Bill's Bread, Vashon, Washington

A friend on Facebook shared a link to video about a wood-fired bakery on Vashon Island in Washington State named Bill's Bread. The video link is here. Apparently Bill doesn't have a web site. I did find some information on a Manta page.

I also found an older blog post that mentioned Bill's Bread.

His story sounds like a real, down-to-earth guy who discovered his life's work making people's food lives a bit richer.

I'll have to see if I can meet him the next time I'm in Washington.

Adriatic Grill, Tacoma, Washington

What happens when you have find a restaurant that uses a wood-fired oven, but doesn't even let people know about it on its web site? You can only find out about it by chance.

Well, by chance, I saw a review of the Adriatic Grill, Tacoma, Washington in a Tacoma News Tribune on-line review. The review says in part:

Adriatic Grill resides within one of the toughest neighborhoods for upscale dining. I've tried convincing friends that a restaurant near the mall - yes, that mall - serves superb Kobe flat-iron steak, turns out pizza from a wood-fired oven, masters garlicky Bolognese with al dente chewy pull, and doses grilled peaches with sweetened balsamic for dessert.

I looked at the Asiatic Grill's web site, it doesn't say anything about a wood-fired oven. What a shame.

Washington Wood-Fired Businesses

I have put together a map of all the Washington State wood-fired businesses that I have found.

Many of these are restaurants or pizzerias with wood-fired ovens, but not all.

Many of them are in the Seattle area, but there is at least one on the Olympic Peninsula.

A couple (Alder Wood Bistro and Queen Margherita) I have actually eaten at. (Look for
the fieldreport tag.)

If you want to find the VPN-certified Neapolitan pizza places, you can find them listed on a VPN page.

Tutta Bella, Seattle, Washington

While visiting Seattle and eating at one wood-fired oven pizza place, my friends and local guides showed me a place they knew that I had not heard of, Tutta Bella.According to a small sign in the restaurant, Tutta Bella is the oldest VPN-certified pizza place in Washington. That seems to correspond to the certificate numbers on the VPN web page that I found.

They certainly use genuine Caputo flour.

It certainly is a wood-fired oven.

It looked like a nice place, and according to their web site and the VPN site, there are actually several Tutta Bella locations around the Seattle area.

They all seem to have their own Facebook pages, but this page was the one I visited.

Queen Margherita, Seattle, Washington Field Report

I had previously posted about a news item that led me to the home page for Queen Margherita in Seattle.

I actually had a chance to visit and try the place out.

Two old friends of mine took me to the wilds of the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle. We found a cozy storefront with a garage-style door and a nice sit-down space inside.

I chatted with one of the owners while we were waiting (just a short while) for our pizza. If I remember correctly, the oven was imported from Naples.

While they are not a VPN-certified pizza place, they do make pizzas in a similar style.

We ordered a couple of pizzas off of their pizza menu. I wasn't thinking about writing this report at the time, so I didn't happen to take pictures of the pizzas. I think we got the Queen Margherita and a pizza with white sauce instead of tomato sauce. Both were excellent.

I discovered they do have a Facebook community page.

This is a place I can highly recommend.

Alder Wood Bistro, Sequim, Washington Field Report

I had the opportunity to actually visit and try the Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim, WA.

They are actually located on Alder Street in Sequim. That puts it a few blocks north of the main street through town, so you probably would not find it by accident if you were just driving through Sequim.

Their restaurant opened about 5 years ago. Based on my limited experience, you would be well advised to make reservations.

I believe I read that the oven was built by one of Alan Scott's apprentices.

The inside of the oven is 4 feet by 6 feet. It seems to be a typical Scott barrel vault design.

We got their roasted vegetable pizza.

Their menu contains a lot more than wood-fired oven pizza.

In this case, I can recommend a visit.

Elanta Wood-Fired Bagel Cafe, Seattle, Washington

A Seattle food blog entry recounted a visit to Elanta Wood-Fired Bagel Cafe, Seattle, Washington.

The entry says in part, "The doors were unlocked and employees were busy hoisting long paddles of bagels in and out of the large wood oven."

Queen Margherita, Seattle, Washington

A mention of the Queen Margherita, Seattle, Washington, in the news blog, Magnolia Voice, has a picture of the oven and a quotation from an entry in Urban Spoon.

8/3/11: Discovered they have a Facebook community page.

Alder Wood Bistro, Sequim, Washington

The Alder Wood Bistro is a bistro with a wood-fired oven located in the small town of Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.

I have visited it, but not eaten there. (I found it after I had already eaten on the last day of my last visit to Sequim.)

Their home page says in part, "handcrafted wood-fired cuisine from the hearth of Sequim."

Pizzeria 22 and Inferno Catering, Seattle, Washington

A West Seattle blog interviewed the owner of a Seattle-based mobile oven business, Inferno Catering, about plans for his new business, Pizzeria 22, which will be West Seattle's first wood-fired pizzeria.