Nearly everyone in the Pacific Northwest is privy to wild blackberries. They grow on the side of roads and up hillsides begging to be picked during the late summer months. A few years ago, we got to thinking about featuring them on our menu as a sorbet. What better way to savor the last weeks of the summer than with a scoop of refreshing blackberry sorbet made from local berries?

We asked Maria at Gelatiamo to develop the sorbet to accentuate these flavors. Hesitant at first to stray from traditional Italian gelato flavors, she gave it a try. It turned out fantastic and the sorbet was a huge hit! The berries Gelatiamo uses are locally grown by the Sakuma Brothers in Burlington. They are delicious and produce a perfectly rich dairy-free sorbet.

We consider our seasonal pizzas our babies.  As such, their start dates can be just as much of a moving target as due dates.  We always hope to begin delivering seasonal pizzas by a certain calendar date, but sometimes Mother Nature has her own plans.  We recently experienced this with Walla Walla Sweet Onions.

This cool summer weather foiled our plans to start our popular Crostata when we wanted to.  Despite valiant efforts on the part of the grower, Walla Walla Gardeners, the famous onion just wasn’t ready to come out of the ground.

While waiting for them we tried those old wives tales to induce delivery.  Caster oil.  Herbs.  Walking a lot.  Nothing worked.  We had to patiently wait for the onions to arrive in their own sweet time.  When they finally did arrive, we pulled out our “It’s a Walla Walla” cigars and rejoiced.

While we’re up and running with the Crostata now, our experience reminds us that our seasonal pizza start dates are at the mercy of the crop we are trying to promote.  And much to the dismay of customers and crew, our seasonal start dates must continue to be vague.

While we welcome long rain streaks that are great for the pizza business, the flip side is availability of quality local products.  This recent cold wet weather has impacted the asparagus crop.  We usually receive all of our asparagus supply from our friends at Kinsey Farms in Sunnyside, Washington.  Due to this unexpected cool, wet weather, there’s been a shortage of the pencil size asparagus we like to use on our pies and we’ve been supplementing with asparagus from a number of growers this season.

In addition to impacting the asparagus crop, the weather is also taking a toll on Walla Walla Sweet Onions.  We plan to begin our popular Crostata next Thursday and are unsure the first crop of Walla Walla Sweets will arrive in time.   Don’t worry Crostata lovers, we won’t short the run of the pie.  We love caramelized onions and gorgonzola as much as you do.  We just have to work our seasonal calendar around Mother Nature.

Heirloom tomatoes are a unique fruit (yes, tomatoes are a fruit!). Unlike regular tomatoes, they can grow directly from the seed of a previous tomato fruit, hence the name heirloom. Similar to family heirlooms that get passed from generation to generation, so do heirloom tomato seeds. Heirlooms can be difficult to grow for profit because they take longer to bear fruit and have lower yields than regular tomatoes. But what’s important is the end result ― heirloom tomatoes are known for their wild colors, bursting juiciness and folkloric appellations!

It is easy to forget that not all ripe tomatoes are red. In fact, heirloom tomatoes can come in a multitude of colors including red, pink, orange, black, purple, brown, white and green. Some of the names given to these exceptional fruits are truly out-there. With names like Burgess Mammoth Wonder, Green Zebra, Bloody Butcher or Chocolate Stripes, heirlooms make Hothouse and Roma the tomato version of Smith or Jones.

Don’t be fooled by these peculiar names though, each unique tomato has a sweet, earthy and distinct tomato-esque flavor. Try out our latest pizza featuring a variety of diverse heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms top our Original cheese pizza after baking along with fresh basil and sea salt. The Heirloom Tomato Pie is available through August 4th.

If you really want to see how crazy heirloom tomatoes can get, just head down to your neighborhood farmers market. There has got to be at least one stand with a Burgess Mammoth Wonder pushing twenty ounces!

The Loki fishing vessel.

This year both Pagliacci and Loki Fish Company are celebrating thirty years of business in Seattle!

In 1979 Pagliacci sold its first slice on The Ave in the University District. Meanwhile, off the coast of British Columbia in the Clarence Straight, local fisherman Peter Knutson was bringing in his first harvest of wild caught salmon for his new business, Loki Fish Company.

From the beginning, Loki Fish Company has promoted sustainability and a hands-on approach to their family operation. Salmon caught aboard their two boats, the Njord and the Loki, are gillnet-caught to reduce the number of non-targeted species caught in their nets. As soon as the fish is brought on board, it’s cleaned and stowed in a refrigerated sea water hold for freshness until it arrives for sale. Loki salmon is sold directly to the customer at a variety of Seattle farmers markets or right off the boat at Fisherman’s Terminal.

Loki at local farmers markets.

Another way to enjoy the bounty of Loki Fish Company is to try it on our latest seasonal pizza. We’re all about using fresh local ingredients, which is why we proudly feature Loki fresh caught and smoked Coho Salmon on our Salmon Primo ― this batch of Coho was caught in the first weekend of July from the same straight that the Knutson family began fishing three decades ago!

Peter and his son Jonah are up in Alaska running the straight right now for the next harvest but luckily Peter’s second son Dylan was around to tell us about the latest catch. On July 25th, look for Loki’s special deal on fresh halibut and rockfish at all of their farmers market stands!

Sometime in the late 1800’s, a French soldier from Corsica immigrated to Walla Walla with a seed that centuries later would end up at your door step a top our seasonal Crostata pizza. Peter Pieri brought this winter resilient Italian seed to the agriculturally rich soils of Walla Walla for fertilization. Pieri and the Italian immigrants in the area cultivated the tradition of harvesting Walla Walla Sweet Onions.

The onions are planted in September or October where they remain dormant through the winter coming to fruition around June and continuing to sprout until mid-September, sometimes even into October. Farmers generally yield about 32,500 pounds of Walla Walla sweets per acre every year. With over 40 growers cultivating on nearly 1,200 acres Walla Walla sweets are one of Washington State’s most profitable crops.

As famous as the crop is, we still like promoting it with a sweet deal as a free pizza topping! In addition we feature the onions on our Crostata pizza, caramelized in all of their glorified sweetness!

Did you know that Washington State grows about 53 million pounds of asparagus each year? Eastern Washington’s mineral-rich volcanic soil, hot days and cool nights are the perfect growing conditions for this healthy and tasty vegetable.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about asparagus is not its unique flavor, but the way it actually grows. Before harvest, the plant has to mature for three years. Once fully grown, it can be harvested daily for up to three months. This is possible because asparagus grows extremely fast ― up to 7” a day in high temperatures!

Asparagus is currently in the height of its season. We feature the spears on our Asparagus Primo, Prosciutto Asparagus Combo and as a pizza topping to combine with your other favorite ingredients. Available through June 16.