Praise for Gastropod, Chico Madrid, Madison Kitchen

The Stranger has eight reasons to love Gastropod, the brewpub inside Epic Ales in SODO. Number 7:

Gastropod is the least brewpubby brewpub ever. It doesn't have the bro-down feeling or the tedious food of a brewpub; it does have well-priced, weird, often great beer, mainly from its partner Epic Ales, but also from a handful of other Pacific Northwest breweries.

Bethany Jean Clement was rather blown away by a watermelon gazpacho served with roasted corn salsa, "It tasted like magic—cooling and savory-sweet, mimicking its tomato-based cousin but besting it by far."

Seattle Met's Kathryn Robinson gets a slice of Europe when she visits Chico Madrid:

Here is a sandwich shop that knew it couldn't succeed without perfect bread, which in this town points to Columbia City Bakery. Dense, chewy slices of its rustic campagne loaves form the lightly toasted bases for fat hunks of blue cheese drizzled with local honey and black pepper—like most of the dishes at Chico Madrid, a satisfying tease between savory and sweet.

She also has praise for the pastries of Franz Gilbertson, owner and pastry chef of Ballard's esteemed Honoré bakery, who is one of three partners of Chico Madrid:

Gilbertson's baked goods are few but flawless, especially the dense, orange-currant scones and the lemon–olive oil madeleines, little wrapped cakes whose crisp edges give way to supermoist interiors.

Allison Scheff over at Seattle Magazine heads to Madison Kitchen, which recently took over the old Park Place Deli space in Madison Park:

Here, neighbors stop in for coffee and a scone—one of the most tender in memory, with blueberries, lemon zest and a crunchy sugared exterior ($2.95)—or sit and stay for the unexpectedly good sandwiches, among them the roasted eggplant on Macrina sourdough with a seductive swath of basil aioli and roasted red peppers ($9.25).

Her only complaint: the sometimes standoffish service.

· Eight Reasons to Love Gastropod [The Stranger]
· Chico Madrid Olé [Seattle Met]
· Casual Fare at Madison Kitchen [Seattle Mag]
· Gastropod [Official Site]
· Chico Madrid [Official Site]