Recently a friend boldly declared her belief that the block of
Greenwood Avenue North between North 85th and North 87th streets is
home to “the best food in Seattle.” This friend being the sort of woman
possessed of inherent charisma and credibility, I listened. (It also
doesn’t hurt that she used to manage a cafe, owns her own stand mixer,
and makes her own pork rillettes.) I tried to picture the area she was
talking about, but the only things that came to mind were a Washington
Mutual, the PAWS Cat City Adoption Center, and a McDonald’s. “Um,
no,” said my friend. “There’s an incredible Mexican
restaurant, a Mediterranean place, an Indian place, a Thai place, and
an old diner all on one block.” Clearly, it was time for a
trip to Greenwood to sniff around and do some exploratory eating.
Arriving at this little stretch of Greenwood Avenue North was
thrilling—there they were, all lined up in a row: a diverse
concentration of tiny, independent restaurants, most of which feel like
family run shops filled with neighborhood regulars. Much to my delight,
these sorts of blocks are popping up more and more, but mostly in
places like White Center or Burien. I was excited to find one a little
closer to home.
Craving a little spiciness and complexity, I made my first stop
Kalia Indian Cuisine (8518 Greenwood Ave N, 782-7890),
which was thoroughly tasty and fine, but anticlimactically
underwhelming. A mixed-appetizer platter ($5.99), comprising freshly
fried (though perhaps not in the freshest of oil) vegetable
pakoras, samosas, and aloo tikka (spiced potato
patties) was a decent start. The texture of the homemade cheese in the
paneer tikka masala ($11.99) was wonderfully firm and fresh,
though its sauce was decidedly not creamy, which is precisely what
makes a tikka masala great. Lamb rogan josh ($11.99) was
pleasantly aromatic and piquant, but while some pieces of lamb were
tender, others were unfortunately tough. If it weren’t for the
attentive and engaged service, I might have left feeling more than a
little disappointed.
As I drove home to my own neighborhood, Capitol Hill, where I’ve had
hundreds of mediocre meals (and where the thought of eating out
increasingly makes me want to curl up on my couch and gnaw on my hand
while I watch The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer), I realized that
neighborhood eating is tricky. Every neighborhood has its hidden
gems—decidedly unfancy places that serve up consistently good,
real food, places that endear themselves to residents not necessarily
by being mind-blowing, but by being consistent and comforting.
These were the places I was looking for in Greenwood, and on
subsequent trips, I realized that what I like most about the
neighborhood is that it’s not exactly nice or pretty, but retains a
scrappiness, a persistent sort of hodgepodge, eclectic charm.
Greenwood’s not so far away from Ballard, but it feels less shiny and
far less concerned with its image. If there’s an influx of couples
buying houses and having babies (which I’m sure there is), it hasn’t
yet shown up through brand-new, sterile-looking buildings and
development.
The perfect example of Greenwood’s charm is the
Baranof (8549 Greenwood Ave N, 782-9260), a crusty old
diner that feels like it’s been open forever, and comes complete with a
nautical-themed bar, open from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. every day. More
important, though, is the Baranof’s food, which is unexpectedly,
absolutely delicious. While I was expecting standard, contemporary
diner fare (frozen hash browns, soup that comes from a giant bucket), I
was delighted by their clam chowder, which was creamy and homemade and
flecked with chunks of real bacon. A cup of clam chowder comes with an
order of beef stroganoff ($8.50)—thick egg noodles and tender
strips of beef smothered in a sauce flavored with red wine, and clearly
made from scratch. The Baranof is roasting whole turkeys every day back
in their kitchen, and a roasted-turkey sandwich ($8.50), complete with
gravy and a little dollop of cranberry sauce, is moist and white and
dreamy. In keeping with the maritime theme, they also offer SOS ($4), a
classic sailor’s breakfast of ground beef and creamy country gravy over
white-bread toast. The portion is, to say the least, generous, though
it benefits from a heavy dousing of Tabasco and salt.
Folks in Greenwood who are able to drop a little coin on dinner head
to Olive You (8516 Greenwood Ave N, 706-4121), a cozy
Mediterranean restaurant that always seems to be filled with people.
The spreads onde pita (three spreads and grilled pita for $8) was only
so-so—watery tzatziki, decent baba ghanoush, and a
red-pepper feta spread that was mostly cream cheese, and very little
feta. Grilled meats are the way to go here. The king kebab—a
plate of grilled lamb chops (redolent of rosemary and perfectly pink
inside), marinated lamb shawarma kebabs, and adana
kofte kebab (peppery, ground-lamb meatball skewers) set atop
creamy, lemony potatoes—was extremely satisfying, though at $23,
it feels a bit overpriced, as does much of Olive You’s menu.
I believe that the true gem of Greenwood is, just as my friend
mentioned, La Botana Restaurante Mexicano (8552½ Greenwood Ave N, 706-5392). La Botana’s menu alone won me
over—dishes like lengua (beef tongue) in salsa verde,
birria de chivo, borrego dos patas (lamb shanks),
and, on the weekends, pozole ($7.70). The pozole, a huge bowl of spicy
red broth, infused with the flavor of pork, was filled with white
hominy, freshly shredded cabbage, two giant pieces of pork neck bones,
and several large chunks of slow-cooked pork. This is pozole that
clears the sinuses and soothes the soul, and because of it, I’ll gladly
return to La Botana to try anything on the menu. The lengua taco
($1.50), among the best I’ve had in Seattle, was another encouraging
sign.
There’s much more to this small, tasty section of
Greenwood—Phad Thai (8530 Greenwood Ave N,
784-1830), Yen Wor Garden Restaurant (8580 Greenwood
Ave N, 784-7422), The Northside Grill (8550 Greenwood
Ave N, 781-2224), just on the one, magical block alone (though some
definitely look more promising than others). If you’re looking for a
little guidance, stop in at the centrally located bar the
Crosswalk (8556 Greenwood Ave N, 789-9691), which, in
an appropriate and genius move, is named after the crosswalk that leads
right to its door. The Crosswalk keeps a neighborhood food book—a
three-ring binder with menus for every restaurant in the neighborhood,
and you’re likely to be served by a bartender with an opinion on where
you should eat.
