Member number: 226
Member since: 03/30/2006
Capitol Hill
Our first pizzeria has become a central meeting place in the bustling Capitol Hill neighborhood. If you are visiting Seattle we highly recommend you make an evening out of your visit to the Hill - nightclubs, coffee roasters, bars and restaurants abound. At this location expect soaring ceilings, glowing stained glass fixtures, a long buzzing bar, and cozy booths. Reservations for groups of 6 or more recommended. We have an elegant private dining room that seats 10-16 people comfortably.
The Seattle Times:
The brainchild of Caffe Vita founder Mike McCall, Via Tribunali was founded to bring absolutely authentic Neapolitan pizza to the Northwest, so it's ironic that the pizza is the least interesting thing about the place. The decor is murky, romantic, Goth with gloss; the bar is terrific if a little pricy; the atmosphere is so Italian that just having a drink is like a short vacation in la belle Italia.
Do keep your eye on the domed pizza oven flanking the far end of the bar, where pizzaiolo Dino Santonicola do a graceful pizzafied pas de deux. Their repertoire is brief: 14 "pizze," three "calzoni," and lasagna whose ethereal noodles are imported from Osteria la Spiga up the street.
Restraint is the Neapolitan style. No more so than in the Marinara , which is sauce and crust. But what crust: char-kissed and silky, with a seductive pull. Oregano and garlic, nothing more, adorn its beautifully balanced pomodoro sauce. The Napoletana is essentially the Marinara plus anchovies. The Salame, with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and high-quality pepperoni , is another pleasing, straightforward pizza served uncut, on a dinner plate, and easily enjoyed without any help ? save a knife and fork.
That fork comes in handy with the Quattro Stagioni, crowned with soft clouds of fresh mozzarella, chopped prosciutto, pepperoni and (hiss!) canned mushrooms. Those mushrooms join fresh ricotta, mozzarella and prosciutto in Dino's house "specialita" ? the calzone Vesuvio.
Expect to hear the pizzaiolo's come-and-get-it bell ringing incessantly after this double dose of dough is finger-flattened, filled, crimped, swiftly baked and pulled from the oven all pouffy. Eat it fast. It's less likely to ring your bell once it's flat and lukewarm.
Via Tribunali is the creation of Caff? Vita's Michael McConnell, whose flagship cafe and roasteria is right up the street. Truth: McConnell didn't create this place for you or for me. As he puts it, "I've traveled to Naples a lot and wanted to bring back something for me from a place that I love." If others love it, too, well, that's just the crema on his espresso.
Nancy Leson
