Slog
News & ArtsThursday, September 27, 2012
Chow Restaurant Recommendations for Shabu-Shabu and Chicago-Style Pizza (in Seattle!)
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 7:17 AM
- shabuchic.com
- Shabu Chic awaits, Adam!
Sometimes people email me for restaurant recommendations, which Adam didn't, exactly, but maybe we can all help answer him. Here we go!
You regularly hype what great food we have, but there are some glaring culinary gaps in Seattle.
Like yesterday, I was craving shabu-shabu. We have plenty of Mongolian grills—this is just the soup version, and I couldn't find one.
Or more glaringly, I challenge you to find a good Chicago-style pizza in Seattle. I've been looking for years. It doesn't exist. How can a major metropolitan city in the U.S. not have Chicago-style pizza?
I hope that you, with reader input, could do an article on what Seattle is missing in hopes that some entrepreneurs will step up to the challenge, and not just give us a few great niche foods, but also a great variety.
Thanks,
Adam
Dear Adam,
I appreciate your general spirit of ire, but Seattle has both of these things.
For shabu-shabu, there's a (relatively) new place in the ID called Shabu Chic—I haven't been there, but maybe some Slog readers have... Also, a reader-reviewer from a couple years back says Shiki in lower Queen Anne will make it for you if you call in advance, so that's worth a try (and I have had their sushi, some years back, and it was good). I also have a vague notion that the streets of Lynnwood are practically paved with shabu-shabu, but you said Seattle...
And for Chicago-style pizza, there's Kylie's Chicago Pizza in Fremont, which I've never been to but some people say is the real deal. And there's also Delfino's in University Village, which I'd never heard of until Google informed me of its existence just this minute but has apparently been making Chicago-style pizza in a vintage pizza oven imported from Chicago since 1993. Anyone been to either of these? Help an Adam out!
Let us know if you go!
Best,
Bethany
1
I love Kylie's. It is my favorite pizza place in Seattle. It is patterned after Zachary's Chicago Pizza in Berkeley, so it is a kind of Chicago-style pizza, but is slightly different than what some Chicagoans expect. On the other hand, I have friends who live in Chicago who say it's better than any pizza they've had there, so there's that.
2
Speaking of recommendations, can a Stranger person with perhaps some insight tell us why Questionland is apparently dead? Can it really take over a month to recover from a backup database?
3
I grew up in the Chicagoland area, and prefer Gino's East when I'm there. Outside of Chicago, I find Kylie's to be the only place worthy of calling itself Chicago style. I've been to Zachary's in Berkeley and found it inferior to Kylie's. If Kylie's were a neighborhood joint in Chicago, I think they'd fit in fine and do well. We are lucky to have them in Seattle.
4
As someone who's had a lot of genuine Chicago-style, Delfino's tastes to me much like Chicago's Giordano's.
8
Not that it's anyone's concern here on Slog, but finding decent pizza in Chicago that isn't Chicago-style has proven to be a challenge for me.
9
Shabu Shabu is fantastic. They just have really weird hours and are somewhat hard to find (near Tamarind Tree).
13
Check out Benito's on 15th in Ballard. Run by a Chicago native Ben Kulikowski, the pie is deep, the tomatoes are on top, and the crust is that almost-pastry-crispy-flaky. They also have Italian beef sandwiches.
14
Chicago-style pizza is disgusting.
@8, this makes my heart cry for you. Obviously I can never move to Chicago, then.
@8, this makes my heart cry for you. Obviously I can never move to Chicago, then.
15
Thank you Bethany! I think I'll get my pizza fix this weekend (and hit up the Chocolate Festival for desert), and hit up the Shabu Chic the first cold rainy night of fall. :-D
16
Chicago-style pizza is awful. I lived there for 8 years, and that is the God's-honest truth.
@8 - Most of the Chicago-style places also have non-deep-dish pizza. Lou Malnati's thin crust is pretty good.
@8 - Most of the Chicago-style places also have non-deep-dish pizza. Lou Malnati's thin crust is pretty good.
17
@9: The internet knows nothing of Shabu Shabu that I can find, but it sounds vaguely familiar... any more info?
@13: I didn't know Benito's was making pizza. Thanks!
@15: You bet!
@13: I didn't know Benito's was making pizza. Thanks!
@15: You bet!
18
@8 The best deep dish (sometimes referred to as "pan") is Pete's Pizza with a couple of locations up north. The best thin crust--by a mile--is Rosati's which can be found in both the city and the suburbs. And, for the record, the best stuffed is The Art of Pizza--which also has a damn good pan pie--on Ashland near Belmont.
19
Haven't visited Shabu Chic but Gourmet Noodle Bowl on 8th Ave S serves up some pretty nice shabu shabu style dining. And it's open on weekdays.
20
I love Delfino's pizza. Unfortunately it's located in UVillage, but it's a nice little joint that makes some really tasty, cheesy 'za.
21
Dear people from other cities who think they should be able to find their old city's food everywhere,
I love Seattle and Seattle food. When I moved to Chicago 12 years ago, you people were drinking piss beer and eating shitty seafood like it was the best stuff you'd ever tasted. Because it was the best shit you'd ever tasted. I didn't bitch about this in Chicago. I learned to love that city and its food for what it was. And I still have a soft spot for that awesome town.
But when I decided to settle somewhere, I came home, and among many other things I like about Seattle, the seafood and beer got way better.
If Chicago Pizza is that awesome to you, go the fuck home. Take your fucking Bears, Sox, and Blackhawks jerseys with you, and enjoy you piss and sea-cardboard. OR... Quit bitching.
I love Seattle and Seattle food. When I moved to Chicago 12 years ago, you people were drinking piss beer and eating shitty seafood like it was the best stuff you'd ever tasted. Because it was the best shit you'd ever tasted. I didn't bitch about this in Chicago. I learned to love that city and its food for what it was. And I still have a soft spot for that awesome town.
But when I decided to settle somewhere, I came home, and among many other things I like about Seattle, the seafood and beer got way better.
If Chicago Pizza is that awesome to you, go the fuck home. Take your fucking Bears, Sox, and Blackhawks jerseys with you, and enjoy you piss and sea-cardboard. OR... Quit bitching.
23
I grew up mostly in a town filled with Italians in Canada and Kylie's Chicago Pizza is great.
Their thin crust is like Italian pizza (which I've also had in Italy), and many of my friends love their deep dish Chicago pizza.
Well, technically, most Italian pizzas are much more sauce based than here, so I guess that makes it NY Italian pizza.
Their thin crust is like Italian pizza (which I've also had in Italy), and many of my friends love their deep dish Chicago pizza.
Well, technically, most Italian pizzas are much more sauce based than here, so I guess that makes it NY Italian pizza.
24
Psst... hey there. Yeah, you.
There's nothing magical about a geographical location that makes specific food taste better or worse.
There's nothing magical about a geographical location that makes specific food taste better or worse.
25
DEEP DISH PIZZA IS NOT THE SAME AS STUFFED PIZZA. You deep-dish commenters are not worthy to set foot on Chicago's hallowed pizza ground. Or in Delfino's. Which makes a kick-ass stuffed pizza. SPINACH STUFFED PIZZA. If it ain't stuffed with a) SAUSAGE or b) SPINACH it ain't a Chicago stuffed pizza. In which case you might as well eat shabu-shabu instead.
26
holy cats! I just made plans yesterday to go to Shabu Chic tomorrow, based on my having mailed my friend a postcard from a shabu-shabu place I visited in London in 1985. will let you know how it goes...
27
Nobody here cares about Chicago style pizza because that shitty wad of lasagne you yoders call pizza stinks on ice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZKDdd1f…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qZKDdd1f…
29
Chicago is awash in thin crust these days. Some of it's really good, whether it's old school like Marie's on Lawrence, or more fancy (Great Lake or Bella's.)
Alas, we're still hit and miss with the beer here. And we're desperately in need of a good teriyaki joint.
Alas, we're still hit and miss with the beer here. And we're desperately in need of a good teriyaki joint.
30
@2, @7, yeah I was using their archive as a reading list, now I can't get any of that information, and I neglected to print it...shit.
31
Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot in Bellevue! It's the only reason to ever go to the east side!
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/chinese…
I'm drooling riiiiiiight noooooowwwwwwww!
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/chinese…
I'm drooling riiiiiiight noooooowwwwwwww!
32
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it yet, but check out Wallingford Pizza House. You can get it deep-dish, with or without stuffed crust. The personal "dome" pizza is pretty awesome, too.
34
I had some excellent shabu-shabu at Nikko (in the Westin Hotel) many years ago, and thanks to research prompted by this post, I learned that Nikko closed for good five years ago. 仕様が無い, right?
35
+1 @33. WPH is OK, but Kylie's is considerably better.
@25, stuffed pizza is gross. Wads and wads of semi-molten cheese that just won't go down the hatch without making me gag. Ugh.
Kylie's is an excellent approximation of Chicago-style pizza. Been going there for years.
@25, stuffed pizza is gross. Wads and wads of semi-molten cheese that just won't go down the hatch without making me gag. Ugh.
Kylie's is an excellent approximation of Chicago-style pizza. Been going there for years.
36
@28 - yep, 1985.
Shabu Chic was good. Be careful when ordering - we both ordered the small and got the large. Honestly, we probably could have ordered a small and split it (except that's not allowed). We managed to eat everything, though, and it was very tasty. I wish there were more vegetables and less cabbage (or the cabbage was cut a bit smaller). Friendly staff, decent prices.
Would love to go to another shabu-shabu place to compare.
Shabu Chic was good. Be careful when ordering - we both ordered the small and got the large. Honestly, we probably could have ordered a small and split it (except that's not allowed). We managed to eat everything, though, and it was very tasty. I wish there were more vegetables and less cabbage (or the cabbage was cut a bit smaller). Friendly staff, decent prices.
Would love to go to another shabu-shabu place to compare.
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