Introduction

Home meals on a budget

Favorite bagel spot

Favorite sandwich

Best pizza

Favorite date night place

Favorite pasta shape

Hot pot etiquette

Favorite place to hang

Favorite places south of Seattle

Vegetarian food

What's up in 2026

Pizza, bagels, best date night spots and the unwritten rules of hot pot etiquette. Culinary luminaries J Kenji López-Alt and Rachel Belle covered a wide range of topics with Tan at Seattle Eats live event at Town Hall Seattle on November 10, 2025. 

Recommendations in this episode:

Favorite bagel spot
Hey Bagel - University Village
Backyard bagel - Fremont
Mt. Bagel - Madison Valley

Favorite sandwich
Post Alley Pizza - Pike Place Market - try the hoagie with side of hoagie jazz 
Fortuna - Greenwood - mortadella sandwich
Tivoli - Fremont - mortadella sandwich

Favorite pizza:
Lupo - Fremont
The Independent - Madison Park
my friend derek’s - Tangletown
AK Pizza - Othello 
Ben’s Bread - Phinney Ridge
Windy City Pie - Phinney Ridge 
Sunny Hill - Ballard 

Best date night spot:
The Tin Hat (Taco Tuesday) - Phinney Ridge
Hattie’s Hat - Ballard
Sushi Kappo Tamura - Eastlake
Serafina - Eastlake
Canlis - Queen Anne

Favorite third place
Open Form - Capitol Hill
Olympia Pizza III - Capitol Hill
Metropolitan Grill - Downtown Seattle  
Empire Roosters and Records - Columbia City
Standard Brewing - Central District

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible:
Become a member today at kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes
Subscribe today at seattletimes.com

Pizza, bagels, best date night spots and the unwritten rules of hot pot etiquette. Culinary luminaries J Kenji L&oacute;pez-Alt and Rachel Belle covered a wide range of topics with Tan at Seattle Eats live event at Town Hall Seattle on November 10, 2025.&nbsp;
Recommendations in this episode:
Favorite bagel spot
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.heybagel.net/">Hey Bagel</a> - University Village</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://backyardbagel.com/">Backyard bagel</a> - Fremont</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.mtbagel.com/">Mt. Bagel</a> - Madison Valley</li>
</ul>
Favorite sandwich
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.postalley.pizza/">Post Alley Pizza</a> - Pike Place Market - try the hoagie with side of hoagie jazz&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.fortunasandwichshop.com/">Fortuna</a> - Greenwood - mortadella sandwich</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.tivoliseattle.com/">Tivoli</a> - Fremont - mortadella sandwich</li>
</ul>
Favorite pizza:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.lupofremont.com/">Lupo</a> - Fremont</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://theindiepizzeria.com/">The Independent</a> - Madison Park</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://myfrienddereks.com/">my friend derek&rsquo;s</a> - Tangletown</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ak-pizza.com/">AK Pizza</a> - Othello&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://bensbread.com/">Ben&rsquo;s Bread</a> - Phinney Ridge</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.windycitypie.com/">Windy City Pie</a> - Phinney Ridge&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.sunnyhillseattle.com/">Sunny Hill</a> - Ballard&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Best date night spot:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The Tin Hat (Taco Tuesday) - Phinney Ridge</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://hatties-hat.com/">Hattie&rsquo;s Hat</a>&nbsp;- Ballard</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.sushikappotamura.com/">Sushi Kappo Tamura</a> - Eastlake</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://serafinaseattle.com/">Serafina</a> - Eastlake</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://canlis.com/">Canlis</a> - Queen Anne</li>
</ul>
Favorite third place
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://openform.space/pages/about">Open Form</a> - Capitol Hill</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.olympiapizza3.com/">Olympia Pizza III</a> - Capitol Hill</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.themetropolitangrill.com/">Metropolitan Grill</a> - Downtown Seattle&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.empireroastersandrecords.com/">Empire Roosters and Records</a> - Columbia City</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.standardbrew.com/">Standard Brewing</a> - Central District</li>
</ul>
Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network. You can support Seattle Eats by investing in the local newsrooms and the specialized beats that make this sort of storytelling possible:
<ul>
<li>Become a member today at<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes"> kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes</a></li>
<li>Subscribe today at<a href="http://seattletimes.com"> seattletimes.com</a></li>
</ul>

Seattle is a buffet of great food... if you know where to look. Seattle Times journalist Tan Vinh invites listeners to the area's hottest restaurants, road-side food stalls and everywhere in between to find the best meals in the city and to meet the people who make them sing.

New episodes every Thursday.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes 

Seattle Eats is a production of The Seattle Times and KUOW, part of the NPR Network

 

Seattle is a buffet of great food... if you know where to look. Seattle Times journalist Tan Vinh invites listeners to the area's hottest restaurants, road-side food stalls and everywhere in between to find the best meals in the city and to meet the people who make them sing.
New episodes every Thursday.
<hr>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes">https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattleeatsnotes</a>&nbsp;
Seattle Eats is a production of <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/">The Seattle Times</a> and <a href="https://www.kuow.org/">KUOW</a>, part of the NPR Network
&nbsp;

Seattle Eats with Tan Vinh

At a special live event at Town Hall Seattle, culinary luminaries J Kenji López-Alt and Rachel Belle talk about their favorite local places to grab a slice of pizza or bagel, have a date night or just hang out. And most important of all they discussed hot pot etiquette.

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