After much delay – so sorry – some newish businesses can now be found in the PhinneyWood Food & Drink guide, which is kept lively with your reviews and comments. They are:

• Caffe Vita
• Cornuto
• The Yard Cafe

Let us know at tips@phinneywood.com of any other businesses in these categories that we may be missing, or of any facts/rumors about new businesses opening in Phinney Ridge or Greenwood.

Aventura Mexican Restaurant (Mexican)
Aventura Mexican Restaurant (Map)
Seattle, WA 98133
(206) 363-3089
aventuramexican.com

Yelp: “…The quesadillas are unique – deep fried …”

Urban Spoon: Outside doesn’t look fancy. But inside is clean…

(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)

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Thanks to popular demand and our mad weak PHP coding skills, we’ve finally figured out how to organize the Food & Drink section into categories to make browsing easier.

See: All | Bars/pubs | Coffee shops | Delicatessens | Restaurants

We could use your help figuring out how to improve this further. We’ve had other suggestions, including highlighting places that are kid-friendly and have outdoor seating. What do you think? Do those categories work for you and are there any others you’d like to see? What would you consider “kid/family-friendly?” And would a place that has a few chairs outside qualify as having outdoor seating, or should we set a certain threshold?

Also, with the addition of a delicatessen category, we’ve added Ken’s Market and the Safeway deli to the section. And an oversight on our part has been corrected with the addition of Espresso Buono Cafe (located inside Couth Buzzard).

Let us know what you think!

The Barking Dog Alehouse, 705 NW 70th St., is hosting a Haiti fundraiser at 7 p.m. tonight (Jan. 23) for People in Need Partnership.

Besides what the restaurant is kicking in, Georgetown Brewing Company, Deschutes Brewery and Diamond Knot Brewing have all donated beer. Proceeds from all four kegs alone could total $1,000, according to a restaurant manager.

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Carmelita, 7314 Greenwood Ave. N, is serving a special menu, of which 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Oxfam America Haiti relief fund. You can see the special menu here.

If you know of any other upcoming Haiti fundraisers not already mentioned, please post something in comments, or send us a note at tips@phinneywood.com.

We’ve had a couple requests to add Sundown Saloon and Four Spoons Cafe to the Food & Drink section and I’ve finally gotten around to posting them.

Four Spoons Cafe, 850 NW 85th St., opened in June and is serving breakfast and lunch, in the space formerly occupied by Crown Hill Bistro and the Library Cafe before that. They recently got a beer and wine license as well.

Just to the east, Sundown Saloon, 820 NW 85th St., changed ownership last fall, added a full bar this past spring and offers a full menu.

So, if you’ve been to Four Spoons or the Sundown just west of Greenwood in Crown Hill, click through to Food & Drink to post your reviews.

One of our favorite specialty food shops, The Shop Agora, now has online ordering. After you’ve ordered your Mediterranean treats, you can order some light reading to go with it from Santoro’s Books.

If you’re in a hurry, try online ordering from Stacia’s Pizza. Any others you know about? Add a link in comments.

The Barking Dog Alehouse (American, bar)
TheBarkingDogAlehouse.com
705 NW 70th St. (map)
(206) 782-2974

CitySearch.com: “The emphasis is on beer and community at this friendly Phinney Ridge alehouse…”
NWSource.com: “A secret worth discovering…”

(52 votes, average: 2.73 out of 5)

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New’s Noodles (Vietnamese)
8576 Greenwood Ave. N (map)
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 784-2234

Yelp: “New’s Noodles provides some welcome variety, in Greenwood and in Seattle.  The broth for their pho is subtle and tasty…”

(40 votes, average: 3.85 out of 5)

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From our sister site, MyBallard, here’s some info on the grand opening of Take 5 Urban Market, including giveaways and a drawing for prizes from the market at the corner of 8th Avenue NW and NW 70th Street.

We stopped in last night for dinner. Perched on the stools along the window, we enjoyed their daily dinner special (roast beef, veggies and mashed potatoes), toothsome mac-and-cheese and a zesty pulled chicken sandwich. For more store info, including their menu, here’s a link to the market’s site.

The Wing Dome at 7818 Greenwood Ave. N. will be sporting Husky and Gonzaga colors, banners and signs starting Saturday, in honor of their winning ways at the Big Dance. And they’re opening early – at 9:30 a.m. – both Saturday and Sunday for morning games.

During the Husky and Gonzaga games (as long as they last in the tourney) if people wear their team colors to show their pride we’ll take 15% off their tab. The best part -if fans are wearing their team colors and eat a #7 HOT wing (our hottest available) they get a free rubber chicken (with prizes inside). If people come in and order before 11 a.m. they get the access to the following specials: 5 wings and a beer for $5, FREE Top Pot Donuts (while they last!), and an offer of buy 20 wings get 20 free.

Being something of a food fan, The Shop Agora, 6417-A, Phinney Ave. N. is on my list of local faves.

Every Saturday, Nikos and Alexis have food and wine tasting. Today from 1-5 p.m., Macrina Bakery will be there with rustic breads featured in the new Agora Bread Club, which sounds like an interesting opportunity since the Greenwood Bakery closed to make way for the proposed Ken’s Market expansion.

It always amazes me how this little hole-in-the-wall shop in the same building as Rudy’s can hold so many great Mediterranean ingredients, including wine, cheese, dried figs (great stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in pancetta, then baked), giant beans in tomato sauce and aged balsamic vinegar.

We’re on their mailing list. We support shopping local and if your business has regular events you’d like us to know about, send us a note at tips@phinneywood.com to tell us about it.

The food and wine boutique on the first floor of the Fini Condos building at 6801 Greenwood Ave. N, will open Monday, hitting their goal of opening in September.

The store, owned by husband and wife team of Anson and Jenny Klock, will feature a full wine bar as well as organic soups, salads and sandwiches. They’ll also have pate, duck leg confit, prosciutto and a long list of other meats and locally-grown vegetables that you can eat there or take to go.

Jenny took a break from ongoing preparations to offer a glimpse inside the store Friday afternoon:

Store hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. They’re closed Tuesdays and Jenny says they’ll use next Tuesday to “regroup” after Monday’s soft opening.