By John Owen

The Beacon

The Bad News: The Cougars lost the Apple Cup, 30-0.

The Good News: A lot of Cougars and Huskies seem to have discovered a new training table in downtown Edmonds even though the game plan conceived by Tim Morris didn't work out exactly as drawn.

"We were planning a 'soft opening' for the restaurant," Morris explained. That's why you didn't see any big signs or campaigns advertising the grand opening of E Pu Lo.

Morris hoped that the crowds would grow gradually while the staff rehearsed the game plan. Instead the restaurant occupying the former home of Shell Creek on Main Street was discovered by many the first day it opened and the Cougars-- represented by the former WSU Restaurant-and-Hotel Management major -- seem to have a winner.

An Ingraham High School grad, Morris was actively involved in the culinary arts from the time his father was managing a Herfy's hamburger outlet in Seattle.

Later, his father managed upscale restaurants like the Windjammer and the Red Carpet.

After his WSU experience Tim became involved with the Schumacher family (father Bill and hydroplane driver Bill, Jr.) and eventually created a chain of popular Seattle bakeries.

He later moved into local malls with the Bucca Pasta Bars. Cooking was both a passion and a profession although he most recently listed his "real job as corporate real estate agent.

But his fame was guaranteed when he became the first ex-Cougar to appear in a culinary scrimmage on the Rachael Ray Show. Earlier this year his fresh tomato and roasted onion bruschetta was featured on the popular TV cooking program earning Tim, wife Marion and their offspring a free Disney cruise to the Bahamas.

"I can't paint, I can't sing, I can't dance," Morris said in the recent interview. "But get me around food and I become like an artist."

He is also a pretty good recruiter, but only had to cross the street to find chef Taylor Park, who recently ran the kitchen at The Loft.

The fact that his "kids" are now in college prompted him to reenter the restaurant business with his partner, Tim Carr, the other half of "Tim Squared LLC."

Their concept was to present NW seasonal food with a Mediterranean flair.

Their extensive brunch menu reflects Morris' bakery background. Does apple cinnamon bread pudding with warm brown sugar and anglaise ala mode tempt you?

As for the name of their new restaurant, Morris explains that the definition of E Pu Lo is "food, banquet or feast." In the Palouse dialect, it probably translates as "good grub."