What's new: Jitterbug changes ownership

Jitterbug (2114 N. 45th St., Seattle, 206-547-6313), part of the ever-growing Chow Foods empire of neighborhood restaurants, is changing hands. David Harris, who opened and later sold Ballard's The Other Coast Cafe (5315 Ballard Ave. N.W., 206-789-0936), is the new owner.

Re-envisioned as Jitterbug in 1996, this Wallingford mainstay was born in 1988 as the Beeliner Diner — the first restaurant for Chow Foods owners Peter Levy and Jeremy Hardy. They expect to turn their "firstborn" over to Harris within the next week or so, turning their attentions to their larger and more profitable venues: the 5 Spot in Queen Anne, Coastal Kitchen on Capitol Hill, Atlas Foods in U-Village, Endolyne Joe's in West Seattle and the Hi-Life in Ballard.

Jitterbug's menu will be essentially unchanged, according to Hardy, though Chow Foods will keep proprietary rights to a few signature items like the charmoula chicken sandwich (available at Endolyne Joe's) and gingerbread waffles (available at Coastal Kitchen). Jitterbug is open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Note: closed 3:30-5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.

Bad news, good news

I'm sad to report that West Seattle's Café Zaffarano (2329 California Ave. S.W.), open since December 2003 in the shade of the Admiral Theater, closed July 16. When I called owner Peter Lamb to get the skinny on the new owners (news travels fast in restaurant circles), I found him still on the premises. "I heard the bad news," I said. "It's good news for me," replied Lamb, happy to divest himself of a business venture that wasn't working in his favor, and happier still to turn me on to one of the new owners. "Want to talk to him?" he asked, walking next door to the Latin-accented bar and restaurant, Mission, his cellphone in hand.

Next thing I know I was chatting with Eric Cozens, who opened Mission (2325 California Ave. S.W., 206-937-8220) with business-partner Peter Morse in February. The pair expects to open their second (as-yet-unnamed) restaurant in October. Why open a second venue so close to their first? "We heard they were taking offers and we wanted to have something next door that was complementary and not competitive," explained Cozens, whose redesign plans include turning the handsome, wood-and-white-washed Zaffarano space into something "a little more edgier, a little more funky."

That new restaurant, serving New American cuisine at lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, will be modestly priced, family friendly and nonsmoking, says Cozens. Mission's head chef, David Hillard, is slated to oversee the kitchens at both venues. "Mission's getting more of a bar atmosphere [than originally intended]," Cozens says. "We allow smoking in the upstairs lounge, but some people don't appreciate that, and it'll be nice to have options for those people."

Those, like me, who would like to have the option of once again enjoying the fare served by talented chef Vince Camarda, late of Café Zaffarano, can rest assured that he's still doing the voodoo that he does so well. We'll find him at Lamb's long-lived other restaurant, Belltown's Queen City Grill (2201 First Ave., 206-443-0975).

The perfect nosh

Few hours give me more pleasure than those I spend at the Edmonds farmers market. That regular Saturday excursion offers me an opportunity to chat with friends and neighbors while stocking up on provisions so fresh and delicious it pains me to shop elsewhere. Jennifer McIlvaine feels exactly the same way about the products available at her neighborhood farmers market in Ballard.

You'll find her there each Sunday behind a chalkboard sign marked "Bruschettina," creating tantalizing toasts topped with market-fresh ingredients plus my favorite, her signature octopus and chickpea sauté. These rustic snacks perfume the summer air with the scent of garlic and olive oil, drawing customers willing to wait and watch as she prepares the perfect nosh ($2.75 each, or three for $6).

It's small wonder I'm nuts about McIlvaine's bruschettina ("little bruschetta"). This sweet-faced redhead is the very chef whose praises I sang when reviewing Wallingford's Asteroid Cafe. The one whose work was lauded in The Seattle Times when she was cooking at the ZigZag Cafe on the Pike Place Market Hillclimb. Not quite 30, she's a superb young chef without a restaurant gig; but when she puts one together (Isn't that every chef's dream?), I'll be the first one standing in line.

Meantime, you can stand in line for her gorgeous goodies at the following farmers markets: Columbia City on Wednesday, Mulkilteo on Thursday, Edmonds on Saturday, Ballard on Sunday.

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or taste@seattletimes.com.

More columns at www.seattletimes.com/nancyleson.