Restaurant Review: Nettletown

Sitting at the four-seat counter inside petite, robin’s-egg-blue Nettletown, which opened in the old Sitka and Spruce space in March, I had the urge to cancel my entire afternoon so I could sit sipping chef/owner Christina Choi’s homemade herbal tea and work my way through everything that sounded delicious on that day’s specials menu. Like bacon fried rice ($9), or a duck breast sandwich with pickled apples ($10) or a “big salad” with ramp-ginger vinaigrette ($10). I’d already ordered the Nettletown noodles with tofu ($9, or $11 with pork), a tempting (though overall bland) tangle of egg noodles, seasonal greens and veggies topped with slices of delicious tofu, and was hungry for more.

On a previous visit, I’d devoured a perfectly grilled sockeye salmon sandwich ($9), vibrant with Choi’s house-pickled veggies. Maybe an order of Choi’s expertly pickled asparagus ($3) to go will do the trick. And a rosemary shortbread cookie ($1.50) for kicks. The fried egg sandwich with house-made pickles ($6) is worth a brunch visit—but only if you’re in no hurry; the wait for food can be quite long.

Nettletown closed in August 2011. This review was originally published in August 2010