When it comes to pizza, I'm an arch conservative. Quite the opposite of my politics, where, if I moved any further to the left, I'd fall off the edge. And also quite different from my tastes in other foods, where I'm curious to try new foods all the time. But pizza? I like what I like. And if I'm spending money, I'd never order a pizza that had a thick crust. Or something other than tomato sauce as a base. Or had pineapple and Canadian bacon as toppings. If it's your money, and you put a slice of a Canadian bacon and pineapple thick crusted pizza in front of me, I'll eat it, of course. I'm a glutton. I'll eat the whole thing and then complain about it. That's my style. But I like what I like. And I'm an east coast pizza snob, even after thirty nine years of living in Seattle. The perfect crust is thin, but not super thin. It can't be too inundated with toppings or cheese. And the sauce has to be tomato. So we were eating a couple o...

Paranormal Pie recently opened in Rainier Beach, at 9435 Rainier Ave S., 206-721-7777) where Giorgina's Pizza recently existed, a couple of doors north of Maya's Mexican Restaurant. Someone on the Rainier Beach/Skyway Facebook page recently stated that they went there, the prices were reasonable, and that they also have hummus. I figured " What kind of places have Hummus?" and figured it had to be Middle Eastern or Middle Eastern influenced. I like pizza, a lot. I also like Middle Eastern food, a lot. So what did I have to lose? The menu has quite a few Middle Eastern(Lebanese, to be specific) selections, so this time I chose to skip pizza. The south end of Seattle, and Renton now have a number of good pizza places, ranging from Tutta Bella in Columbia City, to Bar Del Corso on Beacon Hill, to Pulcinella on the Rainier Beach/Lakeridge border, to Via Tribunali in Georgetown, to Flying Squirrel near Seward park, to Smoking Monkey in downtown Renton.  ...

Just a few things to report: 1. Papa John's Pizza has announced that everytime the Seattle Mariners score five or more runs in a game, regular menu prices are 50% off the next day, if you order online. There are a few problems with this: One- the pizza sucks. I suppose if you're hungry and broke and don't care much about taste, good deal! Two- The total number of runs the Mariners have scored in the last four games combined? Four.  It's not a deal you'll likely be able to take advantage of too often. Three- When the Affordable Care act went into effect, Papa Johns turned  many of their employees into part timers, so they wouldn't have to cover their benefits. At the same time, they raised prices fifty cents per pizza to cover the benefit costs, and at the same time ran a promotion giving away millions of pizza. The CEO of Papa Johns, John Schatter, is an outspoken opponent of an increased minimum wage, was a donator to Donald Trump, and reportedly singled out ...

Twenty five years ago, if you'd asked me my favorite restaurants in the Seattle area, Gene's Ristorante in Renton, and Brad's Swingside Cafe in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood would always be at or near the top of the list. Both so good, unpretentious but inventive places, and primarily Italian. Gene's closed about sixteen years ago, and I was brokenhearted. I still dream about that antipasto. And that apple pie.  Often, when I'm brokenhearted that a restaurant I love has closed, the owners are not brokenhearted. They're very happy, relieved. Dancing a jig. Or the Kazatzka. Or in the case of Gene or Brad, the Tarantella.  A couple of years after selling Gene's Ristorante,  Gene started the still thriving Red House in Renton(which has on the menu the lasagna from Gene's), and had his fingers in a number of other restaurants ranging from Smoking Monkey Pizza, to Papaya Vietnamese in the Renton Landing, to Red Papaya Alehouse in Seattle, to Blossom Vege...

In Freakazoid Freddy's world, the answer to the question "How many Mexican restaurants can downtown Renton support?" would be " All that currently exist plus a few more." For Freakazoid Freddy loves Mexican food. So...how many Mexican restaurants currently exist in downtown Renton? Well, it depends on your definition of downtown Renton, and your definition of Mexican restaurants. For the purposes of this post, I am defining downtown Renton as anywhere within one mile of 3rd and Burnett, generally recognized as the center of downtown Renton. Thus, it slightly extends beyond the generally recognized boundaries, but close enough. I am defining a Mexican restaurant as one that serves Mexican food, but must have indoor seating(so no taco trucks, much as I like them), cannot be part of a national chain(so no Taco Bell or Chipotle), and the food must resemble or be recognizable to people from Mexico( so no Taco Time, even though I like their white chicken chili)....

When a restaurant I like closes, it just breaks my heart. Maybe the restaurant owner feels a great sense of relief, but I'm just crushed. And it's happened to so many Renton restaurants over the years. It's a tough industry. When Gene's Ristorante on S 3rd was sold, it practically killed me. Gene was happy to no longer be working a million hours a week, and with many other irons in the fire, he wasn't able to clone himself. But hooboy was it a great place. I still miss than antipasto. When Japan Thai closed, it hurt. The owners were practically doing handstands they were so happy to get some semblance of a life back. But I was sad. Japanese and Thai food go really well together. When the Aloha BBQ on the Maple Valley Highway closed, I was devastated. That was another place that should have been a lot more successful than it was, fresh, creative, and inexpensive. About a month or two ago, Shuga Jazz Bistro closed. They had an insanely great Happy Hour, as well ...

First things first. Four Generals Brewing  opens this Friday, July 22nd, at noon. 229 Wells Ave S, beautiful downtown Renton. As Martha Stewart would say " It's a good thing." The Renton River Days parade is this Saturday, July 23rd, at 10 AM, in beautiful downtown Renton. S. 3rd St.( Renton's main drag) will be closed for the parade. It's a fun parade that nicely reflects Renton's diversity. It might be ruined this year by politicians running for office.  If you see some doofus in a pea suit marching in the parade, yeah, that's probably me. Uwajimaya(501 S. Grady Way) has fresh Yukon River Keta salmon filets for 9.99 per pound. You may be asking " Keta salmon? Isn't that another name for pink salmon? The cheap stuff? " Well, technically, yes, Sockeye and King salmon are usually richer, and more flavorful. But Yukon River's salmon are so especially rich and fatty(in a good way), that the Yukon River Keta salmon actually has a higher ...