10 Best Restaurants 2009
Cafe Juanita
9702 NE 120th Pl, Kirkland, 425-823-1505; cafejuanita.com
THE VISION
“When I took over Cafe Juanita I wanted to show Italian food in a way that wasn’t getting a lot of play: different Northern regions in a younger, more modern approach. Not ‘classic’ dishes, but always more playful, always through a prism. When I started I assumed the clientele’s food preferences would be safer and more predictable—but tastes were more sophisticated than I was expecting. We opened in 2000, and the very first dish out of the kitchen was octopus. Octopus. Back when the only restaurant around serving octopus was Harvest Vine. It was awesome! I wanted to listen to our guests, and they took me in a direction I was very happy to go.” — Holly Smith, chef and owner, Cafe Juanita
THE VERDICT
Inside Cafe Juanita the quietly lovely white-tableclothed dining room tucked into green woods is classic; Holly Smith’s food is anything but. The 2008 James Beard winner–turned– Iron Chef contestant (airing on the Food Network this month—and no, we don’t know how it turns out) rocks one feisty culinary aesthetic, developed years ago under Tom Douglas and refined to Northern Italian specs within an insanely dynamic imagination. The recipe for her signature Arneis-braised rabbit? Came to her in a dream.
So a hunk of buttery, pan-seared sablefish arrives over whipped Yukon Golds, speckled with pancetta, ringed with warmed cantaloupe-lime puree, and topped with truffle-oiled arugula leaves. If it all sounds precious, it never is. It tastes real. Executionwise Smith’s simply never off: in the gelati Smith now peddles out of her mobile business, Poco Carretto Gelato, or even in her menu’s few unadorned classics, like the ravishing tangle of tagliatelle Bolognese.
That menu, along with the admirable wine list, springs to life in the care of Smith’s fleet of career waiters, who intelligently flesh out descriptions and hold diners’ special occasions in trusty hands.
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
you should update for the best restaurant in 2009, don’t you think ?
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?
Great list! will try some of those.
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.
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“Welcome to our site onslko.org!!! Friends today the world is facing uncounted problems in life, and happiness is the need of everyone. So visit here and full fill your life with happiness. Here is one solution of your all problems. Kindly visit www.onslko.org (The place of Miracles)”
Hi, this is a good post, indeed a great job. You must have finished good research for the work.
Today, however, the most important cities in the U.S. have the kind of gastronomic diversity and regionality that is rich in all departments, and even if you have visited recently, you can be sure that the next time you go, there will be more new restaurants and attractions in what could visit.
nice article enjoyed reading.
ok I am going to Seattle next week to visit a friend and I think we are definitely going to try some of the restaurants!!!!
I’m not much into reading, but somehow I got to read many articles in your webpage.
Its fantastic how interesting it is for me to visit you very often.
I think you reviews were great and good. I already bookmarked this website and shared with my friends on facebook.
Hi,
These are all great. Are there any michellin star restaurants in seattle?
Hi,
Are there any michellin star restaurants in seattle?
The photos made me go in the kitchen and grab something to eat.
Great… Excellent list of restaurant… thanks for sharing this…
Thank our extravagance of edible resources, entrepreneurial enterprise, and culinary exuberance.
Wow man, it is interesting.
I feel hungry