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belltown dining
RONALD HOLDEN phinds phabulous pho Answered Prayers  Faithful readers will recall our lament, over the years, that Belltown was the last neighborhood in Seattle without a pho parlor. No longer. Black Bottle, that estimable watering hole for the the under-30 set, is now serving an elegant pho made with beef brisket that's braised to medium-rare, then roasted to order. The lean and fatty bits-and it's a huge amount of meat-meet up in the broth, and pho, of course, is all about the broth: beef bones, star anise, rock sugar, fennel, cinnamon, simmered for five hours. (Work starts at 6 a.m., which means that Brian Durbin's kitchen now runs 22-plus hours a day.) Basil, lime, jalapenos, spouts, a dish of plum sauce and sri racha, weighty china and substantial chopsticks, too.
The pho is $7, a bargain anywhere. Also on the new, everyday lunch menu: tacos, pastrami sandwiches, squid salad, cioppino. In daylight, without the wall-to-wall sweet young things, peace descends and Black Bottle's like another world: heaven.
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 Minnie's has become Whym. (Name must have been dreamed up on a whim, no connection with the South Carolina radio station or the New York restaurant.) Previous owners didn't pay their taxes; didn't clean the joint, either. "A real shithole, not even the staff would eat there," confesses a former kitchen employee. Bridget and Neil Scott (who also run the Hurricane) are the new owners; they've hired Tony Sestadt as the chef and Terry Gatechair (from Flowers) as bar manager. At last-a real diner for Belltown, with meat loaf and waffles and fish & chips and breakfast at 3 a.m.
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Yet another gastropub is on its way to these parts, name of Spur. It's coming soon to Blanchard, between First and Second, where Mistral once stood. Not like "Spur-Of-The-Moment," but Spur, what a cowpoke wears on his boots. Don't see many cowpokes in Belltown; more of a Capitol Hill denizen, you'd think.
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And speaking of Mistral: here's former owner William Belickis, emerging from Home Depot holding a hot dog and chips in one hand, a soft drink in the other. Understandably, he doesn't want to be photographed with such plebian food. But he's eager to talk about his new venture, still unnamed, that will fill the void left by Mistral's closing and fill his coming year.
He's talking to several downtown developers about the project, which he sees as a 4,000-square-foot place, 100 seats (cafe, bar, private dining), and four kitchen pods fanning out into the dining room. The idea is that they will range from low-tech (a wood-burning oven) to high-tech (induction ovens, high-thermal mixers), with diner-chef interaction similar to sitting at a sushi bar. Clearly this requires an all-new space, since Belickis has no intention of "working around" some failed restaurant's plumbing or electric lines.
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Txori has opened its deck-a couple of dozen seats in a narrow space overlooking First Avenue. There's a new menu of summer cocktails, too, and a full calendar of events surrounding the most typically Basque (basquest?) festival, the running of the bulls in Pamplona. That would be the week of July 7-13, with events like "Birds of a Feather," "Viva Torero," and old Tyrone Powers movies. Txori is already running weekly tastings and pinxos competitions, along with monthly dinners.
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"She sent the fish back!" says Peter Lamb of his new chef, Ashley Merriman (most recently
at Brasa). "And, frankly, she
was right."
So the "in paper" baked fish preparation on Branzino's opening night was halibut instead of Mediterranean sea bass (aka branzino). Mackerel and octopus were also on the menu, along with homemade mozzarella, lamb sausage, and asparagus in a rich, bacon-fat hollandaise.
We ordered Branzino's first Negroni from bartender Miles Thomas. The mackerel and the mozzarella both came with the same not-particularly inspired pepperonata; the papardelle with a braised meat sauce described as "Bolognese" (normally sauteed ground meat, with more tomatoes). Though the food's important, Branzino's real attractions are its genial hosts, Wei Fu (who owned En, same location) and Michael Don Rico (of El Gaucho and Amber), providing a welcome that competes with Tavolata as a late-night spot.
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Supermarkets of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your affiliation with Kroger! That's the motto (sort of) behind IGA, the world's largest voluntary association of grocers. Most of its 4,000+ member stores are located outside the U.S., and most of the domestic ones are in small towns. (Specials are tagged "Hometown Proud.") The latest IGA is in the basement of the Kress Building, reachable by escalator from Third and Pike.
CEO Tyler Myers understands that his captive audience of downtown residents and office workers are careful shoppers; prices at the scoop-it-yourself hot bar are a buck below Whole Paycheck.
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Speaking of which: There was a huge floor display, at the Whole Foods on Westlake, devoted to Italian wines. Great idea. Terrific promotion. All for it. But what's the tie-in to Vespa all about? Is the idea that a sexy scooter promotes wine consumption? What fun! Alcoholic beverages and a motor vehicle? Gulp!
What's the next step? A Kenworth semi filled with cases of Maker's Mark? Stihl chain saws and Knob Creek? Evinrude outboards and Bacardi?
Nothing against Vespa, by the way, but next time, there's actually a scooter called Vino. Made by Yamaha, it turns out.
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Restaurant critic Ronald Holden, dubbed "Belltown's Boulevardier"
by Seattle Magazine, has been named Seattle's Wine & Fine Dining Examiner by the national blog
Examiner.com.
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