Next Tuesday  October 20th Zhivago's Cafe  is opening and is having a Grand Opening next Friday the 23rd of October. Gino is the new owner and a really great guy . The space is located in part of the old Dilettante Cafe location. The address is 416 Broadway East in Seattle. Right next to Bailey -Coy Bookstore.  Gino is of Russian and Middle Eastern background and hopes to have food from both of his family background. The telephone number is 206-328-0500.

   The style of food will be Russian bakery with Piroshki's, Borcht soup, salads, and excellent homemade sandwiches. Organic coffee from Rococo Coffee and Tea. And from Gino's mother's Jerusalem background Shish Kabob's and other yummy Middle Eastern delights !!      Gino will also have delicous pastries like Baklava, Poppyseed Rolls and other excellent homemade desserts !!  The restaurant hours will be 6am to 11pm.   

We're not the only site covering Capitol Hill:

• Seattle Times reports that Seattle police have arrested Quincy Quinn. Quinn, prosecutors says, is part of a duo responsible for a strong of bank robberies including this September 3rd hold-up at 15th Ave E.'s Group Health Credit Union:
  

  Quinn was arrested Friday night on a misdemeanor warrant for bank robbery after he was identified by an acquaintance, prosecutors say. That person contacted police, according to a probable cause affidavit written by the King County Sheriff's Office. The affidavit says the handgun used by Quinn during many of the robberies was an unloaded BB gun.

  
  
• Another tenant of Liz Dunn's Melrose Building project has been revealed. The Stranger reports that Terra Plata will join Sitka & Spruce when the redevelopment of the building is complete later this year.
• Shiny bright and brand new, The SunBreak has details on 'the coolest theater fest you don't know is going on:
  

  Last weekend, Infinity Live Productions kicked off The Suitcase Festival at Annex...

BBQ Puller Originally uploaded by bkraai2003

Capitol Hill is a pretty diverse place so you probably know a person or two who eats meat. Even though they soil their bodies consuming flesh, the carnivores probably care about where that steak came from. And though the farmers market has a few vendors providing fresh beef and poultry, there is another option for putting meat on your table. One group of hungry Capitol Hill families is turning to the east side of the state for their local meat needs.

For a little more tha a year, Linda McElroy, has been buying her meat from Thundering Hooves, a family farm and ranch in the Walla Walla Valley, and having it delivered to her Capitol Hill home. She's the 'hostess' for a buying club that purchases meat from the farm. What started as a small group has turned into 85 families from Capitol Hill and surrounding areas going through McElroy for their carnivorous needs. While only about a fourth of the members order meat for the monthly delivery, that still amounts to a large...

      The new Pho Lotus Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant opened  where the old El Tijin  Mexican restaurant used to be down by the old Jade Pagoda Chinese Restaurant and next to the old Siam Thai Restaurant.

Lucky timing and hot weather provided an opportunity for a quick look inside The Lookout, a new neighborhood bar/pub opening later this month in the the remodeled Artemis space on Bellevue Ave E. Scheduled to open June 19th, The Lookout is looking good: warm wood floors, seating, and wainscoting, and lovely, bright mural paintings from artists NKO and NTG.

The windows of the space have been papered over for months, keeping the interior remodel and in-progress wall murals very hush hush. Today,  the front door was open and the architect/designer (Bryce?) was happy to chat for a minute about the opening schedule.

Happily, The Lookout plans to start using the building's back patio for outdoor seating; it is partially shaded and has a terrific  westerly view with all the usual suspects you would expect to see when perched over I-5. ( Lake Union, Queen Anne, the Needle, the Sound, and beyond.)

The Lookout is a new place with new concept,...

For our Mother's Day brunch (without our mothers), my companion and I decided to visit Smith.  To our vegetarian surprise, the delicious veggie omelette was no longer on the menu!  Craving eggs and hashbrowns, we quickly paid for our coffees and left.  Coincidentally, this was the second Capitol Hill restaurant I abandoned this week.  On Thursday, I left Than Brothers on Thursday after waiting 25 minutes for veggie pho.  After being told "it was on its way!" at least 3 times, I finally gave up when I heard a server admit to another table that they were out of veggie broth.

I certainly don't think that I have a constitutional right to a decent vegetarian dish at every restaurant, but I admit that I'm surprised by the neo-Capitol Hill trend of meat-centric menus.  Doesn't it make business sense to offer at least one or two veggie entrees that are comparable in size and flavor to the meaty choices (e.g., Honey Hole, Annapurna, Bimbo's)?

Dessert at the Kingfish
Originally uploaded by Daffodilious

The whole point of Shrove Tuesday is indulgence. You have nothing to sacrifice if you don't consume in gluttonous glory. Happy Pancake Day.

So, what are your Capitol Hill pancakes, your Broadway Ave E indulgences? I can't help but use my fingers to wipe up the last of the coconut sauce on Monsoon's banana cake (recipe here, btw, if you are feeling ambitious tonight). I can't resist the mayonnaise with my fries at Cafe Presse. And, sometimes, I order an extra meatball from the brothers Than. Have to say the french toast at Volunteer Park Cafe qualifies, too. OK, and I sometimes drive to Pike/Pine when I really should walk.

Cheers to GoTime.com!  So many things going right with this locally owned website - so little I actually want to talk about outside of the fact that they have jammed lots of my "favorites" into ONE BRILLIANT promotion. 

1) It's Free
2) It's Happy Hour
3) If you win you get to pick where in Seattle you'd like to enjoy said happy hour and
4) You don't get like $25 dollars or something entirely lame, its $150 of happy hour goodness!!!  BOOO YA!

The site itself is WAAAY more helpful than say yelp or citysearch, far more details and far mor accurate, love love love the pictures too! GoTime.com kicks serioius ass and so does this promotion: http://www.gotime.com/fanfare/details - I found the details about it on another wonderful blog/website: http://citystimulus.blogspot.com/ - you can too!

Watch out, a new ice cream store is coming to the Hill!   Old School Frozen Custard will open up on Pike between 13th and 14th (across from the BOA parking lot, the old Square Room space).  I honestly have never tried them before, but it sounds perfect for this coming summer.  They feature frozen custard made fresh throughout the day.  They'll also offer hot dogs for lunch, sundaes, milkshakes, smoothies, and floats.  I've been dying for a place besides Dicks that makes a good milkshake, so that will be the first thing I try when they open. 

Molly Moon is also slated to open in the Oddfellows building. Must be time to update this list. Any other places that offer ice cream?

Our popular weekend cafe is going strong Friday-Saturday-Sunday, with the full-meal thali on Saturdays & Sundays (1pm-7pm). This month’s menu features besan kadhi with dumplings, pan-roasted winter vegetable sabzi, date-walnut raita, and much more. Still only $12 – compared with the $32 “thali” at Poppy’s on Broadway (customers say ours is better). We are trying to figure out how to hire more help and expand cafe hours to other weekdays, so please be patient.

• Implement a coordinated program to reduce youth violence and increase public safety for all Seattle residents.
• Review and decide on a proposal for renewing the Housing Levy.
• Make sure that initial neighborhood plan updates are effective and responsive to communities.
• Partner with the Seattle School District to strengthen our public schools and ensure that all of our children achieve academic success.
• Bring City and community organizations...

Via Daily Candy Seattle, I was reminded that Barrio - the latest venture from the people behind the Purple Cafe and Wine Bar - will open today.  Barrio will serve up Northwest-style Mexican Food.  They are located at 1420 12th Avenue East - the Trace North building.  Highlights of the menu include:

                            Wild Salmon Ceviche
             Wild salmon, coconut milk, cucumber and mint ceviche

                            Steamed Local Mussels
    Steamed local mussels with dry-cured chorizo, habanero chile and crema

                             Duck Confit Tamales
                Duck confit tamales wrapped in plantain leaves

                              Flank Steak Tacos
               Flank steak tacos al carbon with grilled onions

                             Pork Shoulder Tacos
      Smokey pork shoulder tacos with golden raisins and sliced almonds

Madison Market is having a party to celebrate its 30th Anniversary today at Hugo House between noon and 5 pm today.  Nonmembers are welcome to ceebrate along with co-op members.   Here are some highlights:

• Eat our deli-catered Vegetarian Quiche, Beet and Kale Salad, Roasted Vegetables, Penne Salsa Romano (vegan option available), Marinated Tofu, and birthday cake (vegan and gluten-free options available)
• Imbibe wine, craft beer, and an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages
• Hear the Golden Heron Gamelan Orchestra
• Enjoy children's activities

Speakers include: Richard Conlin, Seattle City Councilperson; Heather Day, Community Alliance for Global Justice; Diane Dempster, Charlie's Produce; Gretchen Garth, 21 Acres; Derek Hoshiko, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Seattle; Dan Hulse, Tacoma Food Co-op; Rev. Robert L. Jeffrey, Sr., Black Dollar Days Task Force; Sue McGann, Marra Farm; Mark McIntyre, Cascade Harvest Coalition; Laura Niemi, Seattle Tilth Association; Dr. Viki Sonntag, EcoPraxis

If you're not busy, stop by Poco Wine Room (located on Pine between 14th and 15th) tonight to help celebrate 2 years on the hill!  We dropped in last night and had a great time.  I finally met Bart, one of the owners, and we managed to put away 4 fabulous bottles of wine with the help of 4 of our friends.  Happy Hour specials all night:   $2 off each glass of wine and $8 off each bottle.  It's a great deal!

Looks like Zaw is closer to opening, though I share joey's dismay that Zaw's pizza is take and bake (is this really going to be a nicer version of papa john's).

For projects like the light rail station construction, we get mailings and outreach sessions and copious Web project updates -- yet when a construction project of real significance comes along, what kind of warning do we get? A sign on a chain link fence stating Dick's on Broadway is closed for "extensive plumbing repairs."

You'll have to find a burger alternative until they re-open on Thursday. With Jack in the Box out of commission until they finish whatever kind of work they need to do to convert a KFC to a JIB, good luck.

Though Hebb's joint has garnered mixed reviews, it's great to have another lunch option on the hill - and they are now open 7 nights a week (5 pm to late).  Full menu service will begin at Moe Bar shortly.