Chef Johnny Courtney uses cookie molds that once belonged to his wife (and business partner) Sarah's grandfather. But instead of a traditional Scandinavian dessert, you get a savory cookie, its hollow underside filled with Walla Walla onion jam and a bit of cheese. These are too small to share gracefully, but your own personal rosette is a lovely start to dinner at 2023’s most compelling new restaurant.

If you’ve had Dave Lichterman’s deep-dish, you get a sense of the amount of R&D this man must complete before he puts his pizzas forth into the world. Ditto his tavern-style, with its crackery-thin crust and perfect ratio of cheese and sauce.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have this very expensive experience a few times now. I considered putting a single bite on this list. (The octopus karaage? The soup course?) But the joy of this meal is its totality, each course outwardly simple but exuding technique. Seattle is having this amazing sushi moment, but my favorite spot now lives across the bridge in Bellevue.

You have to appreciate a baker who was on the vanguard of working with local grains, but who also knows there’s a time and a place for a slice of processed American cheese. And that place is inside his breakfast sandwich. An impeccable english muffin holds a square of souffle’d egg, smooth as custard, and melty yellow cheese. Bacon if you want it. Come early—you’re gonna wait in line for this.

This summer beauty is long gone from the menu, but it’s a spot-on example of why Pancita is special. Take a seasonal staple—an heirloom tomato salad—and add tomatillos, a salsa macha with morta chiles, and a bright salsa verde made with parsley. Now drape the whole thing with quesillo. The result is still Mexican, but also Northwest, thoroughly inventive and memorable all these months later.

Disclosure: I ran into someone I knew on one of my visits to this lovely Alki newcomer. She had two desserts sent over to our table; otherwise I would have walked out the door without trying the hazelnut pie and chocolate olive oil cake. Those relatively simple descriptions don’t do justice to the confections. I hate fussy desserts; these two taste like something grandma theoretically made, but turbocharged with a ton of extra steps. Easily the best restaurant desserts I had this year.

A surefire way to entertain a visiting friend from LA: clear your calendar, get in the car, and head to the fifth-generation oyster farm on Hood Canal. When the pandemic drove us all outdoors, Hama Hama added some wooden A-frames and upped its menu game. Its oysters taste spectacular no matter where you are, but descending upon a freshly shucked platter outside, with a view of the water from whence they came is a singular Northwest experience.

The trend factor on smash burgers means there are a lot of them out there that are smashed in name only. This yellow truck parked outside Rooftop Brewing delivers lacy-edged, patty-crusted, hot-and-griddled greatness.

The labor-heavy pak mor dumplings might be the signature dish (and they’re great). But I’d come back day after day for one of the city’s finest bowls of khao soi, full of curry, texture, and polished flavor.

I had a great conversation with co-owner Shane Abbott for this story, then bought a slice on my way out the door. Even as a rapidly cooling slice consumed in my car, this pizza rocked my world. The balance of coppa, burrata, and hot honey was just right, especially atop a crust that demands respect.

Alas, Seattle Met’s 2022 Restaurant of the Year has discontinued its brunch service. But this savory creation will live on in my memory: a pinwheel of house croissant dough with a spreadable sausage filling and jamon bechamel on top. It was a life-giving, nap-inducing morning meal. Chef Grayson Corrales still makes this dish for special events. Another brunch favorite, the Spanish “french toast” appears on the dinner menu in savory form.

Shiro (or shero) wat, the thick and simmered chickpea stew, is a pinnacle comfort food. Chef Amy Abera makes a version that adds beef tips, sauteed and spicy. Now it’s comfort food for grown-ups who enjoy good spice. I could eat this dish every day—though that’s true of most of the menu at this lovely spot Abera runs with her husband, Delish Lemma.

What can I say—they got to me. These new-to-the-menu churros, made by Edmonds-based bakery Alberto's Churros will exit testing phase and be at all Taco Time locations in the new year.