A year and some months ago, Molly Wizenberg announced on her lovely food blog Orangette that she and her husband Brandon Pettit were opening a restaurant. I don’t remember where I was when I read the news, but I distinctly recall feeling extraordinarily excited for the both of them even though we were complete strangers. I followed the trials and tribulations of building and running a pizzeria from the ground up through Ms.Wizenberg’s sporadic and thoughtful posts. She painted a more intimate and heartfelt picture of restaurant life than any book I’ve ever read on the topic. Needless to say, I was routing for Delancey long before I queued up outside the restaurant.
Located in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard, Delancey occupies a sparse and small space. The limited number of tables means that hour-long waits are the norm and the bar across the street receives a lot of business. Our party of three arrived ten minutes before the doors opened for dinner service and were fortunately seated with the first wave of diners.
The restaurant’s interior is so very Orangette. A mix of handmade, vintage, and industrial fittings fill the room. The tables were made by hand by Mr. Pettit, who taught himself how to pour concrete, while old glass jars were converted into proper lighting fixtures. The color scheme is mostly black and white. I liked how diners were called upon to add splashes of color and personality to the space.
The centerpiece of the pizzeria is the woodfired oven. The massive structure was built from scratch by Mr. Pettit, along with a pizza oven pro. According to his better half in an article for Bon Appetit, Mr. Pettit has been working on his dough recipe for more than two years.
We started off with a simple but superbly executed frisee salad ($10) with chunks of hard-boiled egg, crispy bits of bacon, and a well-balanced Dijon vinaigrette. The little tumbleweeds of frisee were sweet and crunchy.
The first pie to arrive was the crimini mushroom ($12) with fresh mozzarella, thyme, and olive oil. The mushrooms were thinly sliced and mostly mellow, while the olive oil and thyme rounded out the flavors. Inspired by the pizzas Mr. Pettit grew up on in New Jersey and New York, the crust was crisp, light, and blistered around the edges. The flavor was subtle, but outstanding—very much like a great loaf of country bread. The char was a bit too intense for me on some slices, but Rosalind seemed to favor those pieces most.
The Astronomer’s favorite pizza featured housemade pork fennel sausage, tomato sauce, fresh and aged mozzarella, and grana ($15). The most glorious bites brought a mouthful of sausage and warm cheese dribbling down our chins.
My favorite was the Romana ($13) with tomato sauce, sliced garlic, anchovies, kalamata olives, chili oil, and oregano. The cheese-less wonder was wet and salty, and I couldn’t get enough. Delancey’s slices went down so easily that I managed to eat seven this evening. That’s a whole pizza and then some!
Even more so than the interior, the desserts at Delancey are a reflection of Orangette. Even though Ms. Wizenberg no longer spends her days in the kitchen, her rustic seasonal fruit desserts remain. The rhubarb compote with shortbread and whipped cream ($8) was a hit with our table. Rosalind adored the buttery shortbread cookies, while the rhubarb compote and whipped cream had my name all over it.
The caramel-poached apple ($8) with gingerbread streusel and chantilly cream was elegant and satisfying. Leaving the stem on the apple was an adorable touch. Come to think of it, the entire restaurant is one big adorable touch.
Dinner at Delancey was the highlight of my delicious tour of Seattle. From beginning to end, the food, service, and ambiance hit all the right notes. I’ve never fancied myself as a pizza lover, but after this experience (and a dinner at Serious Pie the following evening), I am now completely obsessed.
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Delancey
1415 NW 70th Street
Seattle, WA 98117
Phone: 206-838-1960
So wishing they were open when I was in Seattle last year, but luckily I got to meet the MOLLY at a conference. Loved her so much… gracious, humble and a huge inspiration!
All of your Seattle posts are making me want to plan a return trip there this summer! =)
Jo – I was on the look out for Molly the entire meal! She is definitely one of my all-time favorite food writers. Her voice…it’s downright buttery!
LD – I hear Seattle is unbelievably gorgeous in August 😉 It’s crazy how well I ate during my short stay.
As far as you know is Orangette the first/only food blogger turned restaurant owner?
Looks like some serious pie noshing indeed! Glad you enjoyed your trip to the grand Pac NW!
Oooh, very nice eating in Seattle! Love the desserts – you’re right, they do seem very Orangette!
Sarah – She’s definitely the only “famous” blogger that’s gotten into the restaurant game that I know of. However, I’ve come to realize that there are A LOT of food bloggers in this world, so there must be a few more out there!
This whole post made me smile! You know how I feel about Orangette. 🙂 And pizza. So proud of you for taking down 7 slices! That’s D takes a B style.
I was so bummed I missed her when she was here for the book tour part deux. Thanks for the post! Been wondering how her restaurant looks ever since she wrote about it 🙂
oh my, this place seems so quaint! i didn’t have a reason to go to seattle, but now i might!
Brandon and I are so happy that you enjoyed your dinner at Delancey. Your post made our day. Thank you!
P.S. Glad you liked the frisee salad! So simple, but one of my absolute favorites.
I’ve wanted to go to Delancey since it opened! Hopefully I’ll get the chance one day. Word on the street is that Chris Bianco is no longer manning the oven at Pizzeria Bianco. Sad day.
I used to go to Seattle every year for work… BUT, this year they decided to stop sending us there. This post has definitely made my disappointment turn into borderline depression! The food looks ridiculously delicious!
swoon! when i read on orangette that they were opening a restaurant, i kinda crumpled into nothingness. some day i will get to eat there, and some day i will get to own my own restaurant 🙂
I never knew there were so many good pizza places in Seattle. WTF was I eating on my trip??
I came across your blog while researching restaurants for my trip to Seattle in a few weeks. A lot of the places you went are on my list, especially Delancey 🙂 It was fun (and helpful!) to look at your pictures and read your reviews!
And as for other bloggers with restaurants, I only know of one: Brett Emerson of “In Praise of Sardines.” The main difference between Molly & Brandon and Brett is that Brett was a professional cook/chef before he started blogging. In any case, he blogged all about the process of opening his restaurant Contigo in San Francisco. (And then stopped updating his blog now that he’s so busy with the restaurant.) If you ever find yourself in SF, you should try to get to Contigo. It seems to have the same sort of sensibility as Delancey, but with a Catalan tapas slant. My husband and I live a mile away, so we go there every couple months or so.
We are getting ready to relocate to the Seattle area and my mouth is watering as I read all your restaurant reviews and bookmark them to try when we get there! Thank you!
I’m so sad I missed you when you were in Seattle! The food here is amazing and I’m excited for Pantry… let me know next time you’re in town – I’m more than happy to host!