10 Best Restaurants 2009
Crush
2319 E Madison St, Madison Valley, 206-302-7874; chefjasonwilson.com
THE VISION
“Our original vision was a neighborhood bistro with more modern design than you see in Seattle restaurants, to reflect the natural, farm-raised food that we saw as a more modern approach to cooking. Our interior designer thought the restaurant would be driven by the food experience, not the bar scene, so she persuaded us to go all white, thinking that the food and wine should provide the color—a tomato salad blossoming against a table. A couple years in, we realized that diners were treating Crush as more of a fine-dining restaurant than a neighborhood bistro—so, to respond to our customers, we changed. We concentrated on taking service to a higher level. We removed a few tables to give diners more space. I wouldn’t want Crush to be perceived as a special-occasion jewel box. But I don’t think Seattle would let me have something other than a fine-dining restaurant. That’s what I do well.” — Jason Wilson, owner and chef, Crush
THE VERDICT
When Crush opened in 2005, the stark setting confused everyone. Chic white Philippe Starck chairs and white leather banquettes in a refurbished Tudor? At the gritty inner-city corner of 23rd and Madison? The stylish little pocket of LA with its consequent otherworldliness drew Beautiful People in droves—even as Crush proved it was considerably more than just a pretty face.
Owner and chef Jason Wilson, who had opened the Pacific Place outpost of the glitzy California-based Stars in the bet-a-million ’90s, merged a down-to-earth delight in natural, farm-raised food with the kind of culinary refinement that longs to sous vide a short rib. It’s a killer combination. Dishes soar with both sophistication and earthiness, as when Wilson sears a lobe of foie gras and coats it with a glaze of huckleberries, or when he sautés a hunk of Alaskan halibut to serve with sea urchin mousseline over fresh, native fiddlehead ferns. It was the nonsurprise of the century when, just a year after Crush opened, Food and Wine pronounced Wilson one of the Top 10 New Chefs in America.
Best, Wilson’s plates nearly always offer “the yum factor”: that undefinable element that makes fine cuisine into good eatin’. Exhibit A: His buttermilk fried sweetbreads, with crisped potato, mustard coleslaw, and bourbon sauce.
Published: October 2009
Serious pie is amazing! We try to treat ourselves every month.
Fairly new to the Seattle area, and this list was great. I am excited to knock out all 1-10!
We are from Wisconsin. While visiting our son in Seattle this summer, we celebrated my wife’s birthday at the Boat Street Cafe. A nice ambience. A varied menu. Fabulous food. The service was excellent.
I love this list! We’ve enjoyed a few of the Top 10 before, and look forward to going to the rest. Good to see Seattle classics on here like Canlis and Rovers, as well as some of the newer places like Spring Hill.
I agree with Jefferson…great list. Classics deserve to stay on the list if they continue to innovate and impress! Can’t wait for the parentals to come to town…going to Boat Street and Crush for sure!
I went through the whole list wrote them down and I want to try them all. Your reviews were great. My birthday is in feb and we are going to try one of these fabulous sounding restaurants. Thankyou Sherry in south king county.
Hey,
how are you?
i’m coming into seattle and was wandering if a pro like this blog could help me out in terms of…
1. best breakfast – i’m coming in on thurs, so cant do the corson building- so depressed
2. best lunch/dinner place to eat good seattle grub fare.
thanks so much!!! anything else i must eat etc like donuts just let me know too – yum yum.. i’m so jealous you have it all at your fingertips!
michelle
Serious Pie is great but for 2010?
Is there any list of top restaurants for 2010?
Mike,auto insurance quotes
Serious Pie is pretty damned good, but it says a lot about Seattle that one of it’s best restaurants is a pizza joint.
If Rovers can nail it’s consistency problem down, it would probably be a strong candidate for top spot in WA, maybe even contend for a michelin star.
For serious foodies, hop a ferry to Bainbridge (half an hour, great for visiting relatives) and walk to “The Harbourside Pub.” Looks like a fun, happy Pub joint with lots of micro-beers. What it really is that’s different is locally grown foods, highly creative seasonal choices of organic and grass-fed beef. The foodies will be happy and so will the whole family (no kids). There’s even a sunny deck. The owners have made this possible by working directly with local farmers—you can really taste the difference in the food. Best list for 2011?
Serious Pie is seriously UN-amazing. None of Tom Douglas’s restaurants are at all impressive compared to chef owned restaurants in Seattle including most that are on this top ten list. Tom knows how to market himself and make money. Cooking great food with authenticity and sustainability? He doesn’t have it. Serious Pie is a step up from Pagliachi, but not anything I would write home about. I miss Brasa’s fig pizza…. that is worth writing home about.