Polish Home

Polish Home is actually a Polish community center in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I have never heard of this place until last night (one of my friend's girlfriend set up this surprise dinner/birthday party for him.....she said it's one of his new favorite places). Apparently, they open up the restaurant only during the winter hours and only on Friday and Sunday nights. I guess the locals know about it because it got packed pretty fast.

Non-members of the Polish Home have to pay $1 to get into the door. I paid the entry fee and was promptly seated with the other guests. We all felt a little special because we got to sit up on a stage-like platform since there was a number of us.


It's a very comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere with a medium sized occupancy. There's a bar on the side as you enter and about 20 tables total. It's very casual and the water cups are even paper (don't worry, the plates are real china and they use real silverware).

All the servers were extremely friendly and accommodating and took our orders right away. We ordered up a couple of plates of meat, cheese, and mushroom & cabbage pierogis for appetizers. When the majority of the people got there, most of us ordered either pierogi dishes or the "Polish Platter", which had meat pierogis, sausage, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and julienned sweet beets. The food was very authentic and delicious! The cabbage rolls were the highlight of the night. I couldn't tell what was in the orangish sauce on top of the rolls. It was definitely tomato based, but it was a little tangy as well. I also wanted to try the white borsch (sp?) which came with potatoes, boiled egg, and sprinkled with dill. Someone from our table ordered the cheese crepes/blintz, which was really tasty (he let everyone try it because it was a huge serving). It tasted like sweet cheese and bits of hazelnut.


Anyway, let's get to my 5-doughnut rating:

• Service, 3.5 doughnuts= The waitress was very friendly, accommodating, and attentive. She knew the right times to check up on us throughout the night and I could see her always eyeing our table from afar to see if we needed anything. There were about 13-15 or so people at our table and she did a good job of taking care of our whole party, despite it being a busy night.
  
• Atmosphere/Location, 2.5 doughnuts= I liked the atmosphere because it was very casual and family-friendly, yet still clean and uniform. It's a great place to have a little dinner party with a few guests. Everyone in the restaurant seemed happy. The location was a little weird. It's in a residential area and there's no address or sign on the front of the building. At night it's a little hard to see/find.
  
• Food Presentation, 3.5 doughnuts= For an establishment that's only open for one season throughout the year (and only 2 days out of the week), I thought the food was presented very well. The Polish Platter was decorated with different sides and was very colorful and aesthetically pleasing. The white borsch also looked great when it was served to me.
  
• Taste, 3.5 doughnuts= I guess you can say that I have had Polish food before, since I've tried all of those dishes before. The ones I had last night were delicious. They had a lot of flavor in each bite. The white borsch was very good. I think it was the dill that brought out the flavor in a couple of the side dishes. The sweet beets were a good accompaniment to the main dish.
  
• Cost/Value, 3 doughnuts= I thought the food was reasonably priced for what they served up, which was authentic, delicious food.
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• Originality, 3.5 doughnuts= I think it's original for a restaurant to be this good in a community center and only open during the winter season. It's also original to be located deep in the heart of a residential area. I don't know of any other Polish "restaurant" in Seattle.
  
• Overall, 3.5 doughnuts= I heard about this place before I got there and wasn't really sure what to expect. I guess after I heard it was in a community center that I thought it wasn't going to be that good. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.
  

You can check it out at http://www.polishhome.org/.

And as always.....Om Nom Nom Nom!

-NMOS

Bella Pizza & Pasta

Hey everyone. I was down in the Capitol Hill neighborhood (east of downtown Seattle) for dinner a couple of days ago and tried out this Italian place I saw for the first time. It's located at the end of Broadway, right at the intersection near Roy.

It was dinner time and I was in the mood for either pizza or pasta, so this was a good pick. The inside is very clean and inviting. The mood lighting made it very comfortable for a dining atmosphere. Getting a table wasn't a problem, despite the small establishment. I really liked the interior with the huge blackboard near the front displaying the entire menu. Everything looked so good, I wasn't sure what to get.




I wasn't that hungry (can you believe that?....me?), so I ordered the "Chicken Snack". It said a quarter chicken served over pasta with meatsauce. Sounds good, right? The service was extremely friendly and social, even though she was the only server for the entire restaurant at the time (things started to pick up).

The dinner came with a dinner salad, garlic bread, and even these really good homemade breadballs that they make as a complimentary side. The bread was served with a dipping sauce composed of Italian dressing with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was very tasty.



The wait was only about 15 minutes, which is what I predicted since it was oven roasted chicken. The dish was huge! The chicken piece was close to a half a chicken instead of the quarter piece. The serving size of the pasta was enormous as well. I have to say that I could not finish it all and had to take the rest to go, which is a very rare thing for me to do because I usually finish it all (unless it's pizza).


I apologize for the so-so quality pics. I'm actually shopping around for a better camera with a good macro function for up close quality pictures, just for this food blog (don't you feel special?).

Let's check out the 5-doughnut rating on this place:

• Service, 4 doughnuts= The service was great. She checked on my table just enough and not too often. She was very friendly and even offered to bring more homemade bread even when there was enough on the table.


• Atmosphere/Location, 4 doughnuts= I really liked the atmosphere of the inside. It wasn't too busy or too loud, and was a very nice place to eat. The inside was well decorated as well. I think the location was in a good place. It's located near the end of the very busy Broadway Ave, so there is plenty of parking around.


• Food Presentation, 3.5 dougnuts= I thought it was well presented. The dish looked so delicious when it was served to me.


• Taste, 3 doughnuts= The chicken was extremely tasty and moist. However, I thought the pasta was lacking more flavor. It was a little bland even though it had meat sauce and everything. The sides were delicious.


• Cost/Value, 4 doughnuts= The dish came out to $9 or so, which is great for the generous portion and all the sides. It could definitely feed 2 people.


• Originality, 3 doughnuts= Nothing too original about this pizza & pasta place, except the big blackboard menu as you enter, and flat screen tvs all throughout the little place (even one huge one facing outside so people can see the menu).


• Overall, 3.5-4 doughnuts= I thought this place was great. They had so many pizza combinations that I want to try, so I have to go back (by the way, I'm also on the lookout for Seattle's best pizza.....I already have one in mind that I've been to that I still have to review, and another one of Tom Douglas' pizzerias). I definitely recommend this place.
  

And as always....."Om Nom Nom Nom!"

-NMOS