tighe

It's fairly new - I posted when they opened, but haven't been in. It was The Garlic Tree. ← I went for lunch recently with seawakim's husband. Good stuff including a salad of panko coated/fried avocado w/crab meat. I've been meaning to post a review....elsewhere... Whoops! This is tighe posting as 'scrat'. Damned computer crash.... ← I knew that Dave had been there, he told me about it! I didn't know you had the scoop too! ← So Dave is now not even admitting to having lunch with me? Damn.... I liked the place and am putting it in my regular lunch rotation....

Cascadia has children's options while offering a very adult menu. Brasserie Margaux in the Warwick would be a good option as well.

You mean something like smoked tofu? You can always ask, but I'm guessing there aren't any options since even beans and greens usually have pork in them...

Call me crazy, but I think South Park is primed for a good non-Mexican restaurant. Many younger families are buying homes there and it's close to both Georgetown and West Seattle, as well as my neighborhood (Boulevard Park). There is a good retail strip and I'm guessing that rents are still reasonable. (There's actually a building near my house that is just BEGGING to be a restaurant, but I'm not confident the area will support anything middle price range and up.)

Jones caters and has a wide selection of good sides and desserts to go along with the meat.

A few years ago, my sister gave me a dinner at Canlis for a graduation gift. Although the food was very good quality, it isn't interesting enough to entice me back. The space, view and service are all top-notch. I also appreciated that although we ordered a relatively inexpensive bottle of wine, the sommelier took the time to talk about it with us in a very friendly, non-condescending way.

Union

What reese said......

For Italian... Brad's Swingside has a good back room for a group. Sostanza in Madison Park has a great upstairs space. It's been some time since I've eaten at either however.

Probably a big part of why the Torrefazione cafes aren't profitable....

I'm glad YOU said it, 'cuz I been thinking it for a while.... and Jan.... that's the phucking phunniest thing I've read in phorever!

Man, it's so fun to watch people flip out when the Sacred Cow gets slaughtered...... FWIW, my one meal at Lumiere was forgettable, as in, I don't remember any of the specific dishes I had. What I do remember is a very cramped space and condesending service and pieces of cheese that you had to use tweezers to pick up. Lest you conclude this is due to my poor memory, I can recite nearly every course I've had of my three meals at West as well as a number of other Vancouver restaurants I love. I wouldn't trade any my West experiences for two dinners at Lumiere.

I imagine this is true, but changing the "unwritten rules" without telling people is certain piss customers off. Again, all it takes is saying something like, "we like to do things a little differently here.....", and then at least customers know what to expect. One of my newer favs is the Red House in Renton which operates much differently than the standard restaurant. However, the first thing that happens when you walk through the door is that they ask if you are familiar with how the restaurant works. I still want to check the place out, and at least now I will go in knowing what the deal is. Edited to add: OK, a couple more thoughts.... 1. I was just looking at their web page and thinking, "hey! what a great opportunity to explain to potential customer how things work at the restaurant", but nary a word to tip off the reader that they are anything other than fairly normal place with a tasty sounding menu and good prices. 2. Those great reviews that they were so perturbed by are prominently linked on the web site. Hmmm.....

If they were unhappy about the good reviews, they must be absolutely thrilled with what's being said about them here! Maybe they're so good they have the luxury of scoffing at good press reviews, if so, that's some rarified air they inhabit. Is it really that much more difficult to say something along the lines of, "unfortunately we're not going to be able to accomodate you tonight, but I hope you'll try again another time" than to snap "two hour wait!" and storm off? Ultimately it sounds as if they're determined to do things "their way", customers be damned. That's perfectly fine as long as there are enough customers happy to go along with it. Edited: repeat after me their, they're and there.....

It sort of depends on what style you're looking for, but I'd recommend talking to the peopel at Two Tartes Bakery in Georgetown. I personnally lover their stuff and they have quite a variety of baked goods/desserts that they offer. They are of the more rustic/homemade style however, not fine pastries per se.

I'm firmly in the camp that Copper River and Yukon brands are not just a marketing ploy, but am not interested in trying to prove it. I usually get both when available and actually did a non-blind side-by-side last year with the outcome that I preferred the Yukon. I asked at Mutual Fish recently and they said the same as what everyone else has reported hear. Copper River late this month, followed by Yukon in early to mid June.

Thanks for posting that Susan. I was about to say basically the same thing except in bitchier, more confrontational manner....

Scrat and I (and the munchkin, sorry Laurie) had our first Via Trib experience last week. Started with ubiquitous tomato/mozz/basil salad, I thought the cheese was of extraordinary quality. We then split the primavera pizza which I liked a lot. The VT crust has very good flavor, although I'd like it cooked more. I wish everyone here could try the pizza from Filiberto's, down in my hood, without having to schlep all the way to it. Anyways, their crust comes out more blistered, which I prefer. The fresh arugula on the pizza was nice although I'm generally opposed to the whole salad on a pizza concept. Service was fine although we felt somewhat rushed. If anyone is interested, those lighted stained-glass windows they have came from a chapel at Seattle U that was remodeled into a non-denominational space. They kept the larger ones and you can seem them in a number buildings around campus, particularly in the building where the bookstore is. Check them out if you get a chance. I believe the light fixtures above the bar were leftovers from the ones used in the St Ignatius Chapel. Pietro and Sabrina (owners of La Spiga) were there along with their kids. Although I understand your point Laurie, I think a pizza place, even an adult-oriented one, is inevitably going to attract people with kids.

My go-to place for late night is Pomodoro on Eastlake, one of Seattle's most underrated/underappreciated restaurants IMO. They serve until 2 AM on the weekend and until midnight during the week. Another good option is The Capitol Club.

When I was there a week ago, they had a seasonal tasting menu featuring asparagus and also offered chef's menu option of 5 to 9 courses.

If you're looking for unique, it's hard to beat Matt's in the Market, and they now take reservations. From lmf's list, I would second Le Pichet, Union (my fav), Salumi, Harvest Vine and Crow. Add Lampreia, where I recently had my first experience, and Maximilien, if you'd like to go somewhere with view.

It saddens me to hear this kind of thing about a place I was so looking forward to opening. I'm not usually in the "more food is better" camp of restaurant evaluation, but as HH&C says, one of the joys of moules-frites is the big bowl of mussels and broth with a pile of fries. It should be a full meal by itself. In my write-up of Red House over on the other web site whose name shall not be mentioned, I mentioned an an excellent (large format) bottle of Belgian brown ale I had with dinner. I believe it was $7.50 which I thought was fair, but now sounds like a bargain compared with Brouwer's.

I actually think its a good conversation to have and one that I can now meaningfully participate it. Before having a baby, I was squarely in the 'what the bleep are these people thinking, bringing a baby/kid to this place!' I now completely understand although it's still unacceptable to stay in a restaurant with a child who is disrupting others' meals. We've walked out a handful of times when irreversible melt-down set it. On the other hand, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask fellow-diners to tolerate babbling and toy rattling at a volume consistent with the overall level of the restaurant. FWIW, the 'noisy place = good place for babies' equation hasn't worked for us. Maybe when he's a toddler, but at this point, it's just a sure-fire way to get the baby riled-up and in a tizzy.

When I go to higher end restaurants, I'm always happy to take advantage of situations where I can simply eat whatever the chef wants to serve me, essentially eliminating the menu. Even if its not an advertised option, I think many chefs welcome the opportunity to do that and take it as a sign that you are serious about the food. Most people though want to be more in control of what they're going to eat and aren't comfortable with that idea.

I'm glad our compatriots managed to bring some sanity to this issue. When I saw it a couple years ago it was rediculous.