drywall

click on photos...

bar


kitchen


wide-angle view from NW corner of the room

v day

hey, again everyone --

happy valentine's day!!!

i hope you're having a good, romantic time of it -- i am enjoying not having to plan for your dinner right now.

there are a couple of new things to tell you:

- mom's here. i just picked her up downtown & brought her to the house of my friend mama, of mama lil's peppers, where she'll be staying for a couple of days before we take her back to spokane. we're having beef & barley soup tonight with bread from the crumpet shop -- i made the soup in my new crockpot! pretty glamorous, huh? tomorrow night is my next guest chef appearance at farestart, in their new space, so she gets to come to that, too. lisa's valentine's day present was a text message (ask her about it).


- the floor is almost all put back (the sub-floor, that is) -- we've passed our building inspections & are also putting in the drywall. the speakers are wired in, next week we put in the waterproof floor & get close to painting.


- i have a new time estimate for you -- friday, april 13.

that's actually intended to be realistically conservative, based on estimated arrival time of our hood system (yes, we will have one) & some final permits. we've lost a little ground over plumbing & gas line issues, as well as securing the last of our investment, but we're on our way now. if you were to come look in next week, a lot would be different. the holes in the floor will be gone, the walls will be closed up. next we do the flooring, we paint the room & seal the ceiling, we build in the cabinets & counters, hang the lights, then bring in the hot & cold equipment. after that, we choose some new wines & try some new food & eventually let you in.



- next week we will post an e-mail address where you can sign up for opening parties & the mailing list for our opening date -- keep your eyes open.



OK, soup's on & i'm getting hungry -- it's almost time for jeopardy. see you in a couple of days,


matt

more plumbing (plus tile)

The kitchen wall


Plumbing behind the bar (and under the floor)


Dining counter tile design

lunch & dinner

i was asked to do this weeks ago & forgot until now --

if you want to go out to lunch or dinner while i'm down, & you can't come to my place, here are some suggestions. they are in no particular priority, unless otherwise noted:


lunch --

i assume you want downtown, since you would normally walk to my place --

in addition to the standards like le pichet, cafe campagne & etta's, there is also

pan-africa (right below me on first), 94 stewart (that's their address) & andaluca.

the v-i is still the best place around for a beer & a sandwich -- i go there all the time, even when we're open.


the steelhead diner -- it just opened up & i have only been once, but they are open from 11:30 - 10, tuesday - saturday, so go for that very late lunch. say hello to ebo. it's in the former vivanda space, across pine street to the south of campagne.


pizza or a sandwich at delaurenti. the sandwiches at the crumpet shop. and there's a taco truck that pulls up on first avenue, right by deja vu, every weekday at 10:45.


dinner --

downtown, but not limited to it --


ZOE! did i say that clearly enough -- ZOE! 2nd & blanchard. and they're open on monday nights.


la spiga. lark. ethan's new place in belltown, la tavolata. cremant -- also open for lunch now, but way away from downtown. moxie, open at 4 with a dynamite happy hour.


eat well, we'll see you when we're open,

matt

the super bowl

for those of you who know me, you might think it funny that i would open by talking about the super bowl, but, you know, i've got time on my hands right now & that really was a pretty good game. lisa & i took the dog to the coast for the weekend & watched the game from various bars in & around ocean shores -- mustaches & mullets, i think you get what i mean.


so, progress:

the last time i wrote, we were passing our plumbing inspection. that was 2 weeks ago.

since then, i regret to say, not a lot has happened.

we came up against a difficult building inspection over some floor issues, not of our making, that have been around for 100 years -- we can now start work again tomorrow. these things come up occasionally on a job like this, which is not surprising when you think about how old all of this stuff is, but still it gets in the way.

in the same vein, we may have to fight a battle with the PDA (my landlord) over upgrading the gas lines into the building, three flights down the stairs from my space, because none of it has been up to code for decades & it seems to be my responsibility to fix it -- i'll let you know if it becomes an issue. once we get past these problems, then we can again go forward.


on a more positive note -- yesterday we solved a big design issue. it was really cool -- we just sat down with the contractors & literally cut strips of tile & figured out how they looked together, & BAM! we had designed the look for our counter. for the past seven months i've been describing the new counter as "a random pattern of tiles" or something like that, not having any clear idea in my own head, but yesterday in about 15 minutes we hashed it out & came to an agreement. i really think you'll like it.


alright, that's it. thank you to the P-I -- if you are just seeing this blog for the first time because of that wonderful writeup today, welcome aboard. seattle P-I, I am grateful. it's all about keeping people informed & i appreciate the help.


have a great valentine's day -- my mom's coming to town & i am taking her to the flower & garden show on friday -- say hello if you see us there.


matt