I've been reading Molly Wizenberg's blog for quite some time, and when she and her husband, Brandon, opened up a small brick-oven pizza in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, I read all about their trials and tribulations. Getting to watch their project develop from scratch made me eager to visit. A recent work trip to Seattle with a little free time at night meant I could, finally, taste some of the nibbles I've been reading so much about.
Delancey's menu offers a handful of salads, pizzas, and desserts that demonstrate the art of simple food. Three dishes whispered "order me, order me,
order me": the house-made fennel sausage pizza, chioggio beet salad,
and meyer lemon budino (I looked it up, that's Italian for "pudding").
Before I tell you
about what we actually ordered, let me say that Delancey is tiny and VERY
popular--too popular for it's own good. It was a Wednesday night around 7:00 and we had to wait for
an hour to be seated. Thankfully, there's a great neighborhood bar across the
street that serves tasty guacamole and chips. If I could remember the
name of the place, I would give them a shout out because the bartender
took care of us.
Our mood changed when the food arrived.
We started with the beet salad, a simply dressed dish that didn't mess too much with the key ingredients: beets, blood and cora cora oranges, and ricotta salata. Next, we ordered three pies: the margherita, the prosciutto, and the sausage. The pizzas were tasty: chewy crust, flavorful sauce, and high quality toppings. My favorite was, indeed, the fennel sausage pizza, which was salty, greasy, with just enough flavor pop from the fennel. I also liked the prosciutto pizza, which was completely draped in salty Italian ham. The margherita, unfortunately, didn't have enough fresh basil, but that was easily remedied with some extra on the side. I must admit, it wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, and that might be because I'm interested in a stronger crust. I want a piece of pizza that you can fold in half and will hold its shape. Delancey's pizza was a little droopy. In addition, while I'm not a pizza expert, I have one test for pizza crust: would I eat it with oil and salt and still get tons of flavor? The answer at Delancey is no, unfortunately. The flavor here, comes from the toppings. And, wow, what flavor. {Note to Orangette: I certainly would not mind the recipe for that sausage.}
At the end of the meal, there was no way I could fit the budino into my belly. Stuffed we opted to order a chocolate cookie with gray salt.
Overall, eating at Delancey while visiting Seattle, a city unfamiliar to me, was a treat. Even though I didn't approach Molly and Brandon (they seemed really busy), I felt like I was eating at a restaurant of people I know. Just the way one should feel at a neighborhood joint.
