While scoping out my new neighborhood, I noted that I am absolutely surrounded by sushi joints. That’s a bit like surrounding a hungry lion with lame gazelles; I’m gonna eat, and eat big. But with so many sushi restaurants, where do I begin?

Lucky for me, I have an answer! This summer, the challenge is on: One Woman, 15 Sushi Joints, No Prisoners. I will be Sushispotting- trying one of the 15 joints each week, until each one has been properly sampled (it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta eat it). I will be reviewing each sushi joint on a scale of 1 to 5 fishies in the categories of Freshness, Roll/Menu Variety, Value/Cost, Downtown Bellevue Core Walking Distance, Proper Sushi Ambience, and Overall Deliciousness. The sushi restaurant at the end of my quest with the highest rating gets…more of my sushi-gluttony business. And hopefully yours.

Late the grazing begin.

Downtown Bellevue Network’s Most Wanted List:

• Pret A Manger
• Michael Mina Restaurant
• W Hotel
• Ritz Carlton
• Dean & Deluca
• Zara
• CB2
• West Elm
• Trader Joe’s
• American Apparel
• Via Tribunali Pizzeria

What would you add to this list?

The sandwiches are preservative free, artificial flavoring free, growth hormone free, and are freshly placed into a display case that is regularly replenished. As a customer you are able to retrieve the sandwich that meets your interest and pay. It is quick gourmet sandwiches at fast-food prices!

Downtown Bellevue could use a great sandwich shop like Pret A Manger. Unfortunately they have not plans to expand to the West Coast right now, but when they do we’ll be hungry and waiting!

Microsoft has over 15,000 employees in Bellevue and over 90,000 employees in Redmond, Issaquah, Bellevue and Seattle combined, yet they still do not yet have a retail presence in the area. Last year Microsoft opened their first retail stores in Scottsdale, AZ and Mission Viejo, CA.

Microsoft has plans to add future stores and at some point will likely add a store in the greater Seattle area. What better place to add a retail store in the area than at Bellevue Square, where the first Apple Store in the Pacific Northwest was established.

Apple opened their store at Bellevue Square in May of 2003. It’s interesting to note that although it was the 55th Apple Store to open, it was planned as the 3rd store to open in its fleet. The store was initially scoped as a much larger store that would have had street visibility, in the location that is currently occupied by Red Robin; its current location was eventually settled upon in what we refer to as the Luxury Wing at Bellevue Square across from Tiffany’s.

Microsoft was founded in Bellevue and has strong connections in Downtown Bellevue, occupying space for employees at Lincoln Square, The Bravern, City Center Plaza, and Civica buildings. A Microsoft retail store in Bellevue Square would continue to diversify the types of stores at Bellevue Square and reinforce Microsoft’s roots in the area.  I can’t think of a better place for Microsoft to add a store!

On Monday it was reported that the San Francisco based Mina Group, Inc., a high-end restaurant management company founded by Michael Mina with almost 20 restaurants nationwide, is looking to bring their RN74 concept in San Francisco to Seattle. Michael Mina is a nationally renowned chef known for unparalleled cuisine and restaurant experiences.

The article went on to quote Kristin Koca McLarty, V.P. of public relations for the Mina Group, “We are absolutely considering opening a restaurant in Seattle, and RN74 is the restaurant being considered.”

We send this message to Michael Mina and his team: While you are “considering” opening a restaurant in the Seattle area, we ask you to consider Downtown Bellevue as a location for it. Although you probably haven’t heard of “Bellevue” before, you need to. It’s the home to over 7,500 Microsoft employees, T-Mobile’s North America headquarters, Expedia’s World headquarters, and Eddie Bauer’s corporate headquarters. It’s also home to luxury brands such as Neiman Marcus, Hermès, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany’s, Burberry, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, David Barton Gym, and more. Not yet convinced…we’ll take you on a tour, and you’ll see how your restaurant would fit in perfectly!

(Bravern…Bellevue Collection…we hope you are reading this too; hot lead!)

There are several retail stores that sell home furnishings in Downtown Bellevue such as Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Thomasville, but there are still a couple of good retailers missing. West Elm and CB2 are our most desired stores in this category. On a trip I took last year to West Elm in Portland, the store manager mentioned that Bellevue was slated to get a store soon. One year later and unfortunately we are still without one.

Bellevue has its fair share of department stores, but could always use more, right?? Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf would be a nice fit!  Some ladies I know would also like a Juicy Couture. Also, many of us are counting down the days that JC Penny moves out of Bellevue Square and is replaced by the rumored Saks Fifth Avenue.

In previous articles we’ve mentioned great fits for Bellevue such as Dean & Deluca and Zara.

What stores would you like see come to Bellevue?  Sound off in the comments section below.

Newly added STIR at Bellevue Place hosted a nice intimate party on Saturday night with a DJ, magician, costume contest, and tarot card readings. Unfortunately not many people came out, and it was left feeling oddly empty as the night progressed.

Next up was The Parlor. We expected it to have a line out the door, which it has now become known for, but to our surprise not as many people were at the party as expected. The Parlor is fairly big, so once we made our way back to the dance floor we realized that is where most of the people had migrated. Unfortunately it was down hill from there. Sunglasses as part of Halloween costume were not allowed (even yellow-tinted ones). This as you can imagine did not sit well with some, our group in particular. Additionally some hats were not allowed either. The Parlor’s logic for this was that they needed to be able to identify people at all times. SERIOUSLY!? It was HALLOWEEN, come on!

After The Parlor was Lucky Strike. Lucky Strike allowed glasses and hats as part of your costume. It became clear though at this point that all of the Bellevue Collection drew more people on a non-Halloween night than on a night that has become synonymous for dressing up. In the lounge at Lucky Strike there was a circle of break-dancers who stole the show. The best part was that they were dressed up in Teletubbie costumes! This didn’t last for long though… After one person in the group performed a handstand, they were immediately escorted out by security with roaring boos. Supposedly they were told not to perform moves that would “endanger” others, and they disobeyed. Our entertainment had died and so did the night. Heaven forbid anyone do a Saturday Night Fever disco move and hit someone in the face with their finger. I mean, it’s a DANCE FLOOR!

Also, it was mentioned by other friends we were with that Pearl had their last call by 12:30am, earlier than they had anticipated due to lower than expected turnout.

It was great to see that so many places hosted Halloween parties this year, but they have left a lot of room for improvement for Halloween 2010.

Noise, Pollution, Safety Concerns…
Helicopters already wake my little boys…
Intrusion on the community…
Distraction to drivers…
Quality of life…will be reduced

Make it stop. I don’t know if I should be saying this about the ‘heli’ itself or to the group that’s out to make ‘heli stop.’ A group of Bellevue residents have teamed up as the Bellevue Residents for Responsible Heliport Policy.

This summer a helistop atop Kemper Development’s Bellevue Place building was approved. After extensive noise tests, approval was given for limited use on certain days of the week. It seemed like a reasonable agreement to us, and now like with most things, there is a ‘group of residents’ rising up to make the heli stop.

This group has urged the Bellevue City Counsel to delay helistops in Downtown Bellevue, specifically Kemper’s planned and approved helistop. They are mostly concerned about noise and safety, and an appeal for the Kemper Development Conditional Use Permit is now set for Monday, November 2nd at 8pm. As huge proponents of this appeal, they have plenty to say about safety concerns, but as far as I can tell don’t have much data to back up their real concerns. A lot of the dialogue sounds like anti-Kemper speak.

What’s your opinion? Do you care to make the ‘heli stop?’

Dear Jack-o-lantern Jake,

I have to say that Downtown Bellevue was a little slow jumping on the Halloween bandwagon this year. That being said, however, there is A LOT going on around here on Halloween! For those of you who have lost track, Halloween is on Saturday this year – Oct. 31. Here’s a list of the cool stuff being offered for the Halloween-spirited, from young to old!

Bellevue Collection Halloween Family Fun Fest
Location: Bellevue Square & Lincoln Square
When: Oct. 31, 4:30pm-7:30pm
- Trick or treating and activities for kids

4th Halloween Dance Party
Location: 520 Bar & Grill
When: Oct. 31, 9pm-midnight
-  Live DJ and dancing
*Costume Contest: Best Costume, Most Outrageous, Best Duo!

“Costumes & Cocktails” Halloween Party
Location: STIR Martini + Raw Bar
When: Oct. 31, 8pm-2am
- Food and drink specials, live DJ, and Tarot Card readings
*Costume Contest!

Free Family Day: BAM-O-WEEN!
Location:  Bellevue Arts Museum
When: Oct. 31, 1pm-4pm
- Free admission and Halloween-themed art activities for kids

Halloween Costume Party
Location: The Spot Off Main
When: Oct. 31, time TBD
- Specials and prizes
*Costume Contest!

Brad Upton Live Comedy/ Costume Contest
Location: Parlor Live Comedy Club & Ultralounge @ The Parlor
When: 7:30pm – Comedy Show, 9:30pm – Dance Party
- Hilarious comedy, live DJ, and cash prizes
* Costume Contest: Best Costume, Scariest, Funniest, Scariest!

International Ballet Theater’s Dracula & After-Party
Location: Meydenbauer Center
When: Oct. 31, 7:30pm – midnight
- Ballet performance, food, dancing, and drinks

“Boo-rito”
Location: Any Chipotle Mexican Grill (DTB – on 4th Street)
When: Oct.31, 6pm – close
-  Dress up as your favorite burrito, or other menu item, and get a free burrito!

So as you can tell there are great opportunities for fun for all ages this Halloween in Downtown Bellevue. What do you plan to do? Leave a comment, and let us know!

Costume Ready,
Lea

The Bravern is a place to indulge oneself with luxury goods and services.  With a few retail locations available for occupancy, there’s an opportunity to continue to enhance the offerings at The Bravern.

Dean & Deluca is an intimate, upscale chain of grocery stores primarily based out of the East Coast. The stores offer the highest quality meats, cheeses, exotic fruits and vegetables, oil and vinegars, freshly baked bread, coffee, and more. Having a small grocery store such as this would allow for a more dynamic set of offerings at The Bravern.

Dean & Deluca would be a fantastic addition to an already good lineup and offer yet another way to indulge oneself at The Bravern.