tighe

Oceanaire hardly seem like a "moderately priced" option given that all entrees are over $20 and sides are extra. Then again, I have my own irrational aversion to the place....

Le Pichet is a Seattle eG All-Star! If you do a search on Pichet, you'll find a veritable plethora of threads on it.

Depending on exactly what you mean by "moderate price", I think Elliott's would really fit what you're looking for. For straight forward preparations of high quality fish, it's the best place in town IMNSHO. A little less expensive and without a view, but still good quality, is McCormick's Fish House.

No, no - Essential Chocolates. Our own chocolate factory and cafe. They are the same company, right?....

That's a shame. When I was going there 6 or 7 years ago, I really enjoyed it.

A question more than a recommendation.... Is Il Radicchio (sp?) still around? Basic pasta dishes, but good value, which matters when you're traveling to DC on federal government per diem as I used to do....

I haven't seen anything but the lobby, seems nice enough. It's brand new and definitely a step up from what I usually think of as a Silver Cloud-level hotel.

They dropped me too.... I'd like to go again soon...

You may want to try to get your hands on the guide 'Gourmet Paris' by Emmanuel Rubin. Its unique because its organized by dish and gives recommendations on where in Paris to find the best version of each.

You could, but..... It's true that the food I had was overall not as spicy, or as good as what was served at the preview party. I think that was a big part of my dissapointment.

You can say anything you want....as long as there's not a confidentiality agreement involved.

I had always assumed that 'ambivalence' meant roughly the same thing as 'indifference' but I recently learned the true definition: "the coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object or idea"......or restaurant. I've had both dinner and lunch at Cayenne now, along with attending one of the opening parties and I still have no cohesive opinion about it. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I'm also sure that I'll go back. There is real potential to the food, but they need to, "release the heat!" Too little seasoning just kills some of the things they serve that have potential to be good. Their best dishes are on the cusp of greatness and their worst are pretty much what you'd expect from a pseudo-Mexican restaurant located in a Silver Cloud Motel. Dinner: For appetizers we had the black bean dip and wild mushroom quesadilla. The dip sounded good, chorizo sausage covered with black beans and mild goat cheese, served with house-made tortilla chips. Way too bland, there's no way they used real chorizo and the beans had no discernable seasoning in them; even the goat cheese was so toned down that it added little. The chips they make are pretty thick and need to be very fresh not to seem stale, most of what we got were too hard. The quesadilla was good, if simple. Nice sauteed mushroom flavor and an ample amount of cheese, still needed some kind of seasoning to really set it off. For my entree I had the duck and pomegranate tacos that I'd been eyeing ever since I first saw the menu. They consisted of shreded duck meat that I believe had been sauteed with pomegranate molasses. Really, really tasty. The richness of the duck was a great balance to acidity of the pomegranate. For this kind of 'fusion' dish, lack of heat wasn't a problem but the completely bland black beans and rice it was served with were. Along with the entrees, we were served a trio of salsa, all were quite good. The best was pineapple and habanero, but again too light on the habanero. Service was fairly atrocious. I made the mistake of asking the server what appetizers he recommended and, from that point on, he took it upon himself to share his full opinion on just about every aspect of the menu and restaurant. Over-eager might begin to describe his style, he asked us at least three times within 10 minutes of receiving our entrees if everything was OK, wasn't this or that great, were we enjoying whatever and such.... I appreciate attentiveness, but this was WAY too much of a good thing. About half-way through our entrees, he asked us if we were interested in dessert. All this from someone who told us twice that he was also a server at the Columbia Tower Club....uh huh.... Drinks are good, but over-priced in my opinion. At the opening party I had enjoyed the complimentary house margaritas, served in a martini glass. Realized that the going rate for these was $7.50 and enjoyed them a lot less. Lunch: My initial dissapointment with lunch was that the duck tacos weren't on the menu, but I settled on the chicken mole quesadilla. Rich flavor and slight sweetness made this good, but could have been great with.....wait for it.....some heat. I also ordered chips and the three salsas and was dismayed to find that the pinapple-habanero salsa had even less kick than before. Service at lunch was utilitarian. Cayenne Silver Cloud Hotel Broadway & Madison Seattle, WA

I thought Pre Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne was very romantic...

I'll take that deal..... BUT, since when does defending one tiny aspect of Seattle (the beer) make me a blind apologist for the whole city, as you've repeatedly implied? I have strong opinions on this subject, so I'm going to voice them strongly. I have strong opinions on plenty of subjects that have nothing to do with Seattle that I would voice equally as strongly. Trash Seattle politics, government, transportation, even restaurants all you want, I probably even agree with you on much of it. What I don't take well is the idea that any contradiction of an outside opinion is a sign of ignorance, provincialism and insecurity.

Sorry, forgot you lived in Boston, maybe this kind of insult will resonate more for you: "Yo buddy! I got your hops for ya, right HERE!....." Speaking of Budweiser, I hear they make a pilsner with sweetness and no detectable hop flavor, sounds exactly like what you're looking for....and not only can you get it in bottles, you can get it in cans too!!

Black Hook Espresso Stout float....mmmmm. I think that stouts work better in general because of the bolder flavor and they seem to compliment the flavor ice cream better.

The only thing worse than irrationally defensive locals is when non-locals who are from or have lived in "real cities" resort to condescension and insults when we hicks in the sticks don't immediately kow-tow to their superior knowledge and worldliness..the "Seattle-ites have such an inferiority complex and are so close-mined" line has become even more of a cliche than the behavior its a reaction to... Lew, the part of the thread you missed is where several of us tried to point out to Wilson that experiencing the true breadth and depth of northwest beer offerings might require him to drink some of it out of a glass. He dismissed this as an unreasonable proposition, which I, and I suspect most serious beer drinkers from anywhere, find rediculous. BTW Wilson, I heartily agree with you that light rail is a colossal waste of money and the monorail will quite possibly end up being the biggest white elephant in the history of public works projects. Between the state of beer and public transportation projects, it is a true wonder that you deign to grace the city with your presence.

Well, damn.... Now I'm going to have to do a side-by-side tasting...a tough cross to bear....

I like Pecos too. Irwin, do you have an official opinion on the brisket from Jones Barbeque? I like it the best of any I've had.

Someone over on the site who's name shall not be spoken is reporting that Crystal is going out of business. Unfortunate.

Wow, kieran's account sounds like one of those experiences thats so bad, it seems surreal when you're in the middle of it. Maybe breakfast just isn't their strong-suit. A shame since the breakfast menu looks so promising. The point about the effect of the owner not being around in the mornings is a good one. I think this could be a serious weakness of the open all day, every day model.

I would never deny some predisposition towards knee-jerk regionalism. The fact remains that, with the possible exception of Belgium, I wouldn't trade 'beer scenes' with any place I've been in this country or abroad. We may have very different ideas of what a 'good pilsner' implies. Having sat in the brewery in Pilsen, drinking Prajdroj (oka Pisner Urquell) from the tap, I can tell you it has a distinct hoppy bite to it. I put a little more stock in their style being the bellweather of pilsner style rather than some self-appointed group of experts in this country. I suspect that most true craft brewers couldn't give a rip about market share beyond whether or not they can sell enough beer to allow them to make a living doing something they love. I don't think that global beer domination is the goal.

I have, at times, suspected the addition of crack to the sandwiches.... Glad you liked it...

It would be great to meet Iris in person! I was under the impression that we were talking about dinner, lunch would be a no-go for me unfortunately. I can be there by shortly after 6....

You've just described the characteristics of any half-way serious beer place in Seattle. I refuse to accept that beer scene in the PNW is anything less than one of the most diverse and interesting anywhere. If you want to try to judge it by what's available in grocery stores or in the average 5-handle bar, you're simply missing the boat entirely.