Talarico’s is tala-riffic!
By Ty Hughes
Talarico’s Pizzeria in the West Seattle Junction is very “junction-esque”. A real touch of class indeed. The dark wood interior is rich. Exposed vaulted ceilings and giant chandeliers cast a soft light over your private booth. One minute you’re just sitting there in your booth, candlelight flickering, enjoying the music and conversation, when POW! The server drops off a 28” wagon-wheel sized pizza delivered fresh to your table. You peer over the steaming vastness at your date, wide-eyed, suddenly wishing you had brought a few more friends along. No kidding, this pizza is handmade and absolutely ginormous! Talarico’s is famous for their pizza, and they sell it by the slice too! The Oglio D’Avio goat cheese pizza is my favorite!
Talarico-style karaoke dominates four nights weekly, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Smokey’s Karaoke is going on right now, every Thursday night at Talarico’s, and KJ Aaron, aka “Smokey” is the man in charge when it comes to the Thursday night entertainment. Trained under PJ the DJ and Tiger B., both legends in the biz and still working, Aaron is adept at running a quality show, referring to PJ as “Yoda”. He wears a lot of hats at Talarico’s. Not only does he run the karaoke show on Thursdays, but also waits tables, and helps out wherever he can. He’s got a good attitude and a lot of friends who like to karaoke, so it’s party-on!
We saw Nitro take the stage and light it up with In The White Room. The wireless mics are a huge hit here. Often times you can’t figure out who’s singing in the room, because they’re sitting at their table with friends, behind a mammoth pizza, or up at the bar, eyes turned toward the huge flatscreen above the bar with scrawling lyrics.
D. Rich busts out the harmonica and jams behind Smokey’s vocals, a great performance. Even better was when Smokey backed up D. Rock (a different guy altogether) for a Tricky rap song. The crowd was pumped up!
Katie, D. Rich’s fiancée, did Crazy while serenading him, and Eric ignited the audience again with his custom version of Simple Man.
Jacob sang Cracklin’ Rosie, Sylvia and Megan sang The Joker, and Talarico’s signature singer, Big Al, warbled his way into everyone’s heart with songs from another era.
The bar is in-the-round at Talarico’s allowing for optimum flow. Folks will sidle up to the bar on a stool, enjoy a slice and cool one, and watch the game above the bar. In the back, next to their big stage and dance floor, is a humongous wooden gazebo reportedly the original from Stephen King’s Red Rose blockbuster movie. Many prefer the quiet booths under the gazebo for catching up with good friends and family.
The whole family is welcome to enjoy Talarico’s up until 9pm, so bring the kids and show ‘em what real pizza is all about.
The karaoke system is set up a bit closer to the middle of the room, next to an awesome fire pit – popular on those frigid West Seattle nights.
Maria sings Fancy, Claire works at Talarico’s and sang ABBA’s Mama Mia very well. And Carly was down for a suicide song, but was spared when Like A Prayer flashed up on the screen.
Karaoke is a special experience at Talarico’s. Come one, come all. They feature karaoke four nights per week, including Sundays and Tuesdays with Matt Darling, Mondays with Ray Ray, and of course Thursdays with Smokey. Singing starts at 9:30pm and really picks up around 11. Rotation is typically around 12-15, so still plenty of opportunity to sing your songs. And just when you think it couldn’t get any better, the bar announces it’s Late Night Happy Hour starting at 11pm until 1am!
4718 California Ave. SW, Seattle 206-937-3463 www.talaricoswest.com.
