Pizzutos

"There’s always an exception, and Pizzuto’s is that exception to Seattle Doesn’t Have Old-School Style Italian Restaurants. A homey, legacy mom-and-pop Italian restaurant that hits comfort food notes instead of special occasion dining flourish, it’s the very closest the city gets to having a stand-alone Italian restaurant that could tide over an East Coast transplant. First opened by Franco and Vince Pizzuto during the early ’80s in Rainier Valley, the restaurant was closed for a few years following their retirement, before being revived in the same building by the next generation of Pizzutos in 2004. The recipes have been the same since the original incarnation: Sausage is still made in-house and there’s veal Parmigiana, manicotti, and chicken cacciatore — all the classics that are hard to find in Seattle. None of it is fancy, but that’s the very point of this style. And you’re more likely to hear Billy Joel over the speakers at Pizzuto’s than Frank Sinatra, which is correct." - Mark DeJoy, Harry Cheadle