Il Forno (Capitol Hill)
It’s hard to find; if you’re travelling from downtown one’s likely to drive right past it. Coming down off Capitol Hill, don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Il Forno is tucked into a wedge shaped building off Olive Way with only a sandwich board outside their door to announce their presence to the road. I was hoping this was because it was a hidden treasure, however, I was to find out differently.
Chef Boyardee, a name I’ve used too often in my reviews of Seattle pizza but, and perhaps this is my palate, an apt description. While I’ve used this moniker before to describe elements of a pizza, at Il Forno, it encompasses the whole of my Il Forno Original ($9.95). Let’s start with the crust; pale and anemic, it was more like thin bread dough without the compliment of crispiness. Nearly flavorless I can liken it only to those breadsticks you get at a national chain pizza place, only thinner. The sauce was the best part of the pie. While it tasted as though it came from a can it was at least spruced up with a bit of garlic flavor. As a matter of fact the distinct aroma of garlic wafted freely into the air as the pizza cooled gently on the wire rack that accompanied my table. As for the cheese, well, while it make look golden and delicious in the photos it quickly turned to rubber after a couple of bites. Fairly generic, and awfully greasy, it turned into yet another disappointment for my meal.
Let’s not rule out Il Forno just yet. After all, this was just one meal of one pizza; there were other menu items to be had. But don’t expect a return in the near future. With something as simple as a cheese pizza being such a disappointment I’m more than a bit gun-shy.
6 Comments so far
Came across this blog while looking for Italian food an pizza places. Cool blog. Good collection. Nice picture :)
Found another blog, Seattle-Schmeattle, listing a couple of interesting Italian restaurants.
http://seattle-schmeattle.blogspot.com/2007/01/cafe-bengodi.html
Wow… thanks for saving me the time on reviewing their pizza. I’ve passed them many times as well and shared your same idea… no sign… whole in the wall… it’s got to be good, right?
Even though it sounds like I’m in for a not-so-exciting meal I’ll give some of their other dishes a try.
As usual, excellent photos.
. : seattle foodster : .
www.seattlefoodster.com
Love the review! We weren’t fans either, but I thought it was just me…
While 90% of the goodies on your blog aren’t things I’d eat, being a wacky vegan and all, I still find it to be GREAT information!
And the photography is awesome too! (OK, except the sardines - eeep!)
I’m very visual - I would WAY rather see what the stuff looks like than read three glowing-but-wordy paragraphs about “saffron-infused pomegranate shrimp with a cognac shiitake reduction” and have to wonder what the HECK it really was…
Thanks, I’ll be back.
Hey RG…
Haven’t seen any updates on your site lately. I like taking a look at your reviews and mine to see where we matching up and fall short. Maybe we can do a dueling review one day?
let me know what you think.
seattle foodster
www.seattlefoodster.com
No new posts in ~5 months, so I take it this site is now dead?
Even though I run another seattle food blog I still like to check and see what RG is up to… however it seems that nothing has been written in awhile… if anyone wants some new reviews i have a few at www.seattlefoodster.com