Is it really such a good idea to open a restaurant just in time for spring? A lot of people with addresses on First Avenue seem to think so, but I wonder: April showers and all that. Bah, that's negative thinking, which is the last thing you need when you're starting out.

So let's start our survey of "we can do this, we'll show 'em" entrepreneurs down at the Labor Temple, where an adventurous couple, Eryn Paull and Jay Thomas, have taken over the vast kitchen and bar in the building's yawning basement level. Last known as Zoey's Blue Plate, it's now been re-christened Mira!

The exclamation mark is intended to be part of the name, I gather, since "Mira!" means "Look!" in Spanish. And you'll have to look, and look hard, to find the place, with its entrance on Clay Street and a less-than-inviting staircase descending to the restaurant.

When you get there, though, it's surprisingly cheerful. Eryn-a former reporter and analyst for ESPN-is behind the bar; Jay's a merchant seaman who intends to spend his shore leave taking care of the hundreds of things that always need fixing in a restaurant. Angela Toner, who's been working as a private chef, will run the kitchen.

The best part of the location may be the sunken patio off the alley, which feels a bit like an oversize squash court and will be lovely in warm weather. Jay and Eryn foresee roasting a whole pig on summer evenings, or showing outdoor movies (and selling drinks).

Another good thing about having a restaurant in a building full of union offices is the built-in clientele. Lots of box lunches, lots of meetings and workshops. And Mira! inherited the Class H liquor license that came with the premises - shop stewards gotta have their boilermakers, after all. Happy hours 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday.

Above ground, at the corner of First and Clay in the recently finished Avenue One complex, we find the newest and most-northerly outpost of Cherry Street Coffee House. From origins in Pioneer Square, Ali Ghambari had already planted the Cherry Street logo at Third and Marion and First and Lenora. The new store is run by his son, Ali, who's going to be open daily for breakfast (7 a.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. on weekends) with a selection of bagel-and-egg sandwiches, pastries and granola. Lunch brings made-to-order sandwiches and homemade soups. Sandwiches at dinner, too, but more intriguing are the Persian entrees: chicken slow-cooked in a pomegranate walnut sauce or sauteed in saffron butter with barberry and pistachios, lamb shank in turmeric and cinnamon, beef with yellow split peas ... Sadly, no wine. Good thing there's takeout!

You know that red boat of a building at the corner of First and Battery? Where Carole McClellan had her showroom? The guys from Barca on Capitol Hill took over the property months and months and months ago and don't seem to be in any hurry to finish their remodeling. Right now the sign says "mid-March opening" and asks would-be bartenders to drop off their resumes. But the door's locked. Tough luck, dude.

The real pros are Bart Evans and Dan Anderson, who created the BluWater Bistro group. They struck first on Lake Union some seven years ago, turning around a losing venture called Opus II. Then Greenlake, where they took over Six Degrees. Last year they revived the Leschi LakeCafe. Belltown Bistro-which just opened-is going to be a bit different. No water view, for one thing. No lunch or brunch, for another. However, and this is welcome news for night owls, the kitchen will be open from 4 p.m. until midnight seven nights a week; food service until closing at 1 a.m.. There's seating for 150 in the cavernous space, now that the pool table has been 86'd and the upstairs "private office" converted to a semi-private loft. "Over-portioned and under-priced," is how the place describes itself, although I don't think $17 to $22 for entrˆöes is particularly inexpensive. Maybe they'll take a look at the three-course dinners their neighbors are serving for $19.95 (Axis) and $25 (Cascadia) and make adjustments. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome all!

So we're done with First Avenue, right? Moving right along to Second. Good news for folks, like me, who never quite understood what the world saw in Second Avenue Pizza. An all-ages pizza club? What was that all about? Never mind. Rich and Tera Yost have turned the place into a coffee shop named Nexxus. They must have shoveled out a decade's worth of grime in the back room, replacing the bandstand with a dozen 27-inch plasma TV monitors. The screens are hooked up to XBox gaming consoles with live access, all connected by an in-house wi-fi network. Opening day found Breanna Montoya and Gina Weishaar out on the sidewalk, enticing the passing throng inside with free cups of java. Caffe Vita, by the way.

Almost directly across the street, Whisky Bar has the sort of happy hour that makes you wonder if they can stay in business: $3 martinis from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Torero's does that for its margaritas, though it doesn't seem to be working; I haven't seen anyone inside since the week they opened. On the other hand, Von's, right downtown, does do a pretty good business with all-the-time $3 martinis. The mart at Whisky Bar hit the spot; I especially liked the green olives on St. Patrick's Day.

Still on Second, Alexandria's has Monday Martini nights ($6 rather than $8.50 and up), and Alberto behind the bar the rest of the week. You should come here on Tuesday or Thursday nights, though, to hear some of the best jazz in Seattle. Without any fanfare, it's the legendary Deems Tsutakawa and his gang. Not often you see so many Asian musicians in one group: Deems-usually wearing a funky hat - on keyboard, David Yamasaki on guitar, Marcus Tsutakawa on bass ... All the more reason to mention Kevin Boyd, who's Caucasian, on vibraphone. Without showboating, he quietly dazzles the room with his technique.

Late word that Senegalese chef Jacques Martin Sarr and his wife have closed Afrikando after almost nine years. In its place, yet another sushi bar, this one to be called Wild Fish.

Finally for today, we move to Fifth Avenue for a calendar note. At Cafe Amore, in the shadow of the Monorail, Sean Langan has just expanded his kitchen space. He's doing wine dinners monthly now, with seating in the adjacent Seattle Glassblowing Studio.

Messenger restaurant reviewer Ronald Holden welcomes news and comments from foodies and feeders alike. Additional dispatches on his weblog, www.cornichon.org.

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