Comments on: West Seattle restaurants: Alki’s Bada Bistro to open next week

By: Pete

Pete — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 04:10:28 +0000

Great food and staff. Will be returning often.
Recommend the Calamari and the Bada Ramen.

By: Rin

Rin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:55:53 +0000

Sharon-so excited you are coming to alki, it is a much needed addition. Disregard all the crazy comments. A little pretention is need on alki. We have been waiting for some decent food. You negative people need to seriously lighten up…or just stick with bamboo.

By: Vinsanity

Vinsanity — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:25:07 +0000

As a NW native I can confirm that under every rock in Seattle is a controversy. Provincial is the byword. If you like Merlot and Sophistication, try Vancouver BC.

By: sharon bang

sharon bang — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:12:13 +0000

Hello West Seattle,

We are opening tomorrow at 5pm, and all the menu items are posted on our website, http://www.badabistro.com. Hope to see many of you this week, and thank you for all the support!!!

By: pjmanley

pjmanley — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:24:03 +0000

I find this thread hilariously entertaining, with plenty of irony, hypocrisy, silliness, pretentiousness, seriousness, and of course, drama. All make for good humor and satire. Good luck to Ms. Bang & all, but against the backdrop of the Alki Tavern shutting down around the same time, I’m a little sad that we’re on our way toward less diversity and character in West Seattle. Some days I want a steak at Jak’s or high-end food somewhere else, while other days, I want a basic omelette or cheap tacos and beer at the Alki in torn jeans without showering first. I’d like to have A through Z over here, but I think we’re on our way toward something more M through P. It won’t be long before suits and bikers have no place to commingle anymore, and I’m going to miss that. All the Sideways references pretty much confirm my fears.

By: anomie25

anomie25 — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:16:39 +0000

The menu looks great–nicely done on the website! But since the owner made such a point with her comments about wines, you’d think they would post the wine list (even a sample or what they have in development) on the website so we can judge for ourselves how “well balanced and eclectic” it really is for our taste.

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:28:03 +0000

Sharon is a marketing genius. Hundreds of people are now aware. Well played Ms. Bang, well played indeed. See ya on grand opening! Korean Chicken Wings FTW.

By: hipster!

hipster! — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:48:20 +0000

So glad to see that beautiful eloquent writing still exists (homage to DC). Very refreshing.

By: datamuse

datamuse — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:16:35 +0000

As a matter of fact, D.C., I have heard of an elevator pitch. Part of my job involves listening to them. But I only have so much discourse in me on any given day, and I’m afraid I’d used it all up on other things.
.
But thanks for the veiled insult anyway! Have a nice day.

By: Happiness

Happiness — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:45:33 +0000

I appreciate D.C.’s thoughtful summary, and dawsonct’s comment as well.

By: wizwiser

wizwiser — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:39:25 +0000

It amazes me that everyone continues to try to make sense of this comment about merlot. Why would they say such a thing about merlot. What is going on!!! Does no one understand that the joke is on us, this restaurant announcement has more comments than any thing else on the WSB, and if they had not have put in a few little jib jabs here and there it would have just gotten lost in the wash like all the other post and announcements on here. Sharon actually posted an announcement with some attitude that got the community talking about her restaurant and looking at her menu, which looks damn tasty. Have we never seen a television add, to we not understand advertising after being subjected to it for this long. I’m intrigued,and I am going to go check them out. Getting upset over this restaurant announcement is akin to getting upset over any other commercial, you fell for it.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:19:37 +0000

Well said D.C. Many people keep trying to relate this back to ‘Sideways’ and claim that it is a joke the we either don’t get or are missing that it is intended as a joke. The fact is that when the comments first began the owner, Sharon, responded and said that the comment was intended as a reflection of their philosophy. Her quote: “We were trying to express the effort we put into pairing our wine and food selection by letting you know that Merlot was not going to be there, but some new tastey matches were available instead. We were going for a unique experience when we said we don’t serve Merlot.”
So, put the reference to “Sideways” to bed because it is not, per the owner, a joke or tongue in cheek. If it were, she had the opportunity to say “hey, it was a joke!” But she didn’t, she confirmed it was serious. As D.C. pointed out, as I did earlier, the fact that they chose to single out one item they will not serve out of principle comes off as stuffy. Again, nobody would care, or perhaps even notice, if Merlot were simply left off the menu. But choosing to include the statement in their brief release appears to have been in an attempt to make a statement of some sort. The movie successfully made laugh out loud fun of an existing snobbery surrounding Merlot. I had many friends that, after watching the movie, became too good for Merlot. They were no more knowledgeable about wine than before, but they learned that ‘sophisticated’ people frown upon Merlot so they thought it made them more ‘hip’ to reject a wine they were happy to drink just a day before. The Movie did not create the pretentious attitude about the wine, they used it for laughs, lampooned it, and at the same time brought it to people’s attention. The owners’ statement, and re-statement, seems to be a wink at the “we know Merlot is pedestrian” crowd rather than an homage to the fun poked at that crowd in the movie.
On a personal note, my mom’s favorite wine is Merlot. I prefer Cabernet. When we go out to dinner, and she loves to support local (West Seattle) restaurants and does often, if a Merlot isn’t available she doesn’t blink an eye. She simply asks for a suggestion. However, if she knew a restaurant made a point of saying they don’t serve Merlot it would make her feel out of place and uncomfortable. Not what you want your customers to feel. Obviously many other drinks you will serve (beer, cocktails) won’t pair well with your menu so please don’t claim that excluding Merlot, and using that fact in promoting your restaurant, is for that reason. It’s not genuine.
It might not seem like it, but I really hope Sharon and her team succeed. This sounds like a great menu and a terrific addition to Alki. I suggest making lemonade out of lemons and make fun of this great publicity. How about inviting a high end Washington wine maker to create a wine maker’s dinner with your awesome chef, creating special dishes for Merlot pairings. Also, maybe it would be fun to have ‘Sideways’ projected on a wall (without sound) during early and late happy hour. I think the West Seattle crowd would appreciate the humor.

By: Bob H

Bob H — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:07:31 +0000

I’d like to see a good sandwich shop on Alki. Maybe a bakery…

By: RPH

RPH — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:07:15 +0000

And, just for the record, the prized wine that the character, Miles, drank at the end of “Sideways” was, ironically, not Pinot Noir. It was a 1961 Château Cheval Blanc, a Bordeaux comprised of 57% Cabernet Franc, 40% MERLOT, 3% Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon

By: RPH

RPH — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:18:23 +0000

Thanks, D.C., for making the most sense out of all this captivating discussion, which is obviously more about the comments than the restaurant. I applaud your clarity. For me, it underscores the pomposity of wine industry marketing, and the suckers that succumb to it. It’s grape juice, people!