Seattle foodfest: part two

Breakfast Number One: Lola (donuts!)

As previously stated, the made-to-order donuts at Lola were the reason we decided to visit Seattle for our culinary mini-tour. The boys were ready to go upon awakening (!) and we quickly walked the 7 blocks to the restaurant. On a Thursday morning, Lola was perhaps half full, the wait staff were quietly bustling from table to table. We settled into our window seats with the boys barely scanning the menu, so anxious were they to place our order. They decided to split the Lola Breakfast (two eggs, bacon or maple-sausage, garlic smashed potatoes and toast) and an order of donuts. I ordered scrambled eggs with feta (delicious!).

The donuts arrived in a white paper bag (see photo 3 below) and our server, Kim, made a cute ceremony of shaking the bag to disperse the cinnamon-sugar, cutting it, then shaking the donuts onto the plate. Dane and Tate dove in almost immediately, happily sampling the donuts and their accompaniments: a crock of vanilla mascarpone and one of homemade pear sauce (which had a similar consistency to apple butter). In the melee, I was able to score one of the 6 donuts (thanks, boys!); it was absolute perfection. Light, fluffy and flavorful. The sauces were delightful, too.

The Lola Breakfast (photo 4) was abundant, particularly with the generous split between two plates. The boys ate everything and especially enjoyed putting Tabasco on their eggs and bacon. Tate thinks he invented something new: spicy bacon (bacon and Tabasco plus freshly ground salt and pepper). Look for it on our weekend brunch menu sometime soon!

http://tomdouglas.com/index.php/restaurants/lola

Over breakfast, we staked out the location of our next meal: Etta’s, another Tom Douglas restaurant (located near Pike’s Place Market). Kim was kind enough to call over and inquire if they served a pulled pork sandwich (Tate’s request from the night before) and, to our amazement, they did… voila!

P.S. If you’re wondering why I’ve included two photos of the donuts, it was because I couldn’t decide which photo made them look more luscious… what do you think?

[All photos by Kathryn Besser]