World Pizza

672 S King St Seattle, WA 98104 206 682-4161

★★☆☆☆

If you have been hoping and waiting for World Pizza to open it's doors again since it closed its Belltown location years ago or for a veggie pizza option in the International District...your wait is finally over!  I, like most, have to pass by many solid pizza options to get there and don't think about the International District for pizza....unfortunately I can't say this has changed.

The space is small with very limited seating so come early if you intend to eat there.  The staff was extremely friendly and happy to discuss any questions or menu recommendations you may have.  A variety of slices are cooked and ready to go and of course you can order a whole pizza, which we were told would take 20 minutes.  You can call in an order so you don't have wait as long if time is an issue.

A sample greek salad, brought out on the house while we waited for our pizza.  Again, the staff was extremely friendly.

Half roasted red potato, garlic, rosemary and gorganzola, the other half, our own creation of artichoke and cherry peppers.  The herbed dough was cooked nicely with a crispy bottom.  The spicy flavorable sauce (as stated on the menu) was a tasty, rustic (jb) tomato sauce that I did not find spicy.  

I haven't had too many roasted potato pizzas so I can say with confidence it is one of the better versions I have had.  A bite with the the rosemary potato was nice but the gorganzola was a bit mild.  Minced garlic topped both pizzas and some bites definitely had more than others - not a complaint as I like garlic and it went well with the tomato sauce.

The artichokes and cherry peppers were nothing special and carried their pickled flavor onto the pizza. 

Maximus Minimus

Locations

★★★☆☆

Menu

Maybe just another food truck but you have to admit this one does have some style.

Pulled pork sandwich ($7.00 including tax) - plenty of pork, cilantro on a fresh bun....simply tasty!  Your choices are Maximus - hot and spicy or Minimus - sweet and tangy.  I went with the maximus and thought it was missing the spicy.  There are better pulled pork options out there but there is nothing wrong with this sandwich. 

They do offer a chicken and veggie sandwich as well but have you seen the truck!

You can add slaw for $1.37.



MOD Pizza

317 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004 425 455-0141

★★☆☆☆

There are also locations in U District, Downtown and Capitol Hill.

If the goal is cheap and fast pizza then this could be the place for you. All pizzas are only $6.28!!  But keep in mind that most places in the area with a wood burning oven have both an early and late night happy hour menu with pizza for less than this!  And many better than this!  The pizza is fine on a thin, crispy cracker crust with good flavors but not overly impressive.

mad dog - the italian sausage gave this pizza a great flavor and was one of the favorites of those tried.

dillon james - the asiago gave it a little something over just a cheese pizza.  I like a nice slice of tomato on burgers....but a warm slice on a pizza doesn't work for me.

lucy sunshine - here you can really get a taste of the signature red sauce and when it is not masked by pepperoni, italian sausage and meatballs, as on the mad dog, it is sweet and...not so good.  The garlic on it was nice.

deluxe salad ($6.88) - that's right...it's more expensive then the pizza!  But it's deluxe so don't let the to go box in which it is served fool you....or the out of the bottle tasting italian dressing that thankfully came on the side.  The mixed greens, chicken, etc are good but don't expect a great dressing to tie it all together.

Tavalota

2323 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 206 838-8008

★★★★★

The Menu is seasonal although there are several staples that can usually be found.  For a spectacular deal come for Happy Hour where many of the starters and pastas are half price!

We are fortunate in Seattle to have several excellent restaurant options for great Italian food.  Tavalota is one of them and in my opinion one of the best!  Fresh, simple starters and delicious homemade pastas.  On a recent visit I had one of the best Italian meals I have had in Seattle!

Grill Flatbread ($12) - Buffalo mozzarella, arugula, roasted garlic and carmalized onions.  Simple, classic and perfectly executed.  Great bite to have with drink!

Fried Soft Shell Crab ($14) - Watercress, pickled red onion and guanciale (unsmoked bacon).  Great combination of flavors and textures.  I had no complaints and would get again but not a must on the menu especially after taking into account price.

Grilled Asparagus ($9) - This was the best aspargus I have ever eaten!  True you have to be a fan of a fried egg but why wouldn't you be??  It is like the bacon of poultry!  The yoke dresses the perfectly grilled asparagus and the parmesan and balsamic do not over power.  I was sad to see this was not on the current menu.

  
Baby Beets ($10) - Fantastic! Aren't beets supposed to taste like dirt("earthy")?  I have just recently started to appreciate well prepared beets and these golden are the best I have had.  They were sweet, tender and paired perfectly with the mild goat cheese.  The pistachios added a slight bite of crunch.  Fantastic!

Pappardelle ($17) - Fava beans, peas, spring garlic and thyme cream.  I am not generally a fan of cream sauces on pasta as I tend to find them too heavy and rich.  This was far from it!  The sauce was extremely light and did not cover up the great fresh flavors of the pasta and spring vegetables.

Strozzapretti ($17) - Beef bolognese, mint and mascarpone.  The pasta dishes are the reason to come here and this one does not disappoint!  As mentioned above, I am not a huge fan of rich sauces so the mascarpone is not needed and easily removed. 

Grilled Branzino ($22) - Cioppino, cuttlefish, prawns, clams, white bean and fennel.  I have had thier branzino as an appetizer on a previous visit and it was wonderful.  Unfortunately, tonight it was a bit too fishy in flavor.  Not a big disappointment for me as I don't go to Italian restaurants for the secondi.  I go for the starts and primarily the pasta!! In fact, I rarely even order a secondo.  Those that I have had here are good but not the reason I return.

Zeppole ($9) - Assuming you are still hungry, these light lemon donuts are great with an espresso or even better with a grappa!  In my opinion they don't need the chocolate sauce but the chocolate is quite good.

Din Tai Fung

700 Bellevue Way NE #280 Bellevue, WA 98004

★★★★★

There has been a lot of talk about this place since it opened but how good could a dumpling place be that is located in a Bellevue mall??  Simply incredible! This place has been open for months and you will still find a 1+ hour wait during prime time on the weekends.  Can hundreds of people be wrong?  Yes...but not in this case.  If you are not willing to wait that long I have found arriving early (5:30 pm) or late (9:00 pm) can get you in the door in under half hour in most cases.

But if you are going to have to wait, you might as well be at a mall where there are plenty of places to explore or stop in for a drink...this is of course after you tire of watching the assembly line prepare and create dumpling after dumpling...it doesn't take long.  After you stop in and give them your name, they tell you how long it will be and at what time you need to be close by.

Once you sit down the food generally arrives fairly quickly and the dishes will come when they are ready, not in the order you may have intended.

Most of the dishes average somewhere between $8 - $10, which doesn't sound high but they will add up.

The Juicy Pork Dumplings, yes, I am showing a picture of them twice.  This is how many you should order if there are only two of you and is the reason you waited an hour to eat here.  These dumplings are delicate purses of pure happiness.  We were instructed on one of our visits to place the dumpling in your spoon, pierce it with your chopstick, to allow the magical soup to run out and enjoy.  This does cut back on the chances you burn the inside of your mouth on the extremely hot broth within the dumpling.

The Pork and Shrimp Dumplings with Spicy sauce on the side is also a must.  This dish normally is served with the sauce over the dumplings but I was dining with the spice adverse so ordered it on the side.  Not a bad way to order it, as this sauce is so tasty it is good on everything! Not that there is anything wrong with the small bowl of fresh ginger they provide to which you add rice vinegar and soy sauce to your liking for all your dipping needs.

The Pork and Vegetable Wonton Soup (we added noodles) is tasty but not a must.  The wontons are good but whether steamed or in the soup they are much more veggie than pork.  Not saying this is a bad thing, just that if you are expecting pork dumplings with vegetables, the pork is hardly noticeable.

A con worth noting, I have certainly not tried all their soups but for those I have tried - The noodles in the soup are great.  The wontons or dumplings in the soup are great.  The broth itself is not great.  Don't get me wrong, it's not bad but if you are expecting a big bold broth these are not the soups for you - particularly when it comes to the chicken and pork broths I have tried.

The Fried Rice with  Fried Pork Chop is also worth getting, especially the pork chop!  The fried rice is excellent but I'd rather fill up on juicy dumplings than rice here.

The Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai I found a bit plain.  The noodle and rice cake dishes are excellent - I personally prefer the noodles over the rice cake.

I have found some great dumplings in the area but this place has something that we've been missing - so come here once and come often...or don't and I won't have to wait as long the next time!



Samurai Noodle

606 5th Ave South Seattle, WA 98104

★★★★☆


Menu

For those who cherish Ramen as in the opening scene of Tampopo, this is the place for you!!  And for the rest who only know ramen as hot water poured over a cup of dried noodles/seasoning packet, as I was not long ago, this will be an eye opener and a must try!

The atmosphere is simple - a counter in front of a small kitchen to place your order and 7 or 8 tables that seat 16 - 20, so come before noon if you hope to get a seat during the week.  Service is extremely friendly and the food arrives quickly and hot.

Ton-kotsu Ramen ($7.25) has a delicious, rich broth and is served with what we were told is a traditional wheat/thin noodle.  These noodles are not what you generally associate with ramen but are light and tasty.  This is one of the few dishes that is not served with the more traditional wavy ramen noodle, which I prefer only slightly more. 

The Shou-you Ramen is also a great bowl of soup but doesn't have the same depth and richness of the Ton-kotsu.  My favorite is the best of both worlds, Shou-yu Ton-kotsu Ramen.  We have tried several of the other soups and the bottom line is you will not get a bad bowl of soup here.

Pictured above next to the soup is the Samurai extra toppings (3.00) - the soup alone is plenty of food and the side of pork, egg, bamboo shoots, green onions and mushrooms is great to share. 
   

Swedish

Terrible. Just terrible. (tk)

Congratulations on the new addition!