(Image: Cook Weaver)
Food is political. Capitol Hill’s Cook Weaver is making a shift to give the people what they want — and what they need:
There is no way to say how sorry we are for everyone who is being harmed and targeted by this administration. We know that this moment requires a response at all levels: the personal, the communal, the political. For our part, we want to nourish our community, bring people together for joy, pleasure, and rejuvenation, and celebrate the culinary context of the Pacific Northwest. So, we are making a change.
Next week, the E Roy restaurant just off North Broadway is making changes it says will focus on a more affordable, more flexible menu, “so that we can serve more people and meet our community at this moment.”
“In this iteration we will offer a place to have a few dishes with wine. A cocktail with friends.
Or a full dinner,” Cook Weaver’s announcement of its new “neo-bistro format” reads. “And, we will continue to offer Chef Zac’s curated tasting menu for our guests who desire that expansive culinary experience.”
Cook Weaver says it will also begin to offer retail sale of its wine.
The first night of its new format is June 18th.
The latest change for Cook Weaver comes two years after chef Zac Reynolds carried on as co-founder and front of house manager Nile Klein amicably exited the partnership behind the 2016-born restaurant.
Cook Weaver debuted in late 2016 in the historic Loveless Building in a space that hosted a string of food and drink venues through the years. Murals from early tenant Samovar still adorn the walls. Artist Vladimir Shkurkin who had previously painted the inside of the Seattle Civic Auditorium was commissioned by the Russian-flavored eatery for the work. His murals depict the story of three sisters — a cook, a weaver, and a wife — and a swan-turned-princess by Alexander Pushkin.
Now, in this era of no princesses and no kings, Cook Weaver is hoping to continue to provide a space in the neighborhood to stop in and find comfort.
“We want to continue to be improvisational with our cooking, inventive, continually changing, to follow the seasons, and specifically support our local farmers and small purveyors,” Reynolds said.
“We’ve been listening closely to our community and we understand the evolving needs of our guests. It’s crazy out there. These times are so uncertain and chaotic. We want Cook Weaver to be a place where everyone can come and enjoy amazing food and drinks. Our goal is to create a warm, comforting, maybe rollicking space where the music could be loud one day or chill the next and you can unwind with some excellent dishes and we can all enjoy one another’s company. Let’s be in community with one another.”
Cook Weaver is located at 806 E Roy. Learn more at cookweaver.com.
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look… it’s fine for there to be nice restaurants. but saying they’re trying to “meet our community” with this menu is pretty tone deaf. “the community” isn’t asking for a $12 bread service and $20 quail plate at the $151 tasting course dinner place.
again I’m happy for cook weaver to be here, a small locally owned business offering great food, awesome. but be real, it is a nice restaurant for people with plenty of money. that is the community they are serving. to suggest otherwise feels disingenuous.
I have to agree. We’ve eaten there and it was lovely, but yeah, it’s a fancy place. Don’t try to pretend you’re going to “meet the community” with those menu prices.
❤️
I’m happy to see this! I’ve wanted to eat there more often, but fixed price menus are so limiting and, frankly, dull. I like more choice and options.
Am I reading this right… 🤣 nearly $40 steak entrees and $15 bowls of lettuce with vinaigrette are ‘more proletariat’. Thanks for the chuckle.
Your beef (!) is with the article’s author, who wrote those words (“more proletariat”), not with the restaurant. But that raises an interesting question, Justin, why’d you choose such a loaded word?
1) There is no way to say how sorry we are for everyone who is being harmed and targeted by this administration. We know that this moment requires a response at all levels: the personal, the communal, the political.
2) Alexander Pushkin
There is no way to say how sorry we are for everyone who is being harmed and targeted by this administration. We know that this moment requires a response at all levels: the personal, the communal, the political. Fight back against the enveloping chaos with a glass (or two!) of wine and a delicious plate of morels in red curry with tamale.
I’m unclear on whether these comments on menu and price are regarding the previous menu, very pricey, or the new version. Never had a meal here. Maybe give them a chance to revamp?
The menu in the article is the new menu. They’re basically just bringing back an a la carte option after several years of only serving an omakase menu.
OK. Thanks makes sense.
Thank you psionic fig. Makes sense.
Late stage capitalism is using a toast ICE resistance as a reason to visit your restaurant without actually doing anything for the resistance or folks suffering anywhere. Maybe add an option where you’re patrons toasting wine to the chaos can buy folks meals or something?
This is wild stuff y’all!
So were those misquotes or are they just walking back that part of the announcement now?
“Late stage capitalism,” “Karen,” “pearl clutching, “. Is there a YouTube channel or something that pounded these tropes into your brain? Do you have even the slightest capacity to evaluate a political situation with your own thoughts and opinions without resorting to tired online memes and cancel phrases?
Do you have any actual points to add ever?!? Where have I ever used Karen or Pearl Clutching here?
Also, this is textbook example of late stage capitalism… Read a book or something man!
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2022/12/20/unpacking-late-capitalism.html
Drawing on Mandel’s idea that capitalism has sped up and gone global, Jameson expanded his analysis to the cultural realm. His argument was that late capitalist societies have lost their connection with history and are defined by a fascination with the present.
In Jameson’s account, late capitalism is characterised by a globalised, post-industrial economy, where everything – not just material resources and products but also immaterial dimensions, such as the arts and lifestyle activities – becomes commodified and consumable.
In this capitalist stage, we see innovation for the sake of innovation, a superficial projected image of self via celebrities or “influencers” channelled through social media, and so on.
Try rereading what you just wrote.
yeah, but you literally Googled “late stage capitalism” and copied the first link after the Wikipedia article, as if to say that the Wikipedia article would look like you weren’t that educated on it. Glad you finally got caught up.
I know what it means, Stumpy is the one that needed to see that it’s also something actively discussed in academic circles. This happens to be a top Google hit, and I linked it here, because it does a nice job unpacking the actual history of the term and it’s more recent usage.
Apologies that I don’t keep the best articles bookmarked for your research needs.
Well you did use “late stage capitalism ” which leaves me wondering who pounded this into your brain. If you have never used “Karen” and “pearl clutching ” then I do apologize
You can read the article, they talk about why the term has risen in popularity.
I don’t use late stage capitalism regularly, which leaves me wondering what makes you think it’s pounded into my brain and that the concept that capitalism is good is the one that’s pounded into yours.
you’ve used the term repeatedly on this site
Stop making up lies buddy…
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Acapitolhillseattle.com+%22late+stage+capitalism%22+OR+%22late-stage+capitalism%22+OR+%22late+capitalism%22+OR+%22late-capitalism%22
Striking a pose for the feels while shamlessly plugging your restaurant is kind of perfect for these guys. Chef Zac has been part of a couple of dubious menu pivots at places that sadly ended up closing soon after.
I hate to say it (some of the dishes at Cook Weaver have been imaginative and great, while others were ???), but their days are probably numbered…
the sanctimony is so try-hard… must be Millennial-run. This city is pathetic.
I applaud their effort to revamp their menu to make it more accessible to a wider audience. This is a higher end restaurant, so it will cost more money than a more every day place. But smaller plates and a glass of wine or beer make it a place that more people can go and enjoy the ambience. Does that mean everyone can afford it? Absolutely not. But it makes it a viable option for more casual diners. Is self interest a motivator? I assume so, but who cares? If you have not been, but can afford to enjoy a nice salad and a small plate, please do so. The neighborhood needs more places where people can gather. And hoisting a beverage among people you enjoy while enjoying a bite is one of the best ways to stave off the insanity these times provoke.
Any word on this? We had reservations there (for a birthday) last night and the restaurant was locked and dark with all the wine stacked in the middle of the room.
The phone number is disconnected and email address can’t be found.