MsRamsey

Don't know why, but this cracked me up (from the review): "Likewise, breakfast was dropped from the menu because it was confusing guests who were already offered a complimentary breakfast from the Silver Cloud, she said." It's PR-speak, I'm sure, but I'm just picturing all those guests bumping around the Silver Cloud confused by all the free breakfast choices.

And waste three-quarters of your Saturday doing it!

I totally third Palace Kitchen's burger. Great suggestion.

I've ordered from Palermo's more times than I'd like to admit. The owners are, as I understand it, Bulgarian. The pizza is definitely "Greek style" -- somewhat greasy, somewhat thick crust, lots of cheese. I love their pizza and the owners and staff there could not be nicer. They even have a decent wine selection.

Kidd Valley's food is VILE, I tell you! At least the one on 15th on Capitol Hill. Red Mill is better. I love Two Bells, and the burgers are good, but they come on a really hard bun that makes them very difficult to eat with your hands. I don't understand that.

There's some old diner in a really nice railroad car in Spokane. Anyone know the name? It's much nicer than Andy's. I have been to Andy's a few times for the train car novelty of it (husband likes it, luckily only up to a point) when I was craving a iceberg lettuce salad with Thousand Island dressing and Saltines. What can I say. I was born in the 60s.

I thought Via Tribunali was gorgeous. The place used to be a garage, and its transformation to me is beautiful. If attempting to appeal to hipsters because they're open late and are located in the hippest section of Capitol Hill equals "contrived," then yes, it's contrived. If playing techno and having goth-y and astoundingly hot waitresses constitutes "attitude," hey, it fits in with the neighborhood. They will in general be serving a young, partying clientele. The husband and I do not look hip whatsoever, went in fairly late, and were treated very kindly by the staff. We had fun watching the little diva pizza chef from Naples do his stuff. They've only just opened. Give them a chance. Edited to add: I might be missing something, but "Can I help you with the wine list?" just doesn't sound condescending to me.

We had no problems cutting the pizza at Via Tribunali with the knives they provide <shrug> I doubt the staff is privy to whether or not someone is a wine expert, unless they're psychic.

I had pizza at Via Tribunali on Friday night. My assessment would be more along the lines of Amir's. Perhaps a little too soggy in the middle, but that is the only complaint. We had the pizza with tomatos, mozz, and ricotta, and it was *incredible*. Not merely good, but great. The crust's smoky char and the great fruity olive oil taste along with the other ingredients was outstanding. We split a piece of cake (Pastrie Napoletana?) that I didn't like at first bite because it was chalky, but the more we ate, the better it got. I know there's ricotta, nuts, and dried fruit (citron?) in this cake. The (Italian) waitress said it was very authentic. Take that for what it's worth.

City Kitchens (near the corner of 4th & Pine) has decanters. That's "on the way."

Does anyone know if that new pizza place (run by Caffe Vita) on Capitol Hill is open to the public yet? It wasn't when I checked on 11/9.

In Seattle, one finds Caesar salads in restaurants of every stripe. It's a Cesarean section of the country (okay, I stole that).

The French and Thai menus are supposedly back on for Tues-Thurs, Nov. 16-18. And the email from SCCC says one can make reservations for "COD exercises," which I can only guess is some sort of calisthenics offered after eating too much at SCCC.

Did it list an actual date? (As in, when is "next month"? That's like small shops saying "back in 15 minutes" but you have no clue when they posted it! And 15 minutes can be a lot longer...) Seems like progress hasn't happened in a long time - I was wondering if they gave up after Bandol quit? ← There's an article in Tablet (the free mag) about the ins and outs of opening a bar, applying for permits, waiting for contractors and inspections, liquor license, etc. It would be pretty difficult to specify an exact date when your business is going to open. http://www.tabletmag.com/93/culture/93_beh...cenes_bar.shtml

Wendy, please post a picture of the OTHER menu that he signed for you.

Mad Pizza has gone into quality free-fall. Five or six years ago, I liked their pizza quite a bit, then a couple years ago it was not as good but still OK for a quick cheap lunch near my office, now it inhabits the 5th circle of hell and I'm not going back. I should amend my original Pags rant to say that it is certainly better than the current state of Mad Pizza. ← It's horrendous. They use ingredients that are way past their freshness and sometimes downright rotten. I'm surprised they haven't been cited for it by the city yet.

Think of these articles as a SERIES and perhaps it won't be so annoying as everyone seems to think it is. That last statement is just unnecessary.

For this "Greek" style of pizza, I love Palermo on 15th (Capitol Hill).

I really like Pagliacci's for delivery too. The crust is toothsome, but crispy on the bottom, and the ingredients are definitely of a higher quality than the majority of other chains.

MsRamsey and SparrowsFall will be at the 6:30 eGullet table. Looking forward to it.

Yeah, the "flavors," as with most brands of chips, are really unconvincing for me. Basically, they all just taste like MSG. I barely see a difference in flavors. Except maybe salt-and-vinegar, which are really like salt-and-acid and make me wonder how they got salt to be, like, 20 times saltier than salt.

Sorry for the dissenting opinion. Those chips are too hard!

Um, I was there last night too! I'm sorry I didn't spot you, Wendy! I've eaten at Marjorie I think 4 times in the last couple of months. Everyone there is so warm and gracious, and the place is so comfortable. Donna is a big music buff, so there's always excellent background music (and a turntable in the ladies restroom where one can play records!) The food is great (we had the sturgeon special and the roast chicken last night), there are a lot of really good wines to choose from, and the bartender makes excellent cocktails. I was delighted to see it so full last night.

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Vivanda's offerings are always really lame, and I notice they're still in the line-up. They must have connections somehow. The Georgian Room dropped out when The Four Seasons became the Fairmont, but the quality of their dinners was very high. They were very generous in their offerings and I'd be willing to bet were losing $$ on the deal (unless diners bought a lot of wine). Three of us had dinner at Zoe a few months ago, and none of us were very impressed. It seems like comfort food done well that I could so easily make at home. I guess I should try one more time. Take one for the team.