Three Stars for Single Shot; Jack's BBQ Gets Brisket Right

Seattle's restaurant critics recently visited Single Shot, Jack's BBQ, and Pop Pop Thai Street Food.

Providence Cicero of The Seattle Times enjoyed the "sophisticated yet comfortable food" at Single Shot, giving it three stars for a job well done. She speaks glowingly of the oven-roasted meats, "sensational" black rice porridge, and crisp pork belly. But the dessert of buckwheat cake was "heavy" and "dull." Overall, Cicero says, "It’s in a pocket of Capitol Hill that’s a bit off the beaten path, yet I expect many will draw a bead on Single Shot more than once."

Allison Austin Scheff of Seattle magazine scoped out Jack's BBQ, much-talked about for its Texas-style brisket. The Georgetown spot scored high with Scheff, who says the stellar food is foretold by a "the sweet carnivorous perfume of smoke and meat" wafting through the parking lot. She describes the brisket as "moist, tender and yielding, with a ring of deep pink inside its salty crust." Pretty much everything else is great, too:

The big ol’ pork ribs ($16) here are meaty and extremely tasty, and the brined and smoked chicken ($14) is outstanding, too. (Order two meats, with all the fixin’s that come with the brisket, for $20.) The only letdowns are a few of the sides, which ranged from decent to pretty disappointing (the worst of which was the gritty mac and cheese), so you should opt for the coleslaw or ranch beans instead.

Angela Garbes of The Stranger visits Pop Pop Thai Street Food in Haller Lake. The unassuming spot has been open only four months, but Garbes is sold. From the "lovingly composed" papaya salad to the "extraordinary" grilled chicken, this hole-in-the-wall restaurant is worth the journey north on Aurora. Garbes does say she found the dishes a bit too sweet, but adds "the restaurant deserves a wider audience—diners who come for dinner and order the restaurant's harder-to-find specialties."