Opening soon

There's a bunch of new lunch spots opening around here. Here's a quick roundup of places soon to be on my to-do list:

The Halal Guys: I'd mentioned their new spot on Yesler last month, but Eater.com reports that they're expecting to open on August 11. Expect Il Corvo-length lines at their first northwest location, warns Eater. The long-time gyro slingers at Main Street Gyros may have a tough time with this competition. 101 Yesler Way.

I Heart Sushi: Just this side of Halal Guys, signs are up for I Heart Sushi. It looks to be a counter-service place, nothing like I Love Sushi at South Lake Union. There's not much out there about this place. I smell confusion. 111 Yesler Way

Cheese Meats Bread: Remember how I went looking for a good grilled cheese sandwich at Beechers, was disappointed, and then found a splendid one at the Great Northwest Soup Company? A new challenger approaches. SeattleMet.com reports that Cheese Meats Bread features unusually hipster ingredients for grilled cheese: think pork belly, sriracha tuna, and onion marmalade. No, not on the same sandwich. That'd be nasty. It opened at Uwajimaya last Friday. 604 5th Ave. S.

Great State Burger: A block away, Great State Burger has opened in The Publix building. It's owned by the same folks who own Quality Athletics, but I won't hold that against them. They've got two other locations, with a third in Safeco Field and a fourth on its way to 3rd & Spring, so they must be doing something right. Their web site evokes the feeling of a classic burgers-and-fries joint. Alert the Fonz. 504 5th Ave. S.

From Dough Zone's Facebook Page

Dough Zone: With a sandwich shop and a burger joint coming to the International District, internet chatter is of neighborhood gentrification. I won't take sides in this battle, but will say I'm looking forward to Dough Zone arriving next to Great State Burger later this year. SeattleMet.com raves about the dumplings at its other four locations (Bellevue, Bellevue, Renton, and Issaquah). Eater.com makes the bold, unsourced claim that the dumplings here are better than Michelin star-winning Din Tai Fung. I'll believe it when I eat it. 510 5th Ave. S.

RPM Pizza and Records: It opened two weeks ago (see my review from last week). It was so good, I ate there again today. In a rush at 12:30 to get to a 1:00 meeting, I tried to grab a slice of pepperoni to go. No can do, bro. Pepperoni wouldn't be ready for a few more minutes. I grabbed a veggie slice instead. The crust was a little tougher than last time, but that's not enough to knock it off of the throne of best pizza near Pioneer Square. And it's veggie, so you know it's good for you. 240 2nd Ave. S.

July 12: RPM Pizza and Records

[Edit, March 5, 2018: It's re-open!]

[Closed - December 3, 2017]

This place snuck in under my radar, but I spotted a story from SeattleMet.com earlier this week: RPM Pizza opened on July 6. "Short for Revolution Pizza Music, [Harvey Ward] Van Allen—part of the crew behind other Pioneer Square outposts Altstadt and Casco Antiguo—is bringing exactly that: 'The concept is pizza and records first and foremost...and beer and wine.'"

I've said in the past that tough to decide on the best nearby pizza: Pizza Professionals and Post Alley Pizza are both very good. But it's not a tough decision anymore. RPM Pizza has them beat.

It's located in the former Il Corvo Pasta Studio space, between Good Bar and Flatstick Pub, so close I could probably lean out of my office window and catch a whiff of the dough. Upon entering, there's a sign indicating that you can either order at the counter or grab a seat for table service. I parked myself at a table, looked over the menu, and went simple: a slice of pepperoni and a cola. While I was waiting, I watched the cook deftly spin a pizza crust, I glanced at the shelf of vinyl records for sale, and, multiple times, I mistook the waitstaff who were punching orders into the system as DJs preparing to drop sick beats. The music is loud, but not offensively so.

The "slice" arrived, and it was easy to see why the price is slightly higher than Pizza Pros and Post Alley: it's a quarter pizza. And it's practically perfect. RPM uses smaller pepperoni which curls up when cooked, making each little disk into a tiny boat holding a tidepool of grease. The proper way to deal with the grease is to sprinkle grated parm into each pepperoni-pool, soaking it up and adding to the perfection. Done.

The crust that was previously spinning behind the counter comes out of the oven crispy and thin, not like a floppy New York slice nor a noodle-less Chicago lasagna slice. As I devoured it, at no time did the cheese slide off, threatening my chin or shirt and leaving a cheese-less bite on the slice. I don't know how to ensure proper cheese adhesion, especially when the layer of sauce felt a little thicker than I expected, but RPM did it magically well.

Sodas come from Boylan Soda (New York), and at $4, are more expensive than the $3 PBRs. So hipster. Service was quick and attentive. It seemed busy and a little on the crowded side. And as more people find out about it, there could be quite a wait for a seat and a slice.

Best pizza in Seattle? I don't know. Best pizza in Pioneer Square? Absolutely yes.

RPM Pizza and Records
240 2nd Ave. S.
Pepperoni slice, Boylan cola, $12.46

July 7: Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack and Watering Hole

It's the first Friday in a while where Ryan (the master of the Weyer's lunch map) and I have both been in the office, so we took a trip down the road to Georgetown Brewing, where we each picked up a growler for the weekend. For lunch, we headed a few blocks west to Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack and Watering Hole. Ryan had been there before with another co-worker; this was my first visit.

On-street parking was plentiful. If I had to get there without a ride, I'd probably end up using Uber ($10 each way before discount) or Car2Go ($16/hour). No buses run along 1st Avenue down there, so public transit would require riding through some of the more sketchy areas along 4th and hoofing it over a few blocks.

We grabbed a table inside; the picnic tables on the lawn outside were nearly full. The owners of the three motorcycles parked out front were in place at the bar; a few other groups were scattered around the place. Pretty good crowd, really, but not crowded. The record player needle didn't scratch to a halt when we entered, so that's a good sign.

The tattooed waitress took our drink orders quickly, while I skimmed through the menu. I decided on the Texas Red chili over jalapeno mac 'n cheese, with a side of cornbread. Ryan decided on a "Kobe" beef hot dog. Those scare quotes are mine, not Slim's, as it's really a mis-advertised American-style Kobe beef. It'd be a shame to cook true Kobe beef into a hot dog.

We chatted a bit about how this place would be ruined if hipsters discovered it, well aware of the irony that we'd be the hipsters, if only we were 20 years younger, tolerated PBR, and had a hankering for facial hair. Judging from some of the photos on Slim's web site, maybe it's already turned and we're just the lunch crowd.

The food arrived quickly and I dug in. My first impression of my first bite was "this chili is pure, standard, regular ol' chili." Not overpowering, nothing fancy, nothing remarkable, nothing offensive. Later bites elevated my opinion slightly: it's much better than you'd get out of a can. If there's a Platonic ideal of chili, this is pretty close. Ground beef, spices, tomato base, and that's about it, perfectly executed. The small bit of jalapeno mac 'n cheese was buried underneath, hard to actually find in the mix. The cheddar cheese on top was stringy and gooey, messing up my chin more than a few times. Cornbread was served with a honey butter; the mini-loaf wasn't a crumbly as I expected, but good nonetheless.

Ryan said his hot dog was a definite fork-and-knife job, despite the sideways looks he might have received from tough-guy bikers for using silverware on a hot dog. It was so good, he said, "maybe I should have ordered two."

Service was perfect, with drink refills arriving before I realized I needed one, and plates being cleared as soon as we were done. The sound of a Harley pulling away made me realize that I needed to get back to work, too.

Slim's Last Chance
5606 1st Ave. S.
Texas Red chili, jalapeno mac 'n cheese, cornbread, Coke, around $19