Edward Lee Loves Edouardo Jordan (and More Updates)

Welcome back to Morning Briefing, a semi-regular round-up of mini news bites to kick off the day. Have news to share? Send intel to seattle@eater.com.

Michigan’s Madcap Coffee

From June 6 through July 10, La Marzocco Cafe’s (472 1st Ave N, Seattle) roaster in residence will be Michigan’s Madcap Coffee Company, one of the country’s essentials. Madcap co-founders Trevor Corlett and Ryan Knapp will each spend a week behind La Marzocco’s bar, overlapping for a free launch event on June 9 with live music and natural wine from Vif. A special menu features Molly Moon’s ice cream drinks like an espresso milkshake, signature blends including Bud in Bloom (nitro coffee, strawberry rose reduction, and almond milk), a sparkling cascara infusion on tap, and even a few specials for Negroni Week, June 5 to 11.

City Council Approves Tax on Sugary Drinks

Washington has been panned as having “by far” the most regressive tax system in America, and Seattle’s City Council just voted to tax sugary beverages — non-diet soda, Gatorade, Red Bull, and more — at 1.75 cents per ounce, adding another burden on the low income citizens who already bear the brunt of a system that relies on sales tax instead of personal income tax. This seems like misplaced priorities, given the increasing realization that the state will need to move to a progressive income tax to “succeed fiscally,” as one economist put it. An amendment to the bill exempts businesses earning less than $2 million per year, and provides a lower tax rate to companies earning between $2 million and $5 million per year, like Rachel’s Ginger Beer.

Cafe Hitchcock Adds Happy Hour and Dinner

Counter service gives way to table service as Café Hitchcock transitions from breakfast/lunch to happy hour/dinner, added last weekend. The long happy hour — running from 3 to 7 p.m. with $2 off house cocktails, draft beer, and wine, $1 off sandwiches and salads, some $6 cocktail options, and plenty of snacks — will be particularly appealing to downtown diners. Dinner, giving a taste of Bainbridge’s admired Hitchcock experience on the mainland, is 5 to 9 p.m. and features the likes of herring boquerones and sous-vide heritage pork loin.

Smart Catch Sustainable Seafood Goes National

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s Smart Catch program, which launched in Seattle two years ago to encourage restaurants to serve sustainable seafood, is ramping up with the help of the James Beard Foundation. More than 60 chefs representing more than 100 restaurants, many of them James Beard Award winners, have signed on to the program, which provides training and support to chefs so they can serve seafood fished or farmed in environmentally-responsible ways, according to a release. Mario Batali, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, and Seattle’s own Renee Erickson are among the participating restaurateurs, whose establishments will be listed on the James Beard website and marked with the Smart Catch emblem for ease of identification.

Edouardo Jordan Keeps Raising the Bar

Chef Edward Lee, in town for the world premier of his film, Fermented, at the Seattle International Food Festival, raved about his favorite meal on Instagram: Junebaby. Alongside a shot of crispy pig ears with pecan butter, Lee said in part, “Eduardo Jordan is making some of the best Southern food [at Junebaby] way up in Seattle and it inspired me to know that this food can translate anywhere even in the Pacific Northwest.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post mis-identified Paul Allen as founder of Amazon.