Best Restaurants 2006
Szechuan Chef
15015 Main St, Bellevue
| 425-746-9008
An explosion of vivid orange walls and bold Szechuan chilies, this Lake Hills stunner was the best thing to happen east of Lake Washington this year. Chef Cheng Biao Yang came from Seattle’s heralded Seven Stars Pepper, and seemingly brought his entire Chinese–born fan base with him—hence the rapturous Mandarin murmurings that make up the background music in the large, lofty, bamboo–softened space. Diners especially love the vast menu’s seafood dishes and exotic vegetables. Savvy servers deftly manage the ever present crowd.
Order up! Chow mein with hand–shaved noodles; hot pots you cook at the table
Prime time Now. Late autumn through spring is Dungeness season, and the Szechuan crab—a whole Dungeness gloriously spangled with red chilies, green onions, and peanuts—is a fire–breathing masterpiece.
Pssssst Kids under 3 eat free. (Don’t fret—mildness requests almost always penetrate the language barrier.)
But… We’d sure love to have more than two beer selections.
Tilth
1411 N 45th St, Wallingford| 206-633-0801 www.tilthrestaurant.com
The freshest newcomer in town was open just three weeks as we went to press—and if this is what owner–chef Maria Hines can do in three weeks, we’re seriously breathless to see what she’ll be doing in a year. In Tilth the former Earth & Ocean chef has created Seattle’s most culinarily ambitious, certified organic restaurant, in a cozy Wallingford house brightened with the spring greens and earth tones of new shoots and whole grains. Here farmers and fishers and foragers are exalted like rock stars, their products lovingly crafted into dishes of implausibly intense flavors, by a chef with a bold vision and a fascination with texture.
Order up! Skagit River Ranch’s crispy pork belly; Pete Knutson’s sockeye salmon
Prime time The fresh ingredients and cheerful surroundings evoke lazy weekend mornings. Good thing Hines serves brunch.
Pssssst The wine list isn’t organic—most winemakers add sulfites to stabilize the wines—but it does feature a rich selection of wines made from organically farmed grapes, like Oregon’s Sokol Blosser label.
But… An edible overview like this, of the best of the Pacific Northwest, could put the Space Needle observation deck out of business forever.
Veil (closed)
555 Aloha St
, Queen Anne| 206-216-0600 www.veilrestaurant.com
The restaurant whose decor out–whites the competition spent the better part of its first year undergoing overhyping—and collecting attendant mixed reviews. But from the vantage point of its first anniversary this month, chef Shannon Galusha is darn near unassailable, flaring the chops he honed at French Laundry in flavor–drenched dishes like caramelly black cod over beets with horseradish cream. His presentations may look precious and overdesigned, but they always taste substantive and intelligent—a fitting parallel of the cool space that becomes warm and festive the longer the evening grows.
Order up! The sake–cassis martini known as “The Veil”; lobster mac ’n’ cheese; housemade salted peanut butter ice cream
Prime time The rule of thumb in this blinding restaurant seems to be the darker the sky, the busier the house. Early evenings and long summer nights allow your pick of tables, but in the dark of midwinter, when rosy lights pink up all the white, the place buzzes like a diner. Perhaps doctors should prescribe regular dinners at Veil for the seasonally depressed.
Pssssst So far the foie–gras protesters that have picketed Crush, Campagne, and Union haven’t targeted Veil—perhaps because Galusha’s new artisan–quality producer, Aubon Canard in Minnesota, is too small to allow anything but spotty availability. If you’re jonesing for the stuff, first call to find out if there’s any in the house. If they have it, run, don’t walk. Galusha’s wicked way with the luscious lobes—lavished with lobster mushrooms, or tarted up with peanut butter and jelly—makes it disappear early.
But… The cool, blanched aesthetic combined with a chill ambient electronic soundtrack leaves some diners, well, cold.
