Seattle Patriot

Long, long ago, in a land not too far away, there was a place called Pete’s Pizza. Pete’s had the best Calzone ever. Ever. (Large enough for two meals, filled with tasty toppings, crispy upper crust, with a chewy crust side, piping hot, excellent flavor…I could go on and on.)

A few years ago, Pete’s tragically closed down. Despite many attempts, I have been unable to find a place that comes close to the calibur of Pete’s on the Calzone front. I have found a few tasty pizza places, but have had many more disappointments. And though I can find a few places with great pizza, I found not ONE place with what I would even describe as “good” Calzone.

I think I’ll make this a personal mission - to find the best *existing* Calzone in Seattle (because Pete’s was the best, and will forever hold the title of all-time best, but no longer exists). Please let me know if you think you’ve found a contender.

Here’s a review what I’ve found so far:

- Italian Spaghetti House and Pizzaria (Lake City Way) - excellent pizza for a very reasonable price. If you like meat, try the Large 15. I’ve been going there for 26 years, and my family for close to 55 years! Don’t even know if they have Calzones…

- Palermo (Ballard) - Very tasty pizza; haven’t tried the Calzones.

- Snoose Junction (Ballard) - Did not care for the Calzone. Not much flavor and too bread-y. Haven’t tried the pizza.

- Varlamos (U-District) - Did not care for the Calzone. Again, too bready, not enough deliciosity packed inside.

- Madame K’s (Ballard) - Good pizza; haven’t tried the calzone. Pizza a bit pricey, though. The atmosphere is really fun; it’s a brothel-turned-italian-restaurant.

To be continued… In the meantime, do you know if one I’m really missing out on?

Here’s another gem that Ben alerted me to - The Oregon Trail! This is a GREAT way to spend a reminiscent hour. Plus it brings back all kinds of good stories from childhood and discussions like “what was your hunting strategy?” Em and I used to buy a wagon full of bullets, and hunt for weeks. We’d stand in the middle of the screen and just spin. Instead of landmarks, we judged our progress by the type of game that would emerge at different parts. Ahhhh, the good old days!

Remember when the hardest decisions were which names to put down for your wagon? How you can tell that animals are dead because they flip over? Waiting for the river to go down? Taking 6 days to rest, and having people get more sick?? Oh yes, there are these memories and so many more awaiting you!

Get ready to be blasted back to 1990: Go Play The Oregon Trail!

Once upon a time, waaaaaay back when Snapple was first “blowing up,” so to speak, in the early 1990s, I tried one of their products. I can’t be sure what it was, but given my memory of the flavor I expect it was an unsweetened tea of some kind. Hated it. Never had Snapple again. But then, feeling adventurous at the grocery store the other day, I saw “white tea” AND “nectarine” in the same bottle. I thought “What the heck, it’s been 15 years or so, I’ll give Snapple a second try.” SUCH A GOOD DECISION! It has a very light flavor, so don’t be expecting a taste explosion. Also, although it is sweetened to the point of being fairly high in calories for a drink, it’s still not that sweet…but then again that’s coming from me, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. Here’s what I’d seen (although it’s the green apple variety pictured, which I’ve not seen in stores):

Here’s what Snapple has to say describing their product: “So, just what IS White Tea? Well, it’s a baby tea leaf that’s plucked when it’s young so that it’s both light in flavor and high in antioxidants. We brewed up this rare tea and lovingly mingled it with the light fruit flavors of Green Apple, Nectarine and Raspberry to give you an all-natural beverage that’s naturally decaffeinated, kissed with a whisper of real sugar (but 33% fewer calories), and tastes simply great.”

Each bottle has 120 calories, which is why it falls under the “guilty” category. I generally despise consuming calories from beverages, which is why water and I get along so nicely. For a non-guilty alternative, try Diet Snapple Peach Tea, with a whopping zero calories per bottle - but it’s SWEET so I still like it! [Note: I tried the new green tea too - because they had it in Asian Pear - but I'm not a huge green tea fan (it's on the super-taster dislike list, so maybe that's why), but despite that, I'd still say it was pretty good!]

Mmmmmm. Bagels.

Just the other day I was perusing Whole Foods for some healthy - but tasty - snacks when I discovered the bakery case. Although I generally muster up the best of my will power to avoid the bakery cases (my doughnut weakness goes waaaay back), I spotted the bagels and thought a nice Whole Foods bagel might be just the carbohydrate-y thing I needed. They’re generally pretty filling, not as bad for you as doughnuts, and always tasty when fresh, so a good compromise.

Upon quick review, I spotted the BEST BAGEL EVER - a cinnamon & sugar bagel. I bought it quickly and tore into it as soon as I got home. It was sooooooo good. Almost too good…

So a couple days later I’m back at Whole Foods again, eyeing the bagels from afar. I go over to the case…just for a look. Aha - I spot an ingredients list and must know (curiosity killed the cat) what wonderful ingredients were in this delicious treat. I’m reading the list, so far so good. Last note on the list: “Fried in vegetable oil.”

Now call me crazy, but I was under the impression that bagels were boiled then baked, and DOUGHNUTS were fried. Am I right, people? Otherwise, it’s just a doughnut with identity confusion! Well, I was most displeased with this discovery, but I still love those cinnamon “bagels” and maybe if I get through another week of this, I might just treat myself to another.

Bad for you, but tasty, the Whole Foods Cinnamon & Sugar Bagel is my Guilty Pleasure of the week.