Counting Down: The Old Sage on Seattle Met magazine's "Bar and Restaurant Opening We Await" List

Thanks to Seattle Met's Allecia Vermillion for including us on this list.  She wrote, "Chefs Dana Tough and Brian McCracken's next spot, a few doors down from Tavern Law, will be all about Old World-style smoked meats, wood-fired plates, and whiskey. It should open in the former Local Vine space in the first few months of 2013."

To read the entire list of what to watch for, read the article here.

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.

We're Invited to Talk with Providence Cicero and Terry Jaymes on Let's Eat

We enjoyed chatting with with Terry Jaymes and Providence Cicero on their Let's Eat radio show.  You can listen to their show here. It was a lot of fun talking about the process of how we come up with menus, the spaces and inspirations for how we've created our restaurants from Spur and Tavern Law to The Coterie Room and soon The Old Sage.  Getting past the egos... how Seattle's Wild West history always plays a role... even what our favorite fast food spots are. 

Listen in to hear what we'll be smoking at The Old Sage.

Capitol Hill Times Reports on What's Happening a Few Doors Up from Tavern Law

"The Old Sage Ready to Waft onto 12th Avenue": reports the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog in this story.

Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough Speak with Eater about The Old Sage

Late this winter, we'll be opening The Old Sage on Seattle's Capitol Hill... just a few doors north of Tavern Law.  Here's the article Julien of Eater wrote about what we're planning. 

"[The concept] is smoked meats in a fun bar setting with interesting bar food. Our meats will not be your everyday pastrami and things like that; we found that a lot of smoked meats go really well with whiskey and beer and that's kind of the direction of the bar," says McCracken.

"[The concept is] something we've been sitting on for a while," says Tough. "Don't think barbecue whatsoever. One thing we're going to have on the menu for sure is hickory-smoked Virginia ham—sourcing domestic hams, like cured hams. Think the texture of prosciutto but hickory smoked, thinly sliced with like a malt mustard."

"Like Brian said, it'll be a very meat-centric menu. Anything that's not meat-focused will be vegetable-focused. Not a whole lot of starch-heavy things going on, just rich meats and lighter vegetables."

Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Met's Nosh Pit about The Old Sage

Allecia talked to us about The Old Sage: "our version of rustic".  Read her story here to learn more about the menu and what's to come later this winter. 

She reported: “This is our version of rustic,” says Tough. Rather, they want to blend some of the techniques that cemented their culinary reputation with some old-world approaches. Think pork cheeks, smoked with lavender, then braised for hours to impart a mellow smoke flavor and a subtle floral note. Vegetables will round out the meat dishes, most of them spending time in the wood-fired oven. The guys are also geeking out about the various breads they can make. Diners can build their meals by ordering some meats and a few vegcentric side dishes to round it out.

And, hello, there will be a serious booze program. Whiskeys and beer will dominate the bar, where Scotches provide an appropriately smoky foil to the meat dishes. The buildout will add a long, L-shaped bar—and plenty of bar seating—to the room. And since the name essentially means “a wise old man,” McCracken and Tough are planning a few nods to their own grandfathers along the way, be it old photos or making sure their grandads’ favorite whiskeys and beers are stocked (and perhaps some Old Grand-Dad as well?)."