The Pink Door

Once again, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, on impulse, I hopped on the bus and went into Seattle for lunch. I hadn't been to The Pink Door for years, I figured Seattle Restaurant Week was as good a time as any to try the place again.

The Pink Door is located in the Post Alley. There is no visible sign of the name. It could be a little difficult to find especially when the metal pink door was open hence not in the plain view from the street. Just like me, everyone was allured outside today, so there was a sign to tell the customers to follow down the stairs, through the empty restaurant and walk out to the patio. This made things even more confusing for me. But when I finally sat down and bathed in the warm sunshine, it was all worth it. The decor on the patio was very rustic, with the wire garden chairs and tables covered with vinyl tablecloth. The water was served in ice-cold metallic tumblers, unfortunately this left a metallic taste in the water.

For starters, I had the Gnocchi alla Romana, the roman style gnocchi in gorgonzola cream, accompanied by sauteed spinach and toasted American black walnuts. Just like the minimalist style of the patio, the plating was a little lacking. The gnocchi was much bigger than I expected. The sauce was, while very creamy, a little bland. The spinach and walnut didn't complement the dish at all. The spinach lacked seasoning, tasted as if it was blanched. A little more seasoning or a baby spinach salad would probably cut through the cream much better.

I don't normally like lasagna, but I like tuna salad even less. And after all the mussels and clams I had last night at Trellis, I didn't want more shellfish. So I thought maybe the Lasagna Pink Door would change my opinion of lasagna. It was made with fresh spinach pasta, layered with besciamella, pesto and topped with marinara. My personal sized lasagna was baked and served in a little oval dish. The pasta was tender, and so thin that with even six layers, it was still less than an inch tall. Alternated with the creamy sauce, the natural sweetness came out in such as surprising way, I must say I enjoyed this version, so much that I finished the whole dish even though I planned to eat only half.

My meal ended with a Caramelized Red Wine Pear Tart with a scoop of Lavender Gelato. The tart was not overly sweet, nicely stewed pear on top of buttery tart shell. It was superb. The gelato was so fragrant it felt like I was indulging the essence of lavender.

I walked out of the restaurant so pleased of the discovery that lasagna didn't have to made out of doughy thick pasta ladened with heavy and plain meat sauce. What an unexpected attainment!

Pink Door
1919 Post Aly, Seattle, WA 98101
(206)443-3241