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There must have been others that agree with your assesment of Le Bonaparte because its out of business now. I wanted to try it a while back, but the phone number was disconnected and last time I drove by it looked like there was a Thai restaurant in the space. I also like Grazie, it is a more refined ambiance and style than Filiberto's, but I think Filiberto's is better at what they do. I liked the Melrose the one time I went and its a little less expensive than Spencer's, but not as good either. I'm afraid that when I went to Jubilante it made me vow to never go back. Part of that is probably about me though, I'm just philosophically opposed to the words 'ecclectic' and 'restaurant' (or 'menu') being used together...

You're in my neighborhood now!... For a higher end place, I think Spencer's in the SeaTac Hilton is definitively the best restaurant in the area. The steaks there are as good, or better, than what I've had at Union Square, El Gaucho, etc. There's a good neighborhood Italian place on Des Moines Mem Dr, just north of 518, called Filiberto's. Their brick-oven pizzas are some of the best I've had and they have a huge menu of pasta dishes. For a low-priced option, Taqueria El Rinconsito on Pac Hwy S in Tukwila has delicious, authentic Mexican food.

For any of you ladies who are interested, he got divorced not long ago, so he's back on the market.

...But I do know that the ID has some pretty bitchin' and pretty affordable food... I was probably overly broad in my comment. A more careful statement would be that, in my opinion, none of the 'sit-down' type Chinese restaurants in the ID can compare with whats available in Vancouver. Bahn mi and the like can be very good, especially for the price...

I don't think Hajime would have a problem with you requesting certain items, however I would really recommend that you let him do the choosing. I've had two subsequent meals to the one I wrote up and both were excellent, but different. To start the last one, we did request the albacore sashimi salad, but left the rest up to him.

Hey, I just scored some of the nosebleed seats that were released this week, so it looks like I'm going to the game. I'm psyched. David, Le Pichet is very good and I'm sure you'd be happy there, but in my opinion at least, it is kind of borderline in terms of being a walkable distance from the stadium. This could be because I'm fat and out of shape however. Two places that are very close to the stadium that I like very much are: Cafe Paloma, a small Turkish place that serves primarily mezze, of very high quality. Il Terrazo Carmine, one of the best Italian restaurants in town, to me at least. Of the two, Cafe Paloma would be less expensive. If the US$ continues on its current trajectory, it may be close to par by the time you get here. Hope you enjoy the game.... Edit to add: at the risk of angering some, I would have to urge you not to go to any of the places in the International District. Given the quality of Chinese food available in Vancouver, none of the places are going to measure up.

One example of the imprecise use of 'barbecue' is in the title of Steve Raichlen's bood "The Barbecue Bible." I love the book, but relatively few of the recipes have anything to do with the definitions of barbecue (slow, low temp, smoke, etc.) discussed here. In fact the text of the book discusses grilling much more frequently (and correctly) than it does barbecuing. I have to believe that the editor just like the alliteration of the title.

Smoke may not be integral to the cooking but I would argue that it is integral to the flavoring and texture that in part defines barbecue. I could cook a rack of ribs at 210 degrees in my oven and then slather it with sauce, but no serious barbecue officianado would consider that 'the real thing'. The only difference though is lack of smoke.

I believe Orowheat makes some thin-sliced loaves that are available locally. Not sure if they're white, rye or what....

I used to do consulting work the for the Air Force and travelled to San Antonio regulary. One of the Air Force guys' favorite cheap lunch spots was a Chinese & Mexican restaurant in the southeast part of town. Two full menus and mixed combo plates. I recall having a spring rolls and a tostada one time. Food was good, especially for the price. Here in Seattle there is an Italian restaurant called Perche Non? that is owned by a Chinese family. I believe the name is a reference to the cultural incongruity. Never been to the place myself.

OK, so now you're making me regret not going..... I think the Unibroue beers are some of the most distinctive and interesting around, but I've never tried the 'Trois Pistole' before, which sounds right up my alley. Sounds like there was a great selection to choose from...

An actual audio recording from mamster's kitchen as he prepared this particular dish. I believe thats Laurie on piano...

For whatever reason I haven't paid much attention to Ms. Corcoran's reviews over the past year. Probably because I find eGullet to be a more reliable and useful source of info on restaurants that any reviewer in town. Today however I found myself perusing the PI's food and wine page online and started to skim her reviews. Given the "I'm just a hardass, no BS food critic" attitude that started this thread, the long series of puff-pieces is amazing to me. Does she just not write up the places she doesn't like, or is she on an amazing lucky streak? There seem to simply be NO out and out bad reviews. She even had good things to say about Dish D'lish, a place that just sends me fleeing on SO MANY levels. Maybe Penelope has just gotten soft from spending a few years here in Seattle.

The beer part is very appealing, but I have something of an aversion to 'Fests', 'Bites' and the like. Just one of my quirks. I would like to do a comparative tasting of a particular style of beer sometime with a small to medium sized group, possibly at my place....

tsquare, thanks for the 'heads-up' on this one. I'm going to try to make it happen. The menu looks good. ~Appetizer~ Belgian Endive Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese, Hazelnut Pralines and Citrus Vinaigrette ~Entree~ Herb Roasted Chicken Breast with Forest Mushroom Ragout, Truffled Yukon Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Roma Tomatoes ~Dessert~ Summer Strawberry Shortcake on a citrus scone with Chantilly Cream

I haven't tried higher end wines from either country, but in the mid to low-price ranges I find Argentinian wines to be superior. I particularly like Bodega Norton's Malbec and I recently tried a Sangiovese from them that was good, although bearing little resemblence to the Tuscan variety.

I've heard this often from people who have lived in the Midwest and/or New York and I find it completely plausible. I almost laughed out loud last night when my wife and I were at Pegasus Pizza on Alki (my nominee for best in town) and overheard someone at a neigboring table say, "people in Seattle are just SO into gourmet pizza." If that's true then why is there so much crappy pizza around??...

I never much cared for Pagliacci's pizza, but the space was cool and I have some good memories of hanging out there when I was in high school. My suggestion for a near-by alternative would be Piecora's, equally funky interior and much better pizza, at least in my opinion.

Scrat and I had another wonderful meal at Mashiko last weekend but I wanted to share a funny story, at my own expense. I could count on my hands the number of times that I’ve had sake, maybe even on one hand. I don’t know squat about it other than there seems to be disagreement over the proper temperature. A few years ago, we visited Sake One (SO) in Newberg, OR during a trip to the Willamette and it was the first time I had tasted a variety of sakes. The first time we went to Mashiko, we noticed they had the Momokawa Pearl, an unfiltered sake that is made by SO and that we remembered liking. This time we ordered a bottle of it. Reading the bottle I noticed that the serving suggestions were fruit and dessert items, so I checked my pride and asked the waiter if a serious Japanese culinarian would disapprove of our choice with sushi. He smiled slightly and said that this type of sake would generally be considered too sweet to go with sushi. About this time Hajime came over to talk with us and the waiter relayed my question, to which he responded, “definitely, this is a foo-foo sake.” He then gave us a sample of a drier, cleaner unfiltered sake that I really liked and a quick but thorough version of Sake 101. The fact that he had the patience and took the time to do this was very gratifying. He also suggested that we try the sake sampler next time we came in. I pondered all of this for a little while and the next time the waiter came back I asked, “did we just order white zinfandel with our dinner?” “Yes.” THE HOR-ROR!

Wild Ginger has many ardent fans, but I've never been all that taken with it. Admittedly I've only been there a couple times and not for a few years. I don't think that most of the people here are too defensive about the local restaurant scene, maybe of some individual places though. I've never talked to anyone who has actually been to Thailand or Vietnam who says they've had food here in Seattle that was comparable.

Roger, seems to me that this would make a great thread that would have many eager participants here in the PNW if you'd be willing to write about your experience. I've had far too little experience with authentic Asian food to make valid comparisons with what is served in local restaurants. Please name names as well...

For "simple, authentic Italian", my recommendation would be Osteria La Spiga on Capital Hill. The service is consistenly mediocre to bad, but the food is the true to what I've had in Italy. For a unique "local" experience I would probably go for Matt's in the Market. Both of these places have been discussed extensively here, so if you do a search on either name, you can weigh the pro and con arguments for each.

I was using a stainless All-Clad pan, could be a big part of the problem I suspect. I also didn't catch that he turned the heat down after searing the fish, which might give it time to release....

OK fellow class participants and others learned in the cooking arts... I tried to cook some bass last night in the manner that Chef William did for our lunch, but instead of a nice crisp skin, I had serious sticking problems and lost all of the skin. I didn't use a non-stick pan, but did have a fair amount of oil in the pan and it was really hot. Thoughts and suggestions on where I went wrong? Thanks....

I would definitely second the Hanalei Dolphin for extremely high quality fish. If you have a place to cook for yourself, as we did, you can buy beautiful ahi, opa, swordfish, etc., etc. and do it yourself. I've heard the restaurant is excellent too.