The Capitol Hill Times Shares Tidbits about The Old Sage from Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (nominated by Food & Wine as THE PEOPLE'S BEST NEW CHEF)

Reporter Ashley Roe ran a story in today's paper: "Old Sage to bring restaurant-wise duo’s second venue to 12th Ave".  She reports, "“Since Sage means wise man, there’s been a lot of inspiration from both of our grandfathers,” Tough said. “We both look up to them as wise old men.”

Still about five weeks out from opening, the ambiance of the 85-seater will have a mixed feel between Tavern Law and their first gastropub, Spur, in Belltown.

“The space itself will have a loungey cabin feel with an urban twist,” McCracken said. “But the huge back bar is a major focal point to the design.”"

About Chef McCracken and Tough's food there she wrote, "The star of the menu, the meats, will all be cooked in a wood fire oven to get a high temperature caramelization.

“Each meat is going to be prepared with old world techniques, that aren’t trendy but have stuck around for years,” Tough said. “It will have a slight modern approach too, making it a good mix of the two concepts.”

The smoked meats are said to not be the typical smoked items like barbeque or pastrami that people are typically familiar with.

Tough talked in detail about a lightly cured and smoked Hamachi dish, which will be on the menu.
“Hamachi is a really delicate fish, but ours ends up with a texture and aroma similar to ham,” Tough said. “We’re smoking the Hamachi with hickory, which brings out the American country ham flavor.”

A focus on seasonal vegetables and bread made to order will round out the food menu."

And what's to drink once The Old Sage opens? "McCracken and Tough have slated the The Old Sage as a malt whiskey and beer-centric bar, with American single malts and local beers as the highlights."

Read the entire story about what's next from these two chefs who have been nominated this week as THE PEOPLE'S BEST NEW CHEF from Food & Wine magazine.

Nancy Leson Reports on Brunchlandia- Seattle Times Story on Seattle's Brunch Spots

Nancy Leson called to ask where we go to brunch when we're not at work. "(W)here do these chefs head on a busman’s weekend? It turns out even the new mavens of gastro-brunch are not immune to the pull of the traditional.

Fuller’s always on the lookout for a great eggs Benedict. For that he heads to Tom Douglas’ Lola.

So does Dana Tough of the Coterie Room (where, speaking of eggs Benedict, you should not miss the smoked Dungeness crab with bacon hollandaise, perched on a perfect potato patty).

His business partner Brian McCracken prefers the Georgian in the Fairmont Olympic. (Fancy!)

“There’s not too many places in Seattle to get that kind of elegance,” says McCracken, who helps himself to pastries at the jewel-box dining room’s brunch buffet.

So, will the dynamic duo serve brunch at their new place, The Old Sage, when it opens this spring next to their popular Pike/Pine boozery Tavern Law? “We’re debating about that,” says Tough. “Café Presse is hard to compete with,” cracks McCracken."

The article is a great one. Read it here.  And thank you Nancy for the nod to our Eggs Benedict at The Coterie Room.