BluWater Bistro opening a second location at Green Lake

More than a few interested parties went looking with longing when the first (and last) Six Degrees restaurant closed and the very visible Green Lake space went on the restaurant real-estate market. The lucky winners in the bid to take over at this neighborhood spot? Bart Evans, Dan Anderson and chef Peter Levine — the trio behind Lake Union's handsome, mahogany-accented BluWater Bistro, where singles like to mingle and an outdoor patio draws summer sun-worshipers. Their second effort (7900 Greenlake Drive N., Seattle; 206-524-3985), modeled on the first, is open for business today.

At the new BluWater, expect to find the same signature cocktails, bar-friendly noshables and such menu favorites as a honking stuffed pork chop ($15) and a dry-aged New York strip ($18.75). BluWater Bistro No. 2 will pay homage to the summer crowds with a sidewalk patio, 20-seat bar and extended weekend breakfast hours. Dinner is served daily from 4 p.m., with breakfast available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

When it opened in mid-April, half the town showed up to welcome Shell Creek (526 Main St., Edmonds; 425-775-4566), the new grill and wine bar in downtown Edmonds. At least that's the way it seemed to owners (and Edmonds residents) Scott and Cindy Abrahamson, who recently sold their La Conner Brewing Co. and its adjoining brew pub to do business closer to home.

"We've been slammed," says Cindy, whose handy husband, La Conner Brewing's erstwhile master brewer, did a bang-up job of transforming the old Teri's Toybox into one great-looking family-friendly, nonsmoking eatery. The former toy store (Teri's has since moved down the street) is now dolled-up with handmade cedar tables and an inviting cedar bar where "scratch" margaritas, seasonal microbrews and a carefully crafted, modestly priced by-the-glass wine list add to the restaurant's considerable appeal.

Proving that Shell Creek is a family affair in every sense of the word, Scott's brother, chef Mark Abrahamson, also made the move from La Conner and is keeping busy plying the neighbors with the eats they've obviously been craving.

His menu includes nearly a dozen globally inspired "small plates" ($3.95-$8.95); wood-fired pizzas and quesadillas ($7.95-$10.95); classics like chicken pot pie ($7.95) and a blue-cheese burger ($8.95) and Southwest-leaning specialties such as ancho-glazed chicken breast ($13.95) and cornmeal-crusted trout with fire-roasted corn salsa ($14.95). Shell Creek is open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday 4 to 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, in La Conner, while everyone else is busy tiptoeing through the tulips, long-time brewer Arlen Harris remains hard at work keeping his barrels full at La Conner Brewing Co. He and new owner Pamela Larson invite you up to the brew pub for a beer and a pizza (117 S. First St., La Conner; 360-466-1415) and, as in Edmonds, the kids are more than welcome. The brew pub is open for lunch and dinner daily.

Still Life in Fremont may be among the last of its ilk, but that didn't stop owner Ruth Quinet from recently replicating her venerable coffeehouse-with-character — in the U-District. Adjacent to the Grand Illusion Cinema and poised behind Newberry Books, Still Life on the Ave (1405 N.E. 50th St., Seattle; 206-729-3542) offers a limited number of the same lovingly prepared soups, salads, sandwiches and sweets that have made Still Life in Fremont a Seattle classic. Grand Illusion-goers looking for a bite before or after, and students looking for more than just an illusion of comfort, will be pleased to note: Still Life on the Ave is open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

The bold print on an early press release for the revamped Frontier Room (2203 First Ave; 206-956-RIBS), scheduled to open to the public next week, says it all: "From Dive to Pit: The Frontier Room Retains Character Amidst Belltown's Bistro Bevy." Once the smoke from the new pit-roaster lends its aroma to the street, the Frontier Room's royal restoration and latest incarnation should prove far more savory than its past. Long known as the hallowed haunt of late-night highball-hoisting habitués, the new Frontier Room is meant to draw a big bar crowd — though managing partner Robert Eickhof (co-owner of the Frontier Room's next-door-neighbor, Queen City Grill) has also set his sights on patrons burned out on Belltown's bistro-fare bonanza.

To that end, he's hired chef Paul Michael, a Louisiana native who made his mark as chef at the Queen City Grill from 1989 to 1996. Michael has conceived a menu that offers Northwest seafood and vegetarian options but focuses on Southern-influenced specialties. His wood-burning Southern Pride barbecue pit is poised to produce pulled pork for sandwiches ($6.50), smoky baby back ribs ($12.50/$18.50) and organic chicken ($11.95) among other fare cooked "low and slow" and available for takeout.

Remnants from the Frontier Room's past — including original wainscoting, patches of checkered linoleum flooring and old chairs refashioned on swivel-posts — lend a sense of history to this historic hangout, which seats 120 in the bar, main dining room and takeout area and features a private room for 50 additional guests. Lunch is on the docket come summer, but for now the Frontier Room will serve dinner only Tuesdays through Thursdays 4:30 to 11 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays till midnight. The bar will welcome revelers till 2 a.m.

Nancy Leson can be reached at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.