Bit of Down Under up at Aurora pub
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It's a far cry from Outback Steakhouse. And you can forget about throwing another shrimp on the barbie. But if you're looking for a taste of Aussie pub food - and an opportunity to hoist a pint of Foster's while watching rugby or cricket on the big-screen TV, get over to Kangaroo & Kiwi (7305 Aurora Ave. N., Seattle, 206-297-0507), opening this Saturday.
Owners Bradley Howe and Patrick Conlon renovated the tavern space left vacant when the Green Lake Alehouse called it quits late last year. This joint venture between Howe (who hails from Harden-Murrumburrah in New South Wales) and Conlon (a Londoner who owns Seattle's Roy Street Bistro) promises to be a gathering place for the Down Under crowd and their British Isles cousins.
"Bradley's from the Bush - he's the real McCoy," explains Conlon, who will lend his "mate" a hand at the pub (open daily from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.) a couple nights each week. Between them, he jokes, he and Howe know half the expat Brits, Irish, Aussies and New Zealanders in town - folks who will be pleased to partake of a savory Aussie pie - the meat-filled comfort food baked by Burien's Australian Pie Company.
Soups, salads and seafood will round out the menu.
Eric Eisenberg's been a hard man to keep track of. Four years ago he bought Gerard's Relais de Lyon, turned it into Relais, later recast it as the more casual Hillside Bar & Grill, then sold the place in June. Last I knew he was running the kitchen at the Sand Point Grill.
Then a pal stopped by with an Olive Branch business card bearing his name, singing praises to his house-baked pita, hummus, baba ghanouj and feta spread.
It's only been a few weeks since Eisenberg took over at the Olive Branch, but the good word's already out about this Lake City takeout and grocery at 1421 N.E. 80th St., Seattle (206-985-1313), formerly Medina Grocery and Deli. Neighbors are regularly stopping by for their warm pita fix, and for flatbread sandwiches made with herb-roasted chicken and fresh spit-roasted lamb. Eisenberg cautions that the sparsely stocked store is still in its infancy, running "at about 40 percent" of what it eventually will be.
The Olive Branch is owned by import king Mohamed Souaiaia, whose Kenmore company, Select Gourmet Foods, provides fresh foie gras and naturally raised New Zealand game (among other fancy foodstuffs) to restaurants. Eisenberg is offering inspiration and sweat equity.
"The shop has a vaguely North African and Middle East theme to it," he says, "though we'll likely add French cheeses and, in the final phase, stock the freezer with a whole bunch of meal replacements like veal and rabbit stews."
For now there are fresh racks of venison and elk, as well as pheasant, rabbit and quail. Ultimately, when things are in full swing, he sees this as a one-stop-shop for "Franco-African" groceries as well as home-replacement meals.
Plump, fully roasted free-range chickens are already on the menu. Those game for game might stop by for such exotica as honey-, pepper- and lavender-crusted rack of elk.
"We'll lop you off an elk chop for reheating in a hot oven," Eisenberg says, noting that the chops cost $13.99 a pound, while pointing out the proximity of another new venture, Le Savoir-Faire Wine Cellars at 8016 15th Ave. N.E. (206-729-5988). It's just the place to pick up the appropriate libation to enjoy with that "home-cooked" meal.
The Olive Branch is open Tuesdays-Saturdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sassy Sammie Sue's Diner (1200 E. Pike St.) closed its doors late last month and will swing back into action as the 1200 Bistro & Lounge (ETA mid-June). The 1200 is the effort of Kenny Carlson, Keith Moergeli and Jim Deitchler --who have come out of early retirement to bring a new upscale dining- and drinking-place to the Pike/Pine corridor.
Chef Brian Twomey's Northwest menu will be short and seasonal, no doubt influenced by time spent in the kitchens at Seattle Catch Seafood Bistro, The Painted Table, Flying Fish and Mona's.
Longtime Labuznik fans will recognize soon-to-be frontman Carlson from his (gasp!) 17 years spent working for legendary chef Peter Cipra. Moergeli - a bartending-school grad who managed a pre-cast concrete company for 25 years - will run the full-service bar and lounge while Deitchler (who sold electronics for 30 years) will keep the books, helping out wherever else he's needed.
Carpet, white linen and dark colors will warm the ambience of the small, upper-level fine-dining room, and the more casual bar and lounge will also offer food service with an appetizer-heavy menu, Moergeli says.
When asked what made the friends decide to go into such a risky business during an economic downturn, Moergeli laughed and replied, "Kenny's been in the business all his life. I loved going into Labuznik, being a regular in a place where you knew the help and they knew you. We want to fill a void, to emphasize superior service while serving good food - food that is simple, not over the top."
Nancy Leson can be reached at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com.