 15th but for the life of me does anyone know what is going into that little plumber space towards the safeway. I see restaurant stuff etc but never a guy to talk with. I hope and pray for a taqueria like the great el sabor. anyone have a clue or know who is doing it?? For me the more great restaurants the better. Also I saw a new place on 68the near goodwill call il giardino. Very hot looking house with obvious big dollars behind it. How about some scoop on that.

Scott

[Shalmanese]

Hey..my new place is old news on 15th but for the life of me does anyone know what is going into that little plumber space towards the safeway. I see restaurant stuff etc but never a guy to talk with. I hope and pray for a taqueria like the great el sabor. anyone have a clue or know who is doing it?? For me the more great restaurants the better. Also I saw a new place on 68the near goodwill call il giardino. Very hot looking house with obvious big dollars behind it. How about some scoop on that.

Scott

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NE? SW? NW? SE?

[chefturnedbum]

it is nw. Has a great bay window.

[reesek]

ocho in ballard. spanish tapas...and estrella dam in a bottle. i am very excited about this...

i'm not sure of all the players, but one of them used to be a bartender at la carta de oaxaca, and is also the brother of a friend of mine. (full disclosure!) i haven't been, but it's getting buzz on CH and in the weekly today. the menu items sound pretty authentic, though i can't understand why anyone would rub a tomato on toast in january. (pan con tomate, or a variant is on the menu)

that kind of behavior should be illegal.

24th and market - used to be a hotdog place?

[chefturnedbum]

They snatched that space up quickly (Matts). I called right after it was closed for lunchbox lab and the guy said it was gone quicker than he expected.

[little ms foodie]

ocho in ballard. spanish tapas...and estrella dam in a bottle. i am very excited about this...

i'm not sure of all the players, but one of them used to be a bartender at la carta de oaxaca, and is also the brother of a friend of mine. (full disclosure!) i haven't been, but it's getting buzz on CH and in the weekly today. the menu items sound pretty authentic, though i can't understand why anyone would rub a tomato on toast in january. (pan con tomate, or a variant is on the menu)

that kind of behavior should be illegal.

24th and market - used to be a hotdog place?

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I drove by today and didn't see a sign or anything? are they open or still building

[LEdlund]

ocho in ballard. spanish tapas...and estrella dam in a bottle. i am very excited about this...

i'm not sure of all the players, but one of them used to be a bartender at la carta de oaxaca, and is also the brother of a friend of mine. (full disclosure!) i haven't been, but it's getting buzz on CH and in the weekly today. the menu items sound pretty authentic, though i can't understand why anyone would rub a tomato on toast in january. (pan con tomate, or a variant is on the menu)

that kind of behavior should be illegal.

24th and market - used to be a hotdog place?

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I drove by today and didn't see a sign or anything? are they open or still building

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According to posters on CH, it is open. There are a couple of reviews there.

[kiliki]

There's a new "Japanese confectionary" called Katara (sp?) on Phinney at about 64th, in the little house that used to house that pottery shop. I THINK I saw a sign that said "open house Feb. 8th."

[LEdlund]

There's a new "Japanese confectionary" called Katara (sp?) on Phinney at about 64th, in the little house that used to house that pottery shop. I THINK I saw a sign that said "open house Feb. 8th."

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I saw that recently too. I'm excited to see what they have. That area is becoming quite the Japanese sweets area with Fresh Flours and Hiroki.

[JasonTrue]

I think she's been around for a while but has only been supplying sweets to the Urasenke school (tea ceremony school) in Montlake while trying to arrange for the money to convert the place to a licensed kitchen. The sign went up just a month or two ago. I think she's been doing open houses about once a month.

Neptune Coffee down the street sometimes has her dora-yaki, but I usually just make my own. At the Urasenke school they serve the more complicated sweets that require special equipment, which should vary by season.

I suspect, due to the health codes in the US that treat cooked beans and rice as potentially hazardous foods and require refrigeration even though that's the most evil thing you can do to mochi and joshinko based confections, that most of the better sweets will require advance orders.

[Shalmanese]

Anyone who regularly goes to the U-District farmers market, check out the new Vietmanese sandwich shop that just opened just south of 50th & The Ave. Excellent Bahn Mi for $3! The shop next door, a Burger & Seafood joint is also owned by the same family but I've not yet had a chance to try it.

[jkonick]

Anyone who regularly goes to the U-District farmers market, check out the new Vietmanese sandwich shop that just opened just south of 50th & The Ave. Excellent Bahn Mi for $3! The shop next door, a Burger & Seafood joint is also owned by the same family but I've not yet had a chance to try it.

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I've been repeatedly disappointed by U-District banh mi. I'll have to check this out, but three bucks for banh mi seems a little steep