A melt-in-your-mouth treat to warm your belly and please your palate.

The Scoop: Volunteer Park Café has charmed Seattleites since 2007, when its doors first opened on North Capitol Hill. It didn’t take long for this cozy, vibrant eatery to become a neighborhood crowd-pleaser.The owners — Chef Heather Earnhardt and Chef Ericka Burke — have a passion for cooking with organic, local ingredients that can be seen in the menu, which is based on the latest, freshest seasonal offerings.

Crave Factor: Other than the flaky, delicious pastries baked fresh every morning, toasty sandwiches and colorful salads served up throughout the day and artisan pizzas and braised meats enjoyed by candlelight at night, a key reason to head on over to Volunteer Park Café this fall is for their new Pot of Gold ($12).

This festive dish effectively one-ups the traditional bread bowl as the café transforms one of the season’s most prominent stars — the pumpkin — into the perfect, edible vehicle for cheesy polenta. Did we mention it’s smothered in a creamy chanterelle mushroom sauce?

Fun Fact: Craving a break from your usual Sunday dinner routine? Volunteer Park Café launched Sunday Suppers last summer, and there are two more scheduled this year (Nov. 13 and Dec. 18.) For $30 per person, guests can enjoy a three-course, family-style gourmet meal prepared by the café’ Chefs Earnhardt and Burke. Reservations can be made online. 

Volunteer Park Café | 1501 17th Ave. E., Seattle | (206) 328-3155