The Dish
4358 Leary Way NW, 782-9985
Tues-Sat 7 am-1:45 pm, Sun 8 am-1:45 pm. Cash and checks only.
For all of Seattle’s hippie-dippiness, it’s a real project to find a good tofu scramble in town. There are breakfast spots for nearly every temperament–the greasy dives for those harsh making-peace-with-the-hangover mornings, or the Mexican buffets for the end-of-the-paycheck budget meals–but it’s slim pickings for those of us who’d rather not have our breakfast scrambled with runny eggs. Luckily, though, when your mood is focused on tofu, there’s the Dish.
Located on Leary Way between Ballard and Fremont, the Dish is a tiny sliver of a place, with a closing time that denies passage to early-afternoon sleepers and an occupancy that usually holds a third of its limit lined up outside on weekend mornings. (Much of your time there, unfortunately, will be spent waiting–both to sit down and for your food–if you hit it during the rush, but at least the coffee’s free.)
The time-sacrifice is worth the meal, though–whether or not tofu’s your thing. The Dish offers everything from your standard eggs Benedict ($8.50) and breakfast burritos ($8.50) to corned-beef hash ($8.50) (described by my dining companion as “not the crap out of the can; it’s the real deal”). But don’t even mess around with those items your first time through because really, breakfast at the Dish is all about the Slacker Special ($8.50). The restaurant’s most accomplished offering is a rich, inventive scramble of cheese, enchilada sauce, more cheese, onions, tortilla chips, and eggs or tofu, topped by a dollop of sour cream and salsa and offered with a side of potatoes and toast. It’s hearty enough that an entire plate will bring on the food coma, or two people can easily split one order. But best of all, it’s one of the most flavorful tofu breakfast plates Seattle has to offer–and even with the slim competition, the Dish is an instant winner.