****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things get back to normal soon and hope you will continue these local businesses****
Cantinetta
Recommended by: After having created blog posts on some of our favorite Italian restaurants such as Via Tribulani, Tavolata, Pasta Casalinga, Cantinetta and Bizzarro Italian Cafe. We realized we’ve never done a blog pot on our favorite Italian restaurant in Seattle.
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Description on the Cantinetta’s website: We are an Italian restaurant based in Seattle, Washington specializing in Tuscan culinary traditions, authentic hand-made pasta and seasonal, organic ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 3650 Wallingford Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Various. See below.
Comments: When Seattle restaurants briefly opened back up in the Fall of 2020, the first restaurant we decided to go to after 6 months of not being able to dine in, was Cantinetta. That shows how much we love Cantinetta.
This small unassuming restaurant is right in the middle of Wallingford. And when we say right in the middle, I mean it really is in the middle of the neighborhood away from most of the Wallingford businesses on the main street of 45th. It really has an initmate neighborhood feel with high society dishes.
Cantinetta is located on a corner It’s a very intimate setting with huge windows that lets in a lot of sunshine during the daylight hours, but when sun goes down and the lights dim, it’s transformed to a romantic ambiance.
Another cool feature is the open window into the kitchen, which gives you a show of how the meals are prepared and cooked. Like most great Italian restaurants, they had huge wine list of both Italian and PNW wines.
The dishes are always new every time we visit so we know we’ll have something new to try. Two of our favorite dishes we’ve ever had Cantinetta were co-winners of our Top Seattle Dishes of 2018. Here’s an excepr:
Cantinetta -Co Winner Dishes: Tomato Farfalle, rabbit sausage, basil and Tagliatelle,guanciale, farm egg, black pepper
This little Italian gem of restaurant in Wallingford could have had seriously 5 or 6 dishes in the top 15 dishes we had in 2018. The Lopez Island Clams with Nduja Sausage, Shallots, Vino Blanco, the Black Pepper Tagliatelle, Carbonara, Prosciutto, and the Flank Steak with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Port Butter also could have made the top 15 but the best dishes of 2018 are….
Tomato Farfalle, rabbit sausage, basil– The main issue we had with this dish is that it was a small portion and it was gone and eaten in no time. We really don’t order farfalle that often and basil is not one of my favorite herbs, but I was really interested in the rabbit sausage, so we ordered this dish. So glad we did. Put it all together and it was perfect. No one ingredient overpowered the others and together worked so well. The minty-ness of the basil, the tomato farfalle pasta combined with the slightly gamey, but so savory sausages. Perfect.
Tagliatelle, guanciale, farm egg, black pepper– So simple, so good. It was like a spin on a carbonara. Again, with a raw egg yoke it already had an advantage to being named a best dish of the year. Combined with hand made Tagliatelle and quality cured meat from the jowl/cheek of pork and it got us wondering how something so simple could be so damn good. We broke the yoke, mixed it all up, devoured it and ordered it again.
Here are some of the other dishes we’ve had in our many visits. Lopez Island Clams, nduja sausage, shallots, vino bianco 15. Pane della Casa – house-made focaccia, extra virgin olive oil 3.5. Black Pepper Tagliatelle, carbonara, prosciutto 20. Flank Steak, black trumpet mushrooms, port butter 29
$45
Most of these dishes are 5 out 5, so when we taste one that is 4 out of 5 here, we are surprised even though a 4 out of 5 would be great at any other restaurant. We are so used to Cantinetta being great, they have an unfair standard in our eyes, but more times than not they exceed our expectations.
Friendly and educated service that sets the stage for the dishes and drinks you’re about to enjoy.
Great for date night, intimate dinners with guests from out of town or small celebrations for birthdays, graduations or anniversaries. We came to Cantinetta for our anniversary. Cantinetta may not be a good fit for parties over 4, maybe 6 max and I’d definitely get a reservation.
Everybody we know who’s been to Cantinetta loves it. Loves it. But we are shocked by how many locals have never been there. Like we mentioned, it’s not in a trendy restaurant neighborhood like Capitol Hill, Ballard or Belltown. And it’s not even on the main street of Wallingford, which may be the reason it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. All we know is that when we’re getting ready to go to Cantinetta we get giddy, because we know we’re in for a special evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.75
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:
Secret Congee
Recommended by: On one of our trips to pick up from Dumpling The Noodle, we noticed around the corner a group of people standing out in the rain. We assumed that if people were willing to stand out in the rain for something it must be good. We did some research and figured out people were getting congee.
Description on the Secret Congee’s website: Secret Congee is a congee specialist shop located in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. Our congee is authentically influenced by the South East Asia style of cooking.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 4405 Wallingford Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Garlic Blue Crab Congee – 3 ounces of blue crab lump meat. Fried garlic. Jasmine rice cooked in chicken bone broth. Chopped ginger and scallion. Pepper. Soy sauce -$16. Tom Yum Shrimp Congee – Colossal shrimps. Fried garlic. Jasmine rice cooked in chicken bone broth. Chopped cilantro and scallion. Pepper. Tom Yum sauce -$14.00. Slow-Cooked Beef & Kimchi Congee – Slow-cooked prime brisket. Jasmine rice cooked in chicken bone broth. Young’s Kimchi. Chopped scallion. Pepper. Sesame oil -$14.00
Comments: I give credit to any restaurant that decides to open during the pandemic. Secret Congee, which opened in October, is actually located in Juisala, which is a vegan smoothie and juice bar. It’s located right off the busy corner of N 45th St & Wallingford Ave and is a take-out only operation.
Congee is a thick rice porridge that’s found throughout Asia. It’s Asia’s version of what chicken soup is to Americans. It’s a meal often given when people are ill. The rice porridge is often served with different types of toppings depending on what country your in. And as far as I know Secret Congee is the only place in Seattle that really focuses on congee as the main dish.
Before diving into each individual dish, what we enjoyed most about the congee, is that the flavor is not reliant on the toppings. The toppings add to it. If you eat the congee all on it’s own without the toppings, it’s still a very flavorful dish, but the toppings definitely take it to another level. Even though it’s take-out, the presentation is still very good and the congee was delivered piping hot.
It also mentions on Secret Congee’s website that “in an effort to help with sustainability, we use organic meats and sustainable seafood in all of our congee choices.” if that matters to you.
My favorite is the Beef & Kimchi Congee. The beef is perfectly seasoned and paired with the kimchi and congee provides the perfect “slurp”. Savory, a bit spicy and warm.
Slow-cooked prime brisket. Jasmine rice cooked in chicken bone broth. Young’s Kimchi. Chopped scallion. Pepper. Sesame oil. $14
My wife’s favorite is the Tom Yum Shrimp Congee. We weren’t sure what to expect mixing Tom Yum’s sourness with congee, but it really works. What we really loved is the size and quantity of the shrimp . There were 5 huge pieces of jumbo shrimp that we were not expecting.
The Garlic Blue Crab Congee was no slouch either. Like the shrimp, we were shocked by the amount and size of the crab toppings. The fried garlic and ginger were perfect compliments(again) to each other and the congee. A really good combination of flavors.
You can also add in for $1 a soft boiled egg or a century egg. The other side you can get is Youtiao Crispy Fried Dough which is great for dipping in the congee.
We’re not gonna lie, the price is a bit on the high side for the quantity, but trust us, the topping quality and the amount of toppings(especially the crab and shrimp) along with the deliciousness make it worth it in our minds.
Secret Congee is only open from Wednesday – Sunday in between 11AM – 3PM, so if you are ordering for dinner, you’d better plan ahead.
We ordered from Secret Congee right around the time of the February 2021 snow storm in Seattle and this was the perfect cold weather comfort meal to get us warmed up. Quality ingredients and ample amounts of toppings. The other thing about congee as a hot comfort food it keeps better for take-out/delivery better than some of our other comfort foods like pho or ramen.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: N/A Take Out only
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
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****
Dumpling The Noodle
Recommended by: A friend told us about a new place that just opened up similar to Xian Noodles. We thought we’d check it out for ourselves.
Description on the Dumpling The Noodle’s Facebook page: Hand-pulled Noodle(Lamen), Rice Noodle, Dumplings, Buns, Wontons, and Bubble Tea! Hand-made always tastes the best!
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address:1719 n 45th st. Seattle, Washington 98103
What we ate/drank: See below-various
Comments: First off, what a strange name – Dumpling the Noodle? One thing is for sure, we’ll never forget the name. Dumpling the Noodle is in the former Wallybuger location.
We’ve actually done take-out and eaten in. There’s nothing special about the seating arrangement, but the decor is quite unexpected with the large pictures and descriptions.
On to the food. One thing we really appreciated was that the dumplings are available in orders of 6 or 12, which makes it easier to come here with just one or two people and still be able to try a few different dishes without getting totally stuffed.
We tried different types of dumplings and in our opinion it’s a step below Little Ting’s or Dough Zone. The wontons and bao buns are a good quality for not having to go all the way to the ID. Our favorite dish by far was the Braised Beef Lamen in Chile. The noodles were imperfect, which means they’re hand made. It’s the prefect combo of beef, bean sprouts, cilantro and noodles. This might give Xian Noodles a run for their money. We also enjoyed the Seasoned Fried Chicken Bites, which is a perfect dish with beer. Our daughters’ favorite was the JaJang Beef Pancake Roll.
It’s a good dumpling/noodles/wonton/bao option if you live in Wallingford. Another nice thing is that they offer delivery for 99 cents depending on a minimum order and their delivery diameter is pretty big. Yes, you read that right, 99 cents! We’ve added Dumpling the Noodle to our rotation of Chinese take out restaurants along with Xian Noodles and Chiang’s Gourmet.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
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: We realized upon writing this blog post that we have not done a review of one of our favorites, Chiang’s Gourmet. We’ll be doing a post on this tried and true spot next.
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****
Sea Wolf Bakers
Recommended by: We have friends whose daughter shares the same daycare as our daughters. They were aware of our love of cinnamon rolls. They had recently visited Sea Wolf Bakers in Fremont and said we were the first people they thought of when they ordered the cinnamon roll. They said we had to try it. So we did.
Description on the Sea Wolf Baker’s website: Sea Wolf is a Seattle bakery opened in 2014 by brothers Jesse and Kit Schumann, two native Washingtonians. Following the practices of craftsmanship and local sourcing, Sea Wolf offers bread and pastry in a space that’s comfortable and welcoming to everyone.
Neighborhood/Type: Fremont
Address: 3621 Stone Way N Suite D, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Cinnamon Roll – $7
Comments: Ok, first things first. We already mentioned in our Cinnaholic post that we love cinnamon rolls so much, that during our wedding we did not have a wedding cake, we had a pile of cinnamon rolls from a bakery in Pike Place Market arranged into the shape of a wedding cake. My co-workers had two baby showers for us prior to both of our daughters being born. They main course was cinnamon rolls. Wherever we go, if we see a cinnamon roll on the menu, we will typically order it. There is nothing better than a cinnamon roll and a cup of espresso or coffee.
Sea Wolf Bakers opened their brick and mortar location in August of 2016 by two brothers, who according to their Kickstarter, really toiled into the wee hours to hone their skills and hustled from space to space to get their breads made. They are exceptional in all things a baker makes-breads of all types, baguette, rolls, croissants, muffins, even burger buns. And of course cinnamon rolls!
Sea Wolf Bakers is so good at their craft that they were a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Outstanding Baker in 2019. Surely, this is all you need to know about their quality. If you need any more evidence they apparently provide the bread for Renee Erickson’s restaurants, The Whale Wins, located across the street and The Walrus and Carpenter as well as previously reviewed Vif Wine | Coffee and Preserve and Gather.
Their cinnamon roll is a bit on the steep side at $7, but it is huge. Take a look at the picture of the cinnamon roll compared to our daughter’s hand. The cinnamon roll can be ordered with frosting on the side, but it honestly doesn’t need it. Most cinnamon rolls are soft and dense. The Sea Wolf Baker’s roll has a hard crunchy sugary glazed exterior and a soft doughy middle chalk full of raisins and cinnamon. The inside is almost like a croissant, flaky.
It reminds me of the cinnamon roll they serve at Storyville Coffee Co , which is a tiny little thing that can’t be shared, but it’s delicious and very similar with a crispy outside and soft inside. The main difference is that Sea Wolf Baker’s cinnamon roll is about 10 times bigger. It easily fed our family of four.
Sea Wolf Baker is located right next to Manolin and right down the street from a couple of our favorites, Stone Way Cafe and Joule. The bakery has an open layout so you can see them prepping and baking. It really looks like a commercial spot with a few tables for retail. There’s also a lot of outside seating. You can normally spot Sea Wolf Baker by looking for a line of people on weekend mornings.
Wholesale remains their bread and butter for the business, but luckily they’ve made their cinnamon rolls available to the public.
Summary: As we enjoyed the cinnamon roll out on the patio, we started to debate where this fits into the Seattle cinnamon roll landscape. This roll with its crunchy exterior and flaky croissant-like middle with raisins and perfectly gooey cinnamon is so unique compared to the normal icing topped cake-type cinnamon roll. There was a consensus, Sea Wolf Baker’s cinnamon roll is the best in Seattle. If you want to enjoy this treat. Just a warning, they run out quick so get there in the morning.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
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!
Related Articles:
Bizzarro Italian Cafe
Recommended by: I went back to work after lunch at Pasta Casalinga and mentioned it to my co-workers. We talked about Pasta Casalinga and I mentioned some of my other favorites like Tavolata and Il Corvo. A co-worker mentioned her favorite was Bizzarro Italian Café in Wallingford. We’d been there before, but it’s been so many years. A revisit is in order.
Description on the Bizzarro Italian Cafe’s website: Bizzarro has been a Seattle favorite since it opened in 1986 by original owner, chef and visual artist David Nast. He converted the building which was originally an auto workshop into his dream restaurant on a shoestring budget with a lot of hardwork, ingenuity, artistic inspiration and love.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 61307 N 46th St, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Monday Night Meatball 5 juicy spicy meatballs tossed with spaghetti rustica pasta in our world famous marinara, Elk Bolognese- Wild Oregon Elk with fennel, thyme, Mama lil’s peppers and pork shoulder slowly simmered into a creamy ragu tossed with our handmade parpardelle ribbon pasta. Drunken Clams- Local manilla clams in spicy tomatoes with prosciutto, basil, shallots & ouzo. Chianti.
Bizzarro Italian Cafe has been in existence since 1986, but it’s one of those places that doesn’t consistently come to mind when thinking of Italian food for some reason. We have our regular Italian places like Tavolata Il Corvo and The Pink Door and our quaint neighborhood spots like Cantinetta, Salvatore and Serafina.
Our revisit to Bizzarro Italian Cafe is a good reminder to keep it as an option not only due to the good Italian food, but the one of a kind kitschy décor. It’s very apropos that it’s a few doors down from the King of Kitschy things, Archie McPhee.
According to Seattle Magazine, Bizzaro Italian Cafe was started by an artist, David Nast. And ownership/chefs has changed numerous times including Mike Easton who owns one of our favorites, Il Corvo . We did not know that.
Bizzaro Italian Café is a small intimate restaurant in the Wallingford area and as mentioned has been around for over 30 years.
Their claim to fame is a cell phone surcharge if you talk on your phone while everybody is trying to enjoy their meal.
If I remember correctly, I believe this surcharge was implemented in the early years of cell phone usage, where there was no texting or photo taking abilities. Who talks on their cell phone anymore?
For fun, if you want you can check out some of the irate customers who have been charged a surcharge and it appears they are not shy about it……
Cell Phone Charge! Source:Yelp
We went on a Monday evening thinking it wouldn’t be crowded, but we snagged the last open table and after that there were people waiting for seats.(Note: Bizzarro does not take reservations for parties less than 6).
If you do have to wait, they will take your number and they’ll call you when ready. You can either walk around Wallingford, go to Archie McPhee or get a drink at the Blue Star next door.
If you’ve never been to Bizzarro Italian Cafe, you’re in for a visual blast you’ve not seen anywhere else. There is literally something to see in every nook and cranny of the walls and ceilings in the entire restaurant(take a look at the pics).
There are quirky bits of memorabilia everywhere you look. You have so much for conversation starters, which makes it a fun place for first dates.
The tables are packed pretty tight and the with so many people in a tight spot, it can get quite loud.
First comes the bread with vinegar and olive oil. All entrees come with a salad and you can upgrade to a Ceasar’s salad if you wish.
We started off with the Drunken Clams which is a perfect match to slop up the sauce with the bread. The clams and bits of prosciutto were tasty, but the sauce is the star.
Our server offered to bring more bread when he saw we had extra sauce, but ran out of bread. We were tempted but didn’t want to fill ourselves up before our mains came and said he could take the sauce away. We shed a little tear as he took it.
Our entrees were the Elk Bolognese and their special of the night, Monday Spaghetti & Meatballs.
I’m a sucker for a ragu sauce and how often can you find elk on the menu. This is probably their most popular dish. I was expecting a bit of gamey, but there was none. One thing I loved about the dish is they are not chintzy on the meat.
Normally the meat to pasta ratio is decidedly heavy on the pasta side. This dish surprisingly was heavy on the elk side. This is a comforting dish to have on a cold night.
The Spaghetti & Meatballs is normally a mainstay on Sundays, but they happen to serve it on this Monday.
We may have gotten the last dish, because shortly after ordering it, one of the servers erased it from the chalkboard. The sauce was average, but the spicy meatballs(5 in all) were fabulous.
One small thing. I wish they would serve wine in a proper glass instead of a tumbler.
One of the secret side stories of Bizzarro Italian Cafe is a table in the back area it’s situated right next to a massive pole and has a chalkboard sign that claims to be the “Best Table in The House”. We think it’s a tongue in cheek title since it’s situated next to a massive pole. Sorta like these seats….
You might look at kitschy decor and think this is their gimmick, because the food in not up to par. Well the food is definitely as good as the decor is kitschy.
It’s really is a one of a kind restaurant that you will not find anywhere else and has the quirkiness of a cell phone surcharge and “Best Table in The House” to boot.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4. 55
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: 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 Itlian Cafe. We’ve been to Via Tribulani, but not for many years. It’s time for a revisit.
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Stop N Shop Poke
Recommended by: An in-the-know co-worker brought it to my attention back in April of 2016.
Description on the Stop N Shop’s website: They ain’t got one.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 2323 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank:
Comments: If we’re being honest, this post should have been published two and half years ago. It was around April 2016 that a co-worker in my office spilled the beans on a little secret poke place inside of small convenience store. What made this secret so tantalizing was not only was it secretly located, but if memory serves it was thee first place to serve poke dishes(not counting the seafood markets that sell it by weight). As word of mouth spread, the secretive nature added to the allure of the shop. Almost immediately there were lines out the door.
. 
I used to live in Fremont and I’d typically take N 45th to get to the I5, so I used to pass by the location all the time. Prior to a Stop N Shop, it was home of the famous Erotic Bakery, which used to make X-rated cakes. From the nondescript outside, you’d think it’s just a normal convenience shop where you’d pick up some gum or some cigarettes. It is that, but as you enter you’ll see a little poke stand to the right.
The convenience store portion.
IIt still gets crowded, but due to the proliferation of poke places all around Seattle shortly thereafter the opening of Stop and Shop, the novelty quickly wore off. But whenever I take out of town guests, they still get a kick out of “this secret place”. I find the Stop N Shop Poke bowls to be a decent size, has quality ingredients and I think it’s faster because they automatically add on the side items instead of letting the customer pick and choose. I think this makes the orders go quicker.
So you start with the bottom of the bowl-either rice or a salad or you can half/half. Then you can choose one fish($11), two fish($12) or three fish($13). Choices are tuna, salmon, izumidai, shrimp or veggie(tofu). They also have unagi for an extra two dollars. You can have the fish with a regular sauce or a spicy sauce. I prefer spicy myself. Then they add on krab salad, seaweed salad, edamame, ginger, tobiko, pickled cucumber. Voila. There are only a few tables, so we always take ours to go. A normal practice for us, is to order poke from Stop N Shop and then eat it at a local brewery which allows outside food.
A note about Seattle poke places: It seems as soon as Stop N Shop opened a poke place, so many poke places opened up that in less than one year after Stop N Shop opened many of these poke places were closing down due to saturation. So in less than one year, the poke craze started and went down in flames. Here’s an article from The Seattle Times talking about the Seattle poke saturation. It’s easy to understand why so many poke places opened. Most places use the Subway Sandwiches model where you start with rice, add the fish and then the toppings. Everything is already prepped, so you just need somebody to listen to the customers and put the poke dish together. Also, there is no cooking involved(except for the rice) since the fish is raw and mixed with sauces. Don’t get me wrong I love poke, but you can see it’s an easy business to replicate. The only thing that will separate the poke places that survive and the ones that won’t, are quality of the fish and customer service. My two favorite poke places are Stop N Shop and goPoke in the International District.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4 Cmon, it’s a convenience store, but due to the secretive nature it gets a 4.
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 4.5 on the poke scale
Bang for the Buck: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
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!
Related Articles:
Kokkaku
Recommended by: The hostess at Kamonegi mentioned Kokkaku in Miyabi 45th former location, as having interesting presentations on Wagyu beef and staying within the Japanese food theme.
Description on the Kokkaku website: Kokkaku, a “Japanese inspired Meat House” where whole beast butchery is the focus and local sourcing of farmed, foraged, and artisan craftsmanship is at the forefront of interpretation and creativity.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 2208 N 45th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Wagyu Four Ways-A5 Wagyu sashimi and sushi, and two American Wagyu tartar, one with quail egg and one with nori. Ton Katsu, Lan Roc Pork Tenderloin, Wagyu Bolognese Linguine, 2 Asahi beers, Shoyu Ice Cream
Comments: As mentioned in our Kamonegi review , my wife and I were always big fans of Miyabi 45th. Well, the ex-chef/owner of Miyabi 45th opened up Kamonegi, but whatever became of the space that Miyabi 45 used to be in on the main street of Wallingford neighborhood on 45th Street? We actually had no idea, but the hostess at Kamonegi suggested it as another Japanese restaurant to visit and mentioned they had unique presentations on Wagyu beef.
So what is Wagyu? It’s basically four types of Japanese beef cattle breeds, the most famous being Kobe beef. So what makes Wagyu beef so special? The main difference is that Wagyu beef is highly marbled, which means it’s highly fatty and leads to a better taste and a buttery flavor. The Japanese have taken developing Wagyu cattle to a whole new level through distinct breeding methods, special feeds and longer periods of fattening the cattle.
Let’s first talk about the restaurant. As you enter on 45th Street, you’ll notice their herb garden as you enter the front door. There are two tables near the window, which is where we were seated. Like most of the places in Wallingford on 45th Street, the space is long and narrow, so besides the two tables near the window, the rest of restaurant is pretty dark. It’s a little too dark for my liking, but it does set a low key romantic ambiance for a perfect date night. Soft instrumental jazz playing overhead also adds to the romantic ambiance. I wouldn’t call the type of décor here minimalist, but it is very simple. On one side of the wall are white hexagonal tile and the opposite side of the wall are plain white walls. The middle portion has two long benches on either side of the wall for larger groups. The rest of the space comprises of a bar that seats maybe 6 people and 5 tables of two.
The staff was very attentive throughout, refilling water, general check ups and explaining the dishes. We didn’t order straight up steaks since we had just been to Daniel’s Broiler the week before, but we did order two dishes with Wagyu meat. First the Wagyu Four Ways, which is served as sashimi, sushi, steak tartare on nori and steak tartare with a quail egg. The Wagyu of course melts in your mouth and all four were delicious, but I’m a sucker for steak tartare and I’m an even bigger sucker for anything served with a raw quail egg, so that was my favorite of the four preparations.
The second Wagyu dish we ordered was the Bolognese Linguine. This was also a super tasty dish, although I don’t know if the Wagyu really added to this dish. The sauce and cheese are what really make this dish.
The other entrée we got was the Pork Tenderloin Ton Katsu. Normally, traditional tonkatsu is a slender piece of pork and here they replace it with a thicker pork tenderloin. I always have issues keeping pork tenderloin moist whenever I attempt to make it at home, but this dish is a homerun. So damn tender and moist! They provide a mortar and pestle to ground up sesame seeds and then you can put the ground seeds on the tonkatsu and pour the sauce over it or combine the seeds with the sauce and use it for dipping, which is what we chose to do. We also ordered a bowl of rice to eat with the tonkatsu, but they also provide a huge mound of shredded cabbage with citrus. We washed these down with a couple of Asahi draft beers.
Ton Katsu, Lan Roc Pork TenderloinWe were definitely stuffed and don’t normally order dessert, but when our waiter explained the desserts they had, one caught our attention. It was the Shoyu(soy sauce) Ice Cream that is made in house. We were so curious we had to order it. Surprisingly, it was quite good. It tasted like salted caramel, but based on the after taste you could tell it was shoyu. You can take a look at the pictures of all these dishes and see how the presentation was flawless. As far as bang for your buck, I would say the dishes we got were fairly priced when taking into consideration the portion size, the presentation and the yumminess.
It’s always good to try different things on the menu whenever you do a repeat visit to get a variety of dishes, but we enjoyed these particular appetizer and entrees so much, I fear we’ll just order the same exact dishes on every visit to Kokkaku.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 5+
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
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 Local reader recommendations to visit in the future: 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.
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Northlake Tavern & Pizza
Recommended by: The cashier at Stone Way Cafe suggested Northlake Tavern & Pizza for what she called the “best pizza in town”
Description on their web: The special kind pizza we feature here is from an old Italian recipe. It happened one day as the original owner of this establishment expressed his dissatisfaction with the pizza. “Pshew, what garbage!” he exclaimed. “I’ll bet I can make a better pizza than this.” So a bet was made.
Neighborhood/Type: University District / Pizza
Address: 660 NE Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98105
Music playing: None. Trailblazers game was playing.
What we ate/drank: Logger Special Pizza- Canadian bacon, Italian beef sausage, black olives, fresh cut green peppers and onions. Combo – Pepperoni, Italian beef sausage, black olives and mushrooms
Comments: This place had been recommended to us by the cashier at Stone Way Cafe. And although I had been here before, my wife had not. It had been at least 20 years since I’d been there, so you’d think the décor would have been upgraded since then. But stepping into Northlake Tavern & Pizza is like stepping back in time. It had not been changed one bit. The cartoons on the wall are still there, the tables covered in plastic picnic table coverings are there, the bar is exactly the same. I guess you could say this is both good and bad. Bad because nothing has been upgraded and refreshed. Good because it’s nostalgic and not having any upgrades means hopefully no substantial increase in prices. Northlake Tavern & Pizza has been open since 1954 and I would not be surprised if there have been no renovations since then, but that’s part of it’s charm. As mentioned there’s the old cartoons on the wall, there’s UW sports memorabilia and autographs, the neon beer signs are not Fremont or Georgetown Brewing, but Pabst and Budweiser. I’ve already mentioned the plastic picnic table covering, but all you get with your pizza is a paper plate and fork. You read that right, a paper plate.
Let’s get down and dirty. We know there’s a lot of good pizza in Seattle and the sheer number of pizza places make the competition for pizza pretty ferocious. To separate themselves some have carved out a specialty or niche- Deep dish Chicago style, Fusion, Northwest spin, Neapolitan, Vegan. Just off the top of my head for pizza places we’ve been to or ordered from in the last few years-Serious Pie, Flying Squirrel, Pagliacci, Alibi Room, Windy City Pies, Frelard, Dino’s, Rocco’s, Zeeks, China Pie, Turnpike, Veraci, Ridge. So where does Northlake Tavern and Pizza stand out in the Seattle pizza landscape?
- Ambiance? No
- Exceptional Service? No
- Fast Service? No
- Great Location? No. It’s directly under the I5 going over Lake Union
- High end ingredients? No. There’s no truffle cheese or pecorino sadro
- Unconventional ingredients? No. There’s no clams, mandarin oranges or chocolate hazel nut spread.
- Cheapest price? No
- Kid Friendly? No
- Place to impress your first date, in laws or hip/trendy friends? No, no and no.
- Massive amounts of toppings? YES YES YES
This is the place to go for just plain ole great pizza. The one thing that makes it stand out is the massive amount of toppings. The diameter size of the pizza is like any other pizza place, but the huge toppings make the height taller than any pizza in Seattle. For this reason, we always get a small size pizza, because after eating two slices, we’re full. Due to the weight of the toppings, it’s difficult to eat a slice with your hands, so having fork comes in handy. Our go-to pizzas here are the Logger Special Pizza and the Meat Eaters(see below pics for ingredients). And although we know what’s coming, whenever the pizza arrives to our table we always say, “Wow!”
The atmosphere is very relaxed and informal and you get the feeling that most of the patrons have been coming here for not years, but decades. On a particular Saturday night visit we noticed that 80% of the patrons seemed to be 40 years or older, so it really does seem like a place that has some history among those who go there.
One callout, because it’s technically a tavern, you must be 21+ to enter, so no kids. There was a 6 week stretch where our neighbor watched our kids so we could go out on a few date nights. We had a hankering for pizza and came here three times. I mentioned I had not been here in 20 years. I kind of just forgot about Northlake Tavern & Pizza as an option, but the Stone Way Cafe cashier’s suggestion to come here rekindled my affection for their pizza and gave my wife an opportunity to try their pizza for the first time. Coming here 3 times in 6 weeks shows it’s in the forefront of our mind now.
The one area we’d like to see is improvement in would be the time it takes to make the pizza. Perhaps, with the size of the toppings it can’t be helped. On average I would say it takes 45 minutes to an hour for the pizza to be made. Granted, we’ve always come on a Friday or Saturday night which are definitely busier. There’s not a lot of small talk from the servers. It’s pretty much taking the order, which is fine by us. There was one time where the server gave my wife a free soda, because our pizza was taking a long time to come out, which was a nice of her.
If we want ambiance, we might go to Via Trib. Fast service, we might do take out from Zeeks or Pagliacci. Great location, we might go to Dino’s in Capitol Hill. High end ingredients, we might go to Flying Squirrel. Unconventional ingredients, we might go to Serious Pie. Kid friendly location, we might go to Freland Pizza. But when we have a hankering for a relaxed environment with just plain old great pizza, we’ll come to Northlake Tavern & Pizza.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 3.75
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 4.5 (Small pizza is $23, but it’s so filling due to the huge amount of toppings. This is really 4 meals)
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:
Related:
Fuel Coffee
Breaking News-5/21/20: Ada’s Technical Books Cafe has acquired the three Fuel Coffee branches including the one reviewed below. You can read about the details here.
Description on Fuel Coffee’s website : We are committed to perfectly caffeinating each customer with the highest quality coffee and to redefine the standards of customer service in a unique, friendly, and comfortable atmosphere.
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1705 N 45th St 98103
Music playing: Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure
What we ate/drank: Doppio espresso, mocha, macchiato.
Comments: People often call coffee fuel for the body, especially for us non-morning folks. So I guess it’s an appropriate name for this local vintage road trip-themed coffee shop with locations in Wallingford, Montlake and Capitol Hill. This location on the main street of N 45th Ave is right in the middle of the Wallingford neighborhood. 
We had birthing classes a few years ago in Wallingford, so this was our go-to coffee place during this time. Because these classes were in the morning, we normally had no problems finding parking right on N. 45th Ave, but these do have a small parking lot in the back.
When entering you’ll notice about 5 high counter stools facing out to the main street. There are also a few tables/chairs in the front area, which is where all the sunlight is. You’ll notice the first of their vintage décor, an old fashioned gas pump, which is right next the refrigerator of cold drinks. In the middle is the barista station/cashier with pastries and a few savory foods, such as quiche. The pasties are locally sourced from Standard Bakery, Macrina and La Toscanella. There are times when there is one person manning both the cash register and making the drinks, which could make for a longer wait. When there are two people working, it goes much more quickly.
The vintage road trip-theme continues with a shelf displaying old tire rims, travel books, old Rand McNally road maps vintage coffee cans, soda bottles, spark plug boxes and drinking water. The largest part of the location is in the back, which has a combination of regular tables, coffee tables and high counters with stools. This area can easily seat 20+ people. Although we really dig the painted brick wall with the giant coffee mug and the vintage signage for pies, this area is really dark and has no windows. There are some smaller lamps that provide a bit of light and probably not a big deal during the dark winter months, but not ideal in the sunny summer days. Speaking of signage, we do dig their store front signage, a bright orange circle with “Fuel” and a circular neon arrow pointing to the store.
Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of coffee options in Wallingford with the exception of Starbucks and a few smaller cafes, but Fuel Coffee, in our opinion, is really the only true option in Wallingford when it comes to really good coffee. According to their website they source their coffee from Caffe Vita.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Vintage props and signage, which give it a lot of character
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: None
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Recommended by: Lara(?) at Kona Kitchen
Name: Varisty Inn
Description on their web: They don’t have a website
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1801 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Type: Brunch
Packed?: Was not busy when we arrived shortly after opening, but was almost full when leaving around 9:00 am on a Saturday
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Beef Fajita Omelette, Carnitas in Tomatillo sauce with corn tortilla and hash brown. Side order of cinammon roll.
Comments: From the outside and from appearances as you first walk in, you’d think this is a greasy spoon diner, that isn’t always the cleanest, but I’ve got to say, the place is dated but immaculate. Varsity Inn is only open for breakfast and lunch. It appears there are a lot of regulars that frequent the place due to many customers being greeted by name as they walk in the door. Where most popular Seattle brunch places are packed with youngsters and young families, Varsity Inn seems to cater to regulars who have been coming here for years and years. They have your typical diner fare, but truthfully we’ve never had any of those dishes. Then why do we go here?
This is listed as a secret but what is the secret? You can see a copy of their menu online and you’ll notice it looks like your standard diner breakfast go to’s. The secret is that they have Mexican specials that are not listed on the menu that are just as good or better than nearby Pablo y Pablo, Senor Moose or Barrio, but cheaper. The portions are huge and you’ll surely need a box for leftovers. Take a gander at these….
We’ve read their Yelp and Google reviews and we’re flabbergasted that most people do not order these dishes. We ask our friends about their favorite places for Mexican and nobody ever mentions Varsity Inn. I think it’s one of those things where people who want normal American diner food go here specifically for that and people who may want Mexican have no idea Varsity Inn serves it nor would they have any reason to know they serve it unless they were tipped off or happened upon it by accident.
The staff is always nice and engage in small talk. I don’t know if they have a bin of toys, but the first time we came in, our server provided out daughter a toy cell phone to play with while we waited for our meals to come out. There is a small parking lot, but street parking can be a bitch especially lately due to the new construction of condo/apts in the neighborhood.Good recommendation, Lara!
Note: This is not to be confused with Ravenna Varsity Restaurant, which is a totally different restaurant.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Atmosphere: 3.0
Service: 5.0
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.75
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Rating: Locals “in the know” know about it.
Server recommendations to visit in the future: The staff was pretty busy, but a customer sitting next to us made small talk with us since our daughter just started walking. He mentioned a Mojito as a place we’d might want to try.
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