It’s the eighth Washington location (10th overall) and already a busy spot for xiao long bao, dan dan noodles, and the house Q-bao. The Puget Sound’s homegrown dumpling juggernaut just added a location at Kirkland Urban. The takeout situation: Order online for takeout lunch or dinner. The menu’s expansive and sounds exciting as all get-out. Tuesta’s kitchen serves traditional dishes like lomo saltado and puckering ceviche, plus a menu of Nikkei cuisine-the delightful results of Japanese immigrants and their descendants applying their own techniques to local Peruvian ingredients (here in the form of maki and nigiri). Popup veterans Joe Tuesta and Imelda Diez-Tipa have set up permanent shop in Pioneer Square with a menu that celebrates multiple facets of Peruvian food culture. The takeout situation: La Medusa accepts takeout orders by phone, but Persephone has lots of items to aid in cooking your own dinner.
The bar itself has a snack-ish menu, cocktails, and loads of amaro and aperitivi. Persephone stocks its many shelves with items from Molli's own Goose and Gander farm (plus her farm neighbors) plus pantry items, locally made kitchen sundries, and wine aplenty. La Medusa owner Meredith Molli has opened an adjacent bar and grocery next door to her longtime, gently Sicilian restaurant. The takeout situation: Right now it’s dine-in only, open for lunch and dinner. Smoked meat makes its share of cameos (why hello, brisket enchiladas) but owner and native Texan Jack Timmons applies equal care to other aspects of the Tex-Mex canon, like ceviche tostadas, chili gravy, and Texas-style nachos. The mezcal is flowing and the smoked beef rib fajitas sizzling at this new Columbia City Tex-Mex spot that’s kin to Jack’s BBQ.
Jackalope Tex-Mex and Cantina Columbia City