pupcart

That is the just it. The amazing thing about pizza prepared and consumed within an NYC zipcode is that the pizza is so consistently and amazingly delicious whether it comes out of a hole in the wall by the bus station or out of a classy joint with waiters and tablecloths. While I have grown to love a Seattle pizza that emerges from one of our better restaurants (see Cafe Lago and elsewhere on this thread), the complete mystery to me is how the local equivalent of an AM-PM in NYC can produce such an amazing tasting slice?

Jason, I have been looking forward to the arrival of this pizza next Thursday. Living in Seward Park, we are outside the delivery area, so I thought I would drive into a Pagilacci's. Should we come up to your store in the U District, or would the one in Montlake or Captial Hill be just as good? Jane

Stopped by Fran's on our way home from Cafe Lago tonight. For a limited time (January 18 through?) she is offering chocolate covered brandied cherries. I thought they sounded awful, but beloved bought one and generously offered me a bite of his. Darn it! That bite was wonderful! It was nothing like I thought it would be. It was a dark chocolate sinful! I plan on gong back for a stash before they are gone. I will try to leave a few for you all, but no promises.

I know I have posted about Cafe Lago before (shortly after their lasagne recipe was published in the P.I.), but after a longish absence (for us) my beloved and I dined there tonight, I just have to say that even though I claim to be a heathen, when I eat at Cafe Lago I have to seriously question the fact that I don't believe in a god of some sort. Maybe that's what Amy Tan meant when she referred to the Kitchen God? Why did we go to Cafe Lago tonight? My beloved just had major surgery, the kind of surgery that takes all day to perform and keeps you decked for about 6 weeks afterwards. After his surgery, as they wheeled him into his hospital room and transferred him into his bed, I anxiously asked him if there was anything I could get him. He said yes, actually, the antipasto misto platter from Cafe Lago. I am not making that up. His doctor was very amused, most of his surgery patients don't want to even think about food. But, that's all he wanted. Well, fast forward two weeks plus one day from the day of his surgery. First big outing. Where did we go? Duh. Tonight we had the long awaited antipasto misto. How on earth can human beings make the eggplant TASTE like that? Or the mozzarella? Or the dang heavenly beet, the roasted garlic, the little parsley coated goat cheese ball, the sharp cheese, the roasted peppers, the caponata, the toasted crostini smeared with olive paste....and, and, and!! Oh, frabjous day, with that to eat, any and all blues disappear. And THEN we had the fat, fat, fat, plumper than plump little butternut squash raviolis and the heavenly lasagne. Oh, jeez. I was ready to sign up for the next obnoxious little "Life is Good" bumper sticker. Service was completely fabulous. Attentive, but not overly so. Of course, they were not terribly busy on a weekday night, but even so, service was excellent. My only wish would have been for a better selection of reds by the glass. I am not much of a drinker, and beloved is off of alcohol for a while yet, and the reds by the glass were quite limited. For anyone who has not indulged in Cafe Lago...'tis time! Jane

Alas and alack, I also tried Google, but to no avail. I am wondering if anyone here is cozy with one of Min's former co-workers at The Stranger? They might know something. I hope she is still writing, her work was a continual delight.

We live very nearby and have learned from experience to skip the pizza altogether and instead get the Salerno Salad and/or the Tutta Bella Mista Salad with an order of "Carta da Musica" (flatbread topped with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary). The flatbread, sans all the soggy pizza toppings, comes out of the oven crispy and delicious. If we are in the mood for a good pizza, we either grill one ourselves on the grill or go to Cafe Lago for one of Carla's. I am intrigued by Irwin's ability to coax a decent pizza out of Pagliacci. What do you say to them?

Breakfast at The Dish? Most Definitely the spicy, cumin-y corned beef hash as a platform for trying out the collection of hot sauces....or the blueberry pancakes if you are in that kind of a mood. We also like the simple breakfasts at Susan's 5100 Bistro or the BothWays Cafe (good biscuits) in Seward Park, which is kinda sorta close to Renton if you come up the Rainier Avenue side of Renton and want to walk breakfast off afterwards by doing the paved 2 mile loop in Seward Park....

For cancer fighting reasons our two person foodie household is trying to lower or eliminate animal fats. We are trying to switch our meat/dairy/poultry cooking and eating habits to a vegan diet. (We will still be eating salmon for the omega acids). We have done well the past 10 days we have been on this new diet, but it is time to venture out into a cafe or two for some new ideas. A soul cannot live on stir fry and tofu for very long. (Maybe a body can, but the soul will fly off in protest.) It is also important to stay low fat, even with the "good" oils, so even though we love many of the tofu dishes in the I.D., the oil factor is usually pretty high in the dishes we have had. We had a great vegan breakfast at the Sunlight Cafe last Saturday morning, and I know Cafe Flora has some vegan options, but are there more? Any places in the ID that steam veggies instead of stirfry? Any really tasty vegan dishes or baked goods you want to recommend? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, much appreciated.

I just used the library to borrow a cookbook. Having a friend who was recently diagnosed, I had browsed Amazon for prostate cancer diet and nutrition information, and came up with something called the Prostate Cancer Cookbook by Buffy Sanders. I ordered it from the Seattle Library system to be picked up at my local branch. It came in last Saturday, and we have been cooking out of it ever since. Basically, it is a vegan diet, quite the shock for us Francophile cheese and cream lovers. Lots of soy, tomato sauce/paste, green tea and cruciferous veggies. We will return the book when the 3 weeks is up because there are cookbooks with more interesting vegan style recipes, but this one was essential for the initial research and educational information. One of these days I will get around to posting a question on this board about good restaurants with vegan choices...we still love to eat out!

After having enjoyed many a delightful dinner at Cafe Lago with my significant other, I took my adult daughter there a few weeks ago. She fell madly in love with the lasagna, treasuring each and every bite, savoring each moment and every taste and sensation. She slowly ate half of the generous portion served to her, knowing she would want to extend the experience a bit longer. She reported back that it was just as delicious the next day. So, knowing how crazy she was about Cafe Lago's lasagna, and how much she likes to cook, and how ambitious she is in her little studio apt kitchen, I was very surprised and delighted to see the recipe in today's P.I. I immediately emailed it to my daughter, and this is what she emailed back to me: 'Mumsie, I think this is just one of those things that you have to, well, order. Because I'm sure after about 20 hours of ingredient shopping, expensive equipment shopping, cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, baking, serving, and a little more post-dinner clean-up, it still wouldn't be as good as they have it at the restaurant. Cafe Lago it is. We'll have to take Brian there some time, that lasagna is truly an experience.' I couldn't agree more, except for the "expensive equipment" comment. She is a college student, and for her a pasta roller, food mill and a 9X15 pyrex pan would be completely out of her budget. For me, the patience required to get the pasta to the see-through stage would blow my mind. So, for us, Cafe Lago will continue to work their magic. Trying to make their lasagna at home would be something akin to attending a Chihuly exhibit and thinking I could go home and whip up one of the creations...just don't have those kind of skills....years of experience...sense of "feel".

Laurie AB - Sorry to have missed the contest at the University Market yesterday, I will have to watch for that next year. Thougt I would add my favorite Farmer's Market to the list... Olympia Farmer's Market - open Thursday - Sunday, 10 to 3pm, April 1 through December 20ish. Located at the far north end of Capitol Way in downtown Olympia. (Capitol Way is the street that runs the length of Olympia in front of the Legislative Buildings). Features organic produce, both local and from Yakima, lots of fresh seafood from Crown Seafood vendor, oysters, clams, a dozen + chow vendors, two bakeries, flowers, plants, a few crafts, nut trees, berry bushes, cheeses. Chow wagons include crabcakes, soba noodles, homemade pastas, and the world's best meatball sandwich from Carlotta's Pasta Wagon, who knew? Thanks again for the comprehensive list, GC, I will be checking out the West Seattle market soon. Pup (aka Olympia Jane)

Would a single female diner feel comfortable dining at Union? From the reviews on this board Union sounds like an exceptional dining experience, but my dining partner is out of town for a while. Or would I be more comfortable at Lark? I would like to try both of those restaurants soon. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Mary McCranks has a website? Yipes, that would be like getting email from Grandma Moses. For Mary McCranks think white doilies, butter pickles in cut glass relish bowls, jam with biscuits with fried chicken with pie ala mode for dessert or swiss steak or fried trout or baked chops smothered in gravy. Think old fashioned sunday dinners at Aunt Bea's in Mayberry RFD. Think another time, another place, another century. Drive up in a 55 Chevy Bel Air nomad, two tone, baby blue and white. Wear a pleated skirt with hem mid calf, cardigan sweater, white shirt/peter pan collar, headband, sensible shoes. Use your napkin, but be dainty about it. Do not discuss politics or religion (not counting saying grace). Write a thank you note.