One of our favorite restaurants in Seattle has a kids’ section in the back. I know what you’re thinking, immediately: okay, I’m not going there. Usually, parents with small children are relegated to chain restaurants with large plastic castles filled with squealing children, or the golden arches and over-salted burgers and fries.
But going to Vios Cafe will change your mind about restaurants friendly to families. If you want to eat well, that is.
Vios Cafe is run by Thomas Soukakos, a vibrant Greek man with an impeccable sense of food and a son whom he adores. Although he once owned a far more upscale, fine-dining restaurant, Soukakos seems to enjoy the open relaxation of this cafe. He deliberately created a space where everyone can feel comfortable. Go in the middle of the afternoon to sit at a wide wooden table with a cup of hot coffee, a meze lunch plate full of wonderfully seasoned food, and feel the breeze come in through the open windows. Leave room for gelato or baklava.
We’re fond of everything at Vios — the gigantes beans marinated in orange-scented herbs , the burgers with tomato marmalade and pickled zucchini, and the octopus salad with roasted carrots and chickpeas. But last week, when we walked in, I knew what I was having, immediately.
Coriander-encrusted pork tenderloin, over braised greens with cumin tomatoes and a minted yogurt sauce.
How could you not love the sound of that?
The eating itself tasted better than the words. As you can see, it was a fairly small plate, just the right amount of bites to satisfy. The tenderloin was crusty on the outside, full with coriander, and tender inside, slightly pink still. The greens were heavy on the pepper — too heavy for my taste, says Danny — but the effect of braised greens (mustard, spinach, and kale) with tomatoes and cumin was enough to leave me wanting to make them at home. And yogurt sauce tastes fantastic on nearly everything.
Still, it would have been merely a pleasant dish without the pork skewer. With that lovely beauty sitting on top, this meal became entirely memorable.
We’re going to make it at home soon. How would you do it?
Vios now has two locations, the original, and another cafe in the middle of Third Place Books. (Good pork in the middle of a bookstore? Count us in.)
Vios Cafe
903 19th Ave East
Seattle, WA 98112
Phone: (206) 329-3236
life@vioscafe.com
Vios Cafe at Third Place Books
6504 20th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Phone: (206) 525-5701
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Just like that, but add some citrus. Mebbe some zest of some ilk. Then smoke it, or cook it indirectly with real wood!
xo