Restaurant Insider: October 2010

Staples Center

I’ve been waiting for someone to create a Seattle-style Shake Shack, the fanatically obsessed-over chain of New York City burger shacks opened by Danny Meyer.

Now it looks as if Scott Staples, chef/owner of Quinn’s and Restaurant Zoë, is doing just that. Staples’ yet-unnamed venture will feature classic $6 burgers made with a custom blend of ground brisket, chuck, sirloin and short rib with all the trimmings, plus a “top shelf” burger (organic/local/grass-fed meat) and, for the grownups, beer on tap and wines by the glass and half-bottle.

In a nod to wife Heather’s childhood haven, Martha’s in upstate New York, Staples plans to sell soft serve ice cream in chocolate, vanilla and seasonal flavors, but with “adult” toppings such as crystallized cocoa nibs. The Fremont space has two garage-style doors and a huge deck to be used year-round. Staples is hoping for a late fall/early winter opening.

BONJOUR, Bagel Snobs
There’s new hope for people who say it’s hard to get a good bagel in Seattle. It’s Eltana, a Middle Eastern restaurant that will open in the newly renovated Packard Building on Capitol Hill (corner of 12th and Pine).

During the day, employing a big wood-fired oven in the center of the restaurant, Eltana will serve “Montreal-style” bagels made by a bagel maker imported from famed Montreal bagelry St-Viateur.

One of Eltana’s owners is Stephen Brown, who ran the restaurant/game emporium Entros in South Lake Union in the 1990s. Watch for an opening in November or December.