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SRW | Blog

Eat Local First this Harvest Season

Above Image: Chef Brandon Wicks finishing the plate at Mashiko Japanese Restaurant. Photo by EqualMotion.

A big factor in our award-winning restaurant scene is the abundance of our region’s farm-to-table fare. After all, Seattle is surrounded by abundant seas, farmland, and ranches, all stewarded by people who care deeply about nourishing their communities. Restaurants that use local ingredients are getting the very peak of the harvest, all while supporting our local food economies and generating a much smaller carbon footprint than transporting food from other parts of the country.

Not only is prioritizing locally grown food a treat for your tastebuds, it’s also a way to directly support (and preserve) Washington farmlands now and for future generations. Every dollar spent goes into sustaining our circular food economies of growers, farm workers, delivery drivers, distributors, chefs, and restaurant workers. Our local farmers are also community members with a deep sense of responsibility for what goes into the foods that nourish us. 

How can we make the most of locally grown ingredients and our love of restaurants? That’s where the Washington Food and Farm Finder comes in! 

This tool, created by the Eat Local First (ELF) Collaborative, is Washington’s trusted source for finding local farms and identifying the restaurants, markets, and food businesses that purchase from local food producers. ELF is committed to building a resilient and equitable community food system where people across Washington state are connected to local farms and food businesses.

You can check out the interactive map on the official WA Food and Farm Finder — in addition to looking up restaurants that source locally, you can find farmstands, farmers markets, sign up for CSA boxes, and more! ELF has also highlighted business practices that align with the core values of environmental sustainability, racial and social equity, fair labor, animal welfare, health, and accessibility. Visit here to learn more about their values indicators, and use them to filter your search for farms and food businesses on the WA Food & Farm Finder.

If you’re ready to start your Seattle Restaurant Week journey by eating local, read on for a listing of SRW restaurants listed on the WA Food and Farm Finder who are sourcing local first.

Beardslee Public House

Locally sourced takes on a new meaning at this cozy gastropub in Bothell. For starters, its craft beers are made in the brewery below the restaurant, and local timber was used to make custom dining tables. Beardslee’s American fare like burgers, pizzas, and buttermilk fried chicken make the most of seasonal ingredients from local farms and food producers. For SRW, Beardslee is offering a $35 special Sunday through Thursday. Some SRW items include pear and goat cheese salad or beef and bean chili for starters; chèvre stuffed chicken breast or mushroom and brie Wagyu burger for mains; and crème brûlée or white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Bothell. Lunch/dinner is $35. Eat Local here.

Blossom Vegetarian

A haven of tranquility in downtown Renton, Blossom Vegetarian has been a destination for cruelty-free, ethical cuisine since 2011. Run by Ngoc Tran and her son Van Nguyen, Blossom sources ingredients from local food producers like Carpinito Brothers, and supports community organizations like Valley Medical Center and Renton High School. Seattle Restaurant Week is the perfect time to explore their menu of vegan and vegetarian Vietnamese dishes. Offered at two different price points — $35 and $50 — their special menus include dishes like Blossom fresh rolls or crispy rolls; pho, curry, tofu, ginger-fried mock fish, or sesame imitation beef. Renton. Lunch is $35. Dinner is $50. Eat local here.

Cafe Lolo

Cafe Lolo is a pop-up on a mission to bring fresh-extruded pastas made with local ingredients to your plate! Sourcing from Bluebird Grain Farms, Alvarez Organic Farms, Preservation Meat Collective, and more, Cafe Lolo believes “in the sustainable approach of nose to tail and root to fruit cooking with the intention of utilizing as much of the animal or crop as we can,” they say. You’ll find them popping up at farmers markets around town, and at a special pop-up for Seattle Restaurant Week. On Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, Cafe Lolo will be at MoRa in the Roosevelt neighborhood, offering a $65 menu for two. Items include bitter green salad with grape molasses vinaigrette, pasta with duck and chorizo ragu, pasta with herby ricotta and roasted poblano peppers, and two expertly paired glasses of wine. Roosevelt. Dinner is $65. Eat local here.

Gold Coast Ghal Kitchen

Seven years ago Chef Tina Fahnbulleh started offering Liberian and Ghanaian food as a pop-up side hustle. It was so successful that last fall she opened up a brick and mortar restaurant on First Hill. In a city that doesn’t have much West African culinary representation, Gold Coast Ghal is a wonderful gateway for more people to savor dishes like fufu, waakye (a beans and rice dish that comes with beef stew and fried plantains), or kelewele (spicy fried plantains). For Seattle Restaurant Week, Gold Coast Ghal is offering a three-course dinner menu offered Monday through Sunday. Choose from hand pies with options like veggie, beef, or chicken and mushroom for appetizers; entrees include dishes like chicken or oyster mushrooms served with potato greens, jasmine rice and fried plantain, or egusi — ground melon seeds with stewed greens and chicken or mushrooms. Choose from ice cream or kala, a Liberian treat, for dessert. First Hill. Dinner is $50. Eat local here.

hanoon 

Kirkland’s elegant modern Lebanese kitchen and bar — the most recent addition to the mama restaurant group — is known for their commitment to authentic recipes incorporating local ingredients. There’s falafel sandwiches, chicken shawarma, and other Persian and Syrian dishes, made with Pacific Northwest seasonal bounty at the peak of freshness. “As new items come into season, our culinary team works very hard to incorporate these flavors into our Levantine-inspired cuisine. Supporting the local farming community is very important to, not only our restaurant, but our community as a whole,” they say. For SRW, hanoon is offering a $50 menu, served family style. There’s a mezze course that includes hummus, muhammara, and baba ganoush; fattoush with honeycrisp apples and pickled sunchoke, fried cauliflower; entrees like kefta meatballs, yogurt marinated chicken; and baklawa with pistachio and orange blossom for dessert. Kirkland. Dinner is $50. Eat local here.

Jude’s Old Town

Serving up Cajun-inspired dishes and craft cocktails — as well as nonalcoholic cocktails — this Rainier Beach neighborhood restaurant is also worker-owned and democratically run. “All food service is deeply rooted in race, class, and sex hierarchies,” they say. “Part of us being a democratic co-op is that the work of upending these traditional hierarchies is an ongoing and conscious project.” Jude’s supports a local mutual aid kitchen, and sources from local suppliers like Key City Fish, Preservation Meat Collective, and local foragers from time to time. For SRW, Jude’s has a $35 and $65 menu, with dishes like gumbo, dirty rice; sandwiches like po’ boy, cajun tofu, and fried chicken; and beignets for dessert. Rainier Beach. Dinner for $35 and $65Eat local here.

mamnoon

The first in what would become a growing family of establishments under the mama restaurant group, mamnoon opened in Capitol Hill in 2012 with the mission of serving up modern versions of Persian, Lebanese, and Syrian foods. They were awarded Seattle Met’s Best Restaurant in 2013, and you may have spotted them in an Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown visit in 2017. While reflecting the culinary traditions that founders Racha and Wassef Haroun were raised with, they also strive to source ingredients as locally as possible. mamnoon works with Farmstand Local Foods, which connects restaurants to over 75 farmers in Washington state. For SRW, mamnoon has a $35 lunch special with your choice of mezze, entree, and baklawa for dessert. Their $50 special includes a drink, choice of mezze; either their shish taouk (yogurt marinated chicken with herbs and spices) or maacarona bi laban (casareccia noodle with chanterelles, hot honey, and herbs); plus baklawa. Capitol Hill. Lunch is $35. Dinner is $50. Eat local here.

Mashiko

Sustainability is the name of the game at Mashiko, a traditional Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in the heart of West Seattle. Mashiko works closely with over 140 small fisheries and local farms, including Mushroom Joe, Triad Fisheries, Tuk Muk Farm, and Emerald City Seafood. That makes for clear monitoring of every catch and every product, while putting money directly back into local communities. They also focus on eliminating plastic from their packaging and foster a culture of sustainability in their work culture as well, offering mental health and personal days for employees. They say, “If we can make a kinder imprint on this world, why wouldn’t we!” 

For SRW, Mashiko is offering a choose your own omakase adventure. For lunch, try the Mashiko set ($35) with choices of roll accompanied with nigiri, sunomono, miso and dessert; or the vegan set ($25) which comes with options like the three piece nigiri with grilled maitake and iniri, and choice of rolls hayashi or purple people eater. Dinner’s omakase ($65) comes with 5 sets. Choose from poke, sashimi, rolls, nigiri and a housemade dessert. West Seattle. Lunch is $35. Dinner is $65. Eat local here.

Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar

Part of the Chef John Howie family, Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar is an upscale seafood restaurant in the heart of Bellevue. Their constantly changing seasonal menu features a range of dishes reflecting diverse cuisines and geographies, as well as seafood; and a raw bar serving up nigiri, sashimi, and fresh shucked oysters. For Seattle Restaurant Week, enjoy a $20 lunch special with choices like curry puffs, Petrale sole, or jambalaya. Their $65 dinner menu has items like oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms, fire-grilled Steelhead, or Hawaiian opakapaka. Plus, there’s desserts like passion fruit panna cotta, or flourless chocolate cake. Bellevue. Lunch is $20. Dinner is $65.

Shiro’s Sushi

Established as the first Edomae Sushi restaurant in Seattle over 30 years ago, the chefs at Shiro’s Sushi continue the legacy of artisan sushi craftsmanship and the freshest ingredients. The secret: looking first to the riches of our local waters. Salmon, geoduck, squid, oysters, clams and tuna are in abundance, as well as King Crab from Alaska. Make it a memorable SRW experience by heading to Shiro’s, and order the five-course Chef’s Choice. Each comes with 19 piece of assorted nigiri. Belltown. Dinner is $65. Eat local here.

The Lakehouse Bellevue

The Lakehouse is a Northwest farmhouse concept that specializes in New American cuisine while honoring the very best of our region’s bounties. Prioritizing grower and farmer relationships, expect a meticulous attention to details and imagination from the chefs here. The Lakehouse’s SRW menu highlights their seasonal fare, and you’ll find options like curried squash soup, pumpkin risotto, braised short rib with black truffle, and apple crisp or mango sorbet for dessert. Bellevue. Lunch is $35. Dinner is $65. Eat local here.

Whiskey by John Howie

Just around the corner from the steak restaurant that bears the same name, Whiskey by John Howie is an intimate, classy spot for cocktails and an extensive whiskey list. They also have upscale takes on comfort foods like their wagyu nachos, parmesan truffle fries, Korean BBQ skewers, and Nashville chicken bites. For SRW, bring a plus one for their $50 menu of shareable plates with options like habanero butter shrimp, deviled eggs with truffled bacon, and seven flavor prime tenderloin bites. It also comes with two pours, your choice of red or white wine, Manhattan, or Love Letter, a cocktail made with vodka, pomegranate, and cava. Bellevue. Dinner is $50. Eat local here.

Above Image: Cod special at mamnoon. Photo: Emily Keeney

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We hope you enjoy Seattle Restaurant Week!

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