As has been reported elsewhere, and in this morning's Neighborhood News Roundup, Capitol Hill's Cafe Presse has a new sidewalk deck. While we applaud outdoor seating long and often, this deck takes a big bite of the available sidewalk. What with curb parking (and car doors opening suddenly) and Presse's curb signs, you now have to curve all the way to the curb and pass single file. As we understand it, there's supposed to be......

We have no idea why there isn't an exclamation mark after new restaurant Olivar's name. It just seems natural. But there isn't, even though they must be excited to be open. We didn't go to the grand opening last night, but we could smell the kitchen and it made us very hungry. They're in Capitol Hill's Loveless building, at 806 East Roy Street, just across the street from the Harvard Exit theater. We just walked......

Listening to KEXP the past few mornings, we heard an ad for 12th Ave's Trace Lofts that caught our attention, and not in a good way. Apparently, one of the establishments going into the condos' Trace North building is a Mexican restaurant. Named Barrio. Take it away, press release: Barrio, pronounced "bä'rē-ō'," takes its name from the Spanish word for "neighborhood," a term generally used to describe a cohesive place. The food will take......

Now that the weather is finally get warmer, it's time to plan some summertime drinking. Enter The Saint, the new tequila bar/Mexican cantina from Havana owner Quentin Ertel. What was once the ugly (and scary) Wing Dome behemoth is now the soothingly sky blue building at the corner of Olive and Bellevue. Ertel describes his latest social club as: a tequila bar that would appeal to afficionados of the good life; a place where......

1) In the beginning, Dick's just sold hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, shakes, and ice cream. The Deluxe and the Special are johnny-come-latelies, debuting in 1971. The only other major menu changes? Swapping out orange soda and swapping in Diet Coke. 2) Dick Spady, the gent who put the Dick in Dick's, got the idea when he was a regular at Portland's Carnival restaurant. Now that Carnival's gone, PDX has a dearth of old fashioned burger......

Last month, Ron from Beacon Hill commented that he prefers Roy's BBQ to the nearby Jones BBQ. This spurred us to get off our ass and finally check Roy's out. The verdict: hot damn, that's a good sandwich. That's the biggest difference between Roy's and a place like Jones: Roy's is all about sandwiches--pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken, even the oyster po' boy. As usual, specialization pays off. The Georgia Gold (a favorite......

We’ve been through this before. With the ever-present smile still stretched across her face, our favorite waitress at Hing Loon asked, “Are you sure you can eat the organs?” Well, c’mon, that’s why we ordered the “Lo Mein with Assorted Beef Organs” in the first place. We knew we wanted noodles (ignoring the zillions of specials handwritten on paper and taped to the walls), but even more we wanted those organs that come scattered......

It's been open a month already, so on Tuesday Capitol Hill's Boom Noodle had a bunch of media types over for dinner at 1121 E. Pike. On the menu? A couple cocktails (the shiso mojito and kyoto blossom) from their well-stocked bar, a lotta tasty appetizers, an entree of our choosing, and desserts. (No MSG. They didn't think Seattleites would go for it.) To begin with, the drinks were well-balanced and girly-sweet without being cloying.......

When we lived in LA we had no problem watching the Huskies play at Pauley Pavilion. We could just get in our car, hop on the 10, and presto, eight hours later we were in the building. The first time we went, in 2003, the Dawgs needed to win in order to have a chance at the eighth seed in the Pac 10 Tournament. The last time we went in 2005 the fans were chanting......

It seems time for the yearly Seattlest commentary on Paseo Caribbean Restaurant. But since they’re on their annual winter leave, this Seattlester traveled nearly 3,000 miles in search of a comparable Cuban sandwich. The destination: Miami’s El Palacio de los Jugos. The dish: a Medianoche. So how does Seattle’s sandwich stack up to a real Midnight Cuban? At El Palacio, it’s simple, straightforward, and ready in seconds. Sliced pork, ham (usually Serrano), Swiss cheese, and......

For some reason, though we are committed Capitol Hill brunchers, we had not discovered what wonders Monsoon has going on in their little 19th Ave E hideaway. Behold, the Monsoon brunch menu (pdf)! Last Tuesday night, Eric and Sophie Bahn, the chefs, invited a passel of foodie blogging folk over to try out the brunch menu. You had people like Matthew aka the rootsandgrubs guy, Angela from the Stranger -- and somehow we made the......

We normally run from a restaurant that’s advertised as Chinese and American. Common sense, but it also dates back to a day in New Hampshire when we walked into “Judy’s (or whatever her name was) Chinese Restaurant” and were given dinner rolls and butter along with our menus. Shi’An Restaurant (12534 Lake City Way NE) is easy to run from. Its peeling-away paper sign barely covers the shingle of the former Baker’s restaurant. The inside......

Yesterday Seattlest said the following: Sally Clark has pulled her nightlife plan citing the fact that everyone from the mayor to the other city council members to the lowliest 1st ave drunk hates it. Which is only vaguely true. Clark pulled the licensing portion of her nightlife plan that would require clubs to receive a license from the city which could then be revoked at the city's discretion. Kind of like a liquor license,......

National dining correspondent Kyle Anderson has the scoop on a great place to stuff yourself this afternoon While Seattlest long ago gave up hope that the Sonics will stick around, who doesn’t want to see Detlef Schrempf serve up some pizza?! Sport Restaurant and Bar had the marketing savvy to combine everyone’s favorite holiday, National Pizza Day (evidently the brainchild of Papa John, the Godfather, and Little Caesar) with a “Save Our Sonics and Storm”......

Seattlest and Mrs. Seattlest have been getting take out on Friday nights at Chantanee Family Thai Restaurant in Bellevue for almost 3 years and have found no better Thai restaurant on the Eastside. From time to time, we eschew the styrofoam containers and eat our meal in the gold and purple themed interior. The service? Efficient and friendly. Mrs. Seattlest is the more adventurous of our duo and has eaten her way around most of......

--Lt. Watada's court martial ended in mistrial today. --Capitol Hill Seattle Blog got outed by the "MSM" recently. --Watch in amazement as this hand fiddles with the Sonics. Meanwhile a NASCAR track will appear as if by magic. --Historylink's President, historian Walt Crowley, is losing his voice to cancer. --The Sightline Institute links to a few articles on the metro Kyoto participants. --Ken Jennings explores the overlap between aviation and scatology. --Biznik's name gets......

After 14 years as executive chef at Ray's Boathouse, Charles Ramseyer is leaving town. Bailing out. He's been recruited by celebrity restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow (TV's The Restaurant) to open a new joint in Noo Yawk City called Wild Salmon. Opening day scheduled for April 6th. Charles says he's wants to bring the Pacific Northwest to Manhattan; meanwhile, he offers this advice to those he leaves behind:......

KARAOKE: Wednesday night is always karaoke night at the Little Red Hen, an outpost of country music that's inexplicably smack dab in the middle of Volvo-driving, NPR-listening, holiday-tree-owning Green Lake. The crowd veers toward the early-20s spectrum, so if you need a break from parties where people discuss mortgages, the new Whole Foods, and their fucking jobs, this is the place to go. Tip: Bring cash so you can buy beer from the guy with......

"I don’t venture north of even the cut, unless provoked." So said one Seattlest contributor when we asked what inspires us to turn our backs on downtown and drive north. Wimp. What counts as northern Seattle? We don't mean "North Seattle" -- the U District, Ballard, Fremont. We mean northern Seattle -- north of 85th, city limits until 1954. We fudged a bit, including a few places between the city limits and King-Sno county line.......

Last month, Seattlest had Mongolian grill for the first time in years -- Chang's in Renton for lunch. We remembered Mongolian grill as a fun, not-bad meal, but Chang's was, well, kind of gross. The place smells like grease when you walk in, and the meal we concocted was not as satisfying as the stir-fry we make at home. It was mostly just warm and gristly. We decided that Chang's just wasn't good Mongolian grill.......

We don't spend our spare time hanging out on Amazon.com, looking for new and crazy stuff they sell. So it took a Salon.com article to draw our attention to Amazon's unique new marketplace: Mechanical Turk. It was Salon's subhead that really caught our eye: "Is it a boon for the bored or a virtual sweatshop?" A virtual sweatshop? Here in Seattle? To the Mystery Machine! Amazon's explanation of what Mechanical Turk is isn't nearly as......

Food Lust: a catchy name for a zesty cause: closer connections between farmers and chefs. Farmers and fishers turned out: Willie Green's Organic Farm, Taylor Shellfish, Lopez Island Farm, Skagit River Ranch, Full Circle Farm, Whistling Train Farm,, Fall City Farms Restaurant and catering chefs turned out: Herban Feast Catering, Kaspar's, 35th Street Bistro, Bon Appetit Management Co., Flying Fish. Serious foodies turned out, too, most notably author and farmer Michael Ableman, who read from......

Bowling starts with a B and that rhymes with T, and that stands for trouble. No, not juvenile delinquency. We’re talking trouble in the form of “progress,” that vague euphemism too often used to explain the demise of too many bowling alleys. Since it’s only a couple months ‘til Leilani Lanes becomes a victim of such progress, the beloved Greenwood alley -- with 36 lanes, Seattle’s largest -- is the subject of this too-little-too-late......

There's probably no other restaurant in town that Seattlest eats at as much as Crave. Given how much we enjoying dining out, this is saying a lot. We frequently spend our weekends brunching at Crave, we take out-of-town guests there for dinner, and occasionally we play hooky just to have their mid-day lunch. It doesn't hurt that we live nearby, but it's the friendliness of the servers and the quality of the food that keeps......

Seattlest is growing; egos, waistlines, word counts, substance abuse problems, general sense of foreboding, staff, all of it. About that last one, staff: Seattlest is a collaborative blog and we could always use new additions and right now we're looking to pick up a few hot writer-types to help carry our current lineup of bungling hacks. Specifically, we haven't been giving you enough of the local rock we know that you love. We love......

When this week began, wrestler Eddie Guerrero and TV pioneer Ralph Edwards were both alive. No one outside Steel Country had heard of Rep. John Murtha, and Bob Woodward still had credibility. Next week is really only three days, so probably nothing will happen. Thus, we at Seattlest intend to enjoy ourselves over the weekend. Seth's going to the Ballard JazzWalk tonight. Two performers he's looking forward to seeing: Dawn Clement, an inventive young pianist,......

Who are the 11:30pm girls? What: Kisaku Sushi Restaurant When: Sun, March 27, 8pm Nishino has always been our favorite place for sushi in Seattle. But watch out, Big N, we think you have some hard competition now. The competition comes in the name of Kisaku, nestled in a little part of Seattle called Tangletown. Ryu Nakano, formerly of the I Love Sushi restaurants, is head chef. And he’s done a great job with......

Who are the 11:30pm girls? What: Cascadia Restaurant When: Thurs, March 24, 7:30pm Expectations for this place were high. Look at the reviews! "exquisite food, beautifully presented" 5 star rating "elegant, understated space" The food was great, and it was beautifully presented. We'd come back on any of the following occasions: 1. need to impress business clients with fancy dinner (not going to happen in our line of work) 2. grandparents in town (sadly,......

Who are the 11:30pm girls? What: Cactus Restaurant in Madison Valley When: a Friday or two ago, 8pm. These girls have three pet peeves when eating at a restaurant: 1. Nasty bathrooms 2. The waitperson forgets/messes up all/part of your order and then, after you point it out, they do it again. 3. The hostperson completely underestimates how long it will take for you to get seated and then is completely unapologetic about it when......

25 for $25, Seattle's dine-out-at-the-fancy-places-for-cheap, started yesterday and runs through the end of March, excluding Easter Sunday. Check out the list of participating restaurants, and get on the horn ASAP to make reservations. It's kind of like frequent-flyer seats--they aren't too hot to fill up the plane with cheapskates. We'll be trying to get a table at the Barking Frog, Ray's Boathouse, Restaurant Zoe, and Cascadia. (We're interested to see what Cascadia offers beyond......