Oh, sweet-savory heaven.
There is a burning ring of fire on Capitol Hill and I hope it spreads. Yes, I’m talking about the warm, chewy-on-the-inside, wonderfully-seasoned-and-toasted-on-the-outside “Everything” bagel that I just fed to my taste buds.
This is a fact: Life is better with a warm “Everything” bagel in your tummy. And, no thanks to Dr. Atkins, I missed out on this pleasure for a few years. But not anymore. You see, I am making Eltana Wood Fired Bagel Café a frequent stop on my working-café route.
Only a minute from the Elysian Brewing Company on 12th and Pine, Eltana serves up the warmest, freshest, tastiest bagels this side of the Puget Sound – and this side goes a long way baby!
I’ll get to the coffee in a minute.
Let’s talk bagels.
Everything bagels. Sesame bagels. Poppy seed bagels. Ah, so many bagels… so few holes in my belt!
Whether you want your bagel with honey almond cream cheese, fig apricot spread, caramelized onion hummus or simply with butter, you’ll be in bagel heaven at Eltana. Sure, the bagels may be a little smaller than I’m used to, but it’s the quality that I’m after here.
First, Eltana bagels are boiled in honey water to give them a hint of caramel and sugar. Then, they are baked in wood fire, chich gives them a hint of smokiness and a look of authentic hand-made bagels. My favorite bagels come with Fava Bean Basil Spread or Pomegranate Berry Cream Cheese, when I’m up for some desert.
Seattle Coffee Roasted Locally
Eltana, a relatively new café on the hill (opened in late 2010), offers a hand-rolled artisanal bagel in a beautiful-yet-earthy and family friendly atmosphere. All served up by warm staff and baristas; this place is a keeper.
The Eltana café occupies a spacious corner of 12th Avenue with plenty of seating and lots of natural light. Their wall of fire wood behind the counter – used for feeding their oven just feet away – makes Eltana the perfect place to enjoy a bagel and a cup of Joe.
Speaking of Joe: (After all, what are bagels without great coffee?) Eltana serves up a pretty good short Americano using BioWilly’s Beans, a local Seattle micro-roaster who offers only organic beans that are sustainably grown.
No doubt, I get really excited when I hear about cafes supporting local – and particularly micro-roasted beans – for their coffee. I mean local is one thing, organic and sustainably produced with clean energy is another! Eltana gets it right with their coffee – the way coffee should be.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the people behind the people who are serving you your coffee. Roasting is an exceptional art form. So I hope to write more about roasters – what they do and how they do it – in the future.The coffee Eltana serves comes from BioWilly, an eco-entrepreneur and artisan roaster who delivers all-organic beans.
Tasty hand-rolled bagels, great micro-roasted coffee, warm and open atmosphere, and friendly baristas: who could ask for more? I just hope they never run out of wood.
Location: 1538 12th Avenue
Neighborhood: Capitol
Parking: Street, Paid
Espresso: $2.25
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