Stories

Commenter Cindy got two of three right in the "Name the Franchise" game for the retail activity taking place in the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Madison Street.  We confirmed with Swedish Medical Center's broker, Lori Granberg of CB Richard Ellis, that Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches will be moving into the former Organic to Go space at 1221 Madison Street in Swedish Medical Center's Arnold Pavilion.  This will mark the eighth Seattle location for the Champaign, Illinois based chain.

In addition, Granberg affirmed that Crêpan Crepe World, a Japanese-style crepe restaurant will be taking over the former Jamba Juice location at 1303 Madison. 

Finally , we learned that MAD Pizza will be moving  from 1314 Madison (the other side of the street) to the former Quiznos location at 1321 Madison.  All three of these new stores plan to open in September 2010.

Earlier this year, the media (this writer included) was abuzz with reports of I Love New York Deli opening a third location on Capitol Hill.  Owner Jon Jacobs had planned to open his location off Broadway, close to the Pike Pine corridor.  However, he recently announced that his third location will instead be sited on First Hill, near the intersection of Madison and Boren. Jacobs told Hugo Kugiya of Crosscut that the First Hill location will be very different from the original stand at Pike Place Market and the Ravenna location.

First Hill's I Love New York Deli will be "a full-service, authentic, New York-style deli on First Hill, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping fill the void in this city of around-the-clock dining . . . [This] third restaurant, near the corner of Boren and Madison, will be his largest by far at 6,300 square feet and will have its own bakery, the culmination of a long-held dream for Jacobs."

Kabab House, a casual eatery, offering kebabs and Indian dishes just opened up next door to Lundgren Monuments at 1011 Boren Avenue.  This outlet does not seem related to the Kabab House Pakistani chain (with locations in Greenwood and Lynnwood).  We have an inquiry to the Kabab House chain to confirm this.

 We stopped in for a snack of samosas - which were fresh and crisp - and served with a minimal amount of oil.  They have the standard Indian curries: Saag Paneer, Chana Dal, Malai Kofta, as well as kebabs.  Let us know in the comments what you think of this and other items at Kabab House.  For a limited time, they are offering a $1 off on all menu items between 11 am and 3 pm Monday thru Friday.

Since Zhivago's Cafe closed on Broadway earlier this year, we have been searching for a piroshki purveyor that did not necessitate a long distance walk to Pike Place Market.  So, it was with relief that we stumbled on Piroshki on Madison last week.  For under $5, the salmon and cream cheese piroshikis prove satisfying for breakfast and/or lunch.  Piroshki on Madison offers all of the fillings that their corporate sibling Piroshki on Broadway used to offer before they closed in 2008: various combinations of potato, cabbage, cheese, vegetables and meat.  As well, they offer borscht and pierogis.  Pair a piroshki with some of the Verite Coffee dispensed here and you're full of enough warmth to brave the sometime chilly and rainy Seattle spring .

Piroshki on Madison is located at 1219 Madison Street and is open Sun - Thurs from 7 am to 5 pm and on Fridays from 7 am to 4:30 pm.  

Blue Water Taco Grill would like to invite FHS readers to come celebrate Cinco de Mayo today at Blue Water Taco Grill in First Hill (1213 Madison St.).  We will be offering $5 food and drink specials all day at our First Hill and our other Seattle locations.  Choose any burrito or two tacos (sorry, no seafood) and chips and salsa or a fountain drink for $5. 

Also, we recently launched a Facebook page and Twitter account, we'll be offering an all day "happy hour" special on beer at our lower Queen Anne and 515 Union St. locations for our Facebook and Twitter fans/followers.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

In honor of its 10th anniversary, Tango, a Spanish restaurant bordering the First Hill and Capitol Hill neighborhoods has been offering specials throughout the month.  Today is your last chance to help them celebrate.   Stop in after 5 pm and enjoy a free piece of El Diablo - a delicious combination of chocolate, cayenne, almonds, and meringue. 

Sugar Bakery has been open at 1014 Madison since December 2007.  Through its commitment to wholesome ingredients and baking from scratch, Sugar has developed a loyal following.  Seattle's local gumshoe, Cakespy recently touted Sugar's "Economic Crunch Cookies" as "one of the tastiest cookies I've sampled in a while: a crunchy sugar cookie made with almonds, toffee, chocolate, coconut, all of which is coated in coarse, sparkly sugar."  Call ahead before you go (they had 2 packs left at the time of this post) at 206-749-4105.  Weekday hours are 7 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to 1pm.     

The Hideout, an art gallery / speakeasy style First Hill bar celebrates five years on First Hill this Saturday with a party.  In addition to the vending machine and other art delights that can be found there, The Hideout has recruited performers from across the country to perform theater at the space: "We will produce shows seven days a week, with the house opening at 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:00 pm."

Here is the full announcement from co-owner Greg Lundgren:

Dear Friends,

Some of you may recall that The Hideout was created as a 5-year performance piece. We viewed the bar as a stage and the participants - both patrons and staff alike - as actors on this stage. In the world of theater, five years is an unusually long run, and there were many reasons why The Hideout could have fallen short of our expectations.

While five years is a long time for a play to run, it is not entirely unheard of. In fact, many acts of theatre (particularly musical theatre) just run and run and...