The Rest of the Best
40 of the city's top restaurants.
Dahlia Lounge
Northwest Remember when innovation took the form of a little garlic whipped into the butter, fusion was pineapple on a pizza, and all the whimsy you got was folded inside a fortune cookie? Dahlia Lounge changed all that. There, Tom Douglas’s unique brand of culinary effrontery was foreshadowed in its vermillion walls, gilt brocades, and paper lanterns. There, seafood wasn’t just served, it was revered: lush raw sashimi and ceviches, caramelly black cod, always a piece of perfect local salmon. There, the skilled irreverence in the kitchen made for the kind of brazen pairings that would later be called fusion—and helped pave the way for the recent upmarket embrace of doughnuts and cupcakes. (See Dahlia coconut cream pie.) Indeed, Douglas’s influence has been so pervasive in this town that you may wonder if Dahlia is a standout anymore. It is. Standards are still lofty, service still down-to-earth terrific, crowds—who lend this place a sensational urban buzz—still in mad pursuit. Check out the private room, seating up to 50. 2001 Fourth Ave between Lenora and Virginia Sts, Downtown, 206-682-4142; tomdouglas.com.
Dinette
European It’s a populated little dinner joint resembling a warm house party in someone’s funky first apartment—paper lanterns, festive colors, gold filigree embellishments on the walls, twinkling votives after dark—tucked into a storefront on Olive Way’s plunge into downtown. It’s populated for a reason. Plates of rustic European fare—perhaps handmade ricotta gnocchi with braised beef short-rib ragu, a beautifully proportioned roasted lamb and bread salad, or pan-seared scallops cleverly served over lemon risotto—are simple, affordable, and effortlessly elegant, particularly when noshed upon with something liquid off the well-chosen European-heavy list. (Cocktails, too!) But most fun is the toast, thick-cut Columbia City Bakery bread slathered with gloriously oiled toppings from halibut rillettes to eggplant caponata to a winning fig, anchovy, and walnut spread with arugula and prosciutto. Sure, it’s a carb shrine—why do you think so many people love it? 1514 E Olive Way between Denny Way and E Howell St, Capitol Hill, 206-328-2282; dinetteseattle.com. Closed Sun & Mon.
El Gaucho
Steak Waiters in tuxedos, diners in sequins, cigar smoke in the backroom lounge, a surf and turf plate for $106—this is Seattle? Yeah, dollface, and brought to you by a restaurateur who prizes the sheer theater of the dining experience. Truth be told, we still miss the original El Gaucho, the real-deal ’50s supper club that held down Seventh and Olive by the sheer weight of its patrons’ pinkie rings, but a straight shot of retro has been injected into this sprawling Belltown homage—from the banquettes to the pianist, from the showy tableside preparations (including a flaming bananas Foster) to the candlelight-only shimmer of what has to be the darkest dinner house in town. The result is a showstopper if you want to impress a date, a variable performer foodwise (stick with the beef), a sensational place to tipple (there’s even an inn upstairs)—in short, an unabashed celebration of all legal forms of adult indulgence. A newer location lights up downtown Bellevue. 2505 First Ave at Wall St, Belltown, 206-728-1337. City Center Plaza, 555 110th Ave NE (entrance at 108th Ave & Fourth St), Bellevue, 425-455-2715; elgaucho.com.
Harvest Vine
Spanish / Small Plates The best tapas in Seattle come from behind the copper counter where Basque chefs assemble platitos of glistening octopus or veal tongue or smoked sturgeon, wedges of tortilla, crab-stuffed piquillo peppers, venison in pepper sauce, sumptuous garlic prawns, grilled anchovies—and on and, hiccup, on. Good luck snagging a seat at that bar. With a party of eight or more, however, you can reserve the newer downstairs txoko, or “little corner,” with its Old World open-beam construction and stone walls. A big communal table, plentifully lubricated, is the best way to enjoy tapas anyway. 2701 E Madison St at 27th Ave E, Madison Valley, 206-320-9771; harvestvine.com.
Published: October 2009
I opine that to receive the home loans from banks you ought to have a good reason. However, once I have received a college loan, just because I wanted to buy a bike.
Will you please email me the name of the seattle Dr that was voted best in the Oct 09 edition. Thanks