Sunday, March 01, 2009

The Long Awaited Return of Sam Hassan

So.... I am absolutely overjoyed to report that Sam Hassan will soon be behind a stove again. The man behind the (great) Rio Brazilian Grill in the U-District and Samba in Maple Leaf is back, bigger, probably better, and out to knock yer socks off and put a nice twist on what us Americans think of "Bar Food".

The All Nations Soccer Bar and Restaurant will be opening (I hope very) soon at the former Mr. Bills on Aurora at 130th. I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat with Sam a week or so back and get the skinny on what he will be doing.

First off, (I gotta get this out of the way early, lol) those of you who ate at his Seward Park Pizza Rio will be pleased to know that he will resume making pizza. He hopes to start serving pies in 2 or 3 weeks. He plans on having delivery. Maybe I'll try it sometime. (Professional interest, of course)

He will, however, also have other types of food, and this is what gets my chops watering.

Bar Food. GOOD Bar Food. Not your standard Bar Food. As in he's calling them Tapas-type Bar Food. Chicken Wings? Natch, how would you like them?

West African Style?

Brazilian Style?

Vindaloo Style?

I think you get the idea. He's envisioning a place where soccer (or is it football?) fans from all over the world will be able to come and get the types of bar food that they would recognize from their home countries. Sounds like a great idea, and I really hope that he is able to execute it. I'm looking forward to Brazilian Crepes, Basque Stew, Grilled Seafood, ("Simple... Mediterannean Style") and to falling back in love with his feijoada and Brazilian Tri Tip and Brazilian Potato Salad. (Yeah, double that Tri Tip order, and a Xingu, please.) Beers from all over, imported (read: hard to find) cacachas, and pisco liquor from Peru.

Luckily, the space is big enough to have both a bar and a restaurant, so I'll be able to take my son Cooper there and see that he thinks. (He's two, so as long as there is something that he can eat with his hands, I'm sure he'll think it's great.)

EveryBlock Seattle lists the date for the Liquor License app as Feb. 6th, so hopefully it is making its way thru the process and I'll be able to get a drink, and a snack, there soon.

All Nations Soccer Bar and Restaurant

930 N. 130th. Street

Seattle

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