Best Restaurants 2006
Lark
926 12th Ave, Capitol Hill| 206-323-5275 www.larkseattle.com
It would be difficult to overestimate the influence of Lark. This wood–raftered, gauze–curtained beauty vaulted small–plate dining to its current prominence in Seattle It would be impossible to overstate the influence of the chef, Johnathan Sundstrom. His devotion to perfect seasonal ingredients and canny grasp of the combinations in which to present plates have upped the bar for dining in this town, and inspired a city full of acolytes.
Order up! Share two or three small plates per diner. If crispy duck leg is on the card, don’t ignore it.
Prime time Lark still doesn’t accept reservations, so arrive at the top of the evening if you don’t want to wait.
Pssssst If you are shut out of a table, no worries—Licorous, Sundstrom’s new bar just paces down the sidewalk, will keep you in elegant cocktails and noshes till a table comes up.
But… Good thing Sundstrom keeps the place staffed with servers gentle as therapists; some diners may need to be talked through the small–plate thing.
Mistral
113 Blanchard St, Belltown| 206-770-7799
Seattle’s most under–heralded great chef, William Belickis, presides over every aspect of this pretty and more–than–a–little–reverent temple of haute cuisine in Belltown. He sniffs out the most impeccable sources, whips them into modern European innovations—when’s the last time you sampled a pan–seared scallop over sliced mango and apple with corn, horseradish, and sweet cicely?—and sometimes even brings them out to the table himself. All the better, to thank the talented young buck.
Order up! Whatever issues forth from Belickis’s imagination that night—there is no printed menu—in your choice of seven or eight courses. When they ask if you care to spend an extra $100 per person for matched wines, just say yes.
Prime time Anytime you and your constitution can commit the whole evening to dinner.
Pssssst You are in the maestro’s hands, but he is willing to custom–extemporize according to dietary restrictions.
But… You are in the maestro’s hands.
Volterra
5411 Ballard Ave NW, Ballard| 206-789-5100
www.volterrarestaurant.com
In a city that seems to have two neighborhood Italian restaurants for every diner, Volterra distinguishes itself by way of chef Don Curtiss’s sincerely Tuscan vision, applied with dependable artistry. Against the classic Ballard Avenue backdrop—burnished hues, Fabulous People—Curtiss coaxes wild mushrooms, truffle purees, roasted beets, smoked fowl, cured meats, lamb ragus, and cognac–deepened sauces into richly rustic, ever careful, gorgeously plated northern Italian expressions.
Order up! Oil soup; wild boar tenderloin with gorgonzola
Prime time Best late–night nosh on Ballard Avenue
Pssssst That savory fennel salt on Volterra’s table? Curtiss now retails his invention, which made such a splash at a recent food show that it was included in gift bags for guests at a celebrity Oscar party. (Weren’t invited? Get yours at Metropolitan Market or PCC.)
But… Service can grow curt when the joint starts jumpin’.
