The Saint Opens Friday
THE SAINT
1416 E. Olive Way (look for the triangular, electric robin's-egg-blue building), 323-9922
Word just came in from Hannah Levin that the Saint—the bar-restaurant being constructed in the old Wingdome spot on East Olive and Bellevue—opens on Friday. There's no missing the place unless you're colorblind: The triangular building is a beautifully electric shade of robin's-egg blue, which one of the salespeople at Kuhlman told me a few months ago is the color of 2008.
I just got off the phone with owner Quentin Ertel, who also owns Havana. He's been remodeling the space since January, including last month's paint job. The Saint will be a tequila bar, with a "library" of 80 different varieties of the Mexican spirit. "We're going to offer everything from a $6 shot of Sauza Gold with a bottle of beer to a $140 shot of Patron Gran Burdeos aged for 10 years in French oak," he says, as well as a dozen specialty cocktails mixed with fresh-squeezed juices. For the food, Ertel's going all traditional: hand-press tortillas and dishes like posole verde and carne asada. There's no DJ booth, either—just enough room for 45 seats—so there's no worry that some trashed Microsoftie convinced he can pop-and-lock will knock $10 worth of a premium anejo out of your glass as you're meditating on its notes of banana, clove, and horse sweat.
-- Jonathan Kauffman
Get a Head Start on Mom's Day
Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11, which leaves you plenty of time to make brunch reservations, right? In Seattle?
Not so much. Most iconic brunch spots have already started taking reservations, and favorites like Salty's, which CitySearch called the "nation's best Sunday brunch," are already booked for large parties and almost full for smaller parties. "When our reservation lines opened at 8:30 a.m. the day we started taking Mother's Day reservations, all ten lines were booked all day," said one of Salty's reservations reps.
Volterra co-owner Michelle Quisenberry says Mother's Day is always one of the busiest brunch days of the year. Her restaurant books up a few weeks in advance, leaving only the bar area open to walk-ins.
A reservationist at Etta's told me they also fill the books completely by three or four days before Mother's Day, but recommended that 2- or 4-tops hoping to get in at the last minute show up the second doors open for business.
If you're an early riser or especially gifted with intimidation techniques, another option is choosing a place like Chinook's, where reservations are never taken.
You can also ask your favorite spots if they are doing events on other days. At The Georgian at the Fairmont Olympic, popular seating times for the $125 Mother's Day "Feast" often fill up a month or so in advance, so they've expanded to offer a Mother's Day tea on Saturday as well as free brunch for new moms at Shucker's.
Get on the horn.
Salty's, various locations.
Volterra Restaurant, 5411 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-5100.
Etta's Restaurant, 2020 Western Ave., 443-6000.
Chinook's at Salmon Bay, 1900 W. Nickerson St., 283-4665.
The Georgian at the Fairmont Olympic, 411 University St., Mother's Day reservations only at 287-4049.
-- Jess Thomson
The I.D.'s New Gin Joint
Panama Tea & Coffee House
607 S. Main St.
Mon.-Sat., 8 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sun., 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Am I the only one who longs for a gin and tonic, or some otherwise potent adult libation, to back up my pot of Bombay Select? Clearly not. The Panama Tea & Coffee House in the I.D. has applied for a liquor license for beer, wine, AND spirits. Please join me in supporting this decision, if only that it keeps the strollers away...
-- Maggie Dutton
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