Seasonal Pizzas, New Salad, and a Whopper

What tops your list of reasons why you love summer? Picnics? Hiking? Being out on the water? Long days?  

Our list is long and includes all of those, but near the top of our list—maybe the very top—is the garden tomato. They thrive in the long, hot summer days and develop flavors unlike anything you’ll find at the supermarket. And their aroma! Take a deep whiff—that’s the quintessential smell of summer.  

Our favorite varieties are grown from heirloom seeds. Before the era of big farming and vegetables bred for long-haul transport, local farmers and home gardeners chose seeds from their very best tomatoes to replant for the following year. Since they weren’t shipping the tomatoes, but rather eating them off the vine and selling them locally, flavor and texture were essential. Heirloom tomatoes are often bumpy, vibrant in color, and come in a variety of interesting shapes. Most importantly, they’re bursting with flavor. 

Our Summer Heirloom Pizza features these fabulous tomatoes layered with fresh basil on mozzarella and our seasoned tomato sauce. A dash of sea salt finishes it off. Enjoy this quintessential summer treat while you can! 

And since we cannot get enough of heirloom tomatoes, we are featuring them in our Heirloom Caprese Salad—our take on the colorful Italian classic. We layer sliced heirloom tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil and finish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.  

Our second seasonal pizza features one of America’s best meatballs—as cited by Food and Wine Magazine. For a few weeks every year, Salumi, the legendary Pioneer Square salumeria and sandwich shop, makes us a bite-sized version of their famous Leonetta’s Meatballs—perfect for pizza. We pair them with pepperoncini, onions, sun-ripened tomatoes, asiago and mozzarella over our seasoned tomato sauce. 

Finally, should you be in the mood for something cool and sweet, one of our summertime favorites is back—Gelatiamo’s Whopper gelato. One of their most playful flavors, Gelatiamo translates the movie-theater treat into an Italian gelato that will give you a new appreciation for one of America’s classic candies. A vibrant malty base is studded with silky bits of chocolate and crunchy pieces of the eponymous candy. 

Enjoy!