****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge
Recommended by: While eating at Skillet, we mentioned to the patrons next to us that we were at Skillet early in the morning, because our daughters woke up early. They mentioned that Lost Lake Cafe down the road is actually open 24 hours, so when we wake up early in the future, this could be an option.
Description on the Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge’s Google Description: 24-hour spot draws a hip crowd with its American diner fare, happy hour & mid-century modern decor.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 1505 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Chicken Fried Steak – A huge CFS, country sausage gravy, two eggs any style, hash browns and Texas toast. Carnitas Breakfast Burrito – Slow braised pulled pork, three scrambled eggs, spicy black beans, pico de gallo and queso fresco wrapped in a flour tortilla, topped with salsa verde. Served with sour cream and guacamole on the side. Kids pancakes, Caffe Vita coffee.
Comments: First thing you need to know about Lost Lake Cafe is that it is one of the rare diners in Seattle that’s open 24 hours, 7 days a week. It really has that old school diner feel -the long counter with swivel chairs, booths along a wall made of wood paneling and large rocks and rows of tables in the middle. And the coup de grâce, plastic covered menus. You can’t get more “old school diner” than that.
The theme is cabin lodge with forest landscape paintings, taxidermy fish and a log fireplace on the lounge side of Lost Lake Cafe.
The menu choices here are extensive and Lost Lake Cafe have different menu choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Even with the extensive menu, our server told us that they had honed their menu over 7 years to concentrate what they’re good at.
After being paralyzed by all the choices and sugestions from our server we decided on the carnitas burrito, chicken fried steak, pancakes from the kid’s menu and coffee from Caffé Vita. The Hash and Scrambles were also recommended by our server and she advised if we don’t like what we ordered, she’ll get us something else.
We were definitely happy with our choices. The chicken fried steak was huge, the over easy eggs cooked perfectly and when cutting into the yolk and mixing with the gravy, it creates a near perfect bite. The gravy, thick with bits of sausage is the standout here.
The Carnitas Breakfast Burrito is the dish that really surprised us. We were expecting a rather generic breakfast burrito since the diner doesn’t really specialize in Mexican food, but the braised pulled pork was really tasty and the light topping of the salsa verde was a good complement.
Our server was a superstar. She not only spent an inordinate amount of time helping us with our order decisions, but she made our kids feel welcome and I believe she was the only person servicing the entire restaurant on a Sunday at 8am.
Most restaurants in Seattle are kid-friendly to a certain degree with kid menus and high chairs/booster seats, but Lost Lake Cafe goes above and beyond. They had the Disney Channel on their TV and had a giant jar of toys for our kids to choose from.
For you club goers in Capitol Hill, new parents with babies that wake up at 3am, insomniacs, college students pulling all-nighters, keep Lost Lake Cafe in mind. They have something for everybody and their service is top notch. With the many choices we are sure to be back to try more dishes.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.60
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Via Tribulani
Recommended by: A local reader of the blog suggested Via Tribulani as an Italian alternative since we’ve talked about Il Corvo , Tavolata, Pasta Casalinga, Cantinetta and now Bizzarro Italian Cafe.
Description on the Via Tribulani’s website: Located in the bustling, trendy neighborhood of Capitol Hill, our first pizzeria has become a primary meeting spot for a variety of visitors. With an open patio that echoes conversations and laughter to the streets, cozy booths that make a dinner more welcoming and a buzzing bar that serves fantastic drinks, Capitol Hill’s location features unique and traditional Italian décor. With a private dining room that is romantic, yet comfortable for parties of up to 16, our first restaurant has everything one needs to feel at home.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 913 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Carbonara Pizza – Fresh Mozzarella, organic egg, pancetta, extra virgin olive oil, Polpette Al Pomodoro – Veal Meatballs, pomodoro, grana Padano, Rigatoni Bolognese – Giuseppe Cocco rigatoni giganti pasta, house-made bolgnese, grana Padano, Lasagna Al Forno – House-made meat ragu, fresh ricotta, smoked mozzarella, parmigiano, Andrew Will Merlot
Comments: Much like Bizzarro Italian Cafe, “Via Trib” has been around for so long we almost take it for granted. They’ve been around since 2004 and currently have locations in Georgetown, Queen Anne and the one we most recently visited, Capitol Hill. They had a location in Fremont, but no longer.
Via Tribulani has pasta and antipasti, but their claim to fame is their Neopolitan pizza. And they take great pride in it. A snippet from their website:
We opened our first pizzeria in 2004 in the burgeoning Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Months before we opened curious onlookers poked their heads in the former auto body shop, and outlandish rumors spread quickly throughout Seattle. One person saw a team of masons reportedly flown in from Naples to build a gargantuan wood-fired oven, someone heard that the bricks also came from Naples rich with Vesuvian ash, a reporter ran a story about a taxi driver leading our owner down a dark Neapolitan street to meet a talented pizzaiolo who was then whisked to an airport…
As it turns out almost all of the tall tales are true – on opening night people began lining up for the authentic Neapolitan pizza and since then our ovens have only gotten busier. Via Tribunali has been called “more authentic than the pizzerias of Naples,” and even though that is a flattering exaggeration, it is fair to say that our pizzerias have grown out of an almost unnatural passion for the food and wine of Southern Italy.
Via Tribulani even has a certificate from the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, which is an international organization officially established to give special designation to pizzerias who meet strict requirements that respect the tradition of the art of Neapolitan pizza making by the Italian government.
So here’s that special oven made of brick from Naples and assembled by masons flown in from Naples:
The oven is supposedly kept running 24/7 and is kept at 1,000 degrees, which allows the pizza to cook in just one minute. We’ll admit the pizzas are damn good. I personally like the thins crust and the ingredients are top notch. The price is a bit on steep side.
On this particular trip we also ordered the lasagna, rigatoni bolognese and veal meatballs. The lasagna and rigatoni were good, but nothing to write home about. We’ve been lucky enough to have had some great pastas in bolognese sauce at Il Corvo – Best Pasta in Seattle, Bizzarro Italian Cafe and even at Japanese restaurant Kokkaku. So when comparing Via Tribulani’s to the aforementioned restaurants, it falls short in our opinion.
On the other hand, the veal meatballs were a hit. Two baseball-sized meatballs in pomodoro sauce with grana Padano cheese sprinkled on top. I always wonder when I see meatballs of this size, how they get the meatball perfectly cooked all the way through.
The other interesting fact about Via Tribulani is that it was created by the same person who created Caffe Vita as mentioned our our Caffe Vita – Fremont post. And for a time the Caffe Vita in Pioneer Square had the same pizza oven in it. This same owner also a financial backer of Lil Woody’s, Hitchcock and Wandering Goose. Wow! What a diverse group of restaurants! This dude seems to have the magic touch.
Update:It seems that Caffe Vita was recently sold by the owner of Via Tribulani to the owners of Bastille, Poquitos, Stoneburner, and Rhein Haus.
In summary, the atmosphere at Via Tribulani -Capitol Hill is romantic, the pizza and meatballs were our favorites, the wine menu had a good variety of locals and Barolos. It’s a solid choice for those who don’t want only pasta or only pizza.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.35
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: We’ve mentioned Cantinetta in a couple of our Dish of the Year blog posts, but have never reviewed it.
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Lil Woody’s
Recommended by: In our Uneeda Burger post, we mentioned that we’ve been to a lot of burger places, but not Lil Woody’s. No less than 2 of our friends and 3 readers said we must try Lil’ Woody’s. So off we went.
Description on the Lil Woody’s website: We love our community and are committed to working with local purveyors: our burgers are made from Painted Hills grass-fed beef, our hand-cut fries come from Washington potatoes, our buns are handcrafted from Tacoma, and our shakes are made with Full Tilt ice cream. We support our communities and we encourage you to support yours.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 1211 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101
What we ate/drank: The Kamonegi Burger, The Sarap Sandwich, Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich , The New Mexican
Comments: We’re not ready to deem Lil’ Woody’s having the best burgers in Seattle, but they definitely have the most inventive and most-anticipated burger collaborations in Seattle. It took us a while to finally get to Lil’ Woody’s. They’ve been around since 2011 and have locations in Ballard, Capitol Hill, South Lake Union and White Center. Open hours vary for each location, so double check before going. For example the Capitol Hill locations stays open until 3:00am on Friday and Saturday. Holla to all you Capitol Hill clubbers!
They’ve become such a Seattle institution, that you can even get their burgers while taking in a Mariner Game at T-Mobile Park.
Order at the counter, pay, grab a seat and wait for your number to be called. Simple. The Capitol Hill location is a pretty low key place with some sitting next to the kitchen and more seating in an upstairs area.
Lil’ Woody’s has their main menu burgers that are always offered, but where Lil’ Woody’s stands out is their always changing special burger of the week. As we write this in August of 2019, check out these special burgers that are collaborations:
- Your Last Meal Burger(Lil Woody’s in-house pickled figs, crispy Prosciutto, arugula, cornichons, mozzarella stuffed Painted Hills grass-fed beef, roasted shallot mayo.). A collab with the @beardfoundation nominated @yourlastmealpodcast! and inspired by the last meal of past #yourlastmealpodcast guest, actor and cookbook author, Tiffani Thiessen (Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills 90210).
- Game Guru Burger(Habanero mayo, crispy fried onions, Tillamook smoked cheddar, Hills bacon, double 1/4lb. Painted Hills grass-fed beef, Mama Lils peppers spicy sweet pickles). This was during the Pax West Gaming Convention and a collab with a celebrity in the gaming community, The Game Guru.
- Taylor Shellfish Burger(Taylor Shellfish oyster dip, Tims Cascade potato chips, Tillamook smoked cheddar, and Painted Hills grass-fed beef. A collab with Taylor Shellfish which is located right around the corner from Lil’ Woody’s in Capitol Hll.
- Lil Gordo Burger (red braised pork belly with green sauce aioli, onions, cilantro, and pickled jalapeños) A collab with Phorale, an Asian/Tex Mex restaurant in Seattle.
And for the last 5 years they’ve had a Burger Month(Feb), where each week has a special burger designed by top chefs around Seattle. If you end up getting each burger during the month, you get a free gift. This year it was a denim lunch bag. We made it to two of the weeks, but you can see here how inventive these burgers are and interesting because most of these chefs would never have a burger on their menu at their own restaurants.
As you know we’re huge fans of Kamonegi and their chef., Matsuko Soma, created The Kamonegi Burger-Seared duck/chicken patty, duck egg, arugula, Yuzu kewpie mayo, charcoal bun.
<<<My picture of the Kamonegi Burger and a much nicer picture from Lil Woody’s
I love the unusual ingredients but it was missing some flavor. Perhaps a little more yuzu mayo was needed. It’s difficult to say who’s at fault. Since the chef created it, maybe the fault lies there? Or perhaps the chef’s vision was not met due to the execution of the burger? I never had a charcoal bun before, so we were a bit surprised when we got the burger on a totally black bun. I love me some egg yoke, but I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between a duck eff and a normal chicken egg through the other flavor profiles.
The other burger we had was from Melissa Miranda, who at the time worked at Bar del Corso, but is opening her own much-anticipated restaurant called, Musang. Her burger was called, The SARAP Sandwich. Sarap in Filipino means delicious. The burger consisted of roasted pulled pork adobo, chicharrónes, radishes, fried garlic, patis salsa verde, Hawaiian bun.
<<<My picture of the Sarap Sandwich and a much nicer picture from Lil Woody’s
I’m more of a savory guy when it comes to burgers and adobo is typically on the sweet side and this was no different. The bun was also sweet with the patis salsa verde adding a bit of savory. The radishes and chicharrones added a bit of crunchiness to the sandwich, which we both enjoyed.
Here is another Burger of the Week. It was really spicy, but loved the sweetness of the pickles and onions in combination with the savory cheddar.
<<<Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich – Chipotle mayo, spicy sweet pickles and onions, smoked cheddar.
This is a burger off their normal menu, The New Mexican with Hatch green chiles.
<<<New Mexican – 1/3 lb Painted Hills grass-fed beef burger, slow-roasted Hatch green chiles, house-made queso sauce
Summary: When compared to some of the other burger joints in Seattle like Uneeda Burger, Rain City, Giddy Up, etc, their burgers are on the small size for around the same price. This could probably be attributed to the variety of ingredients due to their many different offerings and everchanging Burger of the Week. When you get inventive and push the envelope with collaborations, there’s bound to be hits and misses, but we appreciate the effort and the diverse and fresh variety it brings. One thing is for sure, we know if we want something different we can count on Lil’ Woodys’
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 4.00
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.25
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: While eating our Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches, my co-worker mentioned Bok A Bok Fried Chicken. And said they don’t have burgers, but have the best chicken sandwiches. We have to check it out.
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Skillet Diner
Recommended by: The last time we met up for brunch with some local friends at Portage Bay Cafe, they mentioned Skillet Diner as having the same type of vibe and also having great brunches.
Description on the Skillet Diner’s website: The award-winning Skillet Diner opened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in 2011. We’re a neighborhood joint doing our best to make the place feel relaxed, service attentive and easy, and the food approachable yet focused. We use fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and continually redefine the meaning of comfort.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 1400 E Union St #4150, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Breakfast Burrito -fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla. Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash-brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two eggs*. Kids pancakes and fruit.
Comments: Skillet Diner has been around since 2011 and before that it was food truck, an Airstream Trailer called, Skillet Street Food since 2007. It’s located in Capitol Hill, so parking can be a bitch, but we luckily found street parking across the street. Tall ceilings make the space seem spacious and the open kitchen gives the space energy. Like a traditional diner, there’s lots of counter seating, but also a lot of booths.
I can see why our friends we met at Portage Bay recommended Skillet Diner. Their interiors are very similar-the lighting, the casual family atmosphere, the décor. There’s a random piece of art hanging on the back wall with John F Kennedy looking out the back of a bus. I was curious, so I asked our server about it, but he didn’t know anything about it.
Your utensils and napkin are placed in mason jars, which are then used as your water glass. You’re also provided a dedicated water bottle, so you don’t have to wait for your server to refill your water. Caffé Vita is served here, so a win there.
My wife got the breakfast burrito, which includes fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla. We liked the inclusion of the fried chicken. For normal breakfast burritos you normally get bacon, sausage or sometimes shredded beef. Having fried chicken was a nice change. The hand-cut fries were too over-seasoned and almost impossible to eat because it was too spicy.
fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla
I got the Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash, which includes brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two over easy eggs. The pieces of vegetable and meat were a bit large, but tasty. Now, Seattle brunch spots have a strong “hash” game in this town. Portage Bay Cafe‘s Farmer’s Hash, Toulouse Petit‘s Cured Pork Cheeks Confit Hash, Porkchop & Co.‘s Kimchi & Steak Hash and Roxy’s Diner‘s Pastrami Hash all come to mind. If I’m garding on the curve I would put Skillet Diner’s Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash in the middle of the pack. The Seattle hash game is fierce. It’s sorta like being in the SEC in college football.
Our daughter got the pancakes and fresh fruit from the kids menu, so happy camper in the house!
We’ve also had the fried chicken and waffles which is also quite good.
Service gave us recommendations, came around frequently for coffee refills and chased after us out the door when we forgot our to go box of leftovers.
They also have locations in South Lake Union, the Seattle Center and Seatac Airport. Surprisingly, they closed their Ballard location after the building they were in flooded. Skillet Diner is a bit out of the way for us at the border of Capitol Hill and the Central District, but it’s a good brunch alternative if we are in the area. It’s also nice to know you have a good local option in touristy Seattle Center and Seatac airport.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers customer recommendations to visit in the future: We mentioned to the customer next to us that we were at Skillet early in the morning, because our daughters woke up early. They mentioned that Lost Lake Cafe down the road is actually open 24 hours so if they wake up really early, this could be an option.
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Tamari Bar
Recommended by: After a reader read our post about Kokkaku they suggested another upscale Japanese restaurant, Tamari Bar. Took us a year to get out there, but we finally tried it.
Description on the Tamari Bar’s website: No comments, but their Instagram says, “Capitol Hill’s IZAKAYA, “Japanese Tavern &Eats”
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 500 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Shokado Bento Box, The Rockin’ Wagyu Beef, Sashimi 7 Sampler, Seafood Bibimbap, Sapporo Beers.
Comments: The presentation of the dishes that we ordered at Tamari Bar are so beautiful that it’s almost as if the owner said, “Let’s create some dishes that will be plastered all over Instagram!”
Tamari Bar is right down the street from their sister restaurant, Suika, on Pine Street in Capitol Hill. The space is rather oddly shaped. It has a patio in front, a huge bar area and some tables and a couple seating compartments on a second level.
We started out with the The Rockin’ Wagyu Beef, which is served with a smooth hot rock that you put the pieces of raw thin zabuton on to cook. The thin pieces of wagyu beef cook very quickly, so no worries about the rock cooling down before you can cook all of it. The beef is served with a Japanese bbq sauce, garlic flakes, wasabi. This is a fun dish with the novelty of cooking on a sizzling rock. Be careful not to overcook which will keep the beef tender and tasty.
Next up was the Shoka-do Bento Box, which is limited to a certain count every evening. This was surely the highlight of the night. There are a total of nine squares with each being the perfect size for two bites, making it the perfect date night dish. You get nine different dishes, nine different flavors. It’s fun having so many choices at once and then discussing which are your favorites. Or both of you can try each grid at the same time and discuss after each tasting.
From the top and left to right with scores out of 5:
- Fried Crispy Salmon(4.25), Wagyu Beef Tataki(4.5) , Potato Salad (4.0)
- Aburi Scallop Carpaccio(4.5), Tamari Bar Sushi Roll(4.5), Aburi Salmon(4.5)
- Fried Oyster(5.0), Zuke Maguro(marinated)-(3.0), Tuna Tatsuta(fried)-(5.0)
Each appetizer was beautifully presented and each had at least 5 different ingredients and it was a good mixture of fried and raw. We just really enjoyed this concept.
On the way to our table we saw another table had the Seafood Bibimbap with seared salmon, salmon caviar, salmon flakes, umami soy, sea urchin(uni), butter on rice and knew we had to try it. Like traditional bibimbap, it’s served in a hot stone bowl and was mixed on our behalf by the server. It turned into more of a fried rice than a bibimbap but we were surprised even after all the mixing of the ingredients you could really taste the uni, one of our favorites.
The Sashimi 7 Sampler is the most photogenic of the dishes. It’s presented on a wooden staircase with garnishes of ikura, tobiko, cucumber and onion. What can you say about fresh sushi? You can’t beat it. If I could change one thing, I’d swap out the octopus for another fish sashimi. Just a personal preference.
From bottom to the top -Mackerel, Shrimp(Ama Ebi),Tako, Hamachi, Scallop, Tuna, Salmon.
It appears they put just as much effort into their cocktails, but we just had pints of Sapporo. Their sake list is extensive as you might have guessed.
Our server told us we got 3 of the 4 most popular dishes. The only one we didn’t get was the Aburi Wagyu+Uni Nigiri Sushi, nicknamed the The Best Bite, which we’ll be sure to get on our return visit. Some other interesting dishes we’d like to order on our next trip to Tamari Bar are Crazy Journey, which is their spicy fried chicken and the Dan Dan Ramen, which they call, The Living Legend. Got to give Tamari Bar credit for over-the-top dish names.
The proof is in the pudding when it comes to Tamari Bar dish presentations. Instagram is littered with photos of the 7 Tier Sashimi, the Shoka-Do Bento Box and Rockin’ Marinated Wagyu Beef. But the dishes are just not pretty pictures, there’s substance behind it. All are tasty, the Rockin’ Marinated Wagyu Beef is fun, we love the variety the Shoka-Do Bento Box provides and the 7 Tier Sashimi is memorable for it’s unique presentation.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
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Best One-Of-A- Kind Doughnut Award: Half N Half Doughnut Company
Recommended by: Nobody. We saw it on our way to Skillet Diner. Little did we know, it had just opened two days earlier.
Description on the Half N Half Doughnut Company’s website: We hope HnH doughnuts delight you. Our passion is creating beautifully crafted flavors for the products made right here in our kitchen. We value providing compelling taste and quality in equal measure. So, our products are always fresh, made from scratch, with Northwest organic whenever possible and always with a strong commitment to non-GMO.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 516 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Banana Foster Filled($3.85), Pineapple Fritter($3.95), Vanilla Old Fashioned($2.75), Georgette Cinnamon Twist($3.25). Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich($6.95)
Comments: We consider ourselves doughnut connoisseurs. It’s one of the few foods we feel we can call ourselves experts. You can see our review on the two Seattle doughnut empires, Top Pot and Mighty-O, the trendy, General Porpoise Doughnuts and the secret doughnut spot that nobody seems to talk about, Tempesta Coffee (RIP) We also have an upcoming post for the newly opened Donut Factory in the University District and Raised Doughnuts in the Central District.
We knew nothing about Half N Half Doughnut Company. We happened to wake up early one morning(having two kids under 3 yrs old will do that) and decided to have breakfast at Skillet Diner down the street. On the way to Skillet we saw some folks waiting outside Half N Half Doughnut Company and decided we’d stopped by after eating breakfast.
We found out that Half N Half Doughnut Company had only been open for two days and is the creation of one of the co-founders of Top Pot Doughnuts. As you will see, the doughnuts are a bit more experimental than Top Pot’s.
Half N Half Doughnut Company is right on Pike St in Capitol Hill so parking can be a problem. Look for the storefront with the moped and kid mannequins in the window.
The interior is small with no tables or chairs and has a 1950s soda shop vibe to it. They even have manual pull espresso machines. We’ll get to the doughnuts in a second, but first they also have cookies, biscuits, breakfast sandwiches and surprisingly, sous vide eggs. Cookies we understand. Biscuits and breakfast sandwiches is a little strange, but okay. Sous vide eggs? We’re not aware of any other establishments that serve sous vide eggs to go.
Anyways, on to the main attraction, doughnuts. The selection is not as robust at Top Pot, Mighty O or Donut Factory, but the choices are all very “experimental” and none that you have ever tasted before. You won’t find your standard doughnuts like maple bars or chocolate glazed. You will find doughnuts such as Churros, Smores and Banana Foster filled. They also have mini doughnuts which they call, “bombs”. We ended up getting the following:
- Banana Foster Filled($3.85) -Score: 4.75/5.0
- Pineapple Fritter($3.95) – Score: 4.65/5.0
- Vanilla Old Fashioned($2.75) – Score: 4.65/5.0
- Georgette Cinnamon Twist($3.25). Score: 4.25 /5.0\\
- Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwich($6.95) <<we got this for our friend who we were visiting after. We didn’t try it but he loved it.
The people there were very good about explaining each of the doughnuts and were very willing to advise their favorites, which we appreciated. As you can see the doughnuts are all different prices. We have to say, the doughnuts at Half N Half Doughnut Company do seem to be bigger than your normal doughnut, but so are the prices.
We enjoyed the fact that you will not find these types of doughnuts anywhere else. The banana foster filled was our favorite, but the pineapple fritter was a nice spin on your normal apple fritter and their vanilla old fashioned was also better than your normal old fashioned.
Due to it’s location it does take some effort to come to Half N Half Doughnut Company, but the unique types of doughnuts they have has a “special treat” type feeling to it. Even the packaging with individual wrapping for each doughnut and sturdy boxes have a “special treat” feeling to it.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.65
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.45
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: As mentioned in our quest to find the best doughnut in Seattle, we visited The Donut Factory out in the University District after our neighbors told us about it replacing a long standing donut shop that closed down.
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Linda’s Tavern – The Last Place Kurt Cobain Was Seen Alive
Recommended by: Nobody. We talked about Viretta Park (aka Kurt Cobain Park)and It’s history with Kurt Cobain. Linda’s Tavern is the last place anybody saw Kurt Cobain alive.
Description on the Linda’s Tavern website: A nice place for nice people.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 707 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Manny’s, Black Raven Pale, Pfriem Pilsner
Comment: Linda’s Tavern is supposedly the last place that Kurt Cobain was seen alive before he tragically took his life. I’m not sure this is well known about Linda’s Tavern amongst Seattleites. Linda Tavern has been a mainstay in Seattle(est 1994) for such a long time, it’s generally known for it’s low key Western-themed quirkiness.
According to Wikipedia, Linda’s Tavern has made servers Thrillist lists including “Seattle’s 26 best Boozy Brunches”, “The 21 best dive bars in America 2014”, “14 Seattle Bars That Are Open on Christmas Day”, The Best Dive Bars in Seattle” (2016). Those accolades should give you better picture of the type of tavern this is.
If you are interested here’s the booth that Kurt Cobain was last allegedly seen:
We’ve never eaten at Linda’s Tavern, but we’ve definitely done a lot of drinking here over the years. With so many high-end cocktail bars, clubs and craft breweries in Capitol Hill, Linda’s remains one of those rare places that’s laid back. It doesn’t take itself seriously. Just take a look at their “Hippies Use The Side Door” sign, the massive buffalo head above the bar, the Laura Palmer(Twin Peaks) high school photo, the stage coach wagon chandelier , the large print of cow herding.
There’s also some blasts from the past. They have some old school arcade games, their jukebox is full of CDs, not the digital jukeboxes you see in all bars nowadays. You get the feel like Linda’s Tavern is stuck in time-the song playing when we came in was “No Excuses” by Alice in Chains.
Linda’s Tavern has three main sections- the bar area, the elevated seating area where the jukebox and arcade games are and the huge outdoor patio that has it’s own bar. This is definitely a hidden gem during the warmer days and nights.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: Not rating. Never eaten and have only had beers.
Overall: 4.50
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
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Tavolata – Best Happy Hour in Seattle
Recommended by: After this blog post was published a friend/reader reminded us of Tavolata after seeing me gush about Il Corvo’s pappardelle. We decided to take a happy hour trip to Tavolata
Description on the Tavolata’s website: Tavolàta Capitol Hill is our first attempt at recreating one of our original restaurants—Tavolàta in Belltown. Like the original, Tavolàta Capitol Hill is all about the pasta: Rigatoni, Bucatini, Gnocchi alla Romana and more. House favorites like the Pork Chop and Smoked Fish Bruschetta also make appearances. Join us on Capitol Hill!
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 501 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Spaghetti w/tomato & basil with chicken and ricotta meatballs, Pappardelle-beef and pork ragu, mint, chili,grana padano, Rigatoni-spicy italian sausage, tomato, marjoram, parmesan, Gnocchi alla Romana 1
semolina dumpling, mozzarella, tomato.
Comments: Between 5:00-7:00 pm a glorious occurrence happens every night in Seattle. Tavolata has their happy hour. It’s safe to say, in our opinion, Tavolata’s happy hour is by far the best in Seattle. We love happy hour at Chan, List, Toulouse Petit, Alibi Room and Issian, but Tavolata is the best both in quality of food and amount you save during happy hour.
Tavolata is part of the Ethan Stowell Empire that includes Seattle institutions such as How To Cook a Wolf, Staple & Fancy, Red Cow and Rione XIII. I highly recommend visiting any of his restaurants which range from steak to pizza to Mexican and as you will see with Tavolata, Italian.
The happy hour menu is limited to the bar area and patio, but we’ve never had a problem getting a seat as long as you are there by about 5:30.
Tavolata’s happy hour is one of the greatest hacks in Seattle. Not only can you enjoy dishes from one of the top restauranteurs in Seattle, but you get them for nearly half the price with no decrease in quality, presentation or taste! Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Here are the dishes our party of 4 ordered:
Savings – $37!!!!!! BAM!!!! Less than $12 a person and this includes a 20% tip!
Also, I haven’t even mentioned the happy hour drink savings. Unfortunately, we didn’t keep track of this and not everybody ordered a drink off the happy hour drink menu.
We had the choice of sitting indoor at the bar area or outside on the patio, which is truthfully pretty limited in space. It was a rare sunny evening, so we chose el fresco. So a short description of each dish. The papardelle was my favorite. It had a pork/beef ragu sauce with a hint of mint. I probably ate 2/3 of it. Sorry to the other folks at the table for hogging it! The rigatoni was a little spicy due to the Italian sausage. Love the generous portion of grated cheese. The spaghetti and meatballs were also a hit. The sauce was thick and the meatballs dense enough to cut up and pair with the spaghetti. The spaghetti on it’s own is good, but paired with the meatballs made it sooooooo good. Of the four, the gnocchi was my least favorite, but it was still good and a hit with the rest of the table. I did love the presentation in a baking dish and the melted mozzarella, but I prefer my gnocchi in smaller pieces. These came as six huge polenta pucks. It’s hard to nitpick when you pair the fluffy gnocchi with the sauce and baked cheese it is admittedly delicous. This one is totally filling. Check out our photos and scores for each dish down below.
Rigatoni -spicy italian sausage, tomato, marjoram, parmesan. Score: (5.00/5.00)
I know some people will say for happy hour, the dishes are still on the high priced side. When comparing to all other happy hours in Seattle, yes. When comparing to other “quality” restaurant happy hours, you’re insane! This is one of the best bang for you buck treats in Seattle. I honestly don’t think Tavolata even needs to have a happy hour, they’d still draw in crowds without it. I’m just grateful they do. This easily fed a party of four and in fact we had some leftovers to take home.
One last thing, I’d still encourage you to go to dinner at Tavolata for their risotto, pork chop, ribeye and picatta, which are not on their happy hour menu. One thing you can count on from an Ethan Stowell restaurant is the decor and atmosphere just makes you feel you’re in for a special experience and with the pairing of the delicious food makes for a great evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck(happy hour only): 5.00
Overall: 5.00
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Shortly after publishing this post claiming Tavolata had the best Happy Hour in Seattle, a reader suggested checking out BBQ Smith’s Happy Hour, so we took her up on her suggestion.
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Cinnaholic
Recommended by: Shark Tank. We saw a pitch for Cinnaholic on the TV show and like donuts, we love cinnamon rolls, so we thought we’d check out Cinnaholic
Description on the Cinnaholic’s website:Cinnaholic is the original, gourmet cinnamon roll bakery. With over 20 unique frosting flavors and a variety of fresh and decadent toppings, we’re not your typical cinnamon roll dessert shop. Visit us at our Cinnaholic Seattle – Capitol Hill location to experience our award winning, handcrafted cinnamon rolls, brownies, edible cookie dough and baked cookies. All our products are made with the highest quality ingredients, and are 100% vegan, dairy & lactose-free, egg-free and cholesterol-free.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 816 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll, Banana Split Cinnamon Roll
Comments: There are two things we’re big fans of. Shark Tank and cinnamon rolls. When we saw the pitch for Cinnaholic on Shark Tank. We thought, “This is genius!” while our mouths were watering. Whenever we see cinnamon rolls on any menu or in a display case, 90% of the time we get it.
This sums up how much we enjoy cinnamon rolls. At our wedding we did not have a traditional wedding cake, we bought a ton of cinnamon rolls and arranged it into the shape of a traditional wedding cake. If that doesn’t prove how much we enjoy cinnamon rolls, I don’t know what will.
So back in the Fall of 2018, we noticed that Cinnaholic had opened in Capitol Hill. But along with the volume of instagrams of beautiful cinnamon rolls, were lines out the door. With two little ones, that’s a recipe for disaster. So we waited for the excitement to die down until we visited Cinnaholic.
Cinneholic starts with a basic no frills cinnamon roll with vanilla frosting at $5.50. They have a multitude of different frostings for $.25 extra:
As you can see from the photos, the toppings are generous and the cinnamon roll is big enough to be shared by two. The frosting is surprisingly light unlike most cinnamon roll frostings that are quite dense.
Nothing goes better with a cinnamon roll than coffee and I’m happy that they’ve sourced locally from Lighthouse Roasters
Besides, their staple cinnamon rolls, Cinnaholic has brownies, cookies, baby buns(mini cinnamon rolls) and cookie dough.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 3.75
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.25
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
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**********12/20-Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
The Wandering Goose – Best Breakfast in Seattle?
Recommended by: Our server, Marissa at the The 5 Spot recommended The Wandering Goose to try out. She advised they had breakfast everyday and had some of the best fried chicken in the city.
Description on the The Wandering Goose’s website: The Wandering Goose is a thirty seat Southern influenced cafe in the heart of Seattle’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Wandering Goose is warm and inviting with bright natural light streaming in through the east facing windows. The demising wall between the neighboring restaurant is made from vintage leaded glass windows allowing for even more light and a sense of openness in this tiny but magical café. Offering Southern inspired breakfast and lunch fare including biscuits, cookies, layer cakes, biscuit sandwiches, hushpuppies, crock pot grits, country ham, sawmill gravy, country sausage gravy, greens, pimento cheese, chow-chow and fresh salads. All ingredients are seasonal and affordable fare. We will offer baking classes, cooking classes and retail sundries.
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Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 403 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
What we ate/drank: Hangtown Fry-fried oysters, cured pork belly, poached eggs. Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Machiatto using Caffe Vita coffee.
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Wandering Goose just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
Marissa at The 5 Spot did not let us down with her suggestion! We’ve now been here multiple times and The Wandering Goose is now in our rotation of breakfast places.
Wandering Goose has two similar characteristics of two other recently reviewed restaurants:
- Like Il Corvo, you line up, put your order in toward the back of the restaurant, pay and then take a seat. They’ll bring out the meals to you. Also similar to Il Corvo lines through the restaurant form regularly due to it’s small size and popularity.
- Like Citizen Cafe and The 5 Spot, it’s one of those rare Seattle restaurants that’s opens for breakfast at 7:00am not only on weekends, but on weekdays.
If there is anything you take from this post it’s if you have a group of four or more, you’d better get there as soon as it opens or you’ll be waiting awhile. The Wandering Goose only has 30 seats. We’ve only come on weekdays in between 7-8 am to ensure we get a table. We won’t even think about going on the weekends unless we do takeout. There’s basically two rows of long benches on either side of the restaurant with tables and adjoining chairs.
The Wandering Goose specializes in Southern comfort food and has the decor to match. It feels like a diner in a small farm town – branded wooden tables, weathered window panes, ceiling fans with long downrods, lamps made of burlap sacks, old cases behind the cashier. It has that laid back country feel, which is a nice departure from the modern hip restaurants that permeate the Seattle landscape.
Here are some of the yummy dishes we’ve had. There aren’t many places that serve a Hangtown Fry(typically eggs, bacon and oysters) in Seattle, so whenever I see it, I normally order it. Usually the ingredients are all scrambled together or as an omelette. I like Wandering Goose’s variation on the dish. You have a poached egg, so you have the runny yoke. You have the pork belly instead of bacon. Take a look at the picture down below to see how thick the piece of pork belly was. Whoa. Lastly you have fried oysters on top of a bed of potatoes in a skillet. Lots of savory flavors in this dish. I added a bit of their house made “sweet heat” sauce too. As with all their dishes, the portion size will leave you full.
Note: There are two entertaining origin stories of how the Hangtown Fry came into existence. The first was a gold prospector hitting it rich and going to a hotel in California and ordering the most expensive things on the menu which in those days were eggs, bacon and oysters. The other story is that a condemned man was due to be executed and for his last meal he specifically ordered oysters, because he knew it would take more than a day to get them, so he gained an extra day of life.
Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. Their fried chicken definitely deserves mentioned when talking about the best fried chicken in the city. Perhaps Wandering Goose will enter the fray in the war over who has the best fried chicken in Seattle between Ezell’s and Heaven Sent. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The seasoning on the crispy skin was flavorful, but not overly seasoned like many other places. Our two year old devoured the drum stick like the Tasmanian Devil from WB. The Fried Chicken Plate also came with collard greens which were sweet and spicy and cole slaw which was crisp and fresh. It also came with one of their biscuits.
The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Like the Fried Chicken Plate, The Sawmill may give another Seattle Food War a new combatant. Wandering Goose may give Morsel and Bean & Biscuit a run for their money for Best Seattle Biscuit Sandwich. Take a gander at the pictures of The Sawmill below! Your mouth is salivating, ain’t it? I opted for the addition of a poached egg for extra. How could I not have some runny yoke with this bad boy?
This is not really a traditional sandwich you can eat with your hands. You’ll need a knife and fork. The biscuits are huge and fluffy. I always expect biscuits this big to be dense. Everything about this dish is substantial from the size of the biscuit and chicken to the amount of thick gravy. The sandwich was delicious and despite it being so substantial, I finished it. Needless to say, there was no need for lunch that day. I think the next time I order this, I’ll try it without cheese. The cheese melted into the gravy, making it cheezy. It was still delicious, but I’d like to taste the gravy on it’s own.
The Sawmill – **Before**cutting into it $13.00- fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese add poached eggs $1.25. Score: (5.0/5.0)
Summary: Are we ready to crown The Wandering Goose as our favorite breakfast spot yet? Not quite yet, but it’s a front runner. I think if we were to put it in a category, it would be our favorite breakfast spot when playing hooky from work. Due to it’s small seating capacity and popularity, I think we’d only come here during early morning weekdays.
If you want to learn more about the history of The Wandering Goose you can read about it here.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.85
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The cashier recommended Fat Hen as a suggestion. We’d heard of Fat Hen and have a funny story about it, but we’d never been there. Stay tuned for our visit and review of Fat Hen and the funny story connected to it.
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