[SEA] Via Tribunali

[seacrotty]

With all due respect to the NY Pizza in Seattle thread, I thought that Via Tribunali was getting enough buzz to deserve its own thread. Besides, it's been a while since I started a topic.

Plus, hey...we went...we ate.

Anita (ScorchedPalate) and I visited Via Tribunali on Saturday night with Lauren (LEdlund) and her husband Paul. We walked in without reservations at about 8:30pm, and the joint was hot. No, I mean really, it was warm. Apparently, the wood-fired oven puts out a lot more heat than they anticipated. According to the host, they're working on getting some fans in to move the air around, which should be okay for the winter, but come summer they're going to need some serious climate control technology.

Aesthetically, the space was an urban treat: vaulted ceilings, exposed brick, wood beams, cool and funky light fixtures, and huge stained glass art glowing on the walls.

We ordered a bottle of wine while we waited for our table -- it was a drinkable Barbaresco that felt a little expensive for how it tasted. On the other hand, it was hard to tell as both it and our second bottle later in the evening (Chianti Riserva) were served practically blood-warm. Did I mention that they had temperature issues?

Our table--which didn't take long to obtain--was directly in front of the oven, which served two purposes: it took a bit of the chill off (okay, I'll stop now), and it also allowed us to observe the antics of the pizza chef, who appears to be Via Tribunali's weak link.

We opened with a shared board of Armandino Batali's salumi. Or, at least we think it was. The menu entry made it hard to tell if it was Salumi or just salumi. If you know what I mean. Another menu nitpick, courtesy of my polyglot wife: the menu is entirely in Italian, and slangy Italian at that. You can figure it out, but it was more than a little precious and occasionally an obstacle.

Anyway, salumi: pork and lamb prosciutto, some hot coppa, some regular salumi, a bit of grana, and some olives. Yum. Salads followed: respectable mixed greens with ham shaved on top. Dressed with...you know...dressing. Oil, vinegar, etc.. I liked the ham -- it was lightly salted and delicately flavored. Hey, wait. Prosciutto crudo? Could be.

Our server not so gently suggested that we order at least three and maybe even four pizzas. We ordered two, and promised to order more if we were hungry. Two was plenty after the appetizers. One we ordered with prosciutto, mushrooms, and cheese. The second, the Via Tribunali, had more than one and less than five cheeses, two of which were ricotta and fresh mozzarella. Neither pizza came sliced, and yes, it was a bit irritating, given the dull knives that we had to work with. We soldiered on.

Unfortunately, neither pizza was really worth the effort. The mushrooms were canned and tasted like it. The sauce was unspectacular. The crust was too thick to be thin and too thin to be thick, but that's my opinion, not of the entire group. Both pies had too much stuff on them and were undercooked--the middles were pretty soupy. An extra few minutes in the oven would have helped...but there was so much moisture in the pile of ingredients...I dunno. I'm not a pizza chef, and I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Either too dumb to quit while we were behind or too drunk to care, we ordered dessert and were redeemed. The affogato (sp?) was wonderful: dense, rich ice cream covered in sweetened meringue crumbles and a shot of espresso. The pastela Napolitana (sp?) was just as delicious, with bits of candied citrus peel in a pastry that wasn't quite cake and wasn't quite a tart and wasn't quite a pie shell either.

The appetizers and salads were $7 and up. The pizzas ranged between $12 and $15. The large majority of the wine selection was over $40. Not get-dressed-up expensive, but it ain't Piecora's, either.

The staff ranged from friendly and competent (the host) to amusing but inexperienced (our server) to buffoonish. The latter refers to the pizza chef who, given that it was Saturday night, I can only presume was the "Dino" mentioned on the menu. Dino cavorted around the restaurant for much of the evening, opened bottles of wine for tables of his friends (staggeringly expensive bottles, to judge by the reactions of the staff), and generally enjoyed himself. All of which I ordinarily heartily approve of, so long as the food is good. Given the state of our pizzas...well...it's hard to be forgiving.

Via Tribunali reminds me of an Italian motorcycle that I once owned: beautiful, but deeply flawed. It was a *fantastic* space, and there were enough tasty things to make me want to go back. Maybe in a few months, after things calm down and the kitchen gets its game on, although I don't know that kitchens work like that when it's, like, one guy.

[ScorchedPalate]

For the most part, Cam mentions all that I would. Here are a few additions...

Music: Hipster techno when we sat down, Godfather soundtrack while we were having dessert!

Service: Waitresses were nice and semi-professional. I'd give them slightly higher marks than Cam did.

Pizza: I thought it was super tasty, but like soup. I would really like to see it cooked longer... The edges were barely cooked (not even a little blonde) and the center was practically raw dough. There was no way to fold it over! Using imported pizza ingedients exclusively (as cited in Italian on the menu) is a serious flaw: Are they really implying that canned Italian mushrooms are superior to fresh American ones?? Bleh!

Wine: Their list (and its prices) is out of whack with their pizza prices, IMHO. It's nice to be able to have a nice bottle with an inexpensive meal, but they need more affordable bottles, too.

Dino: We saw him being dismissive and rude to his colleagues all night, in addition to the criticisms Cam mentions. My lingering thought was: "I hope they can find another guy to replace him."

Temperature: I was seriously uncomfortable, even in a cap-sleeve shirt. If I had been in a turtleneck, I would have passed out.

We really did have fun. I know it's hard to tell from all the bitching.

~Anita

[elswinger]

I was really lookig forward to giving this place a try but the canned mushrooms really discourages me (the same reason I dislike Madame K's in Ballard).

[LEdlund]

My two cents:

I loved the space. The exposed brick with the cut-outs for wine storage was wonderful - the "stained glass" (back-lit art) was fun - the stairway leading to nowhere and the table set on a balcony above the pizza oven added interest.

The heat was fine for me - but I am always freezing. Where I had a problem with it was the temperature of the wine. It felt cooked. Yuck.

I liked most everything about the pizzas - the sauce and the wood fired bits on the crust added a nice smoky flavor - the flavor of the cheese was fantastic (especially the mozzarella) - the crust had a nice stretch to it. Like everyone else I didn't like the undercooked middle. Actually it made Paul feel sick to eat - like he was eating raw dough. What I really didn't like was the canned mushrooms. To me, they were the deal breaker.

The host (I got the impression he was one of the owners) was perceptive, attentive and charming. The wait staff (hmm, I guess I could use a gender specific term because they were all women) were better than average. The kitchen (Dino) was over-the-top. It was almost like the passionate chef was the role they agreed he should play.

Based on their location, the ambiance and the fact they are open until 2 AM, I'm sure they will be around for awhile. I'd go back to enjoy the party atmosphere but not necessarily for the food.

[Fay Jai]

Yikes Yikes Yikes....CANNED mushrooms?

I agree with Scorched Palate....I highly doubt that they are superior to fresh 'shrooms

Although, I could very well see canned mushrooms being used at The Turf!

edited for spelling

Edited December 21, 2004 by Fay Jai (log)

[Deborah]

Quick question is this place child friendly? Since they don't do carry out I would need to take my children (Kindergarten and preschool age) and we would likely go early before the main dinner crowd. I really want to try them and my children do love pizza!

[Kyle_Larson]

My friend Stephen and I had a going away dinner there on Sunday.

If you've seen my posts I you probably know I'm a fan of Via Tribunali. The only complaint I had about Sunday was the heat. Good lord, it was like a furnace, plus we had reserved the backroom which is entirely candlelit with little air flow from the entrance.

I had the proscuitto, ricotta, mozzarella calzone. The proscuitto was a little bit stringer than I like and the ricotta was a little runny, but all in all a good calzone. The crust did not let me down. Just thick/thin enough, and not too salty, but salty enough. I have tried their pizza many times and I would recommend the calzone to anyone who finds the pizza crust too thin.

As far as the service goes, I have never had a bad experience. The only reason I can grasp the menu is because I have traveled through Italy, but friends of mine who don't know what's on the list are always given a great explanation by the server or the host. In my opinion, the service is consistently good, but I do see the possibility for a bad experience.

All in all, I think Via Tribunali is a great place and would recommend it to anyone. It's not my favorite pizza ever, I have yet to taste pizza better than that of my mother's homemade pizza of Moose's Saloon(in Kalispell, Montana). Maybe I'm just easy to please, but I think they do an awesome job up there on Capitol Hill.

[ScorchedPalate]

Quick question is this place child friendly?

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I would say no, but then we were there on a Saturday night. I suppose it would depend on your kids. It's tight quarters, not a lot of room for jumping around and such, and the decor typical Pike/Pine Corridor place... dark, funky, edgy.

~Anita

[Deborah]

Quick question is this place child friendly?

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I would say no, but then we were there on a Saturday night. I suppose it would depend on your kids. It's tight quarters, not a lot of room for jumping around and such, and the decor typical Pike/Pine Corridor place... dark, funky, edgy.

~Anita

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Thanks Anita. Guess we will have to wait for a night when we have a sitter.

[Kyle_Larson]

Hey all,

Just picked up this week's issue of The Stranger. Sara Dickerman gave Via Tribunali a great review . It's not up on the site yet, but you should check it out. I guess great minds think alike

[jbonne]

my other thoughts on VT were well documented in the other thread, so i won't restart that battle.

one note on the wine prices -- i actually thought the markups there were pretty good. often less than 100 percent over retail, which is my benchmark.

the real issue is the bottle prices in relation to the pizza prices. not sure a high-end Barbaresco is an optimal match for a $12 pizza, though it sure is a fun and decadent one. and i liked the impromptu shrine to Spinetta in the NW corner of the restaurant. a larger selection of inexpensive ($20-30) barberas and Chiantis would be welcome.

more problematic, as discussed above, is the handling of these relatively expensive bottles. i don't get the sense there's any cellaring at all and the wine service isn't at a level to justify the wines they've stocked. hot, badly served wine is not worth it.

but they do have relatively cheap glass prices for house wine which, if not good, isn't any worse than elsewhere.

[little ms foodie]

Dayne and I stopped in to VT last night spur of the minute. Got there about 7:30 and the place was packed, 20 min. wait we snagged a seat at the bar. Ordered a bottle of Sandrone Barbera and thought it was very good, thought the price was good, like that they gave us nice stemware for it and also that the bartender was very gracious letting us know he would transfer that to our tab when we sat. The temp of the wine was a bit warm.

The hostess use to be a co owner at Sapphire on QA. She may actually be one of the co owners here.

We ended up sitting in the semi private room in the back and shared the big table communal style. It sits 14 and would be a great place for a group dinner.

We shared the Salumi platter, it is from Armandino's, they say it now on the menu. Awesome! and the olives kick butt too.

Shared the Margahretti. The edges were all crispy and had nice char, the middle was actually cooked!! No floppy center. The pizza cut nicely with the dull knife. Sauce had good flavor, mozz creamy, I would have liked a few more basil leaves.

We shared the teramisou (I just butchered that spelling!). It was good, not the best, not the worst.

I LOVED the space! the candle chandaliers, brick walls, just the right level of noise.

We'll go back.

Edited January 21, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[Eden]

a little bird told me that their pizzaiolo may not be there too much longer. Apparently he wants to train a couple folks in how to make pizza properly & then go back home to Napoli, so we are advised to go in the next few months as after that the quality might change depending on how well the training "takes".

Oh and I was also told that it was the best pizza in town, bar none, for those who want Italian style pizza...

[vengroff]

Dayne and I stopped in to VT last night spur of the minute. Got there about 7:30 and the place was packed, 20 min. wait we snagged a seat at the bar.

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Hah! I was there at the bar last night too! Arrived just before 8. Quattro Stagione, Stella and Peroni. I would have started with the Peroni if I knew they had it. Clearly the most Italian pizza I've had in Seattle. If you enjoy that style, which I do, it's well worth a visit. I didn't have any of the crust issues that others mentioned. Perhaps they've perfected it with a little more practice.

I also couldn't help noticing the imperial (5 litre) of Il Grigio da San Felice sitting on the end of the bar. Santa Claus left one of the 98's at our house this year, and we're looking forward to pulling the cork. Theirs may be more decorative than anything else, since it's sitting on the bar instead of in the cellar, but if I was there with a large enough party I'd at least attempt to order it. Perhaps it could even be drunk as part of an unofficial meeting of a world wide web-based culinary society in honor of a visit of one of its members from a distant city with a minimum of two weeks' notice.

-D

Edited January 22, 2005 by vengroff (log)

[elswinger]

Can someone give me a geographical reference to where this place is?

[little ms foodie]

913 E. Pike

just east of Broadway

[kiliki]

But beware-there's no sign on the door.

[little ms foodie]

But beware-there's no sign on the door.

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Exactly! Just the address on a piece of paper taped on the window.

[Eden]

Finally made it into VT tonight. If you're looking for authentic Neapolitan pizza, this is the place!

We ordered the Salumi platter to share - you can't go wrong with Salumi's salumi, and yes, great olives! $11

I had the Margherita on the theory that "ye shall know your pizzaiolo by his Margherita" and yes indeed, that's the real thing boys & girls! The sauce was light, the crust was thin (but cooked) the cheese was fresh & the basil pungent $10

Bill had the quattro staggioni - I agree that the mushrooms were boring, but the rest of of it was lovely. Good pepperoni, maybe a bit too much prosicutto? $14

Bill had the house wine, which was very Italian pizzeria cheapo house-wine, but what do you want for $3.50

I had a glass of Cannalichio? much nicer. $9

For dessert Bill ordered the Tartufo Affogato: perfect texture on the gelato and what a lovely blend of dark cofee & chocolate flavors, it was very potent (He may not sleep for a week!) but so good! $6.50

I orderd the Pastiera Napolitana - a rich moist riccotta and candied orange peel filled cake drizzled with creme anglais? $7

Total pre-tax/Tip $61.00 Yes it's a lot for pizza, so if you don't have a deep love for Italian pizza it may not be worth it, but for those who've been craving pizza napolitana it's way cheaper than an $800 plane ticket

I sure hope those apprentice boys are learning well. I'd hate to see this descend to just any old pizza when the pizzaiolo purportedly goes home to napoli.

The only negative was that we had to wait for our table near the smoking section, so now my clothes & hair reek of ciggarettes, but it certainly added to the Italian feel of the place and once we were seated in a booth towards the back it was just fine.

Oh and the service was very friendly. Maybe it helps that it wasn't too crowded on a Sunday night...

[vengroff]

I visited Via Tribunali again last night, and if anything the pizza has gotten better. The crust had an irregular char on the underside, plenty of salt, and a pleasant yeastiness. The gluten was nicely developed and gave it a good little spring around the edges. Some might complain that it's not crisp to the point that you can cut a quarter of it off in a slice and pick it up American style, but I've never really thought of that as the point of the Neopolitan style. Folded in half NYC style it would probably work, but I didn't try it. This is knife and fork pizza, and as such is among the best I've had on this continent.

We stuck with simple toppings--pomodori, mozzarella di bufala, and funghi. The tiny tomatoes had a nice bright flavor that balanced the char of the crust. We also shared a house salad of barely dressed greens and assorted olives, meats and cheeses. Think antipasti on salad and you'll get the picture.

Some others have mentioned having issues with the use of canned mushrooms. My only advice is to give them a chance before you dismiss them--these are not sysco sliced button mushrooms in megabrine from a 5lb can. Italy and Spain both have strong traditions of canning high-quality ingredients with a great deal of care. Think San Marzano tomatoes, artichoke hearts, solid tuna in olive oil, capers, olives, and so on. Fresh is almost always better, but the gap need not be as wide as we are used to in this country.

After the pizza we had vin santo and biscotti. There's really no better way to end a meal like this.

[tsquare]

I visited Via Tribunali again last night,

After the pizza we had vin santo and biscotti.  There's really no better way to end a meal like this.

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And did you have lunch at Market Grill? Someone at the counter mentioned heading here for dinner Friday.

[vengroff]

I visited Via Tribunali again last night,

After the pizza we had vin santo and biscotti.  There's really no better way to end a meal like this.

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And did you have lunch at Market Grill? Someone at the counter mentioned heading here for dinner Friday.

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No market grill lunch for me Friday. Must have been someone else.

[kieran]

Finally made it in to try this place this week. We went on Wednesday night around 7:30 without a reservation and waited about 30 minutes to sit down. Place is getting a lot of buzz!

Obligatory complaint first: as some others have noted, the pizza was darn near impossible to cut with the knives we were given. It was a but of a nuisance.

My dining partner and I started with the house salad, which was tasty and not overdressed in the way that a lot of restaurant salads tend to be.

I had the quattro stagioni and my friend had the prosciutto and funghi. They were both good but I think hers was better. There are a few others on the menu that I'd like to go back and try.

All in all the place was good but didn't blow me away. It's definitely a place to which I'll return if I'm in the neighborhood to see a band or something, but I don't know that I'll seek it out as a destination in itself. For my money I'd rather go to Cafe Lago. (I know it's apples and oranges, but they satsify the same kind of craving for me.)

[seacrotty]

We've now returned to ViaTrib twice: once after an ill-fated night at the theatre, and once on this past Friday night after a post-work gathering at Barca. Both times, Anita had a calzone and I had a pizza. They've definitely got the kinks worked out. The balance of toppings was much better and everything was thoroughly cooked. The crust was pleasantly salty and chewy, and I can't believe how good their fresh mozzarella is.

The word is definitely out -- the place was *packed* on Friday.

c

[ScorchedPalate]

I agree with Cam's assessment: they're getting the crust issues resolved. And the temperature isn't quite a stifiling as before.

But...

Some others have mentioned having issues with the use of canned mushrooms. My only advice is to give them a chance before you dismiss them--these are not sysco sliced button mushrooms in megabrine from a 5lb can.

...I still say the mushrooms are crap. I pulled two of them out of my calzone leftovers for closer inspection, and they are indistinguishable from tan-colored canned/sliced/brined mushrooms of the supermarket variety. I think they're still in a zip-loc in the fridge, if anyone wants a photo.

They're easily picked off, but I think the Via Trib folks are on crack to think they're somehow better than fresh, or even a palatable substitute.

The welcome remains gracious, service is friendly to a fault, and the pizza is getting better. I'm willing to overlook canned mushrooms, even if I don't grok why they're being served.

~A

Edited February 8, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)