A La Mode Pies

Cream of the Crop

by Jessica Baxter

2011 was the Year of the Pie, with shops springing up all over Seattle. Our offerings were even featured on a Food Network special about the rise of the pie across the country. The people had spoken. Cake was dead. They wanted crust and fruit filling and mounds of cream. A la Mode gave competitors a big run for their money. While pie men came and went (R.I.P. Piecycle), they expanded, going from just an online retailer (with home delivery) to brick-and-mortar when they opened their café on Phinn ... Continue

Holy Cannoli

Like a Prayer

by Jessica Baxter

You may not have been aware of this, but for many years now, there has been a tube-shaped hole in the Seattle pastry scene. Fortunately, Detroit transplant, Adrienne Bandlow, has just the cylindrical pastries to fill it. Namely: Four varieties of cannoli (traditional Detroit custard, mocha, chocolate and rum raisin) and three different Stromboli (hog, chicken and vegetarian). They’re pretty small, so you're going to need to buy a couple of each. Fortunately, they're also crazy cheap (plus, you g ... Continue

St. Dames

Vegetarian Gourmet Grub

by Karen Watson

Finally! A vegetarian restaurant that actually cooks with vegetables--not just soy-based meat substitutes, serves fantastic cocktails, and the bill doesn't equal my car payment. St. Dames, where have you been all my life? Oh, and thank you for making kale taste good. Braised in tamari, it is outstanding. The seasonally rotating menu includes everything from comfort food to light salads. One of my friends rated the fried mushrooms as some of the best ever. The Banh Mi Salad, which is basically a ... Continue

Pan Africa

Eating The Continent

by Karen Watson

Can't afford to travel in this economy but spend your sleepy time dreaming of exotic locales? Consider taking a culinary journey around our foodie friendly city and definitely make Pan Africa the jumping off point. Lush spice scents waft forward to greet you when you enter, enveloping you in a welcome aroma. Come hungry because you won't want to leave one bite of the hearty portions behind on the plate. Ethiopian specialties like Groundnut (a peanut based stew), curried goat, and Piri Piri fish ... Continue

Nook

All for the Nookie!

by Jessica Baxter

Seattle was once known as a granola hippie town. Now, it's all about flour and butter. Following the heels of the pie renaissance, an apprentice of Top Chef's Richard Blais and former Mad Woman/self-taught baker opened up a cafe that specializes in biscuits; REALLY AWESOME biscuits. They're buttery as hell without leaving you feeling like you've just taken a dip in a deep fryer. You can eat them plain, with a variety of gourmet toppings, or in breakfast sandwich form. For lunch, they offer creat ... Continue

Eltana Wood Fired Bagel Cafe

Club Med: Bagel Edition

by Karen Watson

Wood-fired and magical, Eltana has brought bagel bliss to Seattle. Fresh wood is continually stuffed into the oven's belly like coal into a steam train engine, giving birth to hot and crunchy bagels every ten-fifteen minutes. It's the luscious, drool worthy assembly line of every foodie's sweet dreams. New York bagels step aside and make room for these Mediterranean inspired bread treats. With the perfect balance of inner dense chewiness to outer crispiness, you will want to sample all six varie ... Continue

Panama Hotel Tea & Coffee House

Sleep With History

by Karen Watson

Once humble and somewhat forgotten, the Panama Hotel has now been immortalized in prose as the setting for the bestselling novel "The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet." Tucked away in a cozy corner of the International District, this national historic landmark really is like a living history lesson and simply sighs nostalgia. The preserved ... Continue

The Piecycle

Pie Times

by Jessica Baxter

This is the tale of the young pie maker named Max. Max baked the finest dessert pies in all the land. He made fruit pies and chocolate pies, lemon meringue and coconut cream. Once he turned a whole other dessert (S'mores) into a pie. Somehow he could even make a butter crust without any butter at all! Folks speculated about how somebody so young could craft a pie better than the most seasoned of grandmothers. Was it a deal at the crossroads? Sorcery? Whatever magic was at play, it was not black ... Continue