Our Tom Douglas Smorgasborg

I mentioned once that Harrisburg is lacking in the culinary department, and that ultimately, I crave me some Tom Douglas.   


So, we went all out in Seattle, hitting four out of five of his restaurants (sorry Etta's, we wish you weren't all the way at Pike Place).  

And I took pictures of it all.

Starting with Dahlia Bakery, where we waited for the Hotel Andra to get it's act together and check us in, by dining on a quick lunch.  Kevin savored a fish cake (no, that doesn't sound good, but its Tom Douglas, so it WAS) sandwich and I enjoyed turkey and avocado.  The show-stopper was the bread.  So light and soft and yummy.  Ah.  Crap, I'm so far away from it all now. 

And, for a mini-dessert, mini coconut cream pies. 

Which, we hope to share at our wedding someday.

And, this plant, which I thought was just so cute.  How much do I sound like I'm playing a vacation slide show right now?

Dahlia Bakery, check.  

For dinner, we stopped over at Lola's before heading over to Serious Pie.  We've never been to Lola's for a meal other than breakfast, because really, what do you need other than Lola's breakfast?  Nevertheless, we wanted to appetizer-it-up there first. 

Now, Lola's has a Greek theme to it.  So, of course we ordered some hummus and grilled pitas, and then shared a couple skewers of prawns. 

( Okay, if I can ever figure out how to get the pictures off of my phone, I'll be able to show you.)

Then, it was time for Serious Pie, Tom Douglas's pizza parlour.  Beautiful pizza.  Thin, crunchy crust, salty cheese, some with a oil-base, some with a sauce base.  I've had their margherita pizza before and wanted to venture onto something else.  I couldn't decide whether to choose the clam pizza or the pizza with the poached egg on top, which when you cut the pizza spreads it's golden goodness all over.  Very torned, I decided on the clam because, well, it's Seattle.  That was my only reasoning.   Chewy clams with pancetta, cheese, on a crisp, oil based crust.  I ate it all.  I did.  Kevin enjoyed morel mushrooms and pesto on his pizza. 

I didn't take pictures because I got distracted by the delicious pizza. 

Lola's check. Serious Pie check. 

For brunch, K and I walked across the street and were the first in line for Dahlia's Lounge.

We shared monkey bread with caramel sauce.  Heaven. 

I dined on orange juice and a mushroom omlet with creamy cheese, bacon, smashed homefries, and a biscuit with apricot spread.

K lucked out with orange french toast and bacon. 

Dahlia Lounge, check.

But, it was not all a success.  We had one more restaurant to conquer.  Palace Kitchen, where we've never ventured before.  And for good reason, because it definitely disappointed.  But, that's okay because we have plenty to eat in our future.  Too crowded, too limited of a menu.  Good food, yes, but not the atmosphere like the others.  Yes, I feel bad putting a Tom Douglas place down.  I'll admit it. 

OH.  Did I mention?  We actually saw the chef himself?  There we were, sitting in the lobby of the Hotel Andra, waiting for them to get their act together again, and there he was, across the street, getting into his car, looking just like he should in that jean shirt and khaki vest number that he always wears (on every promo photo I've ever seen).  And we just sat there and did nothing, but whatever.  It's not like I'm going to go all Beatle-mania on him and ask him to sign a body-part.  Or like, a baguette or something.  The sighting was good enough....for now.  Ha, just kidding. 
That's one Seattle post down. More to come.