White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Another new restaurant coming to White Center – sharing space with an existing one. After spotting the banner you see in the photo, WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz checked in with the owner of Be’s. She’s going to stay open in the mornings, serving breakfast, says Deanie; then in mid-afternoon, Crawfish Grill will take over the space. Deanie says Crawfish is already a successful restaurant in South King County, serving Cajun-style treats like crawfish and catfish, with fresh fish. She’s working to get in touch with its owner for a followup.

White Center Now contributor Deanie Schwarz reports that Hung Long Asian Market in the new White Center Square has opened (15th/14th/100th) – it’s not fully stocked yet, but getting closer. Here’s the produce section:

And hot ready-to-eat food is being sold too, with box lunches starting at $4.99:

You can get whole roasted ducks:

Or soon as these tanks are stocked, you’ll be able to choose from among live fish:

This is a new feature at the store, we’re told.

They’ll also offer an aisle of Mexican products. This is a “soft open,” by the way – a grand opening is expected in a month or so.

The deli and pho shop adjacent to the supermarket should be open within two weeks. In addition to the big store opening, some of the smaller businesses in the buildings comprising the rest of the shopping center are opening too. It’s been about a year and a half since ground was broken for the project (WCN coverage here).

Mac’s Triangle Pub has added breakfast, according to proprietor Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy – 8 am-1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. This comes as his establishment gets ready to celebrate its 5-year anniversary – with a party set for September 10th.

From King County Public Health‘s regular bulletin about “food establishment closures”:

Asian Bubble Tea located at 9835 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106* was closed by a Public Health food inspector on August 26, 2010 at 1:15 pm for improper preparation and service of foods under their current Risk 2 permit classification. The Person in Charge of the establishment has not upgraded facility nor obtained a Risk 3 permit classification to accommodate new menu items including preparation of raw foods and cooking equipment. The food establishment will be reopened when the inspector confirms that all issues have been resolved.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

“Just forget Texas or Kansas City-style barbecue. This is original,” says Mike Gordon, the new co-owner, with wife Elizabeth Gordon, of Uncle Mike’s BBQ, located at 9640A 16th SW (across the street and down two doors from Full Tilt Ice Cream). Today is the official grand-opening day, after a while in “soft open” mode.

Bright orange painted flames and chubby pigs adorn the windows; on the door under the glass-block transom is the store logo — an iconic, orange backyard-barbecue scene.

Mike is a Northwest native. His barbecue roots go back through decades of Seattle history – with family members cooking barbecue at their home in the Central District, just down the street from Garfield High School, for African-American entertainers on the circuit during the segregation era of Seattle between the 1940s through the 1960s. “When they couldn’t get health permits to serve food, they’d have to do it out of their homes.”

That experience and family reunion traditions was the training ground for each of them to learn how to cook barbecue, as well as how to get along with other family members. Mike, an electrician by training, learned to love cooking for large groups as a consequence, because it brought the family together and built community. So now, with the help of his wife and some of those same family members, he has turned passion into vocation, launching his “original barbecue” joint.

It’s a place where he intends to serve quality food so that people feel the value of their dollar, but also where a warm welcome and at-home comfort can be found, where you’re welcome no matter what your color, gender, nationality, ability/disability, sexual orientation might be, or anything else that might seem to set you apart otherwise. “I think recent restaurant owners here in White Center have a definite sense of social responsibility, as well as a [desire] to make a profit, “ Elizabeth says. “It’s an opportunity to appreciate different life experiences, rather than be threatened by them or marginalized by them. Then, we get to participate in the richness that all of that life experience can bring to our places here in the White Center commercial district. It changes the character of the community. It’s transformative.”

Elizabeth continues, “That’s one of the reasons we wanted to be open late at night … to be a [positive] factor in the nightlife. Not only does it provide us with an opportunity to have more customers coming late at night, but it also states the case that not every place here in White Center is involved in questionable activity. [It means] that yes, you can come to WC at night and find [another] welcoming family atmosphere.” Elizabeth is the former legal director of Disability Rights of Washington and also has a Masters in Divinity, as well as being a certified candidate in the Seattle Presbytery. Before beginning this new life as a restaurateur, she was working on her theology Ph.D., but then the recession led to long periods of unemployment for electrician Michael and, as she says, “But for the economy, we are being called to the restaurant business.”

One more note of direct relevance to Uncle Mike’s: Elizabeth is a vegetarian, so this barbecue joint offers a number of vegetarian options. Working with the kitchen staff to develop quality menu choices led to BBQ tofu that’s smoked, rubbed, marinated and grilled. Family veggie recipes include Portobello salad and Bobbi’s Special, as well as the Queen’s Delight, an eggplant and smoked mushroom sandwich using rolls made by Seattle Roll Bakery, located down the block. The baked beans are vegetarian as well. A Suggestion Box is available, so that if there is enough interest, the greens (made with ham hocks) and the red beans and rice will be also made without meat additives.

Entrees (see the menu here) are classic barbeque with Kesha’s Coleslaw ready as a side order or add it on to a sandwich to make a Southern Slinger out of Poppa’s Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket or Hot Links. A special Sunday Dinner of 1/4 Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy, corn or black-eyed peas, salad and corn muffin will ring up at $9. Sunday Specials include a Smoked Turkey dinner for $7.50.

Weekly specials are also offered. The dessert lineup includes sweet potato pie, Auntie’s Lemon Bars, peach cobbler, and ice cream (for the grand opening, they’re serving Full Tilt’s special Uncle Mike’s BBQ Sauce flavor).

Helping tweak the menu, and creatively deriving vegetarian recipes and all other kitchen management matters is former West Seattle Corner Inn (which used to be where Zeeks Pizza is now) kitchen manager Jimi Mitchell. Jimi lists 30-plus years of kitchen credentials, including West Seattle’s Corner Pocket, Martini Mike’s, Fx McRory’s, the Contour, Salty’s, and the Mayflower Hotel. “Nothing goes out until it is perfect in taste,” says Jimi.

Takeout is available, as well as call-in orders. The crew does catering for large groups, of course, and there is a Monthly Special Discount offered to those who buy their t-shirts made by Seattle Silk Screen across the street. If anyone who buys a shirt wears it into the store at the end of the month and they buy one entrée, they can get a 50% discount on a second entrée.

For more information, the Uncle Mike’s website is here, and they’re on Facebook too.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

Jessica Haury offhandedly mentioned to a family gathering last Thanksgiving that she might like to have a bakery “someday,” she had no idea that “someday” would arrive soon, well before the family’s next Thanksgiving holiday.

She and her family have been diligently converting favorite recipes for commercial applications for months as they prepared for 3.14 Bakery & Coffee’s debut on Saturday morning, Grand Opening Day for her shop at 9602 16th SW in the core business district of White Center.

Opening right on schedule at 9:00 AM Saturday morning with son Aden at foot, Jessica had her first customers five minutes later, perusing the fruit breads, bagels, pound cakes and, yes, the pies. The number in the name of the bakery is a mathematical constant, a symbol of a “never-ending number” which is spelled “pi” and pronounced “pie”. So, the play on words announces just one of the specialties of the house she has been developing for her menu, the two-crusted pies. Today’s pie choices were apple and peach, each sparkling with a dusting of sugar on top.

Three types of cinnamon rolls appeared, of which Jessica says the strawberry is the most decadent. Fruit loaves (raspberry or banana), cookies (chocolate chip and peanut butter), and buttons (her version of muffin tops with seasonal fruits) arrived in the display case with the help of her sole full-time employee, an experienced culinary worker. “We call them buttons because muffin tops have a different meaning these days. Buttons are cuter.”

Employed full-time as a fifth and sixth-grade teacher at Fairwood Elementary in the Kent School District. Jessica now thinks that opening this bakery and coffee shop (serving Caffé Umbria coffee) with her husband/partner David, a Safeway employee, is largely because of her mom and dad. She learned how to bake in childhood, at her mother’s side. Buying this business from the retiring previous owner, Sokha, and re-opening the coffee shop in the very neighborhood she has lived in since she was four years old, now seems to her to have been a little inevitable.

“I had talked to other people, in particular a cake decorator I know who has always wanted to do something like this,” she said. “But her parents would tell her things like ‘Why would you give up a good job to do all that? ‘ And my parents [said] ‘go for it’. So, I feel really blessed and lucky that I have parents that were supportive, emotionally and financially and in all ways, really.”

Both her mother and father have been operating businesses in White Center for the better part of Jessica’s life, and are her entrepreneurial role models. Her mother, Jeri Finch has worked as a real-estate broker for S&L Realty as well as owner/operator of an early education school, “Learning Way School and Day Care” while her father, Brian Finch, operates his own contractor/handyman business called Good & Handy.

She’s made some changes to the large, airy ex-Sokha space. Tables are set to honor her connection to her family. The field of cheery, mismatched vintage tablecloths belonged to her grandmother; Jessica is glad to be able to display them and put them to good use. Her sister replaced artificial flowers in each of the green glass vases with live, long-stemmed ivory roses in honor of the opening day. The south wall of the high-ceiling space is covered with full wall mirrors reflecting daylight — they were installed in the ’80s, when the space was a kickboxing studio.

Her father, the handyman, says he’s the “slave labor” and lovingly built office space into the back of the store. The office wall is adjacent to an area set aside for kids, with scores of toys, art supplies and educational materials gleaned with the well-informed eye of an experienced educator. A huge round table is set up to accommodate the future Picassos and Kahlos, who are as welcome at 3.14 as their coffee-drinking adult chaperones.

“In college, I started to figure out how I really enjoyed ‘my baking therapy’,” she says. “Then I was dating my now-husband, David. When we would go to potlucks and dinner parties, I would always bring desserts. One time I was invited to bring dessert before my husband was invited to the party.” So that experience gave her a vote of confidence to pursue her therapeutic passion.

Jessica recalls saying something else offhandedly to friends at some point in the not-too-distant past, while mulling other careers after a lousy day of teaching. She thought maybe being a barista might be a decent career alternative if she ever needed it. Fast-forward to the present, with her perspective as new baker and barista on opening day, and Jessica says, “Maybe, be careful what you put out into the universe, because here I am.”

(July 3 WCN photo by Deanie Schwarz)
Tomorrow, on 8.14 – it’ll be Grand Opening Day for the new White Center bakery calling itself 3.14. Pie (get it? 3.14?) and more, according to what they’ve been sharing on Facebook. Thanks to Stefanie at Proletariat Pizza for the tip – they’re just a few doors away and she says it’s “super-exciting”! (3.14 says the doors swing open at 9 am. P.S. Wondering what coffee they’re using? Caffe Umbria.)

In the spirit of Full Tilt and Proletariat – the latest entry in the creative-name-for-White-Center-food-business department! Thanks to Deanie for that photo of the new sign that’s gone up for the upcoming 3.14 Bakery, next to Pho 54 on the east side of 16th SW just south of Roxbury, formerly home to Sokha. The bakery operators have been updating their progress on Facebook (here’s their page).

Just checked back on the King County Public Health Food Establishment Closures website, and it looks like Del Rio in White Center was cleared to reopen as of Monday afternoon. As we first reported here last Friday, inspectors closed them for a variety of issues, but the clearance to reopen is confirmation those issues have been resolved.

Not an all-inclusive list but a couple White Center notes: Proletariat Pizza says it’s open till 9 for dinner tonight. And Cafe Rozella will be open for Christmas morning coffee, 8 am-noon.

(photo added 11:02 pm – Stefanie and Mike, Proletariat proprietors, and daughter)
We checked in with Stefanie and Mike at Proletariat Pizza just before 8 pm, three-fourths of the way into the first night of the new pizza parlor on 16th SW (next to Dzul Tattoo, across from Full Tilt Ice Cream). Stefanie told us they had a great rush in the early hours – then it settled down a bit – there was still a nice crowd when we dropped by. The atmosphere is very simple; some fun handmade signs (like “Home of The Big One”) up on the walls:

The signs look aged but Stefanie said they’re new, made by an artist friend. While their name has drawn a bit of controversy, their signage plays right to it – one door says BY THE PEOPLE and the other door says FOR THE PEOPLE:

Their menu has a logo of a “power to the people” type fist tossing a pizza, over the slogan “The Pizza That Made White Center Famous.” We’ll add photos in a bit; we brought home a menu and thought you’d be interested:

Pizzas
Cheese
Pepperoni
Margherita
Two Meats
The Favorite (Italian sausage, fresh chopped garlic, Mama Lil’s peppers are the toppings)
Ham and egg
Anchovy
The Real Hawaiian (SPAM and pineapple)
Cinco (fontina, provolone, asiago, gorgonzola, mozzarella cheeses)
Vegetarian (sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, goat cheese plus mozzarella)

They offer pizza in “whole, half, slice” sizes — slices for cheese/pepperoni only ($2 and $3 respectively) with the most expensive “whole” $18 (cheese only, $15 whole, $9 half). Also a mixed green salad at $4 -organic mixed greens with garbanzos, kalamatas, gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette. Homemade tiramisu for dessert ($5) and two sugar-only sodas (Mexican Coke/Jarritos, $1.50) plus beer/wine for beverages.

For starters they’ll be open 5-9 pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, closed Thursdays and Sundays.

PROLETARIAT PIZZA: According to their website, they’re a go for grand opening at 5 tonight. 9622 16th SW.

PHO MY LOI: According to this online listing, Pho My Loi is for sale, less than a year after it opened.

The new pizza joint in downtown White Center, whose impending arrival was first reported here on WCN, is pushing back the planned opening date one week – they’re now projecting Friday, September 18th, according to word from co-owner Stefanie. P.S. As Bayou notes in comments, they’ve got a website started now at proletariatpizza.com.

Thanks to Stefanie, half the duo that’s about to open Proletariat Pizza in the heart of the northernmost block of the 16th SW business district, for sharing that photo – the sign’s going up today, and as she told us last week, the new pizza place is set to open on September 11th.

Realized that we published this info on partner site West Seattle Blog, where food fans had been discussing it in the forums, but hadn’t cross-published it here: Proletariat Pizza has set the date – September 11th. More info here.

Seattle Weekly Review of Queen

One of our many eateries that does not receive the attention of other, higher profile restaurants, just got a glowing review in the Seattle Weekly.  Queen’s Deli is located at the corner of 14th Ave SW and 98th Ave. SW.  The deli’s clientele are heavily Cambodian and the lingua franca of the place is most definitely not English.  Speak slowly and be prepared to get something other than what you ordered.  But, hey, that’s half the fun.

El Paisano

GOOD NEWS! El Paisano Rosticeria Restaurant has re-opened.  We, who had loved the wonderful roast chickens and other wonderful foods from El Paisano, were aghast when it suddently closed up.  Rumours abounded that the business was not doing well, that internecine family battles had led to closure, that the place was being remodelled, that the mafia was asking for it’s investment back (ok that is not true).  But my colleague, Justin of Full Tilt Ice Cream and I were heartbroken.  We love this place.  We loved it so much we offered free coffees and ice creams to encourage people to patronize El Paisano.  To say, that we are happy, thrilled and completely elated that our favorite Rosticeria is mild understatement.  Chicken tacos, barbacoa and carne asada burritos for everyone.  And yes, we’ll take the Negra Modelos as well. Herein is a part of Full Tilt’s review of El Paisano:

El Paisano at 15th Ave. SW and Roxbury SW

The area I grew up in LA was predominantly Mexican, and poor. MY parents, and I swear this is true, would open up a paper when it was time for a new apartment, and just pick the cheapest place. We lived in Compton, Silver lake, Echo Park (before it was trendy), Santa Ana, even when we moved to Huntington Beach it was in the Hispanic area that was known as Slater Slums. In all those neighborhoods I became familiar with Rosticerias, even if it was an EL Pollo Loco. See, my parents are from the midwest, and if is anything they know well, it is their way around a yard bird and pork. We ate at all of the local chicken joints. Cesars on Atlantic and 65, Pablo’s on Alameda, Pollo Macho on  Wilshire, even Rosco’s ( which is not Mexican, but makes a mean fried chicken and waffle platter). When I first moved to Seattle, one of the things I missed most was Mexican food. I craved El Pollo Loco,  the bottom of the barrel in LA. Mama’s in Belltown, and Bimbo’s on the hill is crap food. Not just not authentic, just crap food. I was amazed when I found White Center. So much good food, in one little area, and the rest of Seattle had no idea it even existed. Rosticeria y Cocina El Paisano is the best in chicken. It is owned by the butcher shop two doors down. Sure, the carnitas is better at Del Rio. I can get an equal burrito at the bus for less. As far as chicken goes, Paisano is king.

Marinated in an adobe chili mix, and then flame roasted. Crsipy skin, and a juicy bird. The sides are simple, and plentiful. Rice, beans and a simple salad. Shining right next to that crispy bird is the house made salsas. Most Mexican places in Seattle seem to have a can opener as their main tool is salsa prep. Not these guys. I have become leery of Salsa Verde since moving to Seattle, but Paisano’s have nailed it. Flamed roasted tomatillos and just the right amount of chili heat from the peppers to compliment the food. They are now serving Breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, so the next time you venture out to eat, stop by this place.

LOCATION:  El Paisano is located at 9615 -15th Ave. SW, Seattle 98106  They are just off the intersection of 15th Ave. SW and Roxbury (across the street from Bartell Drugs).

Phone:  (206) 763-0368

Don’t take our opinion for it (although we are best qualified to judge R from West Texas and J from Southern Cali)

http://www.seattleweekly.com/locations/rosticeria-y-cocina-el-paisano-358083/

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/1/1421316/restaurant/West-Seattle/Rosticeria-y-Cocina-El-Paisano-Seattle

http://srs.mediawebconnect.com/Rosticeria%20y%20Cocina%20El%20Paisano/10453

Show them some love and you will happier for it.

El Paisano Rosticeria