Keeping up

Bar Cantinetta enters the scene

The pre-opening party for Madison Valley's newest restaurant was packed on Thursday evening, perhaps demonstrating the neighborhood's pent-up interest in having a Tuscan-style eatery close to home. We noticed a fair number of Madison Parkers among the crowd.  Described for some reason as a "boozier version of Cantinetta" by food blog Seattle Eater, Bar Canintetta is intended to be both a good neighborhood ristorante and a "small window into what we can do," says owner Trevor Greenwood.

Trevor Greenwood in front of his newest place (photo by Bob Peterson)

Regular hours will begin on Tuesday, 11:30 am until 10 pm, Tuesday thru Thursday; 11:30 until 11 pm Friday and Saturday; and 10 am until 10 pm on Sunday (brunch served from 10 until 3).  Bar Cantinetta is closed on Mondays. Reservations for six or more, phone: (206) 329-1501.

Bing's rated "kid friendly" by Seattle Magazine

In this month's issue, Seattle Magazine anoints Bing's as one of Seattle's 25 most "kid-friendly and parent pleasing" restaurants. "The new menu at this friendly Madison Park spot treats parents to sophisticated flavors—arugula salad with Manchego cheese and pistachios, flat iron steak with chimichurri sauce—while keeping it simple for the kids with an excellent mac and cheese and a tasty lineup of specialty burgers," says the magazine's editorial staff.

This, we believe, is Bing's first inclusion on a "best of Seattle" list since the restaurant changed hands two years ago.

Local gardener in the spotlight

Lexie Robbin's homestead (photo by Mike Siegel/Seattle Times)

The garden of Denny Blaine's Lexie Robbins, doyenne of a multi-generational Madison Park family, was featured this weekend in the Seattle Times' Pacific Northwest Magazine.  The article by Valerie Easton, describes Robbin's garden as "glorious." Lexie, who has working been at it for over fifty years, is pictured in her garden, as is cute granddaughter Gemma.

Sports celebrity buys Madison Park spec house

Beno's new view

We don't usually report on who buys or sells property in the neighborhood, but for those who don't happen to read the local business press we note that columnist Patty Payne disclosed in the Puget Sound Business Journal last month that the recent purchaser of the $4.4 million spec house located on McGilvra Boulevard, several blocks south of the Tennis Club, is professional basketball free-agent Beno Udrih.  "Mansion a slam dunk for NBA guard," says the PSBJ, Payne quoting Udrih and his wife as saying that while they live in Europe part of the year, they like Seattle as well.

Keeping up

Eaglet soars: Several blog readers reported seeing the Broadmoor eagles in flight with their offspring over the weekend (we and our camera, unfortunately, were late to the party).  But never fear, Montlake photographer and bird watcher Larry Hubbell took many excellent shots of the eaglet in flight on Saturday and posted them on his blog, Union Bay Watch, to be enjoyed by those of us who missed out.

Music in the Park:  The line up for the summer concert series has been announced. This almost-every-Thursday-evening-in-August musical experience, which has become a popular summer tradition, features the same line up as last year's: Two Scoops Combo on August 8, Jonathan Kingham on August 15, Gin Creek on August 22, and The Side Project on August 29. The music will begin promptly at 6:30 and end at about 8 pm. The concerts, which are free, take place in the grassy area of the park and are sponsored by the Madison Park Business Association.

Best Buds moving on:  The colorful neighborhood flower shop with its quaint red English phone booth out front will be abandoning its space at the end of this month. But Best Buds is not shutting down, it is simply going to begin a new life around the corner in the lower level of Cafe Parco (1807 42nd Avenue E.).

In the new location the shop will be more about cut flowers and less about plants for the garden, so we're told.  This move is apparently a win-win-win situation for Best Buds (which is happy to be vacating its current space), Cafe Parco (which was not making good use of its lower level), and restaurant-building owner Karen Binder (who gains another paying tenant).  Perhaps it's not a win for the red-phone-booth owner, however, since the soon-to-be vacant location is just too tiny to accommodate another bank.

Italian cooking comes to Madison Valley:  They're working away diligently on renovating the interior space of what for many years was La Cote (2811 E. Madison St.).  As we reported in June, the French bistro is being replaced by Bar Cantinetta, which is an offshoot of the very-well-received Wallingford-based Cantinetta. We've been told that the Madison Valley incarnation will be a more intimate affair (there's not much space, after all) and will feature small plates. The signs in the windows say the new place will be open in August. To this point the owner has been less than forthcoming about his plans, but perhaps as we get closer to the opening...

Bing's shakes things up:  There's a revamped website, new menu items, a seven-days-a week Happy Hour (3-6 pm), a Kid's Happy Hour (50% off all kids' items, M-F, 3-5 pm), gluten-free items on the menu, Bottomless Mimosas during brunch on weekends, and a new price point for many offerings, including the $8 Signature Burger during Happy Hour, that are all part of the new Bing's experience, says owner George Marshall. Details are available on the website and on Bing's Facebook page here.

Restaurant Bea closes:  Owner Kate Perry announced on the restaurant's Facebook page yesterday that Restaurant Bea is no more. This is the third well-received and highly-rated (but ultimately unsuccessful) restaurant to occupy the same Madrona space (1423 34th Avenue E.).  Cremant was first in the series, followed shortly thereafter by June. This three-strikes development is sad for foodies, for Madrona, and for the people who tried hard to make their dreams come alive.  We were fans.

[Eagle photo by Larry Hubbell.]

Foodie news

Stepping it up at Bing's

It's certainly not obvious from the outside (although that may be about to change) but on the inside it's pretty clear that that there's something different about Bing's, which since its inception a dozen years ago has nicely filled the "neighborhood restaurant" niche in Madison Park. A major revamp of the interior space is in progress, and the menu has definitely moved in a new direction.

Owner George Marshall---who with his wife, Kylie, bought Bing's a little more than a year ago---tells us that in addition to changing the restaurant's vibe with an updated look, he's intent on creating a "simplified, chef-driven menu" emphasizing a changing array of seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. "Rustic comfort food," is how he describes the new, re-sized menu. In the past month the new Fresh Sheet at Bing's has included quite a lot of fare that would probably not have been served at the old Bing's.  Specials this week include pan-roasted airline chicken breast, crudo, and braised ox-tail fettucini.

As for the new interior, it emphasizes fir tabletops, big chalk boards for specials and wine selections, and more-subdued lighting.  "The goal is to bring a little bit of Capitol HIll down here to Madison Park while still being approachable," says George. "Our plan is to keep things fresh and exciting," he adds.

Apart from completion of the remodel, are there any other changes in the works, perhaps even a name change?  George's response:  "Stay tuned."

Northwest Catering expands to Lake Union

When the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) inaugurates its new space tomorrow, Madison Park's The Famous Northwest Catering Company will be more than just on hand to celebrate.  Northwest Catering was chosen earlier this year to run the food concession at MOHAI and will be opening Compass Restaurant simultaneous with the museum's grand re-opening.

The 700 sq. ft. cafe, which is housed in an excellent view location in the Museum's northwest corner, will serve "grilled-to-order sandwiches, fresh salads, soups, hot entrees, small plates, and desserts, all made fresh daily with seasonal ingredients," as well as coffee and other beverages.  Sounds much like the great fare served at Northwest Catering's Arboretum Court location.

More information is available on the blog, Lake Union Beat.

New sign presages Madison Kitchen opening

They hoisted a new awning into place at Madison Kitchen earlier this week, but when we peeked inside to see the progress of the major remodel underway, it was clear that it will still be a bit of a wait before the cafe/coffee shop/take-out purveyor holds its grand opening. As we reported in the fall, new owner Jim Goodall is planning something much more involved than what the previous tenant, Park Place Deli, offered the neighborhood. The workers on site say that it's just a matter of weeks, at most, before we'll get to see the new concept first hand.

[Bing's is located at 4200 E Madison St., The Famous Northwest Catering Company is located at 3131 E. Madison Street, and Madison Kitchen will be located at 4122 E. Madison St.]

Bing's is sold

Although the deal had been in the works for several months, it was not until Friday last week that the final documents were signed and Bing’s officially changed hands.  The transition from old to new went unnoticed by patrons, however, since there was not much change in evidence.  Stan Moshier and Lori Campbell, who first opened Bing’s Bodacious Burgers in 1999, were still on board this weekend, working side by side with the new owners—at least one of whom is a very familiar face on the premises.

Stan and Lori told us that the reason for selling is that they’re ready to move on to the next thing.  There will definitely be a different eating establishment in their future.  For Bing’s new owners, George and Kylie Marshall, on the other hand, getting this gig of owning and operating a neighborhood restaurant is a dream come true.  Both sides, therefore, see the ownership change as a win/win situation.

It’s a win also for fans of the current Bing’s, since this will not be another Sostanza or Sorella’s kind of transition (shut the old place down and replace it with something new).  When we asked if big changes should be expected, George responded, “Not at all.  If it’s working, why fix it?”  There could be some tweaks here and there over time, he admitted, but nothing that would change the basic atmosphere or cuisine of the place.

George’s wife, Kylie, is well aware of what makes Bing’s a successful local food joint, having been part of the crew at Bing’s for the last six years.  With this move, she goes from co-worker to co-owner.  It’s a change she says she’s still getting the hang of.

Bing’s has been a neighborhood institution for the last twelve years. The family-style restaurant replaced the pharmacy that had previously gone out of business at that location.  The restaurant had something of a serendipitous birth.  As described by Lori, she and Stan were in the neighborhood to have brunch at The Attic when they stumbled upon a “For Lease” sign in the window at 4200 E. Madison St.  At that time they owned and operated a neighborhood pub in Greenwood called Pig n’ Whistle, but they wanted to do something new. They decided that their discovery of that great space gave them the opportunity to make it happen. Stan came up with the concept and then designed and built the restaurant that occupies the space today. This was just another in a series of successful restaurant-building ventures by Stan’s construction company. He’s built 16 restaurants to date, of which four he’s owned and operated.

New owners George and Kylie have a romantic story of having met at the Cheesecake Factory, where they both worked at the time. George, who hails originally from New Jersey, has 22 years of restaurant experience--beginning at MacDonald’s when he was just 15.  Kylie, who grew up on Whidbey Island, is one of several mutual friends from the island who moved to Seattle and ended up working at Bing’s together.

According to George, soon after he and Kylie first started dating five years ago, he said to her, “Someday we are going to own a restaurant together.” But he had no idea when that might happen.  He had become familiar with Bing’s as a result of picking up Kylie after work, and Kylie liked the vibes at Bing’s and enjoyed her co-workers. So when the opportunity came along to consider buying the place, they were definitely interested. Though it’s taken some time to iron out the details, George says that he and Kylie have gone into the new venture well aware of both the challenges and the opportunities they’ll encounter.  All of those years in the business, he says, are presumably worth something.

The new management team will continue to have the help of the old team for the immediate future.  In the long run, however, Stan and Lori plan to develop a new restaurant, with both the location and concept still to be determined.  Stan’s construction company is currently building a restaurant in Columbia City that will be owned by two former Bing’s employees, Heather Anderson and Sam Allard.

Oh, and then there’s Stan’s other, absolutely unrelated business: Hamm Industries, a distributor of, among other things, “manure vacuums and arena rakes” for the equestrian circuit.   As we said, unrelated.

[Lower photo:  Kylie, on the left, with her former co-worker and now employee, Faith.]

Short takes

Don’t eat and run at Bing’s

The call went out over the police channel one afternoon last week that a couple of diners at Bing’s Bodacious Burgers (4200 E. Madison St.) had exited the establishment without paying the tab (to be fair to them, they did plunk down a $1 bill before dashing). This kind of fraud, known as dine and ditch (aka running the check), may work in some restaurants, and it may even have worked a time or two at Bing’s. But not on this day.

Although the police had been called and a description of the scofflaws had been broadcast, it was quick action by Bing’s owner, Stan Moshier, that got the situation resolved. Stan is not only lean and lithe, but he’s also a big-time runner. Let's just say that our diners picked the wrong guy to try to stiff. So though the miscreants had a bit of a head start, Stan was still able to run them down and extract the requisite payment. A “never mind” call was placed to the police stating that, actually, the patrons had paid their bill. As one of Bing’s wait staff put it to me, “Stan wasn’t interested in making trouble; he was just interested in getting paid.”

No word on whether the couple also paid the tip.

SFD water-rescue team descends on the Park

At a little after 10:30 Sunday night sirens were heard blaring down Madison as multiple Seattle Fire vehicles raced to the Park for what was expected to be a major water-rescue operation. There had been a report of a distressed swimmer in Lake Washington off of the 1800 block of 43rd Avenue. E. I understand that the thirteen Fire Department units dispatched for this mission, including two ladder trucks, made quite a din in the neighborhood; but I slept through the whole thing.

Fortunately it turned out to be a false alarm. There were swimmers in the water, including some noisy ones, but none that was in any trouble. Weren’t thirteen aid units a bit of overkill, I asked? Not really, the SFD public liaison officer replied. When it comes to a possible water rescue, the department does not take half measures.

No argument here.

We're not alone

Last month we did a story on aggressive door-to-door magazine salespeople ("They're baaaack!!!") based on the experiences of my neighbors in past summers. I am happy to say that I have not received reports of any Madison Park incidents this summer. But such is not the case in other neighborhoods, unfortunately. Recent police reports show that overly pushy magazine hustlers are working parts of the the City, and KOMO-TV posted a Herb Weisbaum story on the subject today: "Door-to-door magazine sale scams out in full force."