Phinney Ridge’s Restaurant Renaissance and More Food News

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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.

Phinney on Fire

Last year we noticed that Greenwood was glowing up, now its sibling neighborhood to the south seems to be following suit with a trio of openings.

• Combo meal: In the best pairing under one roof since the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, West Seattle’s gluten-free teriyaki shop Grillbird opened its second location at 68th and Greenwood, alongside the launch of its new partner shop Salad Party.
• Southern charm: Ballard Thai food stalwarts Pestle Rock and Sen Noodle Bar welcomed a third restaurant to the family this week when Roy Southern Thai soft-opened at 61st, in the former Arc/Park Public House space. The menu differs greatly from the northern/Isan food of Pestle Rock, with mostly southern Thai dishes and favorites from the Chinese diaspora of the Malay Peninsula, such as bak kut teh and hokkien mee.
• More mortadella: This week The Seattle Times covered the mortadella trend, and next week, another spot jumps on the bandwagon. (This is not a complaint.) Fortuna Bottega, the Italian sandwich shop moving into the former dry cleaner at 77^th and Greenwood, looks ready to meet its announced opening date of September 3.

More Openings

• Animal style: Apparently, a kind of famous burger chain called In-N-Out opened in Southwestern Washington this week, and people are pretty excited about it. Our trusty burger correspondent travel editor checked it out for you.
• Next-gen pizza: Alec Northrop grew up in his parents’ pizza restaurants—Jet City and Garlic Jim’s—and now steps out on his own with West Seattle deep-dish takeout spot Cheese Riot, opening soon.
• Sweet spot: Farmers market and subscription pie service Pie Bird Bakeshop opens its own space in Ballard today, featuring its pies (of course) as well as cinnamon rolls. Look for chicken potpie, pocket pies, and more on the menu in the former Pie Bar spot.
• Skeleton crew: Last year we wrote about Burien’s Día de Muertos-inspired coffee shop, and now Seattle gets its own (unrelated) one. Pop-up café de olla specialist Café Calaveras settles in, opening September 1 in the former Tougo Coffee space on Yesler Way. Stay tuned to Instagram for details.

Farewells

• Not quite melting away: The delightful Creamy Cone Café will shutter its green-walled espresso and scoop shop on Rainier at the end of this month, but won’t stop scooping. On Instagram, owner Ashanti Mayfield explained the company plans to focus on catering, prepacks, and pop-ups for the near future.
• Flown the coop: Hitchcock Restaurant Group will close the three-year-old Seabird on Bainbridge Island at the end of September, reports The Seattle Times. The ambitious destination seafood spot simply wasn’t the right fit for the times, it seems, and chef Brendan McGill plans to open a new concept in the same space—once his flagship Hitchcock Restaurant. Meanwhile, Seabird’s original executive chef, Grant Rico, now heads up Greenwood American Bistro.

Oh, BTW, here’s what you missed last week.