Ballard

Another neighborhood I fell in love with in Seattle this time round was Ballard. My uncle took me and my mum for lunch there one afternoon and it was such a great area - serene, with a hint of activity behind the glassed windows of stores, restaurants, cafes... and I could just imagine the lights and bustle as night descends.

For lunch we went to this great restaurant called Volterra. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you're ever in the neighborhood! :) It's got a great selection of mainly casual Italian cuisine (pastas/sandwiches and the like) but at really decent prices. The portions were of a good size and all the dishes we ordered tasted great. Here's what we had: 1. Can't quite recall the exact name of this dish sadly and it doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore on their website! But it was basically mushroom and a huge slab of cheese. Since I'm not a fan of cheese, I can only say the Focaccia bread was yummy. Always a fan of that.  2. I think this was pasta with pork jowls and wild mushrooms. UMMZ. 3. Left: My mum and uncle. 
 Right: Dungeness Crab Ravioli! With actual crab meat! That should totally be a disclaimer for menus that offer anything crab. You know how sometimes they sneak in random crab sticks or just outright use that instead? Nothing of that sort in this dish! :) DELISH. It was probably my favorite out of the three. And seriously, there were soooo many more dishes that I wanted to try. How about some Pan Fried Duck Confit and Focaccia? Or Lamb Meat Balls with Roasted Spaghetti Squash? Sigh. Sometimes I just wish we could all eat as much as we wanted and not get full/fat. Ok not sometimes. All the time.  

Volterra 

5411 Ballard Ave Northwest 

Seattle Washington 98107 

Tel : 206 789 5100 

Quick sibling shot outside the restaurant.  Right: After a very filling lunch, we still stopped by for Gelato! Only a few doors down, it's called D'Ambrosio Gelato. Even though it was pretty chilly out, we still couldn't resist getting a double scoop of hazelnut and pistachio gelato and nursed it while we walked down the street window shopping. Not for long though. My mum and I ran into a shoe store within no time so my uncle ended up finishing the bulk of the gelato. So at least he had something to do while waiting for us. :) 

Happened to pass by a restaurant that was closed but I LOVE the way it's set up outside. Mind you, this was taken through a glass screen that covered the outer al fresco portion of the restaurant but already I can imagine how gorgeous it must be at night. And on a wilder more romantic thought, it's the sort of place I wouldn't mind having my future wedding reception at! :) Ahh, well I've been too taken in by Alice Gao's gorgeous wedding photography. I quite like the way someone decorated the grill outside their house. I'm pretty sure something so impeccably looking has to be maintained with great care by someone. Sigh, I have sort of realized that in the winter/early early Spring when it's still too cold for anything, the only piece of clothing that matters is your sweater and the outermost coat you put on. Everything else underneath can't be seem anyway. 
Anyway, can't wait to go back there one day. :) Another reason why I love that neighborhood is because of this great shoe store (the same one my mum and I ran into leaving my Uncle out there in the cold with the gelato) - re-souL. I bought a really nice pair of ankle boots! And I'm pretty sure had we walked around a little more we would have discovered tons more great spots to spend the rest of the afternoon at. MMM. BTW. LOOK CAREFULLY.