Nosh Pit

Destination-Worthy Dining on Beacon Avenue

Bar del Corso, Travelers Thali House, and Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine make for good eating.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 28, 2011 at 09:41AM 0 Comments

Bar del Corso’s “flawless” pie.

As The Stranger’s Bethany Jean Clement, and more recently, our very own Kathryn Robinson, have noted, changes are afoot on Beacon Avenue: “Except for a scattering of mom-and-pop joints—and more than a few terrific home kitchens, no doubt—Beacon Hill has never been a terribly auspicious place to bring an appetite. Until now,” writes Robinson.

Boosting most of the buzz is Bar del Corso, the new pizzeria of Seattle dining-scene vet Jerry Corso. But then there’s the second iteration of Capitol Hill Indian favorite Travelers. And Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine, which boasts “the best Filipino restaurant drag queen waiter in the biz,” known to bust out a song or two.

Spectacles aside, what makes them destination-worthy restaurants? Read the rest of Robinson’s take on the culinary boom of Beacon Ave.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Pizza

Tuscan Stone Pizza Vacates Downtown Seattle Location

Makes for Issaquah.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 27, 2011 at 03:34PM 0 Comments

See you next summer—maybe. Tuscan Stone Pizza vacates the lot on Second and Pine in downtown Seattle.

Antsy ones, those Meyer brothers.

After debuting their Tuscan Stone Pizza trailer in Kent then bailing for Bellevue in late March, then opening a second branch in downtown Seattle not two months ago, Jeffrey and David Meyer have packed up the Emerald City oven and taken it to Issaquah.

David chalks up the move to the changing seasons. “We quickly learned that’s a summer location,” he says in reference to the lot on Second and Pine, adding sales dropped as the days got darker. Will they resurface there next year? “We’ll see what happens.”

You’ll find the Tuscan Stone in Issaquah at 22411 SE 62nd Street daily 11–8. The Meyers continue to operate on the corner of Bellevue Way and Main Street as well.

Wonder how goes business for the rest of the crew at Second and Pine?

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Tags: Pizza, Street Food

Zaw Pizza Plans First Eastside Outpost

It’s going on Mercer Island.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Sep 15, 2011 at 09:30AM 0 Comments

Zaw Pizza, coming soon to Mercer Island and sooner to Wallingford.

The folks from Zaw Pizza get in touch to say plans are in motion for a kitchen on the Eastside, the first for the you-bake-it biz–starved region. The new spot is slated for a late October opening in Tabit Village Square, on Southeast 27th Street.

In addition to its about-to-open Wallingford storefront (the grand hurrah is Saturday), the local pie chain currently operates in five locations: Capitol Hill, Ballard, South Lake Union, Queen Anne, and Wedgwood.

To see how Zaw measures up to its eco/health-conscious competitors, check out our Seattle Pizza Smackdown.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Zaw Pizza

Tuscan Stone Pizza Comes to Downtown Seattle

The brothers behind the Bellevue original go West.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Aug 16, 2011 at 10:21AM 3 Comments

Tuscan Stone Pizza in downtown Seattle.

It’s been about two weeks since Tuscan Stone Pizza set up in downtown Seattle, and the decision to settle on Second and Pine seems a wise one. “We’re starting to get repeat customers,” says David Meyer, who along with his brother Jeffrey launched the curbside business (the duo has since brought on two more partners).

The Meyers opened the first Tuscan Stone on the corner of Bellevue Way and Main Street in late March (they operated in Kent for a short time prior), then figured it time to colonize the other side of Lake Washington. They scouted various locations before deciding the downtown lot was their best bet. There the pizzaioli wood-fire the 10 pies (thin crust, cooked in 90 seconds at 800 degrees) populating a menu split between American-style and more classic Italian varieties. The dough is made fresh every morning.

Brother David says there are two more trailers in the pipeline, though locations are still up in the air, as is the time frame. He could only offer that they hope to get them operating before the end of the year. Till then, the Bellevue and Seattle ovens are open daily 11–8.

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Tags: Pizza, Street Food

East Coast Pizza in Pioneer Square: Calozzi’s Moves Menu Beyond Cheesesteaks

Philly native Al Calozzi promises real-deal pizza at his soon-to-be-expanded Occidental Ave shop.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 15, 2011 at 09:42AM 16 Comments

Calozzi’s, on Occidental between Yesler and Cherry, will expand into an area behind the restaurant formerly occupied by Utilikilts.

When Al Calozzi first hatched a plan to sell cheesesteaks to bar revelers on the Belltown sidewalks, people told him he couldn’t compete with the hot dog vendors.

This isn’t the East Coast, they said.

“Just try one,” he would reply. And they would, and then they’d get it. “I’ve been making this sandwich since I was 10 years old,” says Calozzi, dropping the “g” in “making” like any good Philadelphia native would. “It’s a very unique thing when it’s made right.”

Calozzi, who moved to Seattle five years ago, found a permanent home for his business last September in an Occidental Avenue storefront between Yesler and Cherry in Pioneer Square. It’s just around the corner from Tat’s Delicatessen, another cheesesteak hub. Calozzi recognizes his competition good naturedly, but points out that Tat’s is more of a deli than a cheesesteak shop—a distinction that might seem arbitrary to anyone unfamiliar with Philly cuisine. But it’s true that while Tat’s features a long list of sandwiches, the brief menu at Calozzi’s (steaks, plus meatball and chicken cutlet subs) fits on a small chalkboard. Calozzi does sell Blue Line cheesecakes, the retirement project of a neighborhood cop that he befriended, but overall the operation has been pretty barebones.

That’s about to change. When Utilikilts gave up the space it was occupying behind his restaurant, Calozzi jumped at the opportunity to start serving pizza. The newly expanded shop will accommodate up to 150 people, he says, and the pizza will be like none other in Seattle. “I’ve tasted them all out here,” he says. “It’s not pizza, it’s not.”

To open our eyes to the way of the true pie, Calozzi will soon be crafting hand-tossed pies in the East Coast tradition—he’s even importing water from the homeland to make his crusts. A deal has been struck with nearby Salumi to supply pepperoni and sausage, and every Friday Calozzi will feature a special pizza—Sicilian-style, for example. The pies will come in individual and larger sizes, and Calozzi plans to offer beer and wine, though he says red birch beer—popular in Pennsylvania—is the perfect beverage pairing for pizza.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights Calozzi’s will be open until 4am to feed the bar crowd. The pizza oven is on its way, and the whole thing should be up and running within two months, estimates its owner.

But while he’s taking pains to make sure his pies are East-Coast perfect, it’s the cheesesteak that will remain the heart of Calozzi’s business.

“The sandwich, that’s my baby,” he says.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Pioneer Square, East Coast Eats

A Chat with Olaiya Land About the Pantry at Delancey

The cofounder fields our burning questions.

Posted by: Katie Ormsby on Apr 27, 2011 at 02:21PM 0 Comments

Olaiya Land, Pantry at Delancey cofounder. Photo courtesy olaiyalandcatering.com.

Family-style dinners for 26, a summer-long roster of enticing classes, a trio of seasoned toques…it’s no wonder Seattleites are pumped for the Pantry at Delancey, the community kitchen opening behind the beloved Ballard pizzeria.

With the launch date fast approaching (look for it in May), we got in touch with cofounder Olaiya Land, a cooking instructor at Delancey and owner of an eponymous catering company. Here, she shares what about the Pantry has her most excited.

What made you decide to open the Pantry?

Brandon Pettit (co-owner of Delancey), Brandi Henderson (Delancey pastry chef), and I are a group of friends who work really well together. I met Brandon back when we worked at Boat Street Kitchen, and we’ve been friends since. He’s like a mad scientist when it comes to cooking; the Pantry will let us play off of each other to create new and exciting things.

What inspired the venture?

There’s a vibrant DIY scene in Seattle, and we love farmers markets. So that really influenced us along with local cheese makers, bee keepers, et cetera.

A big part of the Pantry will be cooking classes. Who do you picture attending these classes?

We’d like to reach a wide range of Seattleites. Realistically we’ll probably draw mostly from Seattle’s uber-foodies, but I’m super excited about also introducing people to cooking. We’re offering a wide variety of classes that meet different skill levels. But I think most classes will work for even a beginner cook.

What are some of the main challenges of catering versus working at a restaurant?

With catering, you have to be very flexible. Since you’re cooking in a new kitchen each time, you don’t know what to expect. It can be stressful, especially huge events like weddings. But it’s also very exciting.

In addition to cooking classes and catering services, the Pantry will host family-style dinners. How many people can fit at these events?

We’ll have a dinner table that’s 16 feet long, and we hope to eventually be able to host up to 26 people at each dinner.

What excites you most about the Pantry?

We want to host community events, which I’m looking forward to. Basically we would host someone like a farmers market vendor for a talk and cocktails. I think we’ll be able to fit about 35 people at those. I’m probably most excited, though, about getting people to cook and realizing it’s not difficult. I want to empower them and get them cooking for their friends and family.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Ballard, Pantries and Mercantiles

MOD Pizza Opens on Capitol Hill

The fourth branch officially fires the oven on April 2.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Mar 31, 2011 at 08:15AM 0 Comments

MOD Pizza opens on Capitol Hill. The original MOD, pictured here, is downtown.

That didn’t take long. Not two days after scoping 20-plus forthcoming restaurants, news arrives that one from the batch is ready for business.

The MOD Pizza people send word that they’re opening the graffiti-bedecked restaurant at 519 Broadway in the Joule Building “officially” on Saturday, April 2.

The pies at fast-casual local chain MOD are uniformly priced at $6.28 and at the Cap Hill branch, can be eaten among the murals of local artist Jeff Jacobson. Hours are as follows: Sunday through Thursday 11-10, Friday and Saturday 11-11.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Pizza, Mod Pizza

The Newest Seattle Restaurant Trend: Graffiti

Capitol Hill’s Mod Pizza will be the latest to join the tagged team.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Feb 15, 2011 at 08:48AM 1 Comments

Graffiti everywhere. Here, at Revel in Fremont.

Mod Pizza, “a fast-paced exciting environment” where the pie arrives super fast and is uniformly priced at $6.28, will soon debut its fourth branch, this one on Capitol Hill. When it opens at 519 Broadway East in the last weeks of March (the oven was recently installed), diners will consume their pizza super fast among splashy-sassy walls.

Says company rep Mary Douglas, “Like all the other Mods, this site will look different and have that ‘edge’ to it.” “Edge” will come courtesy of “an amazing graffiti artist” whose paint job will embellish the interior, she reveals.

The pizzeria follows the lead of Revel in Fremont, where an abstract pastel by Seattle artist Pubs (above) flanks the exterior. At Munchbar in Bellevue, neon boomboxes, stars, and marshmallow scribble, courtesy Jordan Nickel, bedeck the walls in a very Fresh Prince sort of way. Belltown’s Dope Burgers does a ragtag beefwich that kinda resembles a flying saucer. And then there’s the midroom mural at Satay.

Five newcomers in three months, give or take—the Banksy effect is sweeping Seattle.

Spot the spray anywhere else?

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Pizza, Restaurant Trends, Mod Pizza

Watch Bowl Championship Series Football Game at Tutta Bella

Auburn + Oregon Ducks + Neapolitan Margherita pizza + beer that’s actually good = what to do next Monday night.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Jan 05, 2011 at 09:30AM 0 Comments

Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzerias invite you to their Columbia City and Issaquah locations to watch #1-ranked Auburn and #2-ranked Oregon face off in the BCS Bowl. The big screen bar TVs will start up at 5:30pm, with happy hour prices offered 3pm to close.

That means $6 Margherita pizzas and $2 off draft beers and wines. Really, really good margherita pizzas.

Don’t miss this never-before-seen meetup of televised football and exquisite food.

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Tags: Pub grub, Pizza

Zaw Pizza Is Opening in Wedgwood

The you-bake-it biz expands northward for its fifth storefront.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Jan 03, 2011 at 01:06PM 2 Comments

Zaw Pizza is set to open in Wedgwood January 10.

Another year, another pizzeria for Zaw.

The Seattle company is bringing its brand of healthful, sustainable-driven pizzas to 7320 35th Ave NE in Wedgwood. Same deal as at the other four Zaw locations: purchase the pie in-house, bake it at home, do the planet some good.

A release puts the opening date at January 10.

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Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Pizza, Zaw Pizza

An Entire Chicken Dinner on a Pizza

Compliments of Zaw.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Dec 06, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

A chicken dinner pizza, from Zaw

The latest seasonal pie from Zaw Artisan Bake-at-Home Pizza is an entire chicken dinner on a pizza crust.

I’m going to let that sink in a minute.

They’re calling it their Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. There’s a picture of it, see?One of Zaw’s cooks, Anthony, put wine-marinated cranberries and roasted free-range chicken breast and housemade thyme-shallot gravy atop a thin schmear of Alvarez Farms mashed potatoes, along with mozzarella and feta cheese.

I haven’t yet sampled this pie—might be good with a Jones Turkey and Gravy soda—but that’s beside the point. The point, the truly weird point, is that this pie is not the only menu item in town that goes by the name of Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, a saying said to have originated as a casino call-phrase.

At his latest restaurant, Seatown Seabar and Rotisserie, Tom Douglas calls his plate of rotisserie chicken with dripping potatoes and braised greens Winner Winner Chicken Dinner too.

Or did, on his opening menu. The website lists it now as Northwest Free Range Chicken.

.

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Tags: Pizza, Tom Douglas, Seatown Snack Bar, Zaw Pizza, Chicken Dinner

The Weekly Food File: Din Tai Fung Opening, Serious Pie II, and More

Food news you should know about.

Posted by: Lindsey Hall on Nov 11, 2010 at 09:33AM 0 Comments

Ponti celebrates 20 years in the biz.

There’s no stopping him: Tom Douglas has plans for a second Serious Pie in South Lake Union.

Builtburger is now building burgers in Pioneer Square. Also building: anticipation for the Bellevue branch of Din Tai Fung. The dumpling canteen is set to open any day now.

More bacon.

New food truck Pai’s plans to sling Thai-Hawaiian grub on Capitol Hill starting November 17.

Ponti Seafood Grill is hosting a black-tie 20th anniversary dinner on November 13 to benefit owners’ Richard and Sharon Malia’s SCCC Culinary Academy scholarship fund. The five-course, wine-paired supper costs $150/adult; call for reservations or reserve online.

The West Seattle Blog reports that Chaco Canyon —a U-District hippie hang known for inventive organic and vegan fare—will expand to the West Seattle Triangle.

Lions, tigers, and…cupcakes? Beginning November 14, Trophy Cupcakes will offer ’cakes decorated with endangered species. All proceeds benefit Woodland Park Zoo.

My Green Lake reports Zoe Yogurt will set up shop in the Circa Greenlake building on East Green Lake Way. Also in the works for the neighborhood: Cafe Bonjour.

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Tags: Seattle Restaurant Openings, Capitol Hill, Pizza, Street Food, Tom Douglas, Greenlake, Food News Roundup, Cupcakes