Maybe you’re groaning at the title, but I couldn’t help myself. The hubby and I snuck out for a lunchdate and ended up at Stoneburner in Ballard for the first time and we tried this amazing olive appetizer that was cheesy, oozy and delicious. And we loved them. All of them.
Stonburner is such a charming restaurant attached to the Hotel Ballard (I would totally try to stay here if I wasn’t from Seattle and probably kid-free-it’s such a stunning hotel in a great food neighborhood!) and we’ve been dying to go here forever. Of course we weren’t disappointed. The pasta is homemade and delightful and I learned a term called ‘sofritto” from their menu which I just saw again when I was cooking Risotto the other night. ( I’ve been using the Silver Spoon for Children ,yes, CHILDREN!!! cookbook for myself and it’s been really helping me learn different cooking techniques.) At Stoneburner, we also had a mushroom/potato pizza that was a more sophisticated version of the baked potato pizza I survived off of during college at Pie R Squared at UBC.
Anyways, I do hope we stop in their again because the food was nice and the restaurant just felt cozy and warm and Ballard always has such a special place in my heart. The guys and I have been hanging out there a lot recently for swimming lessons and that means we get a weekly stop in at Honore which is probably on everyone’s bakery love list, but we do so love it too.
After every swimming lesson the guys choose a couple of macarons to devour nibble on the drive home and the night’s dessert. The good thing about buying dessert in advance is it makes me actually cook dinner instead of going out so it’s helping us be healthier in a small way. So, we’ve now tried almost everything in the pastry case. I think my favorite is the citrus tart and my guys adore the eclairs.
I suggest trying them all. Happy Weekend lovelies!
(PS. I wasn’t sure if it was a family-friendly restaurant, but I did see a lot of families dining when we were eating at Stoneburner for lunch and I think I even saw a high chair but I know their dinner hour is busy and I would suggest reservations.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)