belltown pizza

I walk by belltown pizza all the time, but I've never been in? Why is that? Probably because it seems from the outside like a crappy, touristy, sports bary place with no redeeming qualities. But you know that thing they say about book covers, right?

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

It's dark inside, so I don't have a lot of great pictures. As devoted as I am to you, dear readers, there are some days when I'm incapable of being 'that asshole with the flash photography'.

But enough about that. We're here for pizza. And it's good pizza. The Fire in Belltown is my new favorite pie. Of course, you already know that any place that puts the hot sauce on the pizza for me is going to surge ahead in the rankings. It's almost like cheating.

Hot sauce? I'm home.

It's not just the hot sauce though. The ingredients all seemed to be high quality. The cheese stood out as particularly good, having enough flavor to stand up to the hot sauce and roasted red peppers without being overpowering or vulgar.

good vinaigrette, this

The salad even caught my attention. The vinaigrette was just right; vinegary, but not too vinegary. An impressive feat that continuously eludes me. The croutons were almost too crunchy though. Couldn't get a fork in them.

[where: 2422 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121]

Hip Top Hop Pot [Top Pot's second annual doughnut eating contest]

I skipped the Bite last weekend, and I think I got away with it. But if I tried to skip Top Pot Doughnuts second annual doughnut eating contest I'm pretty sure they'd take my food blogger license away.

Chomp! The winner is in peak form.

The Saturday Knights played, actually during the eating. It was a little weird, but good. I think some of the contestants were in it more for the music than the confections (check out the guy all the way on the left, in the cubs hat, head banging his way to last place. He mentioned that he had a hard night last night :)

Sorry about the crappy video. Being the slacker that I am I got there late and had to stand in the back on a chair.

It was fun to see Nancy Guppy in person. I've been seeing Seattle through her eyes since the first day I was in town. She was covering bumbershoot while we unpacked (yes, we moved to lower queen anne during bumbershoot. that was fun, let me tell you).

[where: Top Pot, 2124 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121]

Top Pot on 5th

lemon bismark

Everyone loves Top Pot. Now it's my turn to sing its praises.

It's not just the doughnuts, though those tend to be very good. I like the lemon bismark. Can you tell? It's not just the coffee, which I also like a lot and is perfect for dipping. It's the place itself.

Top pot has a certain aesthetic, which it applies at all its stores. It's always nice. But it fits perfectly in the location on 5th in Bell Town. It's a perfect place to have a sit down while you're out on a downtown walk-about.

A few more photos for the curious.

out on a Whym

Whym is the one that replaced Cafe Minnies; comparisons are inevitable. Let's get it out of the way; Whym is not Minnies, thank christ*.

Admittedly this was my first visit. And it was between lunch and dinner, so it was really slow. But the service was super fast. My glass was never empty; it felt like that time with the Pham's I told you about a while back. The kitchen was really fast too.

It's a little pricey for an esculents restaurant; you can get something for less than $10, but not much. That's what happens when you cross Denny, I guess.

The food was good. Rakka liked her mushroom sandwich a lot.

Mushroom sandwiches are tasty

My eggs benedict was yummy too, though the hollandaise wasn't very subtle. I mean, it was bright neon yellow. The flavor was 'rich', but I can't think of any more adjectives. It was ten bucks.

Eggs Benedict, Florentine style
(there are 4 styles to choose from)

The name is a little too much for me. It's like they're trying to make me pun, the bums. It's like they know my weaknesses. Don't worry though, I'm not going to do it. Except for the title. At least I used the least sensical pun I could think of. It made me feel better somehow.

[Insert Whim pun here]
[no, don't! -ed]

I'm pretty happy with with the place, overall. I'll be back, I'm sure. Their dinner menu is said to be fantastic (source: head server).

* there's something about waiting an hour and a half for food that makes you sick, that makes you only do it once.

[where: 101 Denny Way, Seattle, WA, 98109]

two bells tavern

You can sum up Two Bells in one word: Comfortable. Not only is the food really good, the staff is really friendly and they get in special beers all the time.

Two Bells The neon sign for Two Bells Tavern in inside the Two Bells Tavern

The menu is pretty standard "bar and grill" fare, with a few surprises here and there. The Ahi tuna caesar salad was the surprise that I went for, and it was very nice. My dinner companions had a turkey sandwich and a cobb salad, respectively, both of which received high praise.

There were some unique beers on the regular list. I had one off the list, and one of the specials, which was made with fresh hops; both were fantastic. Being the professional that I am I failed to write down the names of these things. My subconscious was already plotting my repeat visit.

Perhaps the main attraction, though, is the atmosphere. For Belltown it is an incredibly chill, low pressure place. It's been described as a dive, but I don't agree. But then, I've lived in Baltimore and Memphis, so it could be another case of skewed perspective. I will agree that it's about as close as you can get to a dive in Belltown. Semantics aside, it's a good place and you should go.

TASTE Café

Looking at art is hungry work. That's why it's so great that the Olympic Sculpture Park Café has such good food. It's not even that expensive. I was kind of surprised.

mmmmm. salad

Let's be clear. It's not a destination that's about the food. But the food is good. The 'grown up grilled cheese' sandwich is exceptional. Rakka and I have tried to copy it, but it's just not the same. The salads are really good too.

there it is, the grilled cheese with green apple, caramelized
sweet onion & sharp white cheddar on potato bread

One of the coolest things, other than the actual food, is that most of the containers are are compostable. Even the plastic ones. The cutlery is made of renewable bamboo. That's pretty darn cool.

airy, open, but please, no food in the art

So, go see some sculpture. And get a sandwich.