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Restaurant

Ballardians! Red Mill’s Totem House is Now Open

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The Red Mill Totem House, Ext., Day (Photo: MvB)

The Red Mill Totem House, Ext., Day (Photo: MvB)

Salvaged totem art adorns the interior (Photo: MvB)

At after 1 p.m. on a Friday, it was standing room only (Photo: MvB)

The basic burger (Photo: MvB)

The bacon deluxe burger (Photo: MvB)

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In a recession, restaurants traditionally are hard hit and, sadly, many fine Seattle restaurants have shuttered their doors in the midst of this Great Recession. So I take it as a sign of faith in the economy of our city when a new restaurant opens–or a long-established restaurant expands to a new location. That is particularly true of Red Mill Burgers.

This week, Seattle’s finest burger shack opened their Red Mill Totem House in Ballard. The SunBreak’s Lunch Team wasted no time in getting over there and getting in line–which is already long–with many happy soon-to-be-customers licking their chops.

While waiting, take a look around. Red Mill has done a fantastic of renovating a venerable eating establishment, and a wonderfully cheeky building.

The Totem House opened in 1939, ironically enough, in the middle of that other economic disaster, the Great Depression. It was originally opened as a store that sold Native American goods and artifacts for the tourist market. In 1945, they started selling fish and chips at the Totem House, and that continued for six decades until it was closed.

The building was designed in the vernacular architecture that was popular in a day when a hot dog stand was shaped like a giant hot dog, a coffee house was shaped like a coffee pot, and you could dine in a tee-pee at Aurora’s Twin Teepees restaurant, now long gone.

The Totem House was shaped and decorated like a traditional long house, the favored dwelling of North Pacific Coastal Native Americans. Red Mill Totem House has done a breathtakingly beautiful job of restoring the massive totem pole out front and restoring the fine, elegant wood-beamed inside. Painted up and fresh inside and out, it’s a welcome site in Ballard with good parking and outdoor tables, which will be brilliant about ten months from now.

We aren’t going to waste time telling you how good the burgers are. They’re great. You know that and we know it, too. Ditto the hand-dipped shakes and the fries, which are crisp with actual potato–not fry oil– flavor.

Red Mill has acknowledged and celebrated the building’s long history by offering hand-cut Alaskan Cod Fish and Chips, with a delicious homemade tarter sauce, and even a chowder. We didn’t try the prawns on this trip, but noted they come with a handmade Thai Chili dipping sauce. Coming from the dudes that create the delicious Mill and tartar sauces, you know it’s good.

Food, Restaurant

Passport to Pleasure: See the Views and Enjoy Some Chews in Ballard

"Golden Gardens" by our Flickr pool's prpljoy

Not long ago, the main thing to love about Ballard was lutefisk. But Ballard has changed. There’s much to do in this popular neighborhood—so much, that we’ll be revisiting for future reports. For now, let’s focus on what to do when you bring your love to Seaview Avenue.

PICK UP PIG FOR A PICNIC

"Midnight Cuban Press Sandwich" by our Flickr pool's Justin.li

After years of being “sandwich central” in Fremont, wildly popular Paseo finally opened a second location, in Ballard. You’ll have no trouble finding it. If you’re driving north on Seaview, it’s the bright pink shack on the right (east) side of the road. The menu is posted outside, next to the order window, and note that it’s cash only; an arrow will steer you in the direction of the ATM machine at the surf shop next door.

Come here for lunch or to share a sandwich as an afternoon snack. Good luck, though, picking just one of the amazing sandwiches. You can’t go wrong with any of the pork choices, with the Cuban roast (made with pork shoulder) being the most popular. The grilled pork and midnight Cuban press also have strong followings. If you’re a shrimp lover, the grilled prawn sandwich is something special, and comes with garlic tapenade and various spice levels. Vegetarians can enjoy that same tapenade in the tofu delight sandwich, and ultimately you’ll realize that Paseo is all about the caramelized onions—and that you can get an onion obsession sandwich.

All the sandwiches come with those onions, along with cilantro, romaine lettuce, pickled jalapenos, and aioli on a toasted baguette. Don’t count on the bread to hold things together, though. You better get lots of napkins, because tackling this sandwich results in a mess. A deliciously happy mess, but a mess nonetheless. Eating a Paseo sandwich is the equivalent of eating spaghetti on a first date. Just do it, and be yourself!

GO TO GOLDEN GARDENS

"Golden Gardens" by our Flickr pool's rhys logan (rhystomahawk.com)

There are a few picnic tables at Paseo, but you’re taking your sandwich just up the road to Golden Gardens. Find a table, bring chairs, or throw a blanket on the beach while you enjoy your sandwich along with stunning views of Shilshole Bay and the Olympic Mountains. If you do nothing else all afternoon, this will be a day well-spent.

But, there is more to do. Like Gas Works, this is a perfect place to fly a kite. Or throw a Frisbee to each other. Maybe play volleyball?

If you want to get in/on the water instead of just looking at it, you can sail, kayak, paddleboard, and more.

Bring Fido and you’ll find an active, off-leash dog park. Unleash yourselves and spend the day hiking the trails, fishing off the pier, exploring the wetlands, or—if the weather is warm—lying in the sand. (Who says there’s no beach sand in Seattle?) And as the day is really all about the two of you getting romantic, maybe you can find a secluded spot for some snuggling…

CATCH SOME RAYS AT RAY’S

"View from the deck at Ray's" by our Flickr pool's cirocco

Back by Paseo on the west side of Seaview is a Ballard institution: Ray’s.

Just as Ballard isn’t just for Scandinavians, Ray’s isn’t just for tourists—though you’re likely to see many. Regardless, sometimes it’s fun to play tourist in your town.

Ray’s actually consists of a couple of places. Ray’s Boathouse is an upmarket restaurant with a formal dining room. Its large windows offer sparkling views of Shilshole Bay, but even better is to go upstairs to the more casual Ray’s Café to try to score a table on the outdoor deck. (Happy hour happens at the indoor bar area, though it’s offered outdoors on Tuesday nights.) Outside, you’ll definitely want sunglasses and maybe a hat (and a cold drink) if that elusive yellow star is shining down at you.

"Sablefish" by Jay Friedman

The café has the usual suspects, like clam chowder, crispy calamari, and shrimp cocktail. The smoked salmon skewers with cucumber-sesame relish and fresh pineapple is a good starter. The most popular (and tastiest) dish is sablefish in sake kasu, served with grilled choy sum, jasmine rice, honey soy, and scallion oil.

(At the end of a day like this, you’ll likely know whether you’re more of a Ray’s person or a Paseo person, as these are two very different dining experiences.)

Your biggest decision may be whether to take in the sunset at Ray’s, or to return back to Golden Gardens to enjoy nightfall there. With the sea views on Seaview in Ballard, both choices are winners.

Arts & Entertainment, Film & TV

So Far, AMC’s The Killing Only Slays Good TV

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AMC’s new drama, The Killing, based on Danish series Forbrydelsen (The Crime) about a murdered teen and the ensuing criminal investigation, premiered with a two-hour episode last night, and so far, I am Not Impressed. Because of the network’s track record, I will give every original series on AMC a fair shake, but not every show is Mad Men (this means you, Rubicon). In fact, because of the high bar set by the rest of their shows, you go into a new AMC series with certain expectations of quality. But so far, The Killing is decidedly meh. Let’s take a look at some of the new show’s issues:

  • Stilted exposition up the wazoo, even for a first episode. “Oh, hello, [Character Name]. How is it going with your [obstacle]? Now please hint at your SECRET.” As it is, everything is way too obvious. Example: you know the rat-faced creepazoid detective is going to turn out to be a decent guy and a valuable asset after all.
  • Also obvious: character “quirks,” like the lady cop is always chewing gum!
  • Too many characters already (and, as mentioned above, every character has his/her secret). How’s about just introducing a few characters and then introducing more, as the investigation expands and more suspects are considered? That would be a little more organic.
  • And it’s easy to make the Twin Peaks comparison, so there’s no need for the show’s marketing to do so as well. Tagline “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?” is just plain lazy.
  • What was up with the Montauk monster in the very first scene? Wrong coast. I’m guessing it’s an overloaded allegory, which makes it even worse.
  • Now here’s something they got right: Aggressively unattractive people dressed sloppily is so very Seattle. Also if you’re going to transplant a show from Scandinavia, the next best thing is Ballard. Good gloomy atmospherics for a murder, plus it’s nice and Nordy!

So far, the best part of the show is Shots of Seattle, the game in which you try to determine where exactly a scene was filmed. (And then, umm, take a shot if you’re right? Or would that be take a shot if you’re wrong? I’m making this up as I go.) Though the majority of the production took place in Vancouver (of course), just under a week of The Killing was filmed locally, and I actually thought the editing did a good job of blending the local shots with the Canadian ones. Last night’s episode featured Gas Works Park, Discovery Park, the Larsen family living somewhere under the Ballard Bridge, just a hint of Pioneer Square, and way too many aerial views of the Space Needle.

I’ll give it one more chance with next week’s episode, but if you’re looking for can’t-miss-caliber drama, the new season of Breaking Bad starts in July, so AMC is rerunning the entire series thus far beginning this Wednesday. And if you missed last night’s premiere of The Killing, it’s available for streaming on AMC’s website.

Food, Restaurant

Bastille’s Rooftop Garden Raises Urban Farming to New Heights [Photo Gallery]

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If there’s a vanguard for the back-to-the-future, “Victory Garden” era in horticulture and landscaping, Colin McCrate is leading it. As the recession stretches out, garden-happy Seattleites are switching flowerbeds and shrubs into edible greens, fruits, and vegetables. At McCrate’s Seattle Urban Farm Company, the requests for residential farm landscaping (and chicken coops) keep increasing.

“It’s definitely true,” said McCrate, atop Ballard’s Bastille restaurant (5307 Ballard Ave. N.W.), where he’s installed a prototype rooftop garden. “More and more people are taking advantage of yard space to supplement their food needs. The sale of vegetable seeds has gone through the roof.”

Seattle’s climate, even in a cloud-shrouded summer like the one we are currently experiencing, is perfect for cultivation of greens, herbs, vegetables and fruit, particularly native apples, cherries and plums. Rain and peek-a-boo sun makes for perfect growing conditions.

Some local gardeners have always made a sport of growing food products, and Seattle’s P-Patch network has been flourishing since the hippie-intensive 1970s. But now, people are farming for keeps, both residentially and commercially.

“Our customers are constantly surprised at the yield from even a small plot,” McCrate commented.

A few years ago, Bastille’s James Weimann and Demming Maclise purchased a building on the resurgent Ballard Avenue. (If you haven’t been over there recently, make plans. It’s as nice a mix of retail and restaurants in the city). Their goal was to create a restaurant that adhered to the strict demands of French cuisine, namely the use of fresh ingredients. They succeeded in spades, but not before an intensive remodel and some bold thinking.

Weimann and Maclise hit on the idea of a rooftop garden. What could be fresher than the harvest from a two-flight walk-up garden?

McCrate, who designed the innovative rooftop beds for Bastille’s produce, estimates that with 800 square feet of garden, the restaurant is currently meeting about 30 to 40 percent of its needs for fresh greens and herbs, including red leaf lettuce, Miner’s lettuce, arugula and peppercress. “They are, however, getting 100 percent of their basil and rosemary needs, which both do very well in Seattle.”

Weimann and Maclise may not see a positive return on their investment for a number of years, but patrons get an immediate, positive return in every bite. And as innovators in the rooftop garden field, they’ve been raking in the media coverage. The garden is “poised to become a Seattle landmark,” said Eat, Drink and Be.

Bastille is not the only restaurant or urban enterprise doing a bit of intensive farming. Venerable Canlis has a terraced garden in its North Queen Anne Hill location, and, two years ago, Maggie McKelvy, a manager of HomeStreet Bank’s Ballard branch, led an effort to turn a bed in the bank’s parking lot into a vegetable-producing space.

McCrate believes efforts like these are just the first steps of a widespread movement to reclaim food. It’s hard to argue with him. Just two years ago, separate incidents with contaminated lettuce and cilantro generated a great amount of fear about the safety of our industrial-strength food chain, and the quality of produce like greens, fruits and vegetables that should be served as fresh as possible.

“Producing your own food allows for a measure of security,” said McCrate. “Anyone can plant a vegetable bed or a fruit tree. It takes no more water or soil than a flower bed, looks almost as beautiful in the yard, and produces a tangible and edible benefits.”