Worth noting in the Renton area food world

The Dog and Pony(351 Park Ave N, Renton) is no more. The place has been sold, it's closed for some remodeling, and rumor has it will be opening up under the name The Hop Garden,  in about a month. The Dog and Pony had a long run, about eighteen years.  Restaurants tend to not have very long lives. I think I read that after five years, 80% of the restaurants have either gone out of business, sold, or failed.  And the Dog and Pony hung in there for eighteen, appearing on the TV show Restaurant Impossible three years ago. The place was popular, the food was good( and affordable), they took their beer seriously, and they had some very nice employees over the years. I liked the place, and the large back patio was a great place to hang out with the dog and drink a beer.  I hope it works out for everybody, and I'll be sure to try to try it when it reopens.

Dubstep Taproom will be opening up within the next few months at 2nd and Main in downtown Renton. I like beer, so of course I'll try them. But just a few blocks away is the Four Generals Brewery. I think they currently have fourteen different beers on tap that they make on site, and they're awfully good. The Renton River Haze IPA is outstanding, they'll continue to have their yummy Rentoncita Mexican Lager available for a bit, and I think the Rye Pale Ale is incredibly delicious.

The former Pizza Hut (261 Rainier Avenue S, Renton) is going to open as Sansonina Ristorante Italiano. They had to remove the trademark Pizza Hut roof.  It's close to home, and it doesn't get a whole lot better than Italian food.

The former Shuga Jazz Bistro (317 Main Ave S., Renton) will be reopening as Ocha Thai.

Ma Prang is now Nice Thai(Renton does not lack in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants), at 529 Park Ave N, Renton). I haven't yet been, but I was real fond of Ma prang and it's owner, Nat. The ambience was nice, he liked to play Coltrane and Monk, and the food was really good. I'm sure I'll try the new place, but I get attached to places, and outside of politics, I'm pretty conservative.

Quan Ngon, at 212 S. 3rd is gone, and only lasted three months. It's been replaced by Renton Bistro, also a Vietnamese place. It's very good. Quan Ngon was also good,  but always empty. The new owners didn't do anything to change the appearance, and the new menu is very similar, but for whatever reason, the new place is getting good business. Mysteries of the restaurant biz, I guess. Some bad restaurants continually draw crowds, and some good places stay empty.

Up in Skyway, My's Vietnamese Sandwich Shop and Deli is open( 12621 Renton Avenue, Seattle), has a large selection of Vietnamese sandwiches(14?), including fried tofu, lemon grass tofu, sardines, mock ham, as well as the usual pork, chicken, etc. There's barely any seating, but the sandwiches are superb, and inexpensive.

Also in Skyway(12603 Renton Avenue), Nezvat Cankaya now how has a building permit, The Fam motorcycle club has vacated, and work should start soon on a new coffee shop/Turkish breakfast place

I've been to the new La Hacienda/Aastha in downtown Renton(811 S. 3rd St) a few times, and it's not as bad as people say( how's that for a ringing endorsement?). It's one of the few restaurants in the world featuring the cuisines of India and Mexico. Before it came under Indian ownership, it was much better than average Mexican food served in large portions. Now I'd say it's pretty good  Mexican food, but the Indian food is quite good, and they now have an all day weekday happy hour featuring three dollar pints of beer. Mexican beer goes well with Indian food..