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Hungry for news? Welcome to our Friday Feed, where we run through all the local food and restaurant news this week—and maybe help you figure out where to eat this weekend.
Small Price, Big Deal
Sticker shock struck often for Seattleites out to eat this year, so when we named our Best New Restaurants of 2025, we also scanned the menus to find a few good things that $5 still buys.
Douglas Lager, $2
The folks behind the erstwhile Lowercase Brewing designed Douglas as an easy-to-drink, low-cost, still-local alternative to Rainier—and at this price, it makes a compelling argument for eating in rather than taking out.
Bialy, $4.50
Hey Bagel clearly sees the value of these undersung cousins of the bagel, rotating the classic onion flavor with modern ones like pepperoni and cheese pizza.
Bowl of Rice with Butter and Furikake, $3
Hot rice with butter is one of the most comforting foods in the world, and this version even gussies it up with a sprinkle of seaweed seasoning.
Openings and Closings
- Chapter one: Just in time for cozy season, Ballard got a new book-themed bar called the Ink Drinker. Opening today, it advertises no TVs, no distractions, just a bunch of cocktails inspired by Sapphic literature.
- Melting away: Local small-batch scoop shop Sweet Alchemy announced that it will be closing its Ballard location as of November 1. The other three locations (Capitol Hill, U-District, and Bellevue) remain operating normally, and Ballardites can still pick up pints from nearby Salmonberry Green Grocer.
- Now churning: The laws of the dessert-iverse demand that when one ice cream shop closes… a Salt & Straw must open. The Portland-based chain will open its sixth Seattle space in Pike Place Market on November 7, and, of course, will have an appropriately themed flavor: the Pike Sundae, which involves horseradish gelato and smoked salmon “snow.”
- Camera ready: The Salt Bae meets Criss Angel at the new upscale halal chain arriving this weekend in South Lake Union. Meat Moot’s own advertising reminds diners to have their phones ready to record; there are lots of knives being thrown around in their Instagram videos. Dubiously, the Turkish chain claims to be the city’s first wood-smoked meat destination. (Many barbecue restaurants likely have questions about that.)
- Spaces filling up: Joining the canon of places seemingly named to avoid being found on the internet, a cocktail lounge called Spaces Available will open in Pioneer Square early next year, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. The bar joins a slew of openings hitting the area soon: a trio of Renee Erickson restaurants coming to nearby RailSpur, along with New York cocktail bar Death & Co., Asadero Prime sibling Gordo Steak, and a location of mega-pub Tom’s Watch Bar.
Oh, BTW, here’s what you missed last time.