An Absurd New Food and Travel Show Is Set to Blitz Through Seattle

What do you get if you cross Mr. Rogers with Action Bronson and add a heavy dash of Pacific Northwest? That’d be Harry IRL. The new show is a bizarre and funny look at the Pacific Northwest’s dining scene, released by new Seattle media company Get Me Outta Here. Seattle restaurant influencer Harry Clean hosts the brand new show. He’s joined by his puppet alter-ego: also Harry Clean. The two riff through bananas conversations and food trends — squeezing lemon on chicken with big felt-y hands for instance — while puppet Harry chimes in with insights often left unsaid in polite society.

Harry IRL will look at longtime food and drink institutions and cultures throughout the Seattle and Portland areas. The first season will look at the South End’s food scene, Black and brown-owned businesses, and immigrant communities’ underrepresented foodways. The show’s surreal presentation is meant to entice new audiences while the investigative Bourdain-ish backbone provides real meaning and heft to the content. Get Me Outta Here will release the show through YouTube — with plenty of clips on social media — this Wednesday, February 19.

Egg heist at Luna Park

As Seattle restaurants navigate the egg shortage brought on by avian flu, they apparently have to deal with another hassle: thieves who have realized that eggs are now a valuable commodity. USA Today reports that beloved West Seattle diner Luna Park Cafe was broken into on February 5 by two men who made off with “breakfast items” including 540 eggs worth almost $390. “When I was there, I noticed a white van with two guys stealing stuff, including eggs from my walk-in that’s located outside of my restaurant,” Luna Park owner Heong Soon Park told the paper. “When I was trying to stop them, they kind of scrambled into the car and they fled the scene.”

Famed chef backs out of Bellevue

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that an anticipated restaurant project is coming to a halt, as famed chef Joshua Skenes is no longer interested in opening inside the Avenue Bellevue development. According to the Journal, Skenes has become more interested in casual dining concepts, but his rep said that there were also unspecified issues with the developer, Andy Lakha, who sold the project last year. (Lakha’s spokespeople denied there was any issue to the Journal.)

Capitol Hill brewery seeks new owners

Outer Planet Brewery, which specializes in European-style beers and experimental styles, may not be long for this world. According to Capitol Hill Seattle blog, the current owners — who have operated it for 10 years — are dealing with economic fallout from the pandemic, changes in drinkers’ imbibing habits, and a landlord who doesn’t want to renew their lease. So they’re hoping to sell their side hustle (all three owners work in tech), maybe to another local brewery looking to expand.