Capitol Hill food+drink | Wandering Goose opening date, Eat Out fundraiser, Li’l Woody’s TV

Earnhardt takes a whiff of good, clean Pacific Northwest sawdust during the Goose buildout (Image: CHS)

All 15th Ave E needs now is a ________ and all your culinary needs will be met. Tip your friendly neighborhood editor at [email protected].

Over the weekend, CHS checked in on Ethan Stowell’s big investment in 15th Ave E. Rione XIII is off to a good start. It’s been more of a wander for Rione’s neighbor The Wandering Goose but we have good news. The southern-tinged bakery and cafe is ready to open and on target for an early morning debut the week of the 24th, biscuit queen Heather Earnhardt tells CHS.

Soon, the long-ago Piggly Wiggly will come to life in a new incarnation matching the Volunteer Park Cafe veteran’s aesthetic and baking skills with a slender and light new space wedged between Stowell’s latest bastion and the back-from-the-dead 22 Doors. Investors include High 5/Fuel’s Dani Cone, landlord Caffe Vita which originally planned to open in the space and a roster of community supporters who bought into the Wandering Goose concept and helped support its creation.

The Goose has been built as a 30-seat “Southern influence cafe” separated only by a “demising wall” of “vintage leaded glass” from Rione XIII, according to Earnhardt’s early plans for the project.

Earnhardt gave CHS the planned menu. There are no prices listed yet but we’re told the goal is to keep things as affordable as possible. But, seriously, what price a biscuit sandwich! The Wandering Goose is located at 403 15th Ave E. Opening a new place is tricky — keep track of any changes in Wandering plans via the Wandering Goose Facebook page.

15th Ave E’s elder statesman the Coastal Kitchen also has some big news this week as its 20th anniversary overhaul begins. The logistics are below. CHS detailed the CK makeover here.

For our 20^th year Coastal Kitchen is having a, ahem…”little work” done.

Enhancements? You bet! New Oyster Bar, Cocktail Bar, Sidewalk Seating and more…

The heart of this Capitol Hill Fish House will still beat to the rhythm of the neighborhood’s appetite for coastalicious breakfasts, lunch, dinner & cocktails. Always in a casual andupbeat setting, CK keeps its focus on local, wild & sustainable seafood. What about those Festival Menus?? Absolutely. Sicily will be our next menu starting a few weeks following our Reopening. Breakfast for dinner? Uh huh.

Stay tuned for more updates as the Grand Reopening approaches!

Some key dates to note:

September 12 thru September 23^rd, 3pm – Coastal Kitchen is open for regular hours, daily.

AND, Offering “The Punch List” (like a punch card program) to every customer, every time they dine with us during this phase of the remodel. – Each time you dine with us during this phase, you receive $5 to use at CK after the grand reopening. Dine three times earn $15, five times earn $25.

You get the idea.-

Sept 23^rd, 3pm – October 8^th – Coastal Kitchen will be closed. Grand reopening is scheduled for the week of Oct 8^th. We’ll announce the firm date by the 5^th. Reservations can be made starting the 5^th of October for our Grand Reopening.

For those of you who like to be first, you can also mark your calendars for Friday. New Tango sibling Rumba plans to begin serving up its Caribbean Queen-worthy creations that night.
One more. The Raygun Cafe — born from the nerdy loins of Gamma Ray Games — boots up next week in the former Travelers space on E Pine. You should be able to drop in by the weekend of the 21st.
On First Hill, Potbelly Sandwiches’ latest Seattle outlet fires up this Wednesday. Meanwhile, First Hill’s Hideout is hosting guest ‘tenders all month.
On Broadway, new Menchie’s celebrates its grand opening with a week of giveaways starting Saturday.
Lovers of Capitol Hill will want to celebrate — and mourn — the final week of business for the Broadway Cafe after 18 years on the Hill. Foodies will want to speculate who on earth can turn the space around and have a new restaurant open in the space by October 1st.
Tough time for cheap banh mi on the Hill. Pho Tai at Pine and Melrose appears to have shut down earlier this month. We’d reported in the past that the restaurant’s landlord was seeking a new tenant and Pho Tai had been hanging on month to month in the meantime. No word, yet, if that situation changed or the restaurant simply went under. We’re checking around to learn more.
Our photographer has been banned from every gay dance club on Capitol Hill for smuggling out these unauthorized pictures of the sparkling new Q.
Another new club owner says to watch for her place to shift into a new gear starting next week. Laura Olson tells CHS that The Social is currently open only on the weekend but is bringing on new promoters to reinvigorate the five-month-old space.
The Black Coffee Co-op has moved on from its E Pike plans and is looking for a better home for its collective efforts on Capitol Hill.
How did Analog Coffee spend its prize money from a local bank contest? New bench
Bill the Butcher, sleep with one eye open. Bethany Jean Clement is going to hunt you to the ends of the earth.
Canon, land of craft cocktails your grandaddy’s grandaddy couldn’t afford, is apparently planning to serve breakfast cereal-flavored milk as part of its new brunch service. My grandaddy’s grandaddy just decided he’d rather have toast.
Honeyhole’s locavore booze list.
Pike/Pine is getting a 24-hour diner.
Speaking of late night munchies, the Travel Channel will be making a nocturnal visit to Li’l Woody’s this week:

The new Travel Channel series Feed The Beast follows their host, Mikey Roe, as he travels throughout the country to six different cities in search of the best late night eats. In each city he hits three or four of the premiere destinations, where he will uncover a world of amazing food and memorable characters after dark. This Saturday, September 15, we are excited to announce that Feed the Beast will be filming at Li’l Woody’s (1211 Pine Street) from 12:30-3AM and again on Monday, September 17 from 8:00-11:00PM.

UPDATE: Food truck Off the Rez sez it’s doing the TV thing too: “Travel Channel’s Feed the Beast will also be filming us at our Capitol Hill spot on Fri, 11p-2:30a & on Sat, 11p-12:30a”

Andrea Nguyen will be on hand for a “cookbook lunch” next week at Monsoon
Got a Capitol Hill space for a new incarnation of Thai Curry Simple to set up its food truck?
Still not sure of cereal-flavored milk. But High 5’s version of a Pop-Tart(TM!)? We’ll eat it.
Wednesday, September 12th is Eat out Capitol Hill — proceeds benefit the Country Doctor Clinic, provider of affordable health care on Capitol Hill’s 19th Ave E. Details and participating roster are below — you can check out its Facebook page for updates and last-minute additions. While you’re feeling generous (and hungry), consider getting your tickets for the 2012 Omnivorous fundraiser for Capitol Hill Housing.