Most restaurant promotions are self-serving, right? Restaurant Week promotes participating restaurants, individual places advertise weekday specials, even run-of-the-mill happy hours are designed to make you stay and eat. But there’s one promotion that serves a greater purpose, and that’s Dine Around.
More than four-dozen restaurants are participating in this year’s program, which runs every day through November. The concept is to promote eating in locally owned (as opposed to chain) restaurants with special pricing: three-course dinners for $30, or lunches for $15.
Why local? Because a dollar spent locally creates three times as many jobs, income and wealth, says the Seattle Good Business Network, the nonprofit that organizes the event. Full details are available at dinearoundseattle.org.
Now, the prestigious Four Seasons hotel chain is far from local (it’s owned by Canadians) but does insist that its properties source their ingredients locally. ART Restaurant in the chain’s Seattle outpost (99 Union St.) has never had a problem in that regard, since it’s a block from the Pike Place Market. And when the time came, this week, to celebrate its five-year anniversary, ART’s executive chef Kerry Sear brought in Four Seasons colleagues from Vancouver, B.C.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Santa Barbara, Calif., for a friendly cook-off that featured local crab, mussels and mushrooms.
The Visit Seattle folks (formerly the Convention & Visitor Bureau) have wisely concluded that food is the key to a successful local vacation. Their promotion, which launches shortly, is called Two Days in Seattle. They’ve collected recipes from a dozen top Seattle chefs into a free eBook. You can browse the pages (very well designed) or download the whole thing at 2daysinseattle.com/ebook.
There’s a terrific, new campaign on behalf of Washington wine. Most wine communication is dead-serious, based on the (questionable) premise that wine drinkers are “confused” or “intimidated” by wine and that the way to solve the problem is “education” — boring!
The Washington State Wine Commission hired standup comedian Greg Proops to portray an over-the-top, pretentious wine snob to take the serious edge off its campaign, which is in the form of a Smartphone app.
Restaurant roundup
First up, a new wine bar downtown, Le Caviste (1919 Seventh Ave.). Cellarmaster is David Butler, who used to be at the now-shuttered Le Gourmand.
Also downtown, any day now, Jason Stratton’s Spanish project, Aragona, will open at 96 Union St., in the space formerly occupied by Thoa.
You already know about Thierry Rautureau’s project to build out Loulay Kitchen & Bar in the Sheraton Hotel (600 Union St.). What you may have missed is Jason Wilson’s venture with Portland restaurateur Kurt Huffman, a “modern steakhouse” to be called Miller’s Guild, in the Hotel Max (612 Stewart St.). The centerpiece will be a custom-built, 9-foot, wood-fired grill called “Infierno.” Wood-fired cooking is probably a better descriptor than “steakhouse,” since there’s going to be so much more (seafood, vegetables, fruit, desserts) than just carnage for carnivores. Huffman’s development company, ChefStable, is the umbrella for a dozen spots in Portland, Ore., and New York.
There’s a new Fatburger on the beach in West Seattle (2378 Alki Ave. S.W.), the first of the California chain to make it into Seattle (Bellevue’s had one for a decade). An outpost of sister brand Buffalo’s Express is at the same location.
Molly Moon’s is adding an outlet of its ice creamery chain at University Village — there are free scoops for kids between noon and 2 p.m.
There are two eagerly awaited efforts opening in Pioneer Square this month: Manu Alfau’s Dominican sandwich shop, La Bodega (100 Prefontaine Place S.); and Brendan McGill’s German beer hall and sausage emporium (209 First Ave. S.).
Down the road in a couple of years, look for a brand-new 13 Coins down by CenturyLink Field.
In Fremont, Matt Lewis’ long-awaited Restaurant Roux (4201 Fremont Ave. N.) will open in November.
In Lower Queen Anne, Byen Bakeri opens at 15 Nickerson St.
The Asian chain Cafe Yumm! opens its first Seattle outpost at 717 Pine St.
Juice Box is opening a stand-alone location on Capitol Hill at 1517 12th Ave. Also, Rachel Marshall of Rachel’s Ginger Beer, and her partner at Montana, Kate Opatz, will open Nacho Borracho on Capitol Hill at 209 Broadway E., early next year.
Ethan Stowell, who’s just getting off the ground with his Green Lake-Tangletown restaurant at 2108 N. 55th St., called [mkt] (pronounced Market), has revealed plans for two more spots in Madrona on the former site of Cremant, June and Bea (1423 34th Ave.). The main restaurant will be called Red Cow, and a smaller, private-dining space Noyer (named for the walnut tree growing in the backyard).
Where are they now?
Murray Stenson, Seattle’s best-known bartender, is back at work two days a week at Il Bistro (93A Pike St.). He had to take more than a year off for heart surgery.
Scott Carsberg, who closed Bisato in Belltown a year ago and has since created the menu for Pine Box on Capitol Hill, signs on as executive chef for Fran’s Chocolates.
RONALD HOLDEN is a restaurant writer and consultant who blogs at Cornichon.org and Crosscut.com. To comment on this column, write to QAMagNews@nwlink.com.
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