Eastside Beverage Events this Weekend to Make Ted Nugent Proud!

If Ted Nugent was an Eastsider (I'm pretty sure he's not!) what would make him happy this chilly December weekend? My guess would be some rock n'roll, beer, wine and some hunting followed by a wild game feast. Channel your inner Ted and you can experience all of this and more at two excited events this weekend.

Everett's Lazy Boy Brewing and Michael "Whip" Wilton (founder and guitarist for Queensryche) will release their collaboratively brewed beer called "Whip Ale" at Valhalla in Kirkland. The beer is advertised as being “Bold, rich, and aromatic – smooth and well flavored," but it seems to be a pretty aggressive yet well balanced Pale Ale.

As reported by the Washington Beer Blog, "Whip Ale is produced by Lazy Boy Brewing on behalf of, and under the direction of, Michael Wilton of Queensryche. Our conversation with Shawn Loring of Lazy Boy Brewing suggested that Michael played a larger part in shaping the beer than many people might imagine. “He came in with good information and a pretty good idea of how he wanted the beer to taste,” Shawn told us. “We threw some ideas around. I told him what was and was not possible and we came up with this. He did his research, that’s for sure.”

The release party will be held this evening beginning at 7pm. 5 bands are on the bill including Kevin Hoffman, Dirty Hollywood, Guns of Nevada, Midnight Idols, Hairmageddon and there is NO COVER.

Valhalla
8544 122nd Ave NE
Kirkland, WA

If you prefer the grapes and a quieter, more subdued event, head out to Woodinville on Sunday afternoon for a Wild Game & Wine Tasting at Sheridan Vineyards. Chef John Caudill will have three kinds of game meat to pair with wine on Sunday: elk, venison and lamb. The menu for the day is:

• Elk medallions with a demiglace of wine and blueberries, which will be paired with Sheridan L’Orage, a 2/3 cabernet sauvignon/1/3 cabernet franc aged in new and old French oak.
• Venison skewers with the pairing TBD
  
• Lamb sausages with Moroccan spicing and a rosemary gremolata will meet Sheridan Mystique, a merlot-based red wine with black fruit notes to compliment the lamb’s richness.

The event is 12-5pm at Sheridan's tasting room in Woodinville, and costs $10 per person

Space is limited and reservations are required. Please RSVP with your last name and the number of people attending to 425-401-0167 before 5pm Friday, December 10; or e-mail info@sheridanvineyard.com

Sheridan Vineyards

18564 142nd Ave NE

Woodinville, WA

New Chipotle Mexican Grill Opens Today in Bellevue

A new Chipotle Mexican Grill will be opening today in the Crossroads neighborhood of Bellevue. This will be the 11th Chipotle location in the state, the 4th on the Eastside. Chipotle is a chain that began in Boulder, Colorado in 1993 and has expanded very quickly to over 860 outlets.

They are best known for their burritos, but I think more importantly should be their "Food With Integrity" philosophy. Especially impressive (and important!) for a chain of this size, is the fact that they put so much focus on the sourcing of their ingredients. Here are some interesting facts:

• Chipotle is the largest restaurant buyer of naturally raised meats in the country with all Washington locations offering naturally raised pork, chicken and beef.
• Chipotle purchases 25 percent of a single ingredient from a local farm. All Washington locations receive red onions from River Point Farms in Hermiston, OR; green bell peppers from Fewel Farms in Prosser, WA; and herbs from Herbco in Duvall, WA. This makes Chipotle the first and only national restaurant committed to buying local ingredients on a significant scale.
• All of the dairy products Chipotle uses (cheese and sour cream) are 100 percent rGBH-free.

Considering Chipotle is a publicly owned company that is concerned first and foremost about their bottom line, I think it is great that they are taking responsibility for their sourcing. They are a great example that will hopefully pave the way for other national chains to do the same.

Personally, I do enjoy a Chipotle burrito from time to time, but was very surprised a few months back when I saw this Nutritional Calculator on one of their fan sites and found out that a fully loaded chicken burrito came in at over 1100 calories and 50g of fat. Even though the food is sourced from local farms and their proteins are relatively natural and free of hormones, it still is definitively not "healthy."

Chipotle Mexican Grill
800 156th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98008
425-214-0011

Dinner & Dom at Grand Cru Wine Bar in Bellevue

Times are obviously tough for everybody, especially small independent businesses. To drum up additional exposure and business restaurants are resorting to all sorts of promotions, but I have not seen one as interesting as the one currently running at the Grand Cru Wine Bar in Downtown Bellevue.

Offered every Wednesday and Saturday night, Grand Cru has a special complimentary "Dinner On Us" menu. No additional purchase is required, but an 18% gratuity will be added to your bill which will include the value of the free meal.

Here is what they are serving tonight (along with the value if you want to figure out what you are on the hook for):

Complimentary Starter Course
Mixed Green Salad balsamic vinaigrette, chevre croutons ($7 Value)
or
Corn and Red Pepper Chowder ($6 Value)

Complimentary Main Course
Wild Mushroom Bourgogne sauteed wild mushrooms, onion, fresh herbs, red wine, pappardelle pasta ($14 Value)
or
Baked Prawn Casserole scallions, garlic, mushrooms, white wine butter ($16 Value)
or
Spicy Pulled Pork slow roasted pulled pork, tomato salsa, served with steamed rice ($14 Value)

Reservations are required and can be obtained by calling (425) 455-4278 or via their online form here.

Also of interest for those who are in a celebratory mood this holiday season, Grand Cru will be popping bottles of 1999 Dom Perignon Champagne which will be available for $25 a glass. Not bad if you can't afford a bottle yourself!

Parking Situation at Bellevue Towers Improves

As reported by the Downtown Bellevue Network, the dreadful evening parking situation at the Bellevue Towers should drastically improve with the addition of two additional parking options. If you have dined (or attempted to dine) at Purple Cafe & Wine Bar or Barrio, you have likely encountered a long line to enter the garage or found that it is full.

In addition to validated parking which will still be available in the Bellevue Towers garage, you can now park at two other lots:

- Key Bank Building Surface Lot (across NE 4th Street) which will be offering complimentary parking every day after 5pm and all day on the weekends with no validated ticket necessary

-Ampco System Parking Surfact Lot (across 106th Avenue NE) which will offer free parking Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights after 5pm with a validated parking ticket.

Hopefully this will make it easier and more convenient for people to visit both of these restaurants.

Masala Bar & Grill Opening Tonight in Bothell

Masala Bar & Grill will be opening its second location in Bothell (first is in Northgate) tonight beginning at 4pm. The Grand Opening Celebration will include a free Dinner Buffet (not including beverages) and live music performed by local, acoustic rock group Woodrush.

The Northgate location looks to have some very favorable reviews on Yelp. Hopefully Masala will pan out to also be a mainstay in Bothell.

If you attend the grand opening or go before we do, let us know what you think?

Masala Bar & Grill
19409 Bothell-Everett Highway
Bothell, WA 98012
425-481-9000

Seattle Magazine's Reader's Choice Poll: Show the Eastside Some Love

The Seattle Magazine has opened up polling for its Readers Choice Awards that will run in the April 2010 Best Restaurants issue.

It is a pretty extensive poll asking readers to contribute their opinions in categories ranging from Best New Restaurant opened in 2009 to Best Wine List to Best Restaurant with a View. This is your chance to show the Eastside some love!

Ballots must be received by Friday, December 18, 2009 and will only be counted if more than half the categories are filled out.

Link to Seattle Magazine's Readers Choice Poll

Kirkland's Third Floor Fish Cafe to Close

As reported this morning by Seattle Times food Writer Nancy Leson, Kirkland's Third Floor Fish Cafe will be shutting its doors on December 19th. This Kirkland institution has been in business for 15 years and cites the slow economy paired with the owners' desire to remodel as the main factors to close.

Although there are no concrete plans to announce yet, Executive Chef Greg Campbell told Leson that there are discussions taking place between himself and the building's owner, Herb Chaffey about turning the space into a 200-seat "private events facility" (whatever that means, exactly?).

Personally, I only had one lackluster meal here. I loved the view, but thought the space was in dire need for an updating (sounds like the owners agreed). The food was okay, but hardly memorable.

It is sad to see any privately-owned restaurant go out of business, but I can't say that I am surprised as the high-end dining scene on the Eastside has gotten exceedingly more competitive as of late.