Dig A Pony to Debut in Central SE; Pink Rose Blooms in Pearl

CENTRAL EASTSIDE INDUSTRIAL: The transformation of the former Niki's Restaurant space on SE Grand is complete: Dig A Pony, the vintage-inspired bar by local nightlife vets Jacob Carey, Aaron Hall, and Page Finlay, will debut during an opening party tonight (July 28). Josef Valoff, most recently the sous chef at Irving Street Kitchen, has been tapped to manage the kitchen, and the DAP menu — as originally promised — is definitely a more upscale (and often vegetarian-friendly) take on "bar food." Sample items: sauteed mushrooms with soft egg and shoestring potatoes; chicken thighs with stewed tomatoes and almonds; and a BBQ tempeh sandwich served with avocado and a citrus slaw. [EaterWire]

PEARL DISTRICT: Following a slow roll-out of preview dinners, the Pink Rose Restaurant has officially opened in the NW Lovejoy space that once housed the KOi Fusion pop-up KOi Fusion @ 1. The chef is Phoenix transplant Jeff Williams, an alumni of Lincoln and Olympic Provisions locally, and the Rose menu serves up items like honey-shellacked pork belly with white bean puree; calamari stuffed with argula and fontina; and Vancouver Isle mussels. The restaurant will be open for lunch at 11am Tuesday-Friday (with weekend brunch starting at 9am), and service continues through late night (up to 2am on weekends). [EaterWire]

Image of Dig A Pony courtesy Facebook