Serious Pie–some debate

Not cheesey. Temperamental however.

Seattle is not, nor will it ever be, a pizza town– At least not to a New Yorker. It’s something in Seattle's water. Or it’s something that our water lacks. It is the same with the bagel. Or, for that matter, Chinese food.

So when Erik Cannella, my very own New York Italian chef, said he liked Serious Pie, I raised an eyebrow. It’s a Tom Douglas restaurant. I’m not saying that Tom Douglas doesn’t do it right, but if I am going to spend some cash he isn’t on the top of my list.

We went. We went back. We went several times more. The space, a one-time dry cleaner, is beautiful. The fact that you can get a carafe of cheap and cheerful wine is splendid. The wood-fire oven proves temperamental– some pies come out and the dough is cooked perfectly–like the way a good date ends; it slowly yields to your mouth; it teases and releases and each bite is well earned and satisfying. Other days the crust is burnt– burnt in the same way a woman scorned is burnt– tough, bitter and sooty-faced.

The rapini blue cheese pizza is inspired and their salads are certainly worth ordering. Stay with the odd and unexpected on the menu and you’ll do great, scorned woman and all. Go toward the more traditional pizza and you’ll end up spending a little more for something only a little better than what you’d expect in Seattle.