Hattie's Hat

Hidden in the Ballard district of Seattle is a wonderful restaurant and lounge called Hattie's Hat. As you walk into the door, the first thing you notice is the hand carved wooden bar that reaches to the ceiling. According to the website, it was carved in France and shipped to Seattle and installed in 1904.

The staff is very friendly and the environment is laid back. You seat yourself, grabbing a table or a place at the bar. The brunch menu contains the usual things such as Eggs Benedict, Biscuits and Gravy and Pancakes with Eggs.

The biscuits for the Biscuits and Gravy are large enough that one biscuit split in half covers the whole plate. You have your choice of white country gravy or the chicken gravy. I opted for the chicken gravy, with chunks of onion and a light spiciness, it complimented the large, fluffy buttermilk biscuit.

On my next visit, I tried the Chicken Fried Chicken and Eggs. Or as they call it, "the mother and child reunion". Although the humor was a little twisted on that one, I couldn't help myself. The Chicken breast was juicy, as I was able to cut it with a fork, and covered with the spicy chicken gravy. The hash browns still had the skins on them, being freshly made from real potatoes in the kitchen, instead of being dumped out of a bag into the pan. The reunion of the mother and the child was quite successful, as they both met in my stomach.

The crown jewel of the brunch menu is the Eggs Benedict. They are offered with your choice of ham, spinach/basil/garlic, or smoked salmon. The first bite of the Eggs Benedict was a wonderful mixture of creaminess from the hollandaise sauce, the salty flavor of the smoked salmon and the distinct flavor of the egg yolk. The English Muffin underneath was soaking up all those flavors together.

If you happen to be gluten intolerant, as my friend Wendy is, they will gladly make your Bennies without the muffin and throw some extra hash browns underneath the eggs for you.

I would recommend Hattie's Hat for anyone that would like to try something other than IHOP, Shari's or any other chain restaurant that can spit out heated up frozen food that tastes the same every time.