The first ever Mobile Chowdown gathered the city’s best “curbside cuisine” and hundreds of hungry Seattle-ites in a vacant Interbay parking lot last October to eat, eat and eat some more. The event was reported, blogged, Tweeted and Facebooked through local media and the social media savvy, and ended up being so busy, lines were long and many vendors ran out of food before everyone’s appetites were satiated. Bathrooms and seats were also scarce.

And on Saturday, January 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mobile Chowdown is coming back to 1616 W Bertona for round two, bringing back Marination Mobile, Dante’s Inferno Dogs, Gert’s BBQ and El Camion with new attendees Veraci Pizza, Anita’s Crepes and Kaosamai Thai.

Organizers tell us this time things will be better.  “At this round the trucks will placed more strategically so that the lines will be more distinguishable between trucks. There will also be event staff that will keep things a bit more organized. Because the last event was the first time any of the vendors took part in an event like this, it was a learning experience for all. This time they will be more prepared with food, etc.,” says Jamie Hintz, Suzuki + Chou Communimedia. There will be live music and a dining area (no word yet on the bathroom situation).

The event is sponsored by Seattle Magazine, the Freehold Group/Interbay Neighborhood Association, and Suzuki + Chou Communimedia. Read more about the event here.

To top off a day of neighborhood crime reports, one of our readers wrote about a burglary that occurred at their Interbay home yesterday, Tuesday, December 15, in our forum. They believe the burglary happened during the day while they were at work, and many valuable items were taken. After speaking with neighbors who witnessed some suspicious activity that morning, the victims are hoping to piece together more information. mjd writes,

Yesterday while we were at work, our house was broken into and many items were stolen: 10 electric guitars (mostly vintage), 52″ tv, tivo hd xl, cameras, ipods, white macbook and other items. Since the guitars were stolen without cases we’re hopeful that someone might have seen something.

A neighbor said that in the morning he did notice some strange trucks that said they were recycling trucks (with a generic name like “city recycling” or “western recycling”, but not the actual city recycling trucks). These trucks were large, with an approximately 20-foot red container on the back. The cab was big, but not as big as a typical highway tractor/trailer cab, and the entire vehicles were pretty beat up. These trucks were just hanging out about a block from our home. We’re not sure if they actually had anything to do with it, but it seems worth mentioning.

A search for “Western Recycling” brings up a recycling company that operates solely out of southern Idaho. There were no leads for “City Recycling.” If anyone has seen or heard anything that may be related to this burglary, please reply in the forum or in comments below.

Update 12/17: mjd posted an update in our forum,

It was in Interbay/the NW side of Queen Anne. Apparently another neighbor saw 3 teens he didn’t recognize walking down the alley not long after when the incident probably happened. We’re not sure what is related and what isn’t, but we want to share as much information as possible in case anyone else has seen anything and so others can protect their homes as well.

Seattle guardsman Timothy James Pikes was arrested on Saturday, December 5 and charged with allegedly threatening to bomb the armory in Interbay, according to a report by Levi Pulkkinen at the PI’s Seattle 911 blog. Pulkkinen wrote that prosecutors alleged a “string of troubling incidents” leading up to his arrest, including a similar threat made a year ago against fellow guardsmen when Pikes allegedly told his supervisor he had thoughts of “killing and shooting people” at the facility he worked at. At the time he was already facing disciplinary action for refusing to deploy to Iraq, and had been asked to surrender his weapon. Pulkkinen wrote,

On Dec. 4, he allegedly told a co-worker he was going to “just blow up the whole unit building” at the National Guard armory at 1601 W. Armory Way. Prosecutors allege he went on to say he wanted to “shoot up a Catholic church.”

Pikes’ supervisor was apparently so concerned about the threat, he spent the following day guarding the facility’s front gate in case Pikes arrived.

When Pikes, 37, was arrested, SPD officers say he told them the incident “was a result of a miscommunication.” He was charged with making threats to bomb/injure property and is currently on $500,000 bail in King County Jail.

Thanks to the folks at Seattle 911!

According to an SPD report, just before midnight last night, Tuesday, December 15, an alarm for a business in the 1800 block of 15th Ave W was triggered and broadcast over the radio. A West Prcinct patrol officer who was driving through the area heard the call and went to investigate, seeing two individuals at the back door of the business. When he went over to contact them, the report says he saw a large crow bar fall out from under one of the suspect’s coat, and immediately took them into custody. The report notes that “Both men were wearing gloves, even though it was a mild night,” and had a number of suspicious tools on their person.

In an effort to explain himself, one suspect claimed that he was carrying the crowbar for protection, but could not explain why he was also carrying a flashlight and screwdriver, similar to the tools recovered from his partner. Clearly their alibi was not well rehearsed as one admitted that they drove to the area while the other insisted they walked from to the area from North 105th St. and Greenwood Ave N, a distance of slightly more than five miles.

The report states that SPD officers then contacted the owner of the business, who verified that “no one should be trying to enter the back door of his business by prying it open.” The two men were booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary later that morning. They are 19 and 30 years old; beyond that no description was provided. Detectives from the West Precinct will be handling the follow-up investigation.

Stringing holiday lights in front of your house may seem like a daunting task, but imagine decorating the KING 5 television tower on Queen Anne, 400 feet in the air? The tower is lit up once again, as is a Seattle tradition, and Evening Magazine has the inside story on how they did it.

(By the way, if one bulb goes out, it doesn’t take down the entire strand. “That would be a really bad idea,” says the man who installed them.)

GSS Jewelers, located at 526 1st Ave N, is closing its doors on Christmas Eve, after 34 years in Lower Queen Anne.

The company used to have two locations, one on the hill and one in Bellevue, which closed a few years ago.

As part of their going out of business sale, the store is selling everything at 50 percent off. GSS will be open during their normal business hours, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next week, and according to a store clerk they may close up early (around 2 to 3 p.m. he said) on their last day, Thursday, December 24.

Santa will be landing at ProRobics at the top of the hill this weekend, located at 1530 Queen Anne Ave N., where he will be taking pictures with with anyone in the holiday spirit, including pets. Photos are $10 each and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to youth activities programs at the Queen Anne Community Center, which provide many healthy, active learning activities for kids of all ages. 100 percent of the pet photo proceeds will go toward community veterinary assistance programs. Any further proceeds to ProRobotics will be put toward “activity scholarships, upgrades to equipment and direct assistance to a local family in need in the form of winter coats, socks and underwear and toys.”

Santa will be at ProRobics the following times this weekend:

Friday, December 18: 4:00 p.m. to 7:00pm
Saturday, December 19: 2:00 p.m. to 6:00pm
Sunday, December 20: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00pm

Thanks to Heather for the tip!

Last month the folks over at Wink Cupcakes estimated that the sweet spot would be opening in mid-December. Well mid-December is here, and alas the opening has been pushed back again. This time, however, they have a set date, and the countdown is on – three weeks from today, on Tuesday, January 5, Wink will finally open for business.

According to “Über Manager” Lisa Gagnon, they will be having an opening party, though they’re still ironing out some of the details. And despite the fact that they haven’t even opening yet, they’re very busy with the holiday rush, filling order out of a commercial kitchen in Lower Queen Anne (located at 501 2nd Ave. West).

Once open, Wink will be serving Queen Anne 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays (they will be closed on Mondays).

This Sunday, December 20, the Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers will be doing their first-ever holiday kids concert in honor of their 40th anniversary at Queen Anne’s First Free Methodist Church, located at 3200 3rd Ave W. Conductor George Shangrow wrote,

Planned with kids in mind, and an eye toward introducing children from ages 3-10 to the joys of classical music, this program features Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf along with some sing-along holiday favorites. Kids are encouraged to get involved! Wiggling in your seats is permitted and parents won’t have to feel embarrassed!

The concert kicks off at 3 p.m. Adult tickets are $25 and kids get in free. Details and ticket information here.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle have invited the community to come speak with them about the upcoming 2010 legislative session, which begins on January 11, 2010, at the 36th District Legislative Delegation Holiday Open House tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The party is being held at Sen. Kohl-Welles’ and Rep. Carlyle’s district office at 3131 Western Ave, Suite 421, in the Northwest Work Lofts building at the base of Queen Anne. Refreshments will be served, while constituents will have a chance to voice questions and concerns.

To read up on what’s in store for the upcoming session, check out our story last week on Rep. Dickerson’s bill that would legalize marijuana, and Rep. Carlyle’s thoughts on budget reform.

Free and pay street parking is available. Metro bus lines 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24 and 33 connect to the office.

Pesos’s next-door sibling, Toulouse Petit, opened last month with French Quarter/New Orleans-inspired dinners and a full bar menu. Last week they opened for breakfast and lunch as well.

The menu has Banana Fosters Pancakes (above) on it and seven different kings of eggs Benedict. And as of today, Monday, December 14, through the end of January their breakfasts are only $5 each, 9 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, no matter what you order.

“At $5 we’re just breaking even,” owner Brian Hutmacher said. “That’s really for the local community.”

Breakfast and lunch are served from the time the restaurant opens at 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.

During the week-long assignments, pages attend classes designed to teach students about state government and the legislative process, listen to guest speakers, tour the Capitol Campus and learn the process of drafting bills. Their duties include relaying documents across the Capitol Campus, responding to requests from senators and presenting the flag during floor sessions.

Accepted pages will attend a two-hour orientation the Sunday afternoon before their assigned week, then work Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Work will be required on Saturday and Sunday only if the Senate holds session). Pages will be given host homes, and will be pad $35 for each day worked.

• Be at least 14 years old but not older than 16;
• Have a grade point average of a C+ or better;
• Receive parent and school permission; and
• Have a Social Security number.

For more information in the page program is available here. For an application, contact Sen. Kohl-Welles’ district office at (206) 281-6854, or Anne Burkland at (360) 786-7078.

The Stage 2 burn ban that was put in place last Wednesday has been lifted. According to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency website, “The current weather pattern has brought improved mixing and dispersion of the fine particle pollution. As a result, air quality has substantially improved.”

Christmas is just two weeks away, Kwanzaa starts on the 26th and Chanukah begins tonight – the holiday season is officially in full swing! Just in case you have any time in between holiday shopping and prepping the house for visiting family and friends (and snow, if this year is anything like last), here area few fun and festive events going on this weekend on the hill:

• Celebrate the holidays Scandinavian-style, at the Swedish Cultural Center’s Lucia Ball at 6 p.m. tonight. They’ll be feasting, dancing, and a festival pageant. Tickets are $50. Details here.
• Bar hop for a good cause Saturday at 12 Bars of Christmas, an annual pub crawl for Dynamic Family Services. Spend the day bouncing around 12 Lower Queen Anne bars, all while raising money for charity! Fun starts at 3 p.m. Details here.
• Join the Queen Anne Movie Guild on Saturday for a showing of their December film, A Sea Change, a documentary which chronicles the acidification of the world’s oceans and questions what life would be like without fish. Screening starts at 7 p.m. at the Queen Anne United Methodist Church. Details here.
• Check out the latest from Olympia-based papercut artist Nikki McClure on Sunday, from 2 to 3 p.m. She will be signing her new 2010 calendar, entitled Revive, at Eat Local‘s Queen Anne location (she’ll be at their Burien store from 1 to 2 p.m.). Details here.
• Enjoy live music, ice-skating, riding the carousel, ice sculpting and fireside singalongs all weekend and through the New Year at Seattle Center’s Winterfest. Best of all it’s free!

Venturing off the hill this weekend? Check out all the festivities in our nearby neighborhoods with MyBallard’s weekend calendar, and FremontUniverse’s weekend to-do list.

Know of any events we haven’t listed? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com. Happy weekend!

Every year the Swedish Cultural Center celebrates the holidays and St. Lucia’s Day (this Sunday, December 13), a Church feast day celebrated across Scandinavia and northern Europe, by holding the Lucia Ball. This year the festivities will begin tonight, Friday, December 11, from 6 to 11:30 p.m. at SCC, located at 1920 Dexter Ave. N.

There will be feasting, dancing, a festival pageant and many traditional Scandinavian delights!

Some of our younger members will do a Lucia tog for us, then we’ll eat a delicious smörgåsbord, dance around the Christmas tree to Richard Svensson’s music, toast each other with glögg, and dance the rest of the evening to the music of Sylvia.

For anyone in the St. Lucia spirit, tickets are $50.

Can you imagine a world without fish? It’s a frightening, cataclysmic premise, and worst of all, it’s happening right now. A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Australia, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven eventually discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. A Sea Change is also a touching portrait of Sven’s relationship with his grandchild Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations. A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, A Sea Change brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking.

One of our readers had their car broken into last night, despite the fact that it was parked in a private, off-street parking lot. Isaac wrote,

Last night my car window was smashed in on the passenger side. Happened at some time between 11pm and 7 am. I live midway up Queen Anne Ave near Aloha and don’t park in the street, I park in a parking-lot/carport with a security light and several other cars. Don’t know what they were after, nothing significant was taken (some loose change and an empty shopping bag), so whatever. I thought maybe they might have been trying to sleep in the car (being so cold the last few nights), but there was no evidence of that.

There have been many car break-ins on the hill these days, and so this report serves as a reminder to not leave any valuables in your car, even if they’re hidden. The best protection against break-ins is to remove anything valuable or tempting to thieves and park, if possible, near a light. Keep an eye out for suspicious behavior in the community, and get to know your neighbors. To find out if there’s a Block Watch program near you contact Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention Officer Terrie Johnston at (206) 684-4741 or terrie.johnston@seattle.gov.