Humble Pie

I've been driving by Humble Pie every day to and from work since it was first being built, but hadn't realized quite what it was.  The view from Rainier Avenue only reveals the pizza oven, not the beautiful courtyard they've created.

Driving by one day recently, I thought I saw our neighbor, Matt - one of a few guys living in a house across the street - working there.  Like us, the first thing they did after moving to the street was to tear out the lawn and plant vegetables and fruit trees... so I knew they were good people.  They've taken care of our chickens for us in the past, and are great neighbors.

I took some zucchini over to Matt soon after seeing him at the restaurant, and confirmed it was him.  I also learned the restaurant has chickens, which sold me.  Today after Hilo's annual check up, we checked it out.

They have lots of picnic table style seating with shade umbrellas outside, plus seating inside for rainy days.  The courtyard is surrounded by raised planters full of edibles, and a huge chicken coop with (I counted) nine hens who are super friendly - they ran over when I came to take their picture, undoubtedly disappointed that I wasn't giving them treats.  The tagline of Humble Pie is "people * planet * pizza", and there's definitely a clear focus on those three.

The menu itself is full of locally sourced, organic ingredients, and they've got draft beer and wine (and non-alcoholic options, of course).  There were lots of interesting pizzas to choose from, like one with field roast and red peppers, but we went for the Mushroom, Egg and Arugula pie.  I'm fairly sure the guy making our pizza is also one of Matt's roommates, though I've never met him.

The crust style is thin and crisp, baked in a big wood-fired oven out back.  This particular pie didn't feature any sauce, and the arugula wasn't dressed nor wilted, so the net result was a little drier than your usual pizza slice.  The egg was definitely the star.  We wondered if they come from the hens, or if the ladies can't keep up with demand.  The yolk seemed lighter than the ones our girls produce, but that may be because they forage for bugs and greens all day.

One of the perks was that since the seating is outside, bring Hilo along didn't raise any feathers... since he could care less about chickens.  It's always nice to find a spot we can dine with him, and it doesn't hurt that the restaurant is staffed by neighbors and clearly focuses on sustainability.  We'll definitely be back and have already told a vegetarian family member about the field roast pizza.

Carb Loading Courtesy of Padrino's Pizza

Tomorrow morning Dan & I will be getting up bright and early and heading down to meet a bunch of my coworkers and their loved ones for the Race for the Cure - a 5K to benefit Breast Cancer research. Although most folks are walking, we're running the 5K, so tonight, we carb load.



Conveniently enough, Padrino's Pizza just opened a new location on Rainier Ave S, giving us another delivery option.

We kicked things off with their 'Pepperoni Sticks', which are like pizza breadsticks with loads of pepperoni (rather than friend mozzarella sticks with pepperoni sticks inside, as I'd secretly hoped).



I went for the Bella pasta for my carb loading - a big pile of penne pasta with shrimp and goat cheese in a creamy sauce.



The pasta was good, but I would've preferred my shrimp to have the tails removed. Eating shrimp tails is like chewing glass - both seem to shred my gums - so I ended up detailing my shrimp by hand.



Dan got the classic spaghetti & meatballs with marinara. Both came with garlic bread, so we were plenty carb loaded by the time we were full (which came long before the food was gone).

Big Island Pizza is GENIUS!

This is our first visit to Hawaii since my discovery of Foodspotting, and it's been really handy to discover new restaurants and dishes to try out. In particular, Foodspotter Luke Watkins has turned out to be a virtual tour guide of sorts - thanks to his spots and nomms of foods in Hilo & Pahoa.



Today we took his advice to try the Coconut Prawn pizza at Big Island Pizza, in Hilo. And we weren't disappointed.

The pizza starts with a base of Sweet Chili Sauce, which is then topped with Shredded Coconut, butterflied Prawns, Cilantro, Peanuts, Mozzarella, Mint, Red Onions and Smoked Gouda. The pie is light on the cheese, letting the decidedly Thai toppings stand out as the stars. It was like no other pizza I've tried, and it was amazing. The flavors remind me of Phad Thai, with the chili sauce, peanuts and prawns. The nuttiness of the gruyere ties well with the coconut and peanuts, and the whole thing comes together in a beautiful, delicious package.

When we return to Seattle, I'll be starting a campaign to get one of the local pizzerias - ANY of them - to add this to their menu. It's really that good. And given Seattle's love of Phad Thai, I think this could be a real hit.

Thanks for the tip, Luke!

Pizzuto's Pizza

We hit Pizzuto's again for Date Night this week, but mixed it up by ordering a pizza and a salad. But I still got my chianti, of course.

Pizza for the People!

After a stop at Big Al's Brewery for a round of beers, we made our way up to the main drag of their neighborhood - 16th Ave SW - which boasts a burgeoning restaurant, shopping and pub scene, not least of which being Proletariat Pizza.



Like many of our other stops in our White Center tour, Ruth & Paul knew the owners and we were warmly welcomed. After a pitcher of Belgian Whit beer was procured, we put our order in for their 'The Favorite' pizza (Italian sausage, fresh chopped garlic, Mama Lil’s peppers) and 'The REAL Hawaiian'. I think Ruth was as excited to share Proletariat's take on a Hawaiian pizza wish us as Dan & I were to try it. Instead of Canadian Bacon (which is about as non-Hawaiian as you get), they pair pineapple with SPAM for a much more decadent, flavorful and truly Hawaiian pie. I think the only thing that could make it more Hawaiian would be Kalua Pig - which is surprisingly not a lot of work and stores really well in the freezer (in case any local pizza joint's wanna make me super happy).

I could see why Proletariat get's such high ratings from even the toughest pizza snobs: The pizza's are unique, flavorful, loaded with toppings, well made, and served with a smile.

Tino's Pizza

Tonight Dan & I tried out a new pizza delivery option just down the road from us: Tino's Pizza.

We ordered a pizza with sausage, red onion, Canadian bacon, roasted garlic and black olives. The crust is fairly thick and bready - most similar to Pizza Hut. It was satisfying, though not going to bump Stellar and Flying Squirrel from their coveted positions of favorites.

Tutta Bella

This week's post-market date night took us to one of the hottest hot-spots in Columbia City, that somehow we'd never visited: Tutta Bella.



Those that read my ramblings with some frequency know I'm not partial to a super-thin crust pizza, but so many people love Tutta Bella that I had to give it a try. Thankfully, Dan had been to one of their other locations before, and knew a bit about how to order. He recommended we split a house salad and a pizza, which seemed like it would be too much food, but he knew better. So we ordered the house salad and the special pizza of the day - a fig, proscuitto, and goat cheese pizza that seemed conspicuously similar to Flying Squirrel's Figure 8.



Turns out Tutta Bella's pizzas are on the small side, and their salads are enormous, so following Dan's guidance ensured we had just enough to eat - a delicious salad of greens, beans, peppers and olives, plus a good tasting pizza.



I'm still gonna hold my allegiances to Stellar and Flying Squirrel, but Tutta Bella didn't disappoint. Just be sure to order a salad.

Flying Squirrel Pizza

Tonight we headed out to Columbia City to hit Bob's Meats, but found it closed at 6pm, 18 minutes before we arrived. So we discussed options and decided to go to Flying Squirrel Pizza instead.



My meal started with a Lactaid, because I decided to try something I've been eying on the menu but never ordered before...



A Guinness Ice Cream Float! ($5.50) They use Molly Moon Vanilla ice cream for their floats, and it was definitely creamy and delicious, adding sweetness to the Guinness balanced it nicely.





Dan & I split a large Spinach Salad ($8), which was packed with flavors in the form of bacon, bleu cheese and walnuts, and was a hefty portion even for two.





Then we dove into a Corleone pizza ($17.50) - one of the current specials, featuring Rapini and Fennel Sausage for a notably bitter, but incredibly fresh taste.

As always, the place was packed to the gills, but the service didn't suffer and was just as friendly and quick as always - which will keep us going back.

Mother's Day - Italian Style

Dan & I are blessed to have all our immediate family members (and much of our extended families) living within an hour of us. It creates a great support system for everyone, and affords lots of opportunities to get together for birthdays and holidays. Today, we had a full day of Mother's Day activities - all of which coincidentally had an Italian influence (though neither of us is Italian).



We started off in the morning brunching at Pizzuto's with my family. My folks, sister & brother-in-law came down to our place, and we all carpooled up the road to the restaurant (a little late thanks to a surprise delivery of our new freezer from Lowe's).

Pizzuto's is not normally a breakfast spot - but made a special exception for Mother's Day. They featured a variety of Frittates, as well as crab cakes, strata, fried egg & spaghetti, and sausage & peppers.

I went for a Pancetta, Onion & Cheese Frittate ($11), which was wonderful. The pancetta was thick and bacony, and it was paired with some roasted potatoes.



Dan & my Dad also went for frittates, while my brother-in-law had the sausage & peppers ($9), my sister had a berry strata ($11) and my Mom had the crab cakes ($13).



In the afternoon, Dan ran out to Borracchini's Bakery to pick up a cake he ordered on their very slick, easy to use web site, for us to take down south for our Mother's Day dinner with his family.

If you caught my recent post about Stellar Pizza, you'll know I have fond childhood memories of Shakey's Pizza in Everett - which no longer exists. Likewise, Dan has fond memories of the Shakey's Pizza in Renton - which not only DOES exist, but was chosen as the dinner venue for Mother's Day! Apparently, his father's family would get together there to celebrate with his grandmother when he was growing up.



I was really excited to indulge in Shakey's pizza again - though apprehensive that the reality wouldn't live up to my memories. But in addition, I'd been told by Brandon - winner of the Cinco De Mayo Guac Off last week - that I absolutely had to try the pressure-fried chicken & mojo potatoes from Shakey's, which either came around after the Everett location closed, or were items we never ordered when I was a kid.



I could see why the latter might be the case, as even the potatoes are breaded and deep fried. Who knew! They also seem to be fried alongside the chicken, because they taste a little like chicken. Seriously greasy and good.



The pizza ended up living up to my memories - though I believe we weren't a thin crust family way back when. And no offense to the Renton Shakey's or my in-laws, but the Everett Shakey's was WAY cooler: huge space, all dark wood, an elevated platform to a window where kids could watch the cooks make pizzas, cartoons and old silent movies projected on the wall. And it was practically next door to the Skate King roller rink.