West Seattle, Washington
28 Tuesday
Just two days till the next big West Seattle festival, the Morgan Junction Community Festival this Saturday, in and around the new Morgan Junction Park (which will be dedicated at 10 am, right before the 11 am-6 pm festival), and we have more details now about one brand-new component of the festival, the “Bite of Morgan” — from Kate Stineback:
Several restaurants have agreed to participate in the first annual “Bite” by donating bite-sized goodies for festival attendees throughout the day…the restaurants participating are:
Kokoras Greek Grill
Feedback Lounge
Zeeks Pizza
Tully’s Coffee
Abbondanza Pizzeria (after 4:30pm)
Domino’s
Caffe Ladro (handing out coupons at the park opening)We are so excited about this and hope that people will come on down, grab a coupon book and travel around the (Morgan) Junction to these businesses to pick up a yummy “bite” of something inside each establishment. It should be great! And it says a lot about our businesses that they would be willing to do this at such a precarious time in the economy. Let’s show them our love and come out to the festival to celebrate our great little commercial business district!
You’ll be able to get the coupon book for the free “bites” at the Morgan Community Association booth. We’ll be there reporting live throughout the day too – hope to see you there! Earlier in the week, we mentioned the music lineup – read on for a few more details on the bands, courtesy of Chas Redmond:Read More
(2008 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
As first reported here last Friday, the team behind The Porterhouse – a popular alehouse/restaurant in Mount Vernon – is going to take over the Admiral District restaurant space vacated by Blackbird Bistro last fall. After our first report, we spoke with Porterhouse proprietor Silas Reynolds – turns out he’s a West Seattle native! – to find out full details of what they’re planning — read on for details:Read More
(photos by Christopher Boffoli)
Prom Night often starts with a nice dinner … and tonight, more than 40 people headed to the West Seattle High School prom chose to have theirs at Cafe Revo (WSB sponsor) in the Luna Park business district.
There was a surprise twist, according to what Cafe Revo’s Sofia Zadra Goff had told us earlier: “2 of the students are bussers at our restaurant, so we are going to make it a really fun night. All of the staff working tonight are dressing up in prom attire from the ’70s and ’80s (when our proms would have taken place) to surprise Diana and Holly, who work for us.”
The prom, by the way, was at the Shilshole Bay Beach Club. Tonight also was the WSHS All-School Reunion; next week, it’s graduation time on Thursday.
Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) in North Delridge, just south of The Bridge, where tonight is a birthday party, marking the club/restaurant’s third anniversary. The bands start at 9; good dinner crowd here now, including Team WSB, and some DJ’ing … that’s Charlie at the board (below left), husband of proprietor Jessie SK, who we asked to pose out front (right)with the sign that marks the momentous birthday in three different ways. Momentous because it’s not easy to be a small businessperson these days, let alone one that not only runs a restaurant, but also hires live bands four nights a week. 
Actually, some live music just started — DJ Baba Jamess on tabla, accompanied by a violinist; at 9 pm, it’s Deepsleep Narcotics Company; at 10 pm, local faves Stevedore; then at 11 pm, it’s Apple War. Jessie tells the story of the first three years’ highlights in this post on the Skylark “blog”; if you haven’t checked out the main Skylark website lately, the calendar’s just been redone – see it here. We have a soft spot for Skylark not just because they sponsor the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, but because to our knowledge, it remains the only restaurant to mention WSB on its menu (we get a nod on the tater tots because of this semi-legendary WSB post from almost two years ago, in which we asked folks for their idea of “West Seattle dishes to die for”). Anyway, the party goes till closing time — happy birthday, Skylark! ADDED LATER: DJ Baba James using Washington place names as lyrics – didn’t you just know Walla Walla has always belonged in a song?
Seems to be part of the upshot of the situation on which we reported earlier, but we’ve just confirmed it – since their backup trailer was the problem, they’re taking their main setup to the Mariners’ game instead of bringing it over here. So again, NO Skillet in West Seattle this Sunday; we’ll check on subsequent Sundays later.
This appeared in today’s bulletin from the King County Public Health Department – earlier this week, the popular mobile-food operation Skillet Street Food was closed while operating near Safeco Field. Inspectors cited these reasons:
Operating without valid food business permit or plan approval
Potentially hazardous foods at unsafe temperatures
Inadequate facilities to control temperatures of potentially hazardous foods
Handwashing facility not working
No available hot water
We’re checking to see if it means no Skillet in West Seattle this Sunday. They’ve been operating for several weeks in the Seattle Lutheran High School parking lot, 11 am-2 pm on Sundays. 12:06 PM: Just got this note from Josh Henderson at Skillet:
we aren’t shut down…. were down for that evening…they reinspected the
next day and we were good to go…unfortunately, we had an issue with the one trailer, and had to in an emergency use a trailer that is finished being built, but not approved. We had everything on ice, however the trailer not being approved just was the clincher. We got very very unlucky… but oh well…we love the peeps from the HD, they gotta do what they gotta do.
So…open for biz as usual…
(2008 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Often the first sign of an impending restaurant is its application for a liquor license. That’s the case with a discovery we just made overnight: Nine months after Blackbird closed at 2329 California SW, that space is the subject of a liquor license for The Porterhouse. A little research, including the names on the license application, leads us to the information that those same people operate The Porterhouse up in Mount Vernon — described on its website as “21 and up” with a focus on beer as well as food. (Here’s the website.) Of course, what they do in MV may or may not be what they do in WS; we have a message out to see what more we can learn. (9:39 am: We’ve got an appointment to chat with the proprietor this afternoon, so look for a followup.) 2:16 PM UPDATE: Just talked with proprietor Silas Reynolds (who is a West Seattle native, it turns out) – writing a separate followup in a bit but one major point to note here: This will NOT be 21-over only like their Mount Vernon place; he says it will be family-friendly.
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!
Our video shows executive chef/co-owner Dalis Chea and crew at Fresh Bistro tonight (street level of the now-renting Mural Apartments [WSB sponsor] in The Junction, preparing Shiso Crusted Honey Pecan Prawns (see the finished product close up here in Seattle Bon Vivant‘s photos), one of a multitude of mouth-watering-sounding offerings on the menu at a special preview. We dropped by to take a look at the restaurant, a creation of West Seattle-based Herban Feast, whose proprietor BJ Duft talked with us last fall for a super-early preview. This Friday is Opening Day, as noted here last week — here’s a look inside the brand-new restaurant:
Click ahead for more photos, plus information about the opening schedule/hours:Read More
Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) in North Delridge has just announced details of its 3rd anniversary celebration, and the band in the recent clip above, The Apple War, is part of it:
Skylark Celebrates Three Years In Business With Four Local Acts:
Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady-Owned Rock ClubOn June 5, the party commences at 8 pm with throat-singing, tabla-playing DJ Baba James, continues with the downtempo Deepsleep Narcotics Company, kicks it up a notch with westside country-punk heroes The Stevedore, and culminates with indie rock awesomeness The Apple War. The traditional third wedding anniversary gift is “leather,” but we don’t recommend wearing it to this show. You’ll overheat.
Skylark Cafe & Club is quite happy to announce its third year beating the odds. “Bad news affecting the industry is everywhere these days and people are definitely adjusting their lifestyles,” says Jessie SK, owner and booking agent. “We’ve never charged a cover, and now we’re adding a $5 lunch menu and a few domestic draft beers to help lower your tab this summer.”
Highlights of the past year have been…
• Playing some of our favorite local acts on the air with Megan Seling at 107.7 The End’s Locals Only
• Hooking up turntables to the sound system and launching Spin Your Wax on Tuesday evenings
• The amazing 2008 Halloween party with Apple War, We Wrote The Book On Connectors, H Is For Hellgate and more local bands battling to win the Golden Cowbell:
• Getting this sweet review on notfortourists.com
New stuff we are excited about…
• Partnering with Shoofly Pie Company to bring you a variety of freshly baked desserts
• Offering bands multi-track recordings of their set (!) in partnership with The Brewery
• Redesigned website at www.skylarkcafe.com
Some things never change…
• Free, live, original local and touring musical acts Thursday through Sunday, all ages shows on Sunday evenings
• Family-friendly homemade lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch for great prices
• Full menu until midnight Tuesday through Saturday
• Yummy cocktails with premium wells, discounted daily from 3 to 6pm
• Open turntables, open mic, karaoke and weekly chances to win cash money for trivia
If you haven’t been there yet, Skylark is on the north end of Delridge, just south of The Bridge (click and pan this Google Street View and you can see exactly where):
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.”
A week and a half after West Seattle’s first Zeeks Pizza opened in Morgan Junction, its neon sign with the rotating “Z” is in place tonight. The process took much of the day, during which several people e-mailed us about it, so we thought some might like to see the finished installation. Racking brain – there’s a rotating sign at the Admiral/California dry cleaners – anyone else in West Seattle have a rotating sign?
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.
Some options for Mother’s Day in West Seattle:
SKILLET: In case you wondered what was up with the ongoing Skillet Street Food saga as the weekend approaches … such as, will they be back in the Seattle Lutheran High School parking lot for a second consecutive week? … first we checked Skillet’s website, and took note that it says Skillet’s looking for West Seattle locations (and hiring cooks, if you’re looking for work). However, upon subsequent check with Skillet proprietor Josh Henderson, he told us this morning: “We are on at SLHS for the next 4 weeks…and will view that as a trial period and review with (SLHS leadership, afterward).” 11 am-2 pm Sunday, this week’s menu here.
SKYLARK CAFE AND CLUB: This WSB sponsor will donate a portion of Mother’s Day brunch proceeds to the breast-cancer-fighting 3Day Walk, through Team Tracy, supporting West Seattle breast-cancer patient Tracy Dart (who says Skylark proprietor Jessie SK is on the team too). More about Skylark at skylarkcafe.com.
CAFE REVO: This WSB sponsor is opening an hour early for Mother’s Day (11 am), and taking reservations now; more about Cafe Revo is online at caferevo.com.
BLUE WILLOW: This Junction eatery and catering facility is offering high tea on Sunday; call 206-938-0988 to see what openings remain.
THE BOHEMIAN: It’s offering Mother’s Day tea the day before the big day – 2 pm-4 pm (maybe after shopping West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day with Mom?) – in conjunction with Tracy of Tea Gallery fame – 938-2646 is the number for mandatory reservations.
More to come!
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.
#1 — Since today is the last day of April, it’s also the last day that your donations – while appreciated any time of the year – pack an extra punch for West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank, because of the Feinstein Challenge (explained here). To donate online to WSFB, go here; to donate online to WCFB, go here.
#2 — Speaking of food, it’s Dining Out for Life day, with participating restaurants around Seattle donating part of the day’s proceeds to Lifelong AIDS Alliance. West Seattle/White Center participants: Skylark Cafe and Club and Ama Ama Oyster Bar and Grill (WSB sponsors), Coffee at the Heights, Full Tilt Ice Cream, Eats Market Cafe, Abbondanza Pizzeria, Buddha Ruksa. Take note of an extra element: If you donate $25 or more tonight, you get to be in the 20% Off Tuesdays club, which means 20% off your tab at a smaller group of participating restaurants (Skylark and Abbondanza, in West Seattle) throughout the year.
#3 — What to do after you Dine Out for Life? How about – enjoy a fashion show that’s raising money to help breast cancer patients? Tonight is the night West Seattle-based Northwest Hope and Healing (WSB sponsor) presents Style ’09 at Showbox SODO. Ticket info’s here.
#4 — This one’s a couple weeks away but the target audience might want to plan ahead. Cathy Cooper sent this announcement:
The junior-high youth group at Holy Rosary Parish here in West Seattle is planning a “Youth in Action” Benefit Concert for the West Seattle Food Bank. The public is invited, but we’d especially like to encourage junior and senior high school students from West Seattle to join us on Thursday, May 14 at 7 pm at Holy Rosary school.
Dennis Zender, singer/songwriter lead singer for Truce (a local Seattle rock band) will be performing. Dennis is music minister at Holy Cross Parish in Lake Stevens, and has been performing at Catholic high schools and youth groups in the Puget Sound area. You can hear music from his album, Walls, at www.myspace.com/denniszendermusic.
Admission is almost free! We¹re asking folks to bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the West Seattle Food Bank to gain entry.
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
It’s been on the WSB Events calendar for weeks, but we just got a request for one last reminder: Endolyne Joe’s is donating a portion of its proceeds tonight to the Fauntleroy Fall Festival. 10:08 PM UPDATE: Carrie from EJ’s says they “met (their) sales goal” so that means about $1,000 going to the FFF.
ZEEKS PIZZA: We checked in with Zeeks Pizza‘s Dan Black to see if everything was on track for the grand-opening plan at the new Morgan Junction location (California/Fauntleroy) this Friday – he says yes, with one change: Instead of opening at 11 am, they will open the first day at 4 pm. (Here’s our story from last week about their delivery boundaries.)
DINING OUT FOR LIFE: Last week, we passed on the word from the Lifelong AIDS Alliance that it needed one more restaurant to match last year’s total of 155 participants (food/drink venues that will donate part of their proceeds this Thursday). Just heard back that two local establishments that saw the note here have signed up – and now, citywide, Dining Out for Life has a record 160 participants! The two local additions are Coffee at the Heights (whose proprietors mentioned in comments on that report that they were signing up) and Full Tilt Ice Cream; they join WSB sponsors Skylark Cafe and Club and Ama Ama Oyster Bar and Grill, as well as Abbondanza Pizzeria, Eats Market Cafe and Buddha Ruksa (full Seattle participant list here).
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.)
Well – as we post this photo, it’s still a few minutes till Skillet Street Food officially opens in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard at 11 am (they’re scheduled to be here till 2 pm – California SW, just south of Genesee, north of the post office). That’s the menu and pricing, written in purple on the side of the gleaming chrome Airstream trailer. We peeked into the trailer too, where Josh, Mark and Mary are working – video shortly.
ADDED 11:08 AM: Here’s video of Mary inside the Skillet trailer, telling us a bit about the burger, the poutine gravy, the Thom Kha soup and the calamari (see menu/pricing photo above):
10 minutes after they opened, there’s a line, but not too bad – still inside the courtyard.
ADDED 11:39 AM: Here’s the current line:
And most important of all, their signature dish – “The Burger” (one person just suggested it’s a serious rival to West Seattle’s current burger fave, Zippy’s):
Good reviews so far – including this :15 assessment of The Burger, from Gatewood resident Dave Gross:
We’re moving on to a few other stories but in case you checked online before heading out into the sunshine, we knew we had to report on the big debut. Their menu changes weekly and you can usually find it on the home page at skilletstreetfood.com; if you haven’t been to Hotwire before, here’s a map to their location. P.S. If you’re just catching up with all this and wondering what’s the fuss — Skillet sets up at various Seattle locations and has amassed quite the following, since street-side food is not often also somewhat gourmet, and this is yet another sign that West Seattle has “arrived” as a foodie destination (in addition to rave reviews for local eateries such as Spring Hill); previous “press clips” can be browsed here. P.S. We were asked via Twitter (@westseattleblog for human-powered updates and observations, @westseattlenews for links to WSB stories as they’re published) if Skillet takes credit cards – answer, yes.
8:32 PM ADDITION: Speaking of Twitter, this postmortem from Skillet via Twitter (@skilletstfood):
so..that was the biggest opening day at any location we have ever had..and the biggest day we have ever had…..thanks WS, WSB and hotwire
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!
| Comments Off on “Bite of Morgan” at Saturday’s Morgan Junction Festival: Freebies!