Category Archives: Food & Drink

Fun Saturday events at Lake City Community Center

There’s a full schedule on Saturday, May 4th at Lake City Community Center. You have an opportunity to support a local school and fill your tummy, get a head start on making that unique Mothers Day gift, and a fun opportunity to learn how to make cheese! Check out the events below:

Saturday, May 4th, kicks off with a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser for Sacajawea Elementary School. Pancakes and fun start at 7 a.m. and continue until noon. Come on down and support a local school and eat some yummy flapjacks!

Also on Saturday, May 4th, at noon, there is a Mosaic Heart-making class. “Give Your Heart To Mom on Mother’s Day.” Make this Mother’s Day special by making a handmade, 6-inch Mosaic Heart. Class Fee is $15 for one child/youth. A discount is available for families bringing more than one child. Event organized by ArtHouse.

Got Milk? Make Cheese! In this class you’ll learn how to make seven soft cheeses-mozzarella, ricotta, lebneh (yogurt cheese), quark, cream cheese, chevre and mascarpone. You will also have an opportunity to taste all of them. “If you can follow a recipe, you can make these cheeses in your own kitchen. We’ll make several of them during the class and talk through all the recipes with a view toward troubleshooting any difficulties you might have. We’ll learn some cheese chemistry, talk about sources of cheesemaking information and equipment, and eat lots of cheese” Class is limited to 16 students, space is still available. Saturday, May 4th. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. $60 per person.

For more info on these opportunities, call the Lake City Community Center, (206) 362-4378

For more info on what is happening in Lake City, check our Community Calendar page.

Enjoy the coming warm weekend!

Romios Pizza and Pasta for sale

Romios Pizza and Pasta, known for their tasty pizza and free neighborhood delivery, is for sale.

A posting on Craigslist through Vantage Commercial Partners has the business listed for $165,000. The purchase price includes the building lease and assets.

From the posting:

Established pizzeria on Lake City Way. Not a franchise, trade name not included. Full kitchen, type 1 hood, Class H liquor license, ample parking. LEASE AND ASSETS ONLY

The restaurant is the latest business on the east side of Lake City to have significant change in recent months. Claire’s Pantry abruptly shut down and Schmetzers Sporthaus is moving to a new location on Aurora Avenue.

The moves come at a time that new businesses that have come to the neighborhood are proving that there is a hungry market in Lake City. Elliott Bay Brewing Co. and Kaffeeklatsch, on the west side of LCW, are consistently packed with customers. Thai One On and Toyoda Sushi also have a strong, loyal customer base. Other neighborhood restaurants have also proved customers in Lake City are willing to spend money.

Elliott Bay celebrates one year here on LCW this Saturday with beer and brass

Are you ready to “shake what yo mama gave ya” this Saturday?

Our neighborhood’s hugely popular Elliott Bay Brewing Co. will celebrate their first anniversary here on the outer limits of Seattle on Saturday March 30th.

The event will feature live music from Tubaluba, an energetic New Orleans second line band. The music kicks off at 6 p.m.

Tubaluba is a band billed as “just the grease you need to shake what yo mama gave ya.” And judging by video of some of their performances viewed online, they are successful at getting the audience into the show.

Elliott Bay’s talented “Brewer Bill” teamed up with Matt van Wyk, of Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, OR, and cooked up a special rye-based IPA brew to be served during the fun community event. Also contributing to the special anniversary brew is neighboring Kaffeeklatsch, who baked loaves of 100% rye bread that were added to the mash tun for a sure-to-be unique ale.

So if you have time, stop by and raise a glass to Elliott Bay for one year of providing our neighborhood with sweet potato gaufrettes, elk burgers, No Doubt Stout pulled pork and of course tasty beer.

Below is a video of Tubaluba performing at the Fremont Street Fair.

Two Dog Yoga benefit class to support Hunger Intervention Program project

Volunteers, including Harmony and Evan Coppi, pack food during a Healthy HIP Packs Program packing party. (seattlepi.com photo, used with permission)

Two Dog Yoga and the Hunger Intervention Program will offer an all-levels yoga class taught by Annie Stocker, owner of Two Dog Yoga, to benefit the Healthy HIP Packs Program. Space is limited to 25 and will be filled on a first come first served basis.

When: Saturday, March 23rd, 10:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Where: Two Dog Yoga, 12549 28th Ave NE

Suggested Donation: $25 (Please donate what you can. It’s for a good cause!)

Advanced Registration and Payment required. Once you complete the registration form, you will be directed to HIP’s Donation Page (through PayPal) to complete payment.

To register click here.

Hunger Intervention Program expanding service to feed low-income school kids on weekends

Aidan Cummings, 8, tries to keep cereal packages from toppling over during a “Healthy HIP Packs” packing party at Lake City Presbyterian Church. The food is packed by volunteers coordinated by the Hunger Intervention Program for low-income students that rely on free and reduced school lunches during the week, but on weekends do not have proper nutrition at home. (seattlepi.com photo used with permission)

Lake City’s Hunger Intervention Program has expanded its much-needed service that provides food on weekends to low-income students that rely on in-school free and reduced meals.

The program has expanded from serving low-income students at John Rogers Elementary to include students at Olympic Hills Elementary and Viewlands Elementary in Greenwood. The two schools added to the program have some of the highest rates of students in the district on the in-school free and reduced meal program.

The group hosts monthly packing parties at its headquarters at Lake City Presbyterian Church, where volunteers assemble meals for students. The “Healthy Hip Packs” are then discreetly given to students that need the nutrition on weekends when they are not getting meals from the schools.

The group’s efforts were profiled in the Seattle P-I on Wednesday.

From the P-I story:

When people think of low-income areas, they typically don’t think of this part of Seattle, said Murphy, program manager for HIP, during a packing party at the group’s headquarters at the Lake City Presbyterian Church. But Northeast Seattle, particularly Lake City, is home to many struggling and low-income families.

“This program is such an important resource for children when school meals are not available,” said Murphy.

The most recent data from Seattle Public Schools lists Olympic Hills Elementary’s free and reduced-cost students at 73 percent of the school’s population, Viewlands in Greenwood at 60 percent and John Rogers at 35 percent…

…The food in the packs emphasizes whole grains, milk, high-quality proteins, fresh fruits and products with no added sugars. Under current funding, the program hopes to provide weekend meals to up to 20 students at each of the newly added schools. Their goal is to increase that to 40 students per school for the 2013-2014 school year.

You can read more in the P-I story here, which includes photos of one of the group’s packing parties.

Update: KIRO/7 also featured the HIP Program in their Thursday newscast. You can see that story by clicking here.

Upcoming events help support North Helpline

The Lake City Lions are sponsoring an Italian dinner fundraiser for North Helpline on Friday, April 19th at the Lake City Community Center.

The dinner starts at 5:30 and goes until 8:30. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

You can order tickets for an Evening in Italy here.

North Helpline is a service center that provides human services to over 1000 clients each week in an effort to reduce the impact of hunger and poverty in Greater North Seattle. You can learn more about them here.

A calendar of other fundraising events for North Helpline is below:

Helpline calendar of fundraising events

Elliott Bay making special brew for first anniversary on LCW

Recently the fine folks at Elliott Bay Brewing Co. started making a brew that is extra special for the Lake City location. The brew will be ready in time for the hugely popular brewery’s first anniversary here on the outer limits of Seattle.

Elliott Bay’s talented Brewer Bill teamed up with Matt van Wyk, of Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, OR, and “have cooked up a rye-based IPA kinda thing,” Elliott Bay said on The Bar Stool Blog.

Also contributing to the brew is neighboring Kaffeeklatsch, who baked loaves of 100% rye bread that were added to the mash tun “to ramp up even further the special rye character of this sure-to-be unique ale,” said EBBC on their site.

They plan to release the beer on March 25th, ahead of their March 30th first anniversary party.

Claire’s Pantry shuts down, Schmetzer’s Sporthaus plans to leave Lake City

Claire’s Pantry shown in a photo from the Seattle P-I story. Used on Lake City Live with permission.

Earlier this week, diners that arrived at the doors of Claire’s Pantry, a longtime business at NE 125th Street and Lake City Way, were surprised with a sign on the door. In all capital letters the sheet of paper read: BUSINESS CLOSED.

The simple sign was the apparent end of a business that many longtime Lake City residents have visited or passed by for decades. Inside, the business looked as if the closure was unexpected. Tables were still set, napkin holders and condiments still on table tops.

A story in the Seattle P-I on Wednesday said the business had been open since 1974. The story by reporter Casey McNerthney also gave the history of the site of the longtime diner. You can read the story with more details here.

Rumors were flying among people as to why the business closed so suddenly. We tried to sleuth out the reason for the closure on Tuesday but were unable. Seattle Times food writer Nancy Leson sent the message below on Twitter. Others in the neighborhood discussed a more unfortunate rumor for the restaurant’s sudden closing. But honestly, no one was quite sure why the business shuttered.

Hearing from folks who miss Claire’s Pantry in Lake City, closed Friday. Sold, I hear. Hope they hire this longtimer. twitter.com/nancyleson/sta…

— Nancy Leson (@nancyleson) February 27, 2013

But in recent years regular diners noticed significant change at the restaurant. The food changed, portion sizes were said to be smaller and the building seemed to be falling into disrepair. Online reviews became harsh for the business. On Tuesday broken light fixtures were seen on the exterior of the building, the awning over the entrance seemed to be missing or torn and brick work on the brick building seemed to be crumbling on the west side.

The closing of the restaurant comes with the equally sad news that another longtime Lake City Business will leave the neighborhood— although this one will continue in a new location.

Pedestrians walk past Schmetzer’s Sporthaus soccer store on Lake City Way in this photo from the Seattle P-I. Used with permission on LCL.

Schmetzer’s Sporthaus, which has been a fixture in the business core on LCW, selling soccer gear and attracting youth from Lake City’s vibrant youth soccer scene, will reopen on Aurora Avenue on May 1st. The P-I reported that Schmetzer’s will relocate to a larger space near the old Chubby and Tubby building. A staff member of the business also said on Tuesday that the daily gathering of chronic inebriates and drug users in front of the business was also a significant influence in their decision to leave Lake City. Many of those gathered there seem to be attracted by the nearby Dollar Plus store known for its cheap, fortified beer and wine.

The departures of the Lake City businesses come almost one year after the hugely successful opening of Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery, a business that is packed almost every night. Elliott Bay’s huge success has proven that there is a hunger among neighborhood residents for quality businesses. Nearby Kaffeeklatch coffee and bakery, the Lake City Bakery are examples of other businesses that have become favorites of locals, and recently more of north Seattle as they are both “discovered.” The Beer Authority, a full service beer bottle shop with 400 labels of beer, also recently moved to a larger space to accommodate its increasingly popular business.

Lake City Farmers Market to Add an Hour

Is all this fog getting you down? Here’s something to look forward to! This summer, the Lake City Farmer’s Market will be back in front of the Lake City Library and they’ll be piloting new hours. Every Thursday from June 20 through September 26, the market will be open from 2:30 to 7:30pm. This is an hour longer than previous years, though the overall season is slightly shorter. Expect more fun market activities this year, in addition to old favorites like the zucchini races and live music. As market season approaches, vendor lists and other updates will be available on the Lake City link of the Farmers Market Alliance website.

BAH (Business After Hours) Event at Kaffeeklatsch!