Places to Try for fun eats - some new, some not @eatingout

Some of these we can try together- others are ideas for you for lunch since they are near your work.

CURE on Capitol Hill: Small, cute Cure has a beautiful meat slicer and lots of cured meats to go with it, as well as other under-$10 snacks like cheeses, a mortadella and pecorino sandwich, and maybe tuna-and-caper-stuffed Calabria cherry peppers. Then there's cocktails, a nice little wine list (a Chateau Bas rose, a grüner veltliner, a Barbera, more, $7 to $8 a glass), a nine-seat bar, and a few tables. The windows (lots of them) look out onto the tennis courts at Cal Anderson Park, and it looks like it will be very satisfying to sit and drink wine on a summer evening while watching other people play tennis. Cure’s motto: Vintum remedium es. ($—$$)

WILD RYE BAKERY CAFE downtown: The head baker here came from the Herbfarm, which bodes well. They serve light breakfast and lunch items—quiche, muffins, sandwiches, salads, soups, etc.—as well as lots of baked goods and breads on the street level of the Washington State Convention Center. It has been called “adorable.” ($)

· COA MEXICAN EATERY & TEQUILERIA in Maple Leaf: A coa is an old-school tool that jimadors still use to harvest agave. COA is “a sophisticated, low-stress neighborhood eatery,” with more than 50 kinds of tequila to further reduce the stress. COA’s food deploys local ingredients, with salsas and sauces made fresh daily; owner (and third-generation restaurateur) Edgar Carreon grew up in Ciudad de Durango and Sinaloa. COA’s happy hour looks good—Mexican beers for $3, house margaritas $5, tacos $1.50, and other snacks for $3 to $5. ($$)

· NOOK in the University District: This tiny place on the Ave is co-owned by Alex Green, who started cooking in his hometown of Atlanta under Top Chef All-Star winner Richard Blais, and here has done time at Re:Public and Earth & Ocean. At Nook, he makes special-recipe biscuits (with jam or Nutella or bacon-egg-cheddar), sandwiches on Grand Central bread (like a meatloaf patty melt, white bean/preserved lemon/parsley/tomato, and maybe pork rillettes), and soups, all for (quite a bit) under $10. Note that hours are odd: Mon—Wed 10 am—6 pm, Thu—Fri 10 am—8 pm, and an excellent-sounding biscuit brunch on Saturdays from 8 am—2 pm.

TACOS CHUKIS on Capitol Hill: A Mexico City-style taco joint, including an adobada grill—a vertical meat rotisserie deployed thusly: “A pineapple on top drips juice and caramelizes as the meat cooks, and a slice of the grilled pineapple is served in the taco.” Um, YES, PLEASE.

Cafe Mox (Ballard)
5105 Leary Ave
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 436-0540
Website
Card Kingdom is more than 7,000 square feet of gaming paradise (their description, not ours), and Cafe Mox is the attached bar and cafe, with sandwiches (mini grilled cheese!), salads, beer, wine, cider, and mead. They say you can bring pretty much any game in from the shop and try it out! Daily 10 am-10 pm