Seattle Press on Line - Three Squares

Three Squares

By Unknown Writer #5

Jun 13, 2001 -- Brunch on Pine Street

I am an old-school grunge-puppy from Ballard who still wears flannel and listens to loud, dark, damp music with big guitars. So understand me when I say I thought crepes were on the foofy side. But if necessity is the mother of invention, or at least discovery, on this day I would discover crepes.

When our original Pine Street target didn't pan out, we didn't feel like driving somewhere else, so we crossed the street to 611 Supreme crepe restaurant. Once my long-haired, Doc Marten's-wearing behind was in the door, I suddenly found myself completely at home. 611 Supreme has a relaxing, cozy atmosphere, welcoming to all. Immediately we were greeted with terrific service with a smile, and a big carafe of water.

The menu for breakfast is heavy on the sweet, with only a few savory choices. As we already felt sweet enough, we went for the savory on this day, though the menu is simply littered with intriguing options. We started off with the fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice--the pink variety--which was just plain perfect. Then we tried the Jambon, a crepe filled with sauteed herb butter, scallions, prosciutto, and Swiss cheese, and the Saumon-Chevre, a crepe filled with smoked salmon, scallions and chevre. The Jambon was intense, a little too so for my friend, though I quite enjoyed it and she certainly didn't have any leftovers. The Saumon-Chevre was wonderful. Too often smoked salmon over-powers the dish in question, but this salmon was perfectly married into the dish and we savored every bite.

So here's the thing, my Oly-drinkin', black T-shirt-wearing, friends who miss the days before the hype: crepes, at least from 611 Supreme, rool! Don't let the 15-minute wait for a table, or the 3-to-1 female-to-male ratio intimidate you. Think about it. The less surly gender isn't afraid to appear foofy. And I promise, you'll dig crepes, too.

611 Supreme, 611 E Pine St., 328-0292. Open for dinner 5 - 10ish p.m. Tuesday - Thursday and Sunday, and 5 p.m. - midnight Friday and Saturday. Open for brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Dinner in Fremont

If you find yourself at the Fremont Street Fair desperately looking for something--anything--recognizable from the good old days before Quadrant began to run amuck, never fear: Costas Opa is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, on the only corner of 34th and Fremont still intact. It continues to serve up consistent, affordable and enjoyable Greek delicacies with friendly service in a pleasant atmosphere, with a rare view of Waiting for the Interurban and America's busiest drawbridge.

We started our meal with something set on fire at tableside: Saganaki. "Opa!" (Who said that?) This wonderful fried Greek cheese comes with a warning: If anyone in your party is extremely shy, don't order it, because everyone in the place will look at you when you get it. We had to try a couple of soups, as the Greeks make some incredible ones. We sampled the Fakes (lentil soup) and the Avgolemono (a lemony chicken, egg and rice soup). Both were as wonderful to taste as they are to pronounce.

For the main course, we went with the Mediterranean Plate, an excellent way to sample a variety of flavors, and the Artichoke and Mushroom Linguine, a terrifically full-flavored vegetarian pasta dish that will please any palate. The Mediterranean Plate comes with roast lamb, which was flavorful, though a bit dry for my tastes; moussaka, a baked dish of eggplant, meat sauce and cheese that was a taste treat; dolmades, grape leaves wrapped around ground beef and lamb, wonderfully seasoned, and topped with a terrific avgolemono sauce; and spanakotyropeta, the classic fillo pastry filled with spinach, feta and egg--yum!

During their anniversary month of June, dessert is on Costas Opa! We enjoyed the incredibly sweet Galaktoboureko (what we used to call the Galactic Burrito) on this night, and ate what of it we could, as we were stuffed. We received an awful lot of food for not a lot of money, and then we were allowed to relax and enjoy our dinner, each other and the view, at our leisure.

Costas Opa, 3400 Fremont Ave. N, 633-4141. Open 7 days, 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat until 11pm.

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Kim Pearson	Jul 03, 2003	Seattle, WA	RN
We went to Costas for the first time last Friday.It was absolutely fabulous! The food was incredible-such a huge menu! I haven't seem so many selections on a Greek menu for a very long time. Here it is Thursday, and we're going back