On Monday, the much anticipated Counter Burger located in the new Ballard Blocks opened.

Counter Burger has been “previewed” several times already on several different blogs. So far, the buzz seems to be favorable.

We checked it out during one of their preview parties, and the food was excellent. I’d be interested to hear if anyone has been there in the past two days.

Be sure to follow them on Twitter as well. They often tweet specials or coupons.

Thai Tom, the uberpopular, tiny, and always crowded restaurant and main reason for venturing into the northern reaches of the Ave in the U-District has been closed for a variety of hygiene and safety reasons by the County.

snapshot from kingcounty.gov

(via @andypixel)

photo by david choe / invisible hour [flickr]; more in his knee high photoset [#].

The Knee High, a speakeasy-themed bar opened quietly over the weekend. They’ve taken over the small space left by Il Forno, the quiet pizza parlor on the street level of triangular apartment building occupying the intersection of Olive and Bellevue [#] that closed last fall.

When I dropped in early Saturday the evening, proprietor Jack Valko was stationed in the velvet curtained vestibule greeting curious visitors. Inside, the cherub mirror mural survived the remodel [#], which brought mottled blue walls, glitzy chandeliers, several cozily arranged tables, and a bar that fills the back of the room. The menu features a couple pages of clever Prohibition-inspired cocktails and a small menu. Around our table good things were said about most of the drinks (priced in the $7ish range), a chicken pot pie seemed well received, and I was especially thrilled to find among the food selections a pretzel with rarebit. This, alone, would have enough to win me over. Paired with the more sour than sweet drinks, though, the place enters cat’s pajamas territory.

The place was comfortably full when I left and rumor has it that crowds arrived throughout the evening; so it sounds like they’re off to a good start. I hope to return early and often to make my way through the cocktail list.

// the knee high; 1356 Olive Way.

Capitol Hill Seattle brings welcome news [chs] about Oddfellows, the latest from Linda Derschang and Erica Burke. According to Joey Veltkamp, they’re on track to open the cafe + bar at the end of the week in an unexpectedly open and light space. In his report about the opening, he gets a description of the idea for the place from Linda:

… a comfortable all day, all night neighborhood hangout. It will be lighter and airier and (gasp) no taxidermy! It will also have an adorable outdoor patio (15′ish people). [joeyveltkamp]

Most amazing of all, it will be open at 7 am. I imagine that this means that they’ll have to do some serious recruiting for morning people to join the usual team of late risers and night owls. In any case, it sounds like a great addition to the corridor and it will be nice to have another cafe close to Cal Anderson now that Vivace has moved on to the North end of Broadway.

As if you’ll need an excuse to get ice cream this sunny September Seattle weekend, all the incentive you’ll need to pay a visit to Molly Moon in Wallingford on Saturday afternoon comes in the form of Baracky Road:

… tomorrow we will debut Baracky Road ice cream with celebrity scoopers: Congressman Jim McDermott, Dave Hernandez of the Shins, King County Councilmember Dow Constantine, and John Roderick of the Long Winters. [mollymoon]

From 1 to 3 pm you can get a cone filled by indie rockers rubbing elbows with local politicians behind the counter. All proceeds from the chocolate-chocolate-hazelnut-marshmallow concoction’s debut will go to Democrats Work , and you can donate to the Obama campaign.

(Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream is at 1622 ½ N 45th St; If Rocky Road’s not your thing, go for the Vivace Coffee, or, for something more subtle, the honey lavender.)

Via Capitol Hill Seattle [#] comes the amazing news that Molly Moon Ice Cream, which has been keeping lines of people spilling out onto the sidewalks of Wallingford all summer with their delicious and inventive flavors, is planning to open a second location in the Oddfellows building early next year. [urbnlivn] With deep fried goodness from the Pike Street Fish fry and a delightful urban park just steps away, this makes some sort of productivity-stalling trifecta for any marginally pleasant day.

Just imagine the possibilities if someone could figure out a way to open an actual beer garden in Cal Anderson.

photo by Taylor Hain [flickr] via our group pool [#]

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a column [times] about how the cute little Belltown restaurant, Marjorie [#], was losing its lease. I immediately thought, “Dang it, Beth!” [mb] Although not quite a “landmark,” this adorable and quirky space was/is a nice place to go for dates and/or to sit on the patio and enjoy a nicely made cocktail. The warm intimate feel paired with the personal service was always a hit.

This morning I received the official news in my inbox:

“it is with a heavy heart that we announce marjorie’s last night…
after 6 beautiful years at our belltown location, and without a new home lined up as of yet, we have decided to end on a high note.
on september 6th, our last night, we will host a wine dinner.”

Former Marjorie chef and current Tavolata chef de cuisine, Matt Fortner, has created the wine dinner menu, of which there will be two seatings (5 and 8:30). Since the restaurant is on the small size, both seatings will be sure to sell out. Reservations are necessary [opentable] and the cost will be $150 per person, which isn’t bad for 8-ish courses and wine pairings.

If you’re not up for a fancy-schmancy dinner, make sure to stop by on the next nice day between now and the 6th and check out that off-the-street patio. Personally, I will mourn the loss of the perfectly made beignets and look forward to Donna Moodie’s new endeavor.

address: 2331 Second Avenue | Seattle, WA 98121 | phone: 206.441.9842

I never went to Sea Breeze. Or whatever was there before Sea Breeze. I drove by every day, often kind of wistful at their fireplace and somewhat sad that there never seemed to be more than three or four people inside. So I wasn’t all that surprised when they closed. I was surprised, however, when I found out there was a burger joint going in there.

Did we really need another burger joint? After all, there’s Lunchbox Laboratory, Zak’s, Scooter’s, Zesto’s, Ballard Brothers, and if you are going to or from Ballard, there’s even Red Mill. So another burger joint? Really?

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If you’re in the Ballard area, you have probably heard of them. If you’re in the Sunset Hill/Golden Gardens area, you’ve probably smelled them. If you’ve never eaten there, you’re missing a fantastic experience!

I’m speaking, of course, of Paseo, the Cuban sandwich and entree joint that has been feeding Fremont for years. My husband introduced me to Paseo the very first weekend I came to Seattle. I was hooked on what used to be known as their ‘Midnight Cuban’, a roasted pork sandwich with jalapenos, lettuce, grilled onions, some sauce (that for all I know could be just mayo but tastes like manna from heaven) all on a sourdough roll. It’s some sandwich. It’s a sandwich you must unwrap as you eat to keep it from falling completely apart. It’s a sandwich that will break hearts and motivate you to go to the gym JUST so you can eat more of them.

My only complaint about Paseo was that they were in Fremont and I live in Ballard. While that doesn’t preclude going there, it does mean that going there requires either a car or a bus ride and a little planning ahead. Now, I can have Paseo any day I want (other than Sunday as they’re closed).

The ‘Midnight Cuban’ is now known as the ‘Cuban Roast’. If sandwiches aren’t your thing, they have great entrees as well. We got a box of pork and rice the other day that was practically enough for two people. Add in a side of onions and spicy black beans and you’ve got an entire meal.

Paseo is cash only, and during standard mealtimes there will definitely be a line, but the line moves quickly and it is well worth it.

Paseo
6226 Seaview Ave NW
Seattle

So what do you do when you’re new in town, have a background in the food industry, and are passionate about extraordinary dining experiences? You make it a point to try as many local restaurants as you can so that eventually, you can share those restaurants with as many people as possible.

That’s exactly what Angela Shen did when she moved to Seattle. In July 2007, she started Savor Seattle Food Tours with the Pike Place Market tour. Just a few weeks ago, she opened a new tour – the Downtown Seattle tour. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a Downtown Seattle Mini-Tour just the other day and I have to say that those two hours were among the happiest my taste buds have spent recently.

Full details after the jump, but for now, I’ll tease you with a shot of the delicious pizza our group shared at Serious Pie.
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