FOOD MATTERS | Crushed, armed, pickled

Peter Johnson is the new lessee of the space at the corner of 34th Avenue and East Union Street — occupied for the last 20 years by the Madrona Eatery & Ale House — to be renamed Madrona Arms.

The Irish-born Johnson has long had his eye on the spot, almost since he took his first job in Seattle at a tavern called Hank’s (today The Attic, 4226 E. Madison St.) in Madison Park. When Burke Shethar’s lease for Madrona Ale House ended, Johnson stepped up.

Johnson grew up in the restaurant business. Born in Belfast, he was washing glasses in the shipyard pubs at age 15 and eventually found his way to the United States. After settling in Seattle, he and his wife, Adrianna, launched a number of taverns: Finn McCool’s in the University District, the Chieftain opposite Seattle University on Capitol Hill and McGilvra’s at the foot of Madison Street in Madison Park.

By mid-August, Johnson and his 14-year-old son, Michael, were ankle-deep into the refurbishing of the Madrona space. (Mother was in Poland, with their two oldest boys.) Peter and Michael had toured London earlier this year, scouting out the typical neighborhood pubs they’d find at every Underground exit.

“That’s what we want here in Madrona,” Johnson said. “A comfortable local.”

He’s installing warm woodwork (floors, booths, back bar) throughout the 2,800-square-foot space, with seating for about 90; flat-screens to watch sports (but “it’s not a sports bar.”); a full cocktail bar, plus craft beers; and a menu that goes beyond standard pub fare (soups, burgers, specials). Early plans call for a late-afternoon happy hour, plus dinner, with a late-night happy hour and brunch.

A temporary liquor license was issued in mid-August. Now all that’s left is, well, almost everything else: chef, bartender, staff hiring and training. By the end of September, all should be ready.

“I want to make sure that everyone remembers to say, ‘Thank you,’ to every guest,” Johnson said. “‘Hello’ is nice, but ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ are even more important.”

Small bites

Sidewalk dining is always a pleasure these warm summer evenings, and the little patio (with all of two tables) adjacent to 2-year-old Bar Cantinetta (2811 E. Madison St.) is no exception.

This was the second of Trevor Greenwood’s neighborhood Tuscan-themed spots (the first was in Wallingford, the third in Bellevue and there’s also a pizza place, called Mercato Stellina Pizzeria, in Bellevue).

His executive chef, Emran Chowdhury, is one of Seattle’s best “unknown” kitchen wizards, by the way. Here’s an example, from a recent meal: creamy risotto, with crunchy nuggets of summer corn and savory bites of fennel sausage, topped with tangy pickled blueberries.

Sad news for friends of fine dining on the western slope of Madison Valley: Jason Wilson has given up on serving high-end dinners at Crush (2319 E. Madison St.). Wilson had fiddled with the dining dilemma that faces all chefs: how to build a large enough clientele of regulars.

For a time, he offered menus built around a single “taste.” And, for a while, that seemed to work.

But then came the moment when he thought, “enough is enough,” and started making plans to move the east side of the lake. “Follow the money,” he seemed to be telling himself. But that proved elusive, as well. So Wilson decided to close Crush (the restaurant) for good at the end of August.

Don’t feel too sorry for Wilson, though; he’s still got his downtown steak house, The Miller’s Guild, and a raft of consulting gigs, one of which is to turn the 1903 Tudor house into a culinary test lab for another venture for which he is executive chef: Coffee Flour.

When we drink coffee, we’re just brewing the roasted beans, but there’s a world of possibilities in the rest of the discarded fruit. Wilson is figuring out ways to use this valuable resource in a variety of culinary preparations.

A familiar face at Voilà! Bistrot (2805 E. Madison St.) these days: It’s Mido Benjdya, former host at the short-lived Vespolina (96 Union St.). Before his return to Madison Valley, Benjdya had also been in charge of beverage service at Sky City, the restaurant atop the Space Needle.

RONALD HOLDEN is a restaurant writer and consultant who blogs at Cornichon.org and Crosscut.com. To comment on this column, write to MPTimes@nwlink.com.