The Rest of the Best
40 of the city's top restaurants.
The Herbfarm
Northwest It’s the pull-out-all-the-stops, Big Night Out dining room in the state, maybe in three states—and, unlikely of unlikelies, it’s also pretty close to culinarily flawless. Its genesis is the stuff of legend; a couple of humble Fall City gardeners with extra chives began selling their bounty out of a roadside cart, then a small retail shop, where they began turning the herbs into festive lunches, then multicourse dinners. Before long, the charming country restaurant had earned a regional reputation for nine-course feasts built upon a theme—Copper River salmon perhaps in late spring, truffles midwinter. A potentially jarring chef turnover in the winter of 2007–08 left fans a little anxious—until they discovered the prodigious talents of the nationally renowned superstar Keith Luce. Like his predecessor Luce combs the wilds and the deeps for the freshest seasonal components, then ingeniously combines them into the sorts of preparations that make bold new sense of Northwest plenty. Reservations essential. Take Woodinville Redmond Rd. 14590 NE 145th St, Woodinville, 425-485-5300; theherbfarm.com. Dinners only Thu–Sun (some exceptions).
How to Cook a Wolf
Italian It’s Ethan Stowell’s (Union, Tavolàta) lowest-ticket restaurant yet: a tiny neighborhood pocket on the top of Queen Anne whose barrel-vaulted ceiling and coppery light imparts a sense of a glowing hearth. The name honors M. F. K. Fisher’s 1942 paean to eating simply; a fitting benediction for a restaurant that celebrates small plates and uncomplicated pastas shimmering with earthy precision. Thick slices of blush-perfect duck fanned across a plate with beets and mandarin oranges is about as wacky as Wolf’s kitchen gets; the rule is more like a plate of orecchiette pasta with cauliflower, screaming with garlic and anchovies; or rolls of trofie pasta, intensely brightened with parsley-walnut pesto. Service hits the sweet spot of low-key hospitality—a reality abetted by Wolf’s no-reservations policy. Annoying, yes—especially when you’re waiting an hour and a half for a weekend table—but no one can argue with the laid-back sensation that prevails once you’ve got it. 2208 Queen Anne Ave N at W Boston St, Queen Anne, 206-838-8090; howtocookawolf.com.
Joule
Global/Korean Some pretty thrilling gastronomy issues from the theater kitchen of this unassuming Wallingford storefront, thanks to a pair of married chefs who also like to marry cuisines. Eastern and Western cuisines, that is: as when they sneak juicy pickled grapes into a plate of roasted carrots, or unexpectedly accent kalamata olive gnocchi with Gruyère and pickled red pepper. Pickling is Joule’s calling card, followed closely by the fermentation process used to make kimchi, and it opens the usual Western flavor palette into a whole new spectrum of intriguing sours. Prices on food and wine are affordable; dishes are à la carte. Needless to say this much culinary intrigue isn’t for everyone—including anyone who wants to spend dinner focused on something other than the fascinations of their dinner—and more guidance from the waitstaff would be useful in navigating the menu’s lesser charted waters. 1913 N 45th St at Burke Ave N, Wallingford, 206-632-1913; joulerestaurant.com.
La Carta de Oaxaca
Mexican The brick walls of old Ballard meet the terra-cotta tiles of old Mexico in the single most teeming, table-turning, earsplitting, salsa-sloshing sensation in town. While you’re waiting for your table—it’s not a matter of if in this reservation-free zone—thank the Dominguez family, who emigrated from Oaxaca and brought their home-cooking matriarch with them. There she is now, behind the salsa bar, making mole in the open kitchen. It’s a lush, sweeter-than-standard rendition and an intricate complement to the pork and tortillas in the Number 18. Another stunner is the entomatada plate, in which marinated paper-thin strips of grilled beef arrive with folded corn tortillas in one of the finest tomatillo sauces north of the border. From the wall of arty light-box photographs to the SRO bar in back, the place couldn’t be more Ballard—which renders its deeply authentic food and dirt-cheap down-to-earth humor all the more revelatory. 5431 Ballard Ave NW between 22nd Ave NW and NW Market St, Ballard, 206-782-8722; lacartadeoaxaca.com. Closed Sun.
Lampreia
Modern European No chef in town is as obsessed with or as finely skilled in showcasing the perfect ingredient as impresario artiste Scott Carsberg: a rare vinegar, a single variety of prawn, a distinctively tart apple, distilled to its essence, then offset brilliantly, with the kind of minimalist refinement usually reserved for the walls of art museums. The result is one of Seattle’s world-class restaurants, a sleekly classy Belltown establishment starring plates of intense and soaring intelligence and truly new experiences of flavor—much of which you can read about in prurient detail on ecstatic foodie blogs—along with “artistic” portions and, at times, temple-of-haute-cuisine attitude. 2400 First Ave between Battery and Wall Sts, Belltown, 206-443-3301; lampreiarestaurant.com. Closed Sun & Mon.
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