OPENING: Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco & Ting Momo

Tom Douglas has added three new eateries to his already impressive lineup of restaurants. Brave Horse Tavern, Cuoco and Ting Momo are all located in the up and coming neighborhood of South Lake Union in Seattle. All three are located in the historic Terry Avenue Building in the heart of Amazon.com's new campus.

Brave Horse Tavern has 24 taps, handcrafted pretzels, and burgers. Cuoco is an Italian restaurant with house made pasta. Ting Momo offers Tibetan dumplings with a twist. All three are now open. I hope to be able to try all three soon to offer up a review of each.

FOOD NEWS: Maria Hines of Tilth to open 2nd restaurant - Golden Beetle

James Beard award winner and Iron Chef Champion, Maria Hines, will open her second restaurant, Golden Beetle, in late February. Maria is the chef and owner of Tilth restaurant in Wallingford. Tilth, which features New American cuisine prepared with certified-organic ingredients, was called one of the best new restaurants in the country in 2008 by the New York Times.

According to the official press release, Golden Beetle will be located at 1744 NW Market Street in Ballard. The new restaurant will focus on the flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Hines prides herself in serving locally organic and seasonal products. Her current restaurant, Tilth, is only one of two Oregon Tilth certified restaurants in the country. This certification ensures that 95% of what is purchased will be organic. Golden Beetle will seek this certification also. It is said that the menu will focus largely on small plates.

The press release states that the name, Golden Beetle, comes from a 27 ingredient spice mixture from Morocco, ras al-hanout, which includes dried golden beetle, a Spanish fly that is considered an aphrodisiac. Keep an eye out for more news on Maria's new restaurant in February.