Seriously Delicious: Serious Pie

When we returned to Seattle, it was a late Friday night. It was also Mr. Monkey's birthday! The perfect time to try another Tom Douglas restaurant! We chose Serious Pie because Mr. Monkey is happiest when we go casual.





Here's Mr. Monkey as we waited. Even at 10:30 p.m., the place was still packed.

But, lo and behold! We didn't even wait that long -- maybe 15 minutes or so -- when our darling server apologized to us profusely for the wait and said our meal was on the house! Wow! Happy birthday, Mr. Monkey!

Braised octopus, crispy pancetta, sunchokes ($9).

Extraordinary. Charred lightly, amazingly tender, perfectly chewy. Could it be because we were feeling the euphoria of knowing our meal would be free? Maybe. But I still highly endorse this starter!

Penn Cove clams, house pancetta, lemon thyme ($17).

Mr. Monkey ordered this one. Yes, we ordered one each! Hey, it was his birthday! I'm not a huge fan of bivalves, but even I thought this pizza was superb. Crisp, a tad chewy, and great cheese-to-crust ratio.

Prosser pumpkin, pork belly, pistachios ($17).

I'm a sucker for alliteration, but, repeating consonants notwithstanding, this pizza was a dream. Did you read those ingredients? I almost shed a tear.

Just in case you couldn't tell, we loved loved loved Serious Pie.

Hopefully our server loved her huge tip!