After a quick re-do of the small restaurant’s interior, the new owners of the charmingly named the Fat Hen set up shop in the former A Caprice Kitchen space in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The horribly named former restaurant was a bit quirky and rustic, an interesting and comfortable space not especially known for a stellar menu. Things have changed. 
The Fat Hen recently took up roost in Ballard. — Photo courtesy of The Fat HenKitschy minimalism is now the theme of the décor, with exposed beams overhead, wainscoting, a bookshelf and news rack with reading material, a small pastry case, simple marble tabletops, and a counter and stools near big windows up front. The understated interior is just interesting enough, leaving the focus on the food. When Linnea Gallo and her Italian-born husband Massimo recently took over, it was his menu of simply prepared, fresh Italian dishes (with French in the mix) that immediately caught on at this already popular neighborhood café. The bistro-café hybrid serves breakfast and lunch during the week, brunch on weekends, and dinner on Friday nights. Old-school café culture gets a comeback with the Bialetti stovetop espresso makers lined up behind the counter, but plan on a 15-minute wait for the preciously prepared brew. As you’d expect at a breakfast place with an Italian cook, one of the standout dishes from the kitchen is eggs “in carrozza,” eggs Benedict with prosciutto, catto, and scamorza in hollandaise on a house-made English muffin. Yum.
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The Fat Hen Brings Italian Flair to Breakfast in Ballard
About John Ferri
A native of Tacoma, Washington - Seattle’s smaller sibling to the south - journalist John Ferri has lived everywhere in and around the Pacific Northwest. He started college in Bellingham, lived in the San Juan Islands, and finished college in Pullman, Washington, before living and working for a time in Spokane. He then moved to Florida, where he lived and worked in Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale before returning to the Puget Sound area. When not working full time as a writer and editor, including stints for The Tama Tribune and New Times, John spent years in the hospitality industry as a fine-dining restaurant server and manager. He counts himself lucky to have worked under some of the most awarded (and even celebrity) chefs and sommeliers in the entire Pacific Northwest. Although he never obtained his certificate through testing, John has studied wines extensively. And as a former home brewer, he's a student of craft beer and is immersed in the region’s industry-leading microbrewery movement. Having grown up amid the natural wonders of the Seattle area, John is an accomplished hiker. Another result of a Northwest rearing is his penchant for strong, dark-roast coffee, which he slavishly grinds and brews at home or enjoys at any Internet café that has great espresso. You'll only find him there, however, when he’s not in search of the next best deli, wine bar, hiking trail, book shop or brewery . . . or revisiting an old favorite.
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