Never mind the salmon, Eastside spawns restaurants
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Copper River salmon. Copper River salmon. Copper River salmon. Who will score the first of the famous Alaskan export, scheduled to land in swanky supermarkets and fish-focused restaurants mid-May? How much will it cost us to be the first to eat it and, more important, how much do we really care? OK. Enough said about this year's Iditarod of ichthyology.
Now that I've got that off my chest, let's talk about Eastside restaurants again. When we left off last week, a multitude of newcomers were revving up for business at The Corner at Bellevue Square. Not that Bell Square holds the corner on attracting national restaurant chains to the Eastside.
Fatburger, a California-based burger joint founded in 1952, opened its first Northwest outlet - No. 46 nationwide - late last month. Located in Redmond's Creekside Crossing (17181 Redmond Way, 425-497-8809), just a French-fry toss from Redmond Town Center, the new quick-service spot sells burgers, cooked-to-order, sided with "fat" or "skinny" fries and onion rings; milkshakes are made from hand-scooped ice cream. This being body-conscious Redmond, and Fatburger being a Southern California spawn, the menu also offers healthier fare such as turkey burgers, grilled-chicken sandwiches and spring water. Hungry? Stop by for The Big Fat Deal ($5.69): a burger, fries and soft-drink combo that promises not to flatten your stomach - or your wallet.
Bellevue's Raga Cuisine of India, destroyed by fire last summer, reopened in Kirkland this week. French-food fans will recognize Raga's new digs as the location of Le Provençal, later rechristened Bistro Provençal, where chef Philippe Gayte presided for 27 years. Owner Kamal Mroke hopes to welcome back all of his regular customers and expects to woo newcomers with an extensive menu of tandoori treats (do try the lamb chops), complex curries and vegetarian specialties. Raga (212 Central Way, Kirkland, 425-827-3300) is open daily and features a buffet lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Regarding other post-fire relocations, operators are standing by to take your spring-through-early-fall reservations at The Herbfarm (call 206-784-2222 and hope for the best). The famous former Fall City fantasyland of food has yet to relocate to its permanent location at Woodinville's elegant new Willows Lodge. That said, the Herbfarm's move from its temporary quarters at Hedges Cellars barrel room in Issaquah is imminent. "We're hoping to make the move sometime in April, but there's still no set date," said one of the operators. Meanwhile, the list of upcoming nine-course "seasonal story menus" has been announced (see www.theherbfarm.com for the full listing).
As if being named the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Northwest/Hawaii last year wasn't enough, Traunfeld's "The Herbfarm Cookbook" (Simon & Schuster, $40) has been nominated for a Beard Foundation book award to be announced April 30 in New York.
Other local Beard nominees are past Best Chef award-winner Tom Douglas, for his book, "Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen" (William Morrow, $30), and The Painted Table's Tim Kelley, the only Seattle chef among five nominees in the Best Chef: Northwest/Hawaii category this year.
The Herbfarm Cookbook has also been selected as a finalist for the prestigious IACP Cookbook Award. Winners will be announced April 28 at the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals in Minneapolis. Traunfeld's entry was chosen from more than 300 books. Seattle author Heather Van Vorous is a finalist in the "Health and Special Diet" category for "Eating for IBS" (Marlowe & Company, $16.95), a cookbook and dietary guide dealing with irritable-bowel syndrome and other digestive disorders.
Nancy Leson can be reached at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com.