Seattle family travel rule No. 7: Go out for pizza

A tale of two pizzas: Dining out at Tutta Bella and Serious Pie

My husband's cousin lives in Seattle with her kids and she recommended two pizza places for dinner: Tutta Bella and Serious Pie. We tried both and liked them both but for entirely different reasons. Here's the lowdown.

Tutta Bella

Tutta Bella pulls authentic Neopolitan pizza from its brick oven.

Tutta Bella dishes up fresh, plentiful salads and chewy, charred thin-crust pizzas. You can start with a plate of brushetta and order a nice glass of pinot grigio. This is a place that will please adults palate but it's also kid friendly. Children can order the margherita pizza (cheese and a little basil) and choose a flavor from the gelato bar. There's also a spacious outdoor patio where families can sneak away and not be overly concerned about bothering fellow diners. We felt entirely comfortable and welcome dining here with our baby and two older kids. We could easily walk to the Westlake location from our hotel, the Best Western Plus Executive Inn.

Serious Pie

Potato pizza, anyone?

With 10 restaurants, his own radio show and farm, Tom Douglas is Seattle's James Beard Award–winning celebrity chef. I wouldn't push a stroller through the door of most of his places such as Dahlia Lounge and Lola. But your well-behaved kids and sleeping babies will be warmly welcomed at his downtown gourmet pizzeria where pies come topped with unusual ingredients such as kale, potatoes and homemade fennel sausage. My kids especially liked the root beer floats and I enjoyed the best slice of coconut cream pie I've ever tasted. But be prepared to wait. We couldn't even get in on Friday night and we waited two hours (went to the top of the Space Needle and down) on Saturday. Was it worth it? My daughter would tell you, definitely yes, for the rootbeer float.