Tapas bar's owners expand to Belltown — and France

Don't burst into tears if you stop by The Harvest Vine (2701 E. Madison St., Seattle, 206-320-9771 or www.harvestvine.com) late this month and find the place closed.

Owners Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez and Carolin Messier de Jiménez are planning a quick upstairs remodel, closing June 24 and expecting to reopen July 9. They're rebuilding their worn copper bar, reconfiguring the pantry station, replacing stoves and counters and gutting the tile floor — which Carolin installed herself when they opened their celebrated tapas bar on a shoestring budget in 1998.

As if that isn't action enough for Carolin and her big Basque, how about this: They're also opening a second place, in Belltown, having recently signed the lease for Txori (say "chor-ee" — it means bird), a darling 900-square-foot space at 2227 Second Ave.

If all goes well, the tiny spot will debut in August as a San Sebastian-styled pinchos bar — complete with French doors that open onto a small rear deck, blessedly off the beaten path from Belltown's noise and foot-traffic.

Carolin describes Txori as "your neighborhood hangout" and though they'll have a full bar, she says, "It's not your late-night, get-drunk drinking place with 15 vodkas."

Instead, we'll be encouraged to stop in for a refreshing glass of txacoli (Basque wine), a strong cup of coffee or a limited menu of pinchos: the Basque noshes she likens to sushi sets, sizewise, as opposed to the not-so "small plates" served elsewhere in Belltown.

Joey Serquinia, who has worked on and off at The Harvest Vine over the years (and did an impressive stint at nearby Marco's Supperclub) will be the chef on-premise. Jeff Watanabe, longtime GM at Café Flora, will run the floor. They'll open nightly, serve weekday lunch and are toying with the possibility of weekend brunch.

Calling this a "crazy year," Carolin chalks up the lunacy to having recently turned 40. "I just wanted to do some new stuff." Indeed. They've scheduled a remodel. They're building out a Belltown boîte. And did I mention their other acquisition: an old chateau on 12 acres in Southwest France, which they'll eventually turn into an eight-room boutique hotel and restaurant?

"It's our dream. It's what we've been working for for 10 years," says the restaurateur and pastry chef, who spent five years looking in Spain before finding exactly what she wanted across the border in Navarrenx, a day's trip from San Sebastian.

Renovations are expected to take several years, says Carolin, who plans to pay for those renovations with cash flow from Txori. I'll drink to that!

Big Apple: Hooked on salmon?

Last month, I got my first taste of Wild Salmon (622 Third Ave., New York, 212-404-1700), New York's new "Pacific N.W. Brasserie." There the menu and wine list showcase the best of the Pacific Northwest, and I was hugely disappointed to find executive chef Charles Ramseyer out of the house.

Turns out Ramseyer, late of Ray's Boathouse, was in the Other Washington with a concerned group of chefs, fisherfolk and conservationists, urging Congress to support measures to protect Pacific Northwest salmon and their natural habitat. For that, I forgave him his absence.

"Nice geoduck!" I told the hostess, as she escorted us past a dramatic display of icy Northwest seafood, in a restaurant notable for its slick, salmon-centered decor and its exceedingly opinionated owner (über-restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow). "You know what that thing is?" she asked, duly impressed. "Sure! And I can even spell it: g-o-o-e-y ... "

Soon, I was slurping beautiful Totten Inlet Virginicas on the half-shell, contemplating whether to order steamed Penn Cove mussels, a Walla Walla onion stuffed with Hempler's bacon, or Alaska sea scallops wrapped in lamb prosciutto cured by Seattle's own Batali family in Pioneer Square. I opted for the Chatham Straits black cod sake kasu — my standing order at Ray's Boathouse. It was delicious here, too.

New York critics are already weighing in with pros and cons on Chodorow's latest production. And all have something to say about its namesake: "A flawless duo of sockeye and king salmon tartare nicely illustrates the differences in the fish," says Bloomberg's Alan Richman. But when it comes to coho vs. king, New York Magazine's Adam Platt says he can't tell the diff, urging his readers to save 10 bucks and go for the coho. (What was he smoking? Uh, salmon, I guess.)

Meanwhile, last week on NBC's "Today Show," Ramseyer — introduced as Charles "Razz-meyer" — played sidekick to his limelight-loving boss, Chodorow, though they were both upstaged by the season's first Copper River king, flown in from Cordova and clearly ready for its close-up at Rockefeller Center.

Missed the show? Watch the video clip online (at http://today.msnbc.msn.com; search for "ramseyer something's fishy"), and while you're there, print out the accompanying recipe for salmon with Oregon pinot noir morel sauce.

So, what's it like being the Northwest's seafood-serving ambassador in the Big Apple?

"New York has a lot to give. It's a great experience," says Ramseyer, who spent the past 14 years at Ray's on Shilshole Bay. Staffers, he notes, "had to learn a completely new book here on fish."

New Yorkers aren't shy (surprise!) about asking "Where is this from? Where is that from?" Schmoozing tableside, he notes that "Every week, two or three people from Seattle who live here now come in and tell me, 'Finally, we have a restaurant where we can have salmon!' "

To say nothing of Washington wines, Samish Bayclams, Tillamook cheddar, Westport Dungeness crab, Wagyubeef short ribs ...

Fans blue over Bar Shu

And they thought the Szechuan peppercorns made them cry!

A couple of bummed-out readers wrote to tell me about the unexpected closure of one of their favorite new restaurants, Bar Shu (2560 152nd Ave. N.E.) in Redmond. After turning them on to the place — which made up in flavor and service what it lacked in ambiance — I feel even worse than they do.

"I am completely crushed! Not to mention mystified," wrote Nancy Jorgensen, who wondered whether I might be able to track down the whereabouts of chef/owner Wu Xiong.

Ken Stevens noted that Bar Shu's strip-mall location — around the corner from the venerable Malay Satay Hut — will soon be replaced by a Korean restaurant, and he, too, asked about the chef.

Word from one of my most trusted sources imparts this bit of Chinese wisdom: Wu Xiong is hoping to find a better location in Kirkland. If that fails, he's considering hightailing it to New York, where I suggest he join the team at Wild Salmon, if only to share his fabulous lip-numbing Szechuan peppercorn-fueled recipe for "Fish with Soft Tofu."

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com