Getting a Year Older and Partying in Capitol Hill: La Spiga and Barca

Lucky for me my birthday fell on a Friday this year. Our new favorite Seattle neighborhood to frequent recently has been Capitol Hill. Not sure what took us so long to rediscover this cool area, but we've been going back more and more. They have great bars, interesting people, and some of the best food in the whole city. Also until last week, it was only a 5 minute cab ride away from my office.

With our upcoming Mediterranean Cruise quickly approaching, I've been craving Italian food and took down some recommendations for Italian restaurants in Capitol Hill. We ultimately landed on a great recco in La Spiga.

We really enjoyed the open atmosphere that welcomed us at La Spiga. Hole in the wall types of places are great, but sometimes a little stressful because of the need for reservations (if they take them), long waits, and a crammed in atmosphere. La Spiga was pretty laid back and they even had a "living room" type of layout as the waiting area for people to relax with a glass of wine.

Unfortunately by the time I was able to put up this blog post, the seasonal menu had been taken down, so I'll have to go completely off of memory. If I remember correctly this was a kurobuta pork belly that was fork cutting tender with truffle oil.

Emi and I shared our main courses. Emi went with the melt in your mouth, soft Gnocchetti di Ricotta alla Norcina. The handmade Ricotta gnocchi was combined with sausage, truffle, and cream. This was amazing, something I highly recommend and a dish we'll have to return to enjoy.

I went with the braised pork shank served with grilled polenta. Just the hearty, filling meal I needed as a base for a long night of drinking with friends.

Emi made me lemon bar cupcakes, she knew that lemon bars are my favorites, so why not combine them with cupcakes. They were delicious and I enjoyed the mini lemon bars that were placed right on top of the cupcakes.

Thank you again everyone who made it out to Barca to celebrate with us. We had such a good time that we're planning another event there for a friend who is coming back to Seattle this weekend. We're looking forward to another fun weekend in Capitol Hill.

- Kyle