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La Spiga
Category:
Restaurants
1401 Broadway
Seattle, Washington 98122
(206) 323-8881
Seattle is not a mecca for good Italian food, let's face it. In fact, the pickin's are slim as some would say. La Spiga is one of the exceptions. They make their own pasta from scratch and it shows....
Seattle is not a mecca for good Italian food, let's face it. In fact, the pickin's are slim as some would say. La Spiga is one of the exceptions. They make their own pasta from scratch and it shows. Great fresh seasonal choices, like the asparagus ravioli with a light lemon-infused sauce or caprese salad with whatever tomatoes are best at the time. Delicious. My favorite is spinach lasagna with meat sauce and bechamel. It is not as hearty and heavy-handed as it sounds, trust me. The menu is small and the portions are just right. It's not cheap food, which also depends on what you consider expenisve, but we've paid a similar price for considerably less tasty food elsewhere so I think it's worth every penny. Great wines and great "house" wines too. I hear they are moving to a new cool space on 12th Avenue E. and Pike, with a huge open kitchen. It will be interesting to watch if prices go up due to the new hipster locale, and I'm sure it can only help them to get away from the current place tucked under the QFC! Note, for those of you like me who like to take their kids out to dine, there is only one high chair for the whole place and they don't really do sides for kids (or anyone, really).
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We were driving in Capitol Hill the other day and noticed the former Cornish theater props workshop building on 12th Avenue East had been transformed into a snazzy looking cafe. So we went there for...
We were driving in Capitol Hill the other day and noticed the former Cornish theater props workshop building on 12th Avenue East had been transformed into a snazzy looking cafe. So we went there for brunch this weekend, with our 15-month old. It's the same Cafe Stellina's but they have moved from Union to 12th and Pike. Just opened three days ago. They don't have highchairs or booster seats, but we eat out often enough so keep one of those foldable ones in our car. Note this is not your usual place to take kids, and most parents wouldn't want the hassle of taking kids here, but I like to expose my son to fine dining so that he appreciates food with actual flavor and learns to eat and behave at nice places. It was great. The space is lovely, open and light and modern with clean lines and a touch of the popular pseudo industrial warehouse look and it all works. The food was great. We had bagels with salmon and cream cheese (and amazing slices of heirloom tomato on the side), a breakfast "pizza" and yoghurt with fruit (ripe figs, a rare treat, were included). All were top quality fare, clearly purchased with love, and very reasonable prices. The coffee was great, and the fresh squeezed juice was awesome. The pastries looked delicious, so they are on the list to try next time.
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Drey's
Category:
Food & Dining
1404 34th Ave
Seattle, Washington 98122
(206) 322-1974
I didn't feel like cooking one night recently, so we searched for a new kid-friendly place to have dinner. Many finer restaurants don't have highchairs, so it's sometimes tricky with a 15-month old....
I didn't feel like cooking one night recently, so we searched for a new kid-friendly place to have dinner. Many finer restaurants don't have highchairs, so it's sometimes tricky with a 15-month old. However, I don't want to eat chicken tenders and crappy mac'n'cheese all the time when I am out. I read that Drey's was a family-friendly relaxed place for good food. Honestly, I suspect whoever wrote that review confused this place with the Madrona Pub (which is very very family friendly and nearly next door and decent). We walked in during happy hour, and the place was empty. I point this out because despite the lack of patrons, it nonetheless took thirty minutes and two reminders to have them bring us the highchair. Apparently they use those so infrequently that they keep them by the back door of the kitchen, as our waitress explained. Fine. First ding. The drinks came after we were at our table for 45 minutes. Second ding. We ordered a chicken pot pie, a pastrami sandwich, chicken skewers, soup and a chicken wrap sandwich. All mostly mediocre, except the turkey noodle soup which was absolutely disgusting. Maybe someone forgot to put in the stock, but it was a cloudy cup of salted water with soggy elbow noodles in it. Ding, ding, ding, ding...! The whole experience was surprisingly unpleasant, and nothing on the menu made it worth giving them a second try (as I try to do, to be fair, when the first experience is such a flop) before panning them. Maybe for drinks, if you live in the neighborhood and can stroll over there, it's fine. But there are too many great places to eat in this town to bother with such lackluster food and slow service. Next...
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Whenever I am on the east side of the lake, I know finding a good coffee is going to be hard. However, Victor's does a mean cup of your favorite "specialty" coffee. They have a lot of variations up...
Whenever I am on the east side of the lake, I know finding a good coffee is going to be hard. However, Victor's does a mean cup of your favorite "specialty" coffee. They have a lot of variations up on their board, like the tangerine mocha or such. That's nice, but I love a good cappuccino and they do them well, and they are the only decent coffee house for miles and miles as far as I know. The place sometimes feels more like Missoula than Redmond/Seattle, due to the wood cabin decor style, the more casual college-town feel and the porch-like deck out front. On weekends, try Walter's famous waffles too. Not like those tasteless dry things that pass for waffles in most restaurants in the US, these are much closer to the wonderful treats I used to get growing up in Europe. I think Walter is Swiss, which would explain that. Yummy. [An odd aside: While in Cannon Beach, OR, haphazardly I went to a coffee place run by the "Victor" namesake and his wife, who sold the place to Walter but still supply the roasts.]
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Dinette
Category:
Restaurants
1514 E Olive Way
Seattle, Washington 98122
(206) 328-2282
I went to this restaurant on one of the few nights where I could get away from my one-year-old son. Since the Green Cat cafe closed, this space has had several eatery incarnations and this latest is...
I went to this restaurant on one of the few nights where I could get away from my one-year-old son. Since the Green Cat cafe closed, this space has had several eatery incarnations and this latest is by far the best.
The dining room has a lovely warm glow to it in the evening, and the decor is minimal and charming with the noteworthy painted wooden tray collection tastefully arranged on the walls. Everything we ordered was delightful. The wine was good, too. Dessert was great. I used to go to restaurants all the time, but since having a baby that trend has been sporadic at best. Therefore my experience was probably slightly tainted, in that ANY adult dining experience would be a welcome reprieve, but I really think this place has great food and a great space in which to enjoy it. Loved it. I don't often find "romantic" to be a good description, but I will say this is a great place to go on an elegant date.
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This is a great local business and worth the visit if you're in the neighborhood. The staff and owner are always helpful and extremely well read (while that should go without saying, in this case it...
This is a great local business and worth the visit if you're in the neighborhood. The staff and owner are always helpful and extremely well read (while that should go without saying, in this case it is worth mentioning) and they can order almost anything that they don't specifically carry at the moment. They also have a great selection of cards, the new paperback releases are always well displayed and accessible, and the staff reviews have repeatedly guided me to many an excellent read. The magazine section isn't what it used to be, but there is plenty of other material of interest to distract from that fact. The children's section is sweet and well set up, with a great selection. A little-known tip: They validate parking from across the street, under the QFC. Great hours too, open surprisingly late for when you don't know where to wander.
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I used to stand at the bus stop across the street early in the morning when this bakery first opened, and felt tortured enough by the smells coming from within that I inevitably started regularly...
I used to stand at the bus stop across the street early in the morning when this bakery first opened, and felt tortured enough by the smells coming from within that I inevitably started regularly going in for treats. The coffee has come a long way, and yet still not up to par with Lladro or Victrola up the street, but their baked goods are delicious and well worth it. They are baked fresh every day and are not too fussy nor too sweet nor too expensive, unlike what many other bakeries offer (and sadly not many actual bakeries are left at all these days but that is another story...). The pain au chocolat is good, and the daily selection of muffins are good, and the danishes are good, and the cinnamon rolls are good (basically everything is good but it's a question of what you like). The breads are good too, and I have made delicious French toast from the challah. My favorite choice, however, is by far that Granny's Chocolate Cake, which is outstanding. You can't have it with your coffee every morning without paying in ways other than cash, so it's a good thing that all the other more reasonable baked goods here are tasty too. That chocolate cake is moist and chocolate-rich and the frosting full of flavor and not overpowered by sugar, a welcome reprieve from the likes of hip cupcakes all over town. It brings to mind chocolate cakes from days past, when mayonnaise or sour cream was used to give that unparalleled moistness and it was a crime to make a cake with a dry tasteless crumb no matter how much butter or oil it took. I've also enjoyed the Poire Normande tart, which is almond and pears, and the petits fours and lemon bars. It's a nice space to read the paper and take a moment, and the owners are very nice and often available either behind the counter or talking to regulars. One downside is their hours, as they close at 5:30 pm daily and some of us work later, and astonishingly enough they are closed on Sundays! It's a small business so they must have their reasons but who doesn't want to walk to the local bakery on a Sunday morning to read the paper or grab rolls for the family or such? Apparently not enough folks near 15th on Capitol Hill!
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While I always want to like Cafe Flora, I have found over and over that the level of cuisine is not consistently enjoyable. On occasion an entree will be very good but often enough the choices can...
While I always want to like Cafe Flora, I have found over and over that the level of cuisine is not consistently enjoyable. On occasion an entree will be very good but often enough the choices can be mediocre. The only reliably good meal we have had there is brunch, as has been mentioned by other reviewers. I also enjoyed the cheese and fruit platter, since it is difficult to find one equally decent in price and generous portion size. Stick to brunch, which is quite nice, and make sure to sit in the lovely greenhouse-feeling room with all the light streaming through the numerous windows. That space compensates for a lot.
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It's always a delight to see a master artisan in action, in this case making the delicious fresh goodies that are available at Besalu. The leek and goat cheese quiche is quite delicious, but the...
It's always a delight to see a master artisan in action, in this case making the delicious fresh goodies that are available at Besalu. The leek and goat cheese quiche is quite delicious, but the same goes for their sweet treats so we usually get a coffee and both a savory and a sweet selection. Everything from the fresh seasonal fruit choices to the less indulgent but no less tasty cookie-type offerings to anything made with that amazing puff pastry dough is worth the trip, though timing is everything to avoid the long lines or the "we're all out" disappointments! Nice clean simple space, too. Note they are only open Wednesday through Sunday, until 3pm, and the quiches usually show up a little later in the mornings, after 9:30ish if memory serves. Yummy!
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