Best Restaurants 2006
Marjorie (closed)
2331 Second Ave, Belltown| 206-441-9842 www.trenchtownrocks.com
From the leafy cobbled courtyard outside to the twinkling gypsy caravan interior, Marjorie serves a whole world of global noshes within just the nomadic setting they warrant. Silken draperies flutter, the soundtrack pulses from the Maghreb to the Left Bank to the barrio, and a big world of Seattle diners press close to enjoy the lusty fare.
Order up! The fish specials can almost always be counted on, but the duck confit and the brioche pudding with bourbon–caramel sauce are the classics.
Prime time Inside, where the tables are close and the lights are low, during the dead of winter; outside on the breezy courtyard in the prime of summer.
Pssssst Marjorie’s worldly sophistication extends to a racially integrated crowd, a welcome sight one doesn’t encounter much in this town.
But… The place just sustained a chef change but we’re not too worried: Seasoned owner Donna Moodie knows how to pick ’em.
Monsoon
615 19th Ave E, Capitol Hill| 206-325-2111 www.monsoonseattle.com
Open seven years and still peerless. The Banh siblings’ radically innovative intertwining of the Vietnamese cuisine they grew up on with the Northwest ingredients they live amidst results in giddy extravagances of fragrance and flavor. A whole city concurs: the spare, elegant repurposed garage is charged with a vital urban energy almost every night.
Order up! Crispy drunken chicken; caramelized catfish clay pot with fresh coconut juice and Thai chilies
Prime time The city’s coolest weekend dim sum brunch has replaced weekday lunch, but don’t despair—midweek, midday drunken chicken cravings can be sated in sandwich form at Eric Banh’s Baguette Box (1203 Pine St, First Hill, 206-332-0220 www.baguettebox.com).
Pssssst No idea which wines go with Asian food? Monsoon’s wine list, 4,000–bottles strong and loaded with perfect pairings, will open your mind.
But… Overburdened servers can be s…l…o…w.
