'tidbit' is an 'ambigram'

Many guests and friends have asked us the question: “Why did you call your restaurant tidbit?”

When John and I picked the name, we decided to avoid obvious Spanish and Italian words. We liked tidbit because we designed our establishment with a lot of partition glasses and you can read the word tidbit from both sides. We discovered that the word tidbit is an ambigram, a word that can be read in more than one way or from more than a single vantage point, such as both right side up and upside down. (from Latin: ambi=both + gram=letter).

Check the following links for more examples of ambigrams:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambigram

http://www.01101001.com/ambigrams

tidbit offers grappa and *cello flights

Great news for April 2008!

John and I are proud of offering something new and fun: grappa and *cello flights. If you don’t know what grappa or limoncello are, check our blog! Or just come and visit us at tidbit bistro to try them.

In April, our flight will be featuring three types of grappa. Below you will find a brief description of each. First, Alexander is a famous producer of grappa. They make affordable grappa for everyday drinking from quality grapes. Second, Clear Creek is a grappa from Oregon made from Pinot Noir grapes. This will give you an idea of how different the New World grappa is compared to the Old World. Finally, Castello Banfi is a leading producer of some of the best wines in Italy. This grappa comes from Brunello, a wine that is one of the top tiers of wines in Italy. With this one, we wanted to give you a taste of something of extreme high quality.

Alexander: A round red-berry bouquet. A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon pomace with fragrances of fruit and blossoms.
Clear Creek: Very clean finish with Pinot Noir character. Made from pomace of a blanc-de-noirs champagne pressing.
Castello Banfi: Dry and austere with a penetrating, clean finish.A premium Grappa produced from the grape skins of Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino.

Starting in April, we are also offering the following flight of *cello liquors:
Nocello: A walnut and hazelnut liqueur with a rounded and balanced flavor with vanilla tones...also called Nocino.
Limoncello: A lemon liqueur from southern Italy, bright yellow in color, sweet and lemony, but not sour.
Orangecello: A sweet, orange-infused liqueur made with Sicilian oranges soaked in pure grain alcohol.
Crema di Limoncello: A creamy sweet liqueur with the original, unmistakable taste of Limoncello.

Limoncello? Che cos'e' ?

At tidbit, you can also find a great selection of *cello liquors.
Limoncello is made by placing lemon peels in a hermetically sealed jar with pure alcohol. It should be left in the jar for at least two weeks. The longer it sits the more the oils from the lemon skins mix with the alcohol. After everything is strained, it is mixed with a sugar water mixture. Then left to sit for another two weeks. At this point....the limoncello is ready to drink! Keep it in the fridge and serve it well chilled as a digestive. If you decide to make it yourself, be aware: if your lemons are not from Sorrento, Carpri or Amalfi coasts, your limoncello will not be as good as the one you can have there.

Grappa? Che cos'e' ?

At tidbit we have a full bar with a wide selection of grappa....what is that?
Here is a short description.
Grappa is made from the pomace of grapes (skins, seeds, and stems) that have recently been pressed for wine production. The pomace is fermented further to separate the water from the alcohol. Once this distillation occurs, the end product is.... grappa!
If you think about it, there could be as many different types of grappa as there are with wine. If you are curious to try one, come visit us.

tidbit bistro joins the Green Restaurant Association

On March 25, 2008, tidbit bistro became a Certified Green Restaurant upon meeting the following standards:
1) Using a comprehensive recycling system for all products that are accepted locally
2) Free of polystyrene foam (“Styrofoam”) products
3) Completed at least four Environmental Steps after joining the GRA
4) Committed to completing four Environmental Steps per year of membership

For this certification we have completed the following steps:
Recycling: Food and waste
Water Efficient Property: Low flow faucet aerators / spray valves
Recycled & Chlorine-Free Paper: Kraft paper rolls
Recycled & Chlorine-Free Paper: Multifold towels
Recycled & Chlorine- Free Paper: Office paper

tidbit is the first restaurant in Seattle to join the Green Restaurant Association. If you want to know more about this association, please visit: http://www.dinegreen.com/

Sustainability was part of our menu even before becoming green certified. Our interest in sustainability is in our nature with John growing up in hippy-green Eugene, OR and Nic having a background in urban and environmental planning. Joining the Green Restaurant Association will motivate us even more in completing additional steps every year. Here is also a complete list of all the steps that we have taken since we opened our bistro:
o we are free of polystyrene foam
o we use 100% biodegradable to-go-boxes
o we use a certified green company for our linens
o we prefer locally grown and sustainable food
o we use biodegradable detergents and sanitizers
o we use recycled paper for our menus
o we use 80% post-consumer recycled butcher paper
o we compost our food waste
o we recycle our garbage
o we use water saving aerators for our facets

We will keep you updated once we complete more steps!

Welcome to tidbit blog!

Hello everybody! Ciao a tutti!

John and Nic from tidbit bistro welcome to the tidbit blog!

John e Nic del tidbit bistro , vi danno il benvenuto al tidbit blog!


This is the place where we share comments, experiences, and fun episodes that happens at our restaurant. Using this blog, we want to also keep our friends and guests updated about what happens at tidbit. If you are looking to know more about what happens in our restaurant behind the scene, this is the right place for you! From time to time you will find some comments in Italian or Spanish because one of the owner is Italian and the other is in love with Spain.

In questa pagina, vogliamo condividere commenti, esperienze ed episodi divertenti che avvengono nel nostro ristorante. Con questo blog, vogliamo aggiornare amici ed ospiti su ciò che succeede al tidbit. Se vuoi saperne di più su cio che accade dietro le scene, sei nel posto giusto! Di volta in volta, troverai commenti in Italiano o Spagnolo perche uno dei gestori è italiano e l’altro è innamorato della Spagna.


tidbit is a casual, family-friendly neighborhood restaurant located in North Capitol Hill in Seattle. Here you can taste Spanish and Italian comfort food and a wide selection of grappas and wines. It really is what you would call a ‘trattoria’ in Italian, a place where the service is casual and food is simple but plentiful and often served family style. If you want to know more about tidbt bistro, please visit us at www.tidbitbistro.com

Il tidbit è un ristorante di quartiere informale che si trova nella zona a Nord del quartiere di Capitol Hill a Seattle. Qui puoi provare cucina spagnola ed italiana e una varietà di grappe e vini. è la tipica ‘trattoria’ italiana, un posto a gestione familiare con cibo semplice ma abbondante spesso servito su vassoi o in zuppiere, come in famiglia. Se vuoi saperne di più su tidbit bistro, visitaci al: www.tidbitbistro.com