Mr. West, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as coffee, espresso, and lots of wine.
Mr. West, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as coffee, espresso, and lots of wine. Mr. West

Mr. West Opens Downtown

Aside from Pike Place Market, which is a world unto itself, there's a dearth of casual places downtown to grab good food and linger comfortably for a while. Mr. West, from the owners of of Madrona’s popular wine shop/cafe Bottlehouse, is a promising new option. The cafe/bar, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., serves eggs, toast, and yogurt bowls for breakfast, and for lunch, salads and sandwiches. At night, Mr. West serves a menu of toast and small plates of vegetables, along with pickles and cheese. Coffee, espresso, wine, and cocktails flow in abundance.

Mr. West's official grand opening is Friday, so if you are downtown for the Black Lives Matter protest (or some other reason) and need to refuel with some coffee or snacks, check it out. It's four blocks away from Westlake Center.

Seapine Brewing Has Expanded in Sodo

Over the summer, Sodo's wonderful (and tiny) Seapine Brewing Company moved from its original 750-square-foot space on the east side of Sodo to a 6,000-square-foot operation on the western edge of the neighborhood. Production expanded accordingly. Instead of just three beers on tap, there are now 10, including experimental beers, IPAs, and sour goses. On weekends, a rotating cast of food trucks sets up shop in the parking lot.

I stopped in over the weekend and was glad to see that the owners, despite having such a large space, have managed to keep some of the same rustic, knotty pine cabin vibes that made their first location so charming. Along with their excellent Sea Witch Milk Stout, which is the perfect roasty-toasty dark beer to drink this time of year, I had a pint of their new Positron IPA. Generally, I'm not the biggest fan of ultra-hoppy IPAs, but this one manages to be surprisingly light and dry while carrying big, powerful aromas of tropical fruits like guava. If, like me, you are still grieving the departure of Epic Ales and Gastropod from the neighborhood, Seapine, located just a block away, will help fill the hole in your heart.

Ian's Pizza and MĂ©tier Racing & Coffee Are Open on Capitol Hill

The Seattle location of the Wisconsin-based chain Ian's Pizza serves pizza whole and by the slice. You can get basic toppings such as cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms, but the focus here is on specialty pies, including BBQ Chicken Pineapple, Chipotle Sweet Potato, Burrito Pizza (rice, beans, and guacamole), and its best-seller, the Mac n’ Cheese (cream, mozzarella, cheddar, and pasta).

Over on Union, which is quickly becoming a crowded corridor of new restaurants (see Lark, Slab, Meat & Bread, Soi, Gokan by Musashi, General Porpoise Doughnuts, Bar Melusine, Bateau, and the forthcoming Sizzle Pie and Optimism Brewing), the distinct MĂ©tier Racing & Coffee has also opened.

MĂ©tier is a multilevel, multipurpose business: a bicycle training gym, a bike service center, a retail shop, and a cafe. The cafe features small-batch coffee and espresso, as well as house-baked pretzels, salads, and sandwiches. There are also beers on tap and in bottles and cans, as well as wine (sparkling included).