Reader Recommendation Request: Restaurant for Thanksgiving
There are several important things happening in, and pertaining to, West Seattle tomorrow. You can find them right now on the WSB Events page; we were going to put together a preview post for tonight, but we think we have a better way to conclude the “holiday” night — asking you to help a fellow WSB reader with this recommendation request:
The people we normally spend Thanksgiving with are not having a gathering this year, so we’re on our own and are looking for a restaurant. Does anyone have any recommendation for a nice place for a couple to have Thanksgiving dinner that doesn’t cost a small fortune? Our favorite restaurant is closed on Thanksgiving. I checked with Salty’s online and their buffet is almost $50 a person – I’m thinking I’d like to spend a little less than that for dinner. It doesn’t have to be a buffet, and not even necessarily “typical” Thanksgiving food. Doesn’t have to be in West Seattle, but within half an hour or so would be fine. Any thoughts?
Post your recommendation(s) in the comments; previous WSB Reader Recommendation Requests and responses are archived here.
West Seattle Sunday scenes, including a Shadowland update
Veteran West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham, from MattDurhamPhotography.com, has agreed to contribute photos and reporting to WSB from time to time, and we couldn’t be more pleased – his excellent work fits so well with our mission of bringing you West Seattle news, information, and discussion 24/7/365. Here are three of Matt’s photos from today, with his captions below each:
Japhy Witte (with Sign Savant, a West Seattle business) puts the finishing touches on the marquee that will welcome patrons to the new tapas restaurant Shadowland, slated to open around the week of Thanksgiving. Shadowland will offer tapas, small plates, and entrees in a variety of cuisine types, according to owner Ben Jenkins.
With a steady gaze, a loyal lab waits for its owner to exit Capers Sunday afternoon.
The cold, blustery Sunday weather did not deter shoppers from purchasing their fresh produce and organic groceries from West Seattle’ Farmers’ Market.
We look forward to more from Matt in the future. (Prints of these photos and his other work, by the way, are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Bye-bye, Thai?
Someone e-mailed us a few weeks ago saying they had heard Thai on Alki (1325 Harbor Ave, next to Alki Tavern) was going out. So we’d been keeping an eye on it; drove by last night and, for the first time, noticed the interior looked fairly empty except for people doing some work; went by this morning to try to find out more — the signage is gone (as shown at left), the place looks cleaned out. No permit applications for anything at the site, no note on the door; the phone is answered with an announcement that sounds like business as usual, but it didn’t allow message-leaving. Looking up the corporate registration for the company that holds the business license, we found the name is the same as someone who had a Craigslist ad up a few weeks ago (pointed out to us at the time by a reader) selling restaurant items (the ad’s not cached in Google but one line of text from it that is, includes the Thai on Alki number). Another tidbit noted during research: The parcel has been owned since 2004 by “Salty’s Properties.”
Shadowland progress mini-report
Driving or walking through The Junction, you can’t miss the distinctive exterior touches that continue on the former Neilsen Florist location that’s becoming Shadowland. We e-mailed its proprietors last week to ask how their timeline is looking; they are currently hoping to open in the first half of next month, if all goes well with finishing touches and required inspections. (For those wondering what Shadowland will serve, we had some info in a September update, second part of this post.)
First Ama-Ama review
This comment just in from Garybert on the original “opening this Friday, preview Thursday” post:
Stopped by Ama-Ama around 3:30 to see if we were on their list. Very full for Thurs, but having “Soft Opening†TONITE! Just returned from a great meal with less glitches than a normal experience. Seafood chowder is a great buy.
Mixed Green Salad and Salad with Shrimp are very good. Black cod was cooked perfectly and Monk fish was “interestingâ€Â. No wine yet, but they did have beer. Might be worth checking into to see if there is still more room tonite.
Ama-Ama about to open
The restaurant taking over the ex-Ovio space in The Junction has finally pulled the wraps off its website (menu info here, explanation of its name here) — and it’s opening for business this Friday, after a shakedown cruise Thursday, announced in this e-mail sent out early today and forwarded by a WSB reader (thank you!):
Well, we are finally ready to open! We know it’s very last minute, but we wanted to thank you for your interest and offer you a chance to come in, say hello, and sample our fare before we officially open our doors this Friday. So if you are in the neighborhood and in an “adventurous†mood, we would love to have you RSVP and come in for our Pre-Opening Dinner on Thursday, October 18th.
Why “adventurous?†Well, because Thursday will be our first night serving a full menu and our last night of staff training, so there are bound to be a few glitches and surprises. For example, we are still waiting on our liquor license, so we may not be able to offer full bar service, but we are going to try to get our license by then. But if you are just a little bit patient and understanding, you will get a sneak peek at our totally remodeled interior and be one of the first to taste our new menu offerings.
And we will give you 50% off your food for being adventurous. Seating is limited, available only to those who have previously registered with us at www.Ama-AmaSeattle.com. And only those with reservations will be allowed in the restaurant this Thursday. So please RSVP today!
We hope to see you Thursday – or sometime soon.
We are extremely excited to meet all of you!
Rob and Paige
La Rustica reopens
Took a little longer than the family that runs the restaurant expected, but the fire repairs and remodeling are complete and tonight, the sign in the window of the Beach Drive bistro reads “OPEN,” and La Rustica is serving customers once more.
A few more days to go for La Rustica fire repair/remodel
A member of the family that runs the well-regarded Beach Drive Italian restaurant La Rustica had told us they hoped to reopen last night, after adding some remodeling work to the repairs following last month’s small fire. However, the work’s not quite done yet, so LR was still closed last night; our family contact says they are “working hard to open ASAP,” adding “the kitchen remodel is looking great!” and noting they have a big reservation for Saturday night & “intend to keep that reservation.”
La Rustica to stay closed 1 more week
The popular, cozy Italian bistro on Beach Drive has been closed since the kitchen fire 10 days ago. La Rustica‘s owners were first hoping to reopen tomorrow, but we just checked with the family, and they say it will be one more week:
La Rustica will reopen Tuesday Oct. 9th. After assessing the damage from the fire and the time it would take to repair, we decided this would be a good time to refurbish and update the kitchen. Since it is such a small kitchen we are looking forward to the better use of space and efficiency. Thank you all again for your continued support and patience during this fire repair/remodel. We will see you all soon!
Truly,
The Pellegrini family
2 Junction food tidbits
-Today’s Pacific Magazine (Times) features the latest lovefest for Bakery Nouveau.
-Remember the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is open (till 2 pm today & every Sunday), rain or shine. The market folks sent us the latest (long!) “Ripe ‘n’ Ready” fresh sheet if you want to see if it’s really worth going out in the rain (note this is their citywide list, so a few things are highlighted as only available at certain other markets around the area):Read More
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