That’s what Jane e-mailed us to ask, since as noted in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, this is Fresh Bistro‘s opening night (street level of The Junction’s new Mural Apartments [WSB sponsor]). We’ve taken a look inside, but we don’t do reviews – the food opinions on WSB come from you! If you’ve been, share your thoughts in comments – this post will be on the home page through the weekend. Thanks!

Back in late February (original WSB story here), a Hot Dog Joes cart set up shop outside Beveridge Place Pub. Within weeks, it was gone. A few people e-mailed us wondering why; we recalled hearing that the cart was set up for a trial period, so didn’t look further until a recent tip that led us to get in touch with Hot Dog Joes proprietor Joe Jeannot (not pictured – photo shows the staffer on duty when we took the pic in Feb.). In a phone conversation, Jeannot told WSB, there is indeed more to the story. He says they folded up after two city-issued citations ($500 each): “City ordinances are making it tough for us to be there.” Street vendors usually deal with the Seattle Department of Transportation, but in this case, there’s a complicating factor – the new park next door. Vendors aren’t allowed to be within 200 feet of parks (here’s the specific Seattle Municipal Code section), and Jeannot says that rule puzzles him: “You can have bars next to a park, but hot-dog carts can’t be there?” He says that’s not the only problem, though, claiming a “lack of communication” from the city but not wanting to disclose full details. “We thought we’d resolve it quickly – I’ve opened carts all over Seattle and this is the first time it’s become this serious … I’ve been doing this with the city for 11 years, but this time it’s been a very long process,” said Jeannot – who by the way lives here in West Seattle, where he says he’s been trying to acquire a location for a long time: “I can’t believe I can’t get a hot dog cart in my own neighborhood.” We’ll keep following up on this to let you know what happens next. (And if you have another idea for what might be a hospitable West Seattle location without conflicts such as park proximity, Jeannot says he might be interested, observing that street vending would seem to be right in line with the Seattle philosophy of trying to encourage more walking, less driving.)

ADDED 1:35 PM: Side note from a discussion in comments – The city did issue a “request for proposals” this year for vendors INSIDE several of the city’s largest parks; in West Seattle, that included only Alki and Lincoln Park (Colman Pool), but no provision for vendors in OR near all the other parks. On a side note to the side note, we asked Parks who won the Alki/Lincoln vending contracts; Dewey Potter says both went to “The Cowboys, who will provide soft-serve ice cream, snacks, and drinks.”

With Zeek’s Pizza into its second week in Morgan Junction, it’s time to look ahead to West Seattle’s next scheduled restaurant opening: A spokesperson for Fresh Bistro, the Herban Feast-borne restaurant going into the ground floor of Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor) west of Jefferson Square, confirms that May 22 is the date the restaurant is set to open. You can see a “sample menu” here; for those who’ve been clamoring for late-night dining, note that, as proprietor BJ Duft told us in our preview story last November, it’ll be open late – per its website, till midnight Fri-Sat, till 11 pm Mon-Thurs.

After three busy hours last Sunday in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard – a backup location after Diamond Parking told Skillet Street Food they couldn’t park next to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market after all – Skillet has been told they can’t come back for an encore. This is according to Hotwire’s Lora Lewis, who tells WSB that while the property owner gave permission for last week’s Skillet appearance, they have now canceled that permission. Whether Skillet will be anywhere in West Seattle this Sunday, therefore, is up in the air. We are making calls to see what else we can find out.

UPDATE 3:02 PM: Just talked to Josh from Skillet, who says, “We’ll be somewhere in West Seattle on Sunday, we just don’t know where yet.”

5:47 PM UPDATE: Regarding the West Seattle Junction Association‘s role in whether Skillet will be able to find a Junction home, we called Susan Melrose at WSJA to ask their position. Here’s her reply:

It’s great to see so much interest in the shiny silver Skillet! This is all very new to the Junction Association and we’re still figuring out a few things. There are factors which include that we’re a Business Improvement Area where each merchant is taxed and how does a mobile business fit into that model; the Junction Association has an agreement with the Farmers Market which addresses selling prepared foods; and also where might the best spot be? We are still waiting to get clarification from the City. Our mission is to make a fun, attractive and clean shopping district with free parking for West Seattle and once we get more information, we’ll figure out how Skillet can fit in.

If you remember this space at Fauntleroy/California as the Corner Inn, you probably won’t recognize it now that the work transforming it into West Seattle’s first Zeeks Pizza is almost done. We just got the chance to take a quick look inside, though crews are still working hard on finishing touches to get it ready to open Friday as planned (4 pm). Here’s a closer look at the counter in the background of the top photo, followed by a peek inside the kitchen:

Only thing we have for pre-Zeeks comparison is video we shot inside the day the Corner Inn fixtures were auctioned last July (less than two months before news broke of impending pizza):

Our full report on that July 2008 auction, including more video, is here. (Added 2:18 pm) Here’s a video clip from today, including a look at the roof/ceilings, quite different from the Corner Inn configuration:

While Zeeks does some franchising, this one is a company-owned store; for delivery, the chain offers online ordering, too. The new pizza restaurant is opening eleven months after the Corner Inn‘s sudden shutdown.

Chow Foods, parent company of local restaurants including Endolyne Joe’s (which raised $1,000 tonight for the Fauntleroy Fall Festival), has just sent out a news release confirming reports its owners were splitting the chain (here’s the Capitol Hill Seattle report from last Saturday) and explaining what happens next. Read on for the details:Read More

Just one day after Skillet Street Food staked its claim in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard (our coverage here, Skillet’s update here), where it will return next Sunday (new menu here), another famous-in-other-neighborhoods trailer-centered food purveyor is heading this way: Rancho Bravo Tacos. So says food writer Nancy Leson at seattletimes.com. In her story, Rancho Bravo‘s proprietor describes the impending spot as “half a block up from Diva Espresso.” That opens a multitude of options, so we’ll be checking further to nail the site down. (Photo courtesy Capitol Hill Seattle; Rancho Bravo recently opened its first non-mobile location in that neighborhood.)

This just in. Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) owner Lora Lewis offered courtyard space to Skillet Street Food in the wake of the sudden parking-lot cancellation that otherwise might have kept them from opening this Sunday – and “it’s a go” per a quick message we just got. Details to follow. (By the way, the reason for the lot cancellation remains a mystery; Skillet’s proprietor Josh Henderson said he got the word from Diamond Parking, but we got a call back from the Diamond manager who runs the lots in this area and he didn’t know anything about it.)

ADDED 3:15 PM: Since everyone responded so fast – including Lora! – we wanted you to see the message he sent on Twitter; by WSB, he really means YOU!

New west Seattle location this sunday… In the courtyard of hotwire coffee… Thanks lora!! And the WSB..

Direct link to that tweet here. Still working to confirm that the hours will be the same as the original West Seattle plan (which were 11 am-2 pm); here’s the menu they’ll be serving.

4:30 PM: The hours will indeed be 11 am-2 pm. Hotwire’s courtyard is just north of the coffee shop, which in turn is just north of the post office, east side of California just south of Genesee. Same place outdoor movies are shown in the summer!

Just last night we checked with Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Food to make sure they were still on for their West Seattle debut this Sunday, and at the time it looked like all systems were go. Then tonight, he sent this note:

We just got word from Diamond Parking that the lot that we were supposed to be in on sunday in the Key Bank parking lot, is not a possibility any more.

So…at this point we are looking for a spot…and will put the word out..

If you have a suggestion, there’s contact info on the Skillet website.

Thanks to the anonymous e-mailer who tipped us to this last night; we confirmed it in person this afternoon: Alki Cafe‘s longtime owners Carol and Steve Roaldson have sold the restaurant. It’s now owned by John Bang, who was there today, greeting customers, too busy to talk in detail at the time but promising to share more information about his plans shortly.

(recent WSB photo peeking inside the Zeeks construction site)
As we first reported last night, the new Zeeks Pizza coming to the ex-Corner Inn spot at California/Fauntleroy has finalized its grand opening date and time: 11 am on Friday, May 1st. After we published word here and on Facebook following Zeeks executive Dan Black‘s announcement at last night’s Morgan Community Association meeting, some WSBers asked if they had firmed up their delivery boundaries yet (always a hot topic when it comes to West Seattle and pizza). We followed up with Black this morning, and here’s his reply:

North – Water
West – Water
South – 116th St SW [map]
East – Highway 509

Plus one pocket outside those boundaries, which he described as “the Shorewood neighborhood.” He also told us after last night’s meeting that Zeeks is thinking about asking customers, once they’re open, to co-create a West Seattle-exclusive pizza that would only be on the menu at this location. Meantime, he adds that they are still hiring, and in the midst of an intensive final two weeks of work renovating and rehabilitating the space; the building’s owner was at last night’s meeting too, and recalled that it was a market and hardware store when he took it over more than 40 years ago.