One of Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots, Mean Sandwich, Reopens for Takeout

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One of Seattle’s Best Lunch Spots, Mean Sandwich, Reopens for Takeout

After shutting down for about two months during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ballard’s Mean Sandwich is back. The popular lunch spot is offering a limited menu of burgers and sandwiches for takeout at a contact-less pickup window, starting today. Options include the shop’s eponymous option (featuring corned beef, pickled red cabbage, yellow mustard, and maple syrup), oyster po’ boys, and the vegetarian-friendly Midnight at the Oasis, with falafel, hummus, harissa beets, and Persian pickles. The restaurant originally announced in March that it would close until Washington’s stay-at-home order was lifted, but like other fast casual spots in the city that once temporarily shut down, such as Marination, it has now found a way to slowly roll out service.

Seattle’s New Online Marketplace Aims to Make It Easier to Get Face Masks

On Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a new initiative called Seattle Protects that features local manufacturers — including a vendor that usually produces baby blankets — selling cloth face coverings for $5-7 each when purchased as a bulk order. This arrives as the city rolls out its new directive that all Seattleites must wear face masks in indoor settings where social distancing could prove difficult, such as restaurants for takeout services and grocery stores. Washington’s phased reopening plan also requires that restaurants provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to its staff, even as such resources are in short supply. The marketplace may make it easier for restaurants to acquire face masks, although individuals can purchase them as well.

Macrina Bakery Gets Into the Bagel Biz

Looks like one major Seattle bakery has been working on its sourdough starter project the stay-at-home order. Macrina Bakery (still open for pickup and delivery at its four Seattle locations and one in Kent) announced this week that it will debut its first line of sourdough bagels, starting Thursday. The offerings will come in four flavors: plain, sesame, poppy, and sea salt, and will be available for wholesale in about a week. They’ll also compete in a suddenly-burgeoning Seattle bagel scene, with recent players such as Rubinstein and Mt Bagel still open and doing deliveries, alongside more established names such as Monica Dimas’s Westman’s Bagels, Eltana, and Porkchop and Co.