You may recall we mentioned in October that Tilth’s Maria Hines planned to open a second restaurant in North Seattle.
This morning came word that Hines will unveil her Eastern Mediterranean restaurant Golden Beetle in Ballard in late February. Golden Beetle — named for a 27-ingredient spice mixture from Morocco, ras al-hanout, which includes dried golden beetle, a Spanish fly that is considered an aphrodisiac — will take over the former Via Verde location at 1744 NW Market Street.
From the press release:
Hines is known for her commitment to locally organic and sustainable practices at Tilth, which will also be maintained at Golden Beetle. Tilth is one of only two Oregon Tilth certified restaurants in the country and Hines will seek this certification for Golden Beetle as well, meaning that 95 percent of what is purchased will be organic.
Cultural influences of the Golden Beetle menu are rooted in Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The food will be rustic with spices such as sumac, fenugreek and ras al-hanout seasoning dishes as well as offering some heat spiced dishes. The selection of ingredients will also be reflective of the Eastern Mediterranean with an emphasis on small game birds, lamb and rabbit. Beef will be featured as skewers and meatballs in place of a large steak offering. Fish and vegetarian items will also be represented at Golden Beetle.
The menu will focus largely on small plates with a more freestyle presentation that will be representative of what the menu reads. Larger entrée plates will make up approximately one-third of the menu and bare more resemblance to a composed and focused presentation. Overall, the menu will encompass elevated “street food” from the cultures in which it draws, slightly resembling a gastropub menu versus the elegant dishes found at Tilth.
Craft cocktails will receive a strong emphasis and beer and wine offerings will feature Northwest selections that complement the menu’s flavor profiles.
Hines’ interest in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine is rooted in her travels to the area, often due to her interest in rock climbing. “The food from these cultures really resonated with me. It is a bold and exciting departure from Tilth’s New American menu and demands a different type of creativity. It opens me up to exploring different flavor profiles and cooking techniques, which is incredibly exciting to me as a chef,” said Hines.
Given her interest in the cuisine, the concept for a bar and restaurant seemed like a natural fit in Seattle. Eastern Mediterranean influences are not often seen in Seattle, especially with an emphasis on locally organic.
Hines will split her time between Golden Beetle and Tilth. She recently promoted the Tilth sous chef, Jason Brzozowy, to chef de cuisine.
Hines is currently traveling in Istanbul, Beirut and Cairo for additional research for Golden Beetle and tweeting with pictures throughout her trip.
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w00t! this is great and exciting news!
This totally just made my year! I cannot wait to eat here.
Although I *love* middle eastern/ mediterranean food, my impression of “Tilth” was that it was one of the most pretentious (and expensive) places I’ve ever been in. Oh, the food was pretty good – I’ll admit the mini hamburgers fried in duck fat were tasty (other stuff was just so-so, some of it was downright weird). But good lord, the prices were just staggering. And no, I wasn’t paying – it was a “business dinner” and the boss’ boss was paying (actually, he ‘expensed it’ – so the cost was deducted from taxes paid and/or passed along to consumers) – there were eight of us, and the bill came to almost $2500 (there were a couple bottles of wine and some cocktails). Now, I’m sure you don’t have to spend over $200 per person to get a meal there, but it might be hard to get a full stomach for less than a C-note. Not really what I think Ballard needs more of.
Personally, when I crave middle eastern food, I’ll swing by Mr. Gryos. Mmmm. Say, I could go for a schawarma right about now….
I’m not sure Ballard’s “Save Our Denny’s” crowd is quite ready for bugs in their cous cous.
This sounds great! Sounds like she’s aiming it squarely downmarket, relative to Tilth, which in my opinion is a good thing.
I look forward to trying Maria’s new restaurant. Seriously, it will be cool to have a restaurant, IN BALLARD, with someone talented enough to have beaten Iron Chef Morimoto!
I would much rather have the Denny’s.
The prices at Tilth do not seem outlandish to me, though I’ve never eaten there with a party of 8, a few bottles of wine and an expense account (that somehow involves costs being passed along to consumers …).
Mmmmm, can’t wait!
This sounds like it will be a great restaurant and I can’t wait to try it! However, I’m a little worried for her because of the location. The last two places in this spot failed pretty quickly. Also, supposedly Tom Douglas was considering taking over the Via Verde spot for his latest restaurant, but backed out because of location. At any rate, I wish her luck!
I like food.
I like restaurants.
I like words.
I do not like the word tilth.
I think it rhymes with filth.
I do not like insects and bugs.
I do not like insects and bugs in my food.
That is all.
ha – i’m sure the “save our denny’s” crowd has eaten worse in their food at denny’s at least once…
word
sounds good!
re:prices, etc, at restaurants…as its becoming more important to people to try and eat locally sourced stuff, organic, etc folks need to realize that is not inexpensive generally. think “shopping at safeway vs shopping at PCC”. i have no argument to those that want to save $, but the fact is (unfortunately) is that it can be expensive to eat healthy, wholesome, non-factory foods.
can’t say I agree. It’s got some of the best parking in Ballard behind the building, and it’s free! Plus, that side of town needs something like this. Via Verde failed because it never really tried to make decent food. Food sucks= no business; plain and simple.
Yay, I am so excited about this! Tilth is my favorite restaurant, so I’m thrilled to have another of Maria’s restaurants nearby. I really really hope she offers vegan options at Golden Beetle like she does at Tilth!
High quality locally-sourced sustainably-produced food is more expensive. The reason is that you are paying the actual costs of the food, whereas with cheap food grown somewhere else with unstastainable practices and transported here, many of the actual costs (including environmental damage) are not reflected in the price you pay.
I’ve eaten at Tilth many times and never had a dish that wasn’t fabulous. That type of talent and creativity from the chefs also costs more.
I like food.
I like restaurants.
I do not like insects and bugs in my food.
I like words too.
I like that restaurant names (and words that rhyme with them) are not ingredients in the food they serve
Mo if you read the article you would see that indeed, there are Golden Beetles dried and smashed into the spices. hence, bugs in food. I hear they are delicious though.
addendum:
I do not like restaurant names that imply unappetizing things.
I do not like to think of filth while looking at the menu.
I do not like to think of insects while looking at the menu.
That is all. again.
FYI, although Via Verde failed quickly, the Market Street Grill did quite well for many years. The owners just got tired and sold the restaurant to the Via Verde people.
Tom Douglas did look at the place, but was not offered a appropriate deal from the landlord because of expensive permitting issues.
Hope She does well. It is a tough location. It’s pretty far away from Ballard Ave and Market ans 22nd where all the foot traffic is. And actually the parking lot in back is a nightmare to control. People often use it even if they are not going to either Fedex or the restaurant next door!!
We ate at the Golden Beetle on Saturday: Halibut Falafel, aspargus, garbonzo bean stew, and the three dip starter. Awesome!