The March Hit List, Lunch Edition: Old Salt, Marmite, Remedium Island Grill, and More

Whether you call it a hero, hoagie, po’ boy, or submarine, a perfect grinder is a sum of its parts. It doesn’t matter the combo of meats, cheese, and other vegetables — it’s all about the bread. At Red Arrow Coffee, the daytime fill-in coffee shop at Ballard’s Brimmer & Heeltap, the grinder game is strong. Served on a chewy hoagie roll, the filled-to-the-brim sandwich with salami, capicola, provolone, relish, and shaved iceberg lettuce, is a wonder to behold. The vegetable version works, too. Get both daily until 1 p.m.

Dining status: The heated patio is open seven days a week; takeout is also available. Order here. Dinner service continues on the patio, Thursday though Sunday. Make reservations here.

Even at the height of COVID, Marmite draws a committed lunchtime crowd. On days when temperatures dip, the heated patio, plus chef Bruce Naftaly’s rich and delicious broths, soups, and soul-warming dishes, is the place to achieve peak warmth. The lunch menu is light-ish but plenty filling, with half orders of things like soupe aux orties (nettle soup), with a dab of crème fraîche, which leaves room for omelets with winter vegetables or pork chop with apples, and of course bread with really good French butter.

Dining status: Reservations are recommended for the covered and heated patio; takeout is also available. Order here.

Elizabeth Kenyon has been turning heads since Manolin opened in 2014, landing on “best” lists and garnering award nominations for her creative Pacific Northwest cuisine. After temporarily closing last September, the team came back with a pivot to this daytime-only fish and bagel concept, where you can get smoked fish by the pound, and unique sandwich combos like kimchi cream cheese and smoked trout on a black sesame Aleppo bagel — all done in-house. Another beauty is smoked black cod with cucumber, tobiko roe, whipped cream cheese, and sprouts, on a sesame bagel.

Dining status: Fireside patio dining is available, walk-ins welcome; order in person or call 206-294-3331 to order. Find more info here.

The namesake dish and Creole-inspired menu at this Central District favorite is undeniably great, but if there’s one thing not to overlook it’s the honey chicken biscuit sandwich. Not only is it the perfect hangover food — the perfectly golden fried piece of boneless chicken drizzled in sweet honey butter sits on a towering flaky biscuit — it’s also made for travel, and even makes a great picnic staple. And at only $12 — with potatoes, fries, grits, or a salad — it’s a steal for lunch. 

Dining status: Order pickup here; delivery is also available. Find info and menus here.

Brothers David and Ian Nichols have made a name for themselves with their farm-country fare in Green Lake. Seasonal dishes like braised short ribs with smoked onion soubise, or ricotta-stuffed agnolotti with chestnuts and brown-butter breadcrumbs, are the epitome of comfort food. Winter lettuces with champagne vinaigrette or rockfish ceviche make a nice light lunch, too. That is until you get the olive oil brownie drizzled with dulce de leche, which is so very needed right now.

Dining status: Reservations are recommended for indoor and patio dining; pickup and delivery are available Wednesday through Saturday.

Over the past year, dining experiences that feel truly special have been limited. Brunch at the famed Snoqualmie Falls-adjacent lodge is always an exception. The smoked salmon hash, made-to-order brioche donuts with Meyer lemon curd, and Breakfast in Bed cocktail — made with Bailey’s, rum, maple syrup, and bacon — are mighty fine reasons to take a break from the city. Lunch features things like Northwest seafood chowder and The Dale Cooper, a gin-based drink sweetened with cardamom-infused Salish honey, a nod to the lodge’s starring role in Twin Peaks. (But not as those lodges,)

Dining status: Reservations are strongly encouraged for the limited indoor seating in the main dining room; lunch is also available on the patio. Order takeout here.

The Pacific Northwest seafood-focused menu is small but mighty at Victor Steinbrueck’s Fremont spot. Among the small and larger bites are shrimp toast, a salmon BLT, and salt-and-pepper fries. The most coveted is the Dungeness crab roll, simply made with hand-cracked crab, mayo, lemon, and chives. It’s a limited-quantity item on weekends only, which is at least one reason to get out of bed on a Saturday. Plan accordingly.

Dining status: There are three tables available for dine-in on a first-come, first-served basis. Order pickup here. 

We could all benefit from more island vibes in our lives — Pacific islands like Hawaii, the Philippines, and Guam to be exact. While the most bang at Remedium comes via the Filipino Kamayan feast for up to five people — your choice of various meats plus fried saimin noodle stir fry, lumpia, and Guamanian red rice — things like sizzling pork belly sisig, tacos, and ube waffle-bun burgers are slightly more reasonable for lunch. Unless you have a lot of mouths to feed, of course. Get a Trinidad sour or Hemingway daiquiri, and after one sip, at least for a moment, you can pretend you’re someplace tropical. 

Dining Status: Reservations are encouraged for indoor or heated outdoor dining. Pickup and delivery are also available.

While this udon newcomer does a strong dinner business, lunch-only specials like jajamen and kamatama pork curry are not to be missed. For the jajamen, chef Ryuji Miyata’s supple hand-cut noodles are topped with a spicy meat sauce, Japanese-style soft-boiled egg, fresh cucumbers, and sil-gochu, or chili threads. The housemade mango lassi is an unexpectedly delightful pairing. Uncooked udon sets for two to three people are available for takeout, and super simple to reheat.

Dining status: Outdoor dining is available; call 206-328-4910 two hours in advance for reservations. Takeout is also offered; order here.

A solid restaurant burger can conjure the before times, and few things are more civilized than a legit burger-and-martini lunch. The steakhouse burger at the Bothell favorite is not a humble beast — a wagyu patty bathed in housemade steak sauce and topped with crispy onions and creamy gorgonzola. A side of fries is mandatory. And about that lunchtime martini? Think classic with a twist; it also comes bottled, should you prefer to dine at home.

Dining status: Outdoor dining is available; order pickup and delivery here.