• Kelly O
• Fancy cakes! That's one of the owners on the right.

Regent Cafe & Bakery opened yesterday kitty-corner from Artusi (that's the corner bar for Spinasse), where an Online Coffee Company used to be.

The original Redmond location of Regent is such a favorite of software developers that it got mentioned in Valve Software's Portal. The new Capitol Hill branch has brightly lit cases of cakes (green tea mousse!), pastries (chocolate croissant, fruit tarts), and other baked goods, as well as coffee, bubble tea, a full Chinese menu with a sit-down dining area, and a slick bar.

The people there are extremely nice, and I ate a criminally buttery, caramelized-topped sticky-bun-thing that is now going to be calling to me all day, every day. If their chow fun is good, that'll be lunch 19 times a week. And they say they're going to stay open late on the weekends, so yay for that.

I just ate lunch, and now Eater Seattle says Little Uncle is open in its new take-out space on 15th and Madison, serving until 2 p.m.

I'm going to go out on a limb here—a limb that Dominic Holden will surely saw off—and say that Little Uncle is just as good as or even better than Thai Curry Simple, which only serves curry, no noodles, at its Capitol Hill walk-up window, which means that on the Hill, Little Uncle wins.

• Kelly O
• Coming soon to Capitol Hill!

BEST NEWS EVER!

D'Ambrosio, which is currently located in Ballard, makes the best gelato I've ever eaten. (Read all about how they make it here.) And their second location will be even bigger, with more flavors and more vegan selections, and I won't have to go all the way to Ballard to get it! (Sadly they opened up shop about six months after I moved out of Ballard. Because the gelato Gods wanted to punish me for leaving Ballard, apparently.)

HURRY UP AND OPEN, I AM HUNGRY.

CHS has the full scoop (ha ha!) on their second location right here.

• Facebook / Bang Bang Cafe
• At Bang Bang Cafe: New Mexico-style breakfast burritos with fresh New Mexico red or green chile. WANT.

Cute, tiny Pettirosso, which serves some of the best espresso on the Hill (from a vintage hand-pulled machine) is closing down—the last day will be December 30. (Poor Anthony Hecht—he loves their meatless meatball subs so much, and he's not even a vegetarian!)

The owner, Robin, sounds a little sad but ready for the change. She's been talking with the property owners for a couple years: "They have a big space they need to rent, and the access is through my space... I was not the one. I'm kind of winding down, not gearing up for a huge project."

The good news? Yuki Sodos (who used to work at Pettirosso—Robin reports that she's "absolutely wonderful") and her sister Miki, who run the very-much-loved Bang Bang Cafe (with actually great breakfast burritos!) are hoping to take over the space. Right now they're working on permitting with fingers crossed.

The larger space would mean a real kitchen with a bakery and a bar—"like Pettirosso, but with more stuff in there!" Yuki says. They're planning to hold onto the name, as well as the niceness—"Pettirosso is a gem... it's welcoming for everyone, and that's the feeling i want to keep," she says. So yay for that!

Robin's planning a party in January for Pettirosso's regulars—stop by for the details.

Originally posted at 10:55 a.m., moved up because I can do whatever I want.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: In light of some top notch crowd-sourced criticism here on slog, Oddfellows is shitcanning the Frost Reviver #1 and either replacing it with Frost Reviver #2 or the disturbingly named Corpse River #2, depending on which part of this updated press release from Oddfellows you're reading: "Unfortunately, we were misguided in choosing to use Branca Menta for our Frost Reviver #1. We tried to be bold, but the people told us what they wanted, and let me tell you, it was not Branca Menta. In light of this, we have decided to try again. The Corpse River #2 is a delicious, more classic, adult hot chocolate with Dr. McGillicuddy's Mentholmint Schnapps."

Original post below, complete with revised chocolate info.

Moments after receiving an email from the local weather psychics predicting snow this weekend, I get this press release from Oddfellows offering not one but three types of hot chocolate:

• Oddfellows

To celebrate Cal Anderson Skating Rink, Oddfellows Cafe + Bar will be serving three varieties of hot chocolate this winter:

Classic Hot Chocolate—Guittard chocolate and warm milk, why mess with a classic?

Mexican Style—Our secret spice mix with Guittard chocolate syrup, this cocoa has just enough heat to keep you warm all winter!

Frost Reviver #1—Our classic hot chocolate, a little grown up with Branca Menta, a mint liquor.

Frost Reviver #2—Our classic hot chocolate, a little grown up with Dr.McGillicuddy’s Mentholmint Schnapps.

To make our hot chocolates extra special, we will be topping all three varieties with our very own house made marshmallows!

Sweet giddy God, all I'm getting for Christmas this year is diabetes.

While our fair city recently saw a rash of closures, hope springs eternal, and it's springing bigtime on Capitol Hill tonight. Officially grand-opening (click through for more information/speculation):

· Momiji on 12th between Pike and Pine, where Dawson Plumbing used to be

· Bako on Broadway, where the Jade Pagoda used to be

· Altura, also on Broadway, across from Bako

Then tomorrow, Capitol Hill's new distillery Oola opens with a party (free tastes!).

Outside the two-block-ish radius, on Friday, the new incarnation of fancy Campagne—the less fancy (but still probably damn good) Marche—opens down in Pike Place Market with a party, too, with free hors d’oeuvres and sabered bubbly on the patio. What the hell is sabered bubbly? Allow Seattle barman Andrew Bohrer to charmingly demonstrate (listen up, Internet: no one wants to hear you talk!):

Capitol Hill staple Ballet may soon leave its digs at 914 E Pike Street after over a decade in the space, if this craigslist ad, which describes the entire battered brick building as "available with 30 days notice," is to be believed. It prompts the question: Is the belovedly cheap Vietnamese restaurant moving or going out of business?

"We're definitely not going out of business," says Dzung Nguyen, a long-time Ballet employee. Nguyen says the restaurant would like to stay in its space but the landlord won't renew the lease, "which means after December, we'll be month-to-month."

In the meantime, Ballet is looking for a new space on Capitol Hill to call home. Nguyen says the owners are currently considering two locations, "both within 30 yards of where we are now."

"We're trying not to leave the hill—that’s our mission," he says.

• Hot and steamy SW Turkey Grinder.

Allow me to introduce you to the brand-spankin' new Grubwich sandwich joint on Capitol Hill.

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Where the Pita Pit (don't fall in!) used to be on Broadway, Grubwich is a promisingly un-prettied-up, mostly-from-scratch sandwich shop. Choices like the El Gaucho steak with chimichurri sauce, the Bomb(ay) eggplant, and the GrubBurger are listed in a wall-menu format that's clearly low-budget but also pretty great. Also, hand-cut fries, a jukebox, and Tetris. Down with market research and graphic design, up with sandwiches!

I already ate lunch, so I didn't get anything, but it looks good. Also: free fries with any sandwich today. Has anyone partaken?