tighe

Isn't that the definition of the difference between a 'gourmand' and a 'gourmet'?

Really? I'd heard pretty good things about it, but haven't gotten there.

Salvadoran Bakery in White Center serves traditional savory dishes as well as pastries.

I'd second (third?) Green Leaf, Union and Salumi and add Baguette Box to your list. Great, and interesting, sandwiches. Good for either lunch or dinner. Here's a rundown of happy hour deals in town. I wouldn't put too much stock in the ratings, but it gives a good overview of what's available.

You might consider Mixtura, great food and close to Microsoft.

I don't think I know of this place......tell me more? ← Kevin Davis: opening Feb 1? ← Wow, that menu looks great, and he has the Caviar Pie from the Oceanaire menu - yay! ← Flash Fried Beecher's Cheese Curds? That can't suck! So is this in the old Vivanda spot? ← Just got off the phone with Kevin Davis (kind of a funny story...). Anyway, per my suggestion, there is a possibility for Poutine on the menu!!!! Cheers, ← What he really needs to put on the menu is the killer Peruvian tiradito that he served at the Boomtown dinner!! Hint, hint....

I don't think I know of this place......tell me more? ← Kevin Davis: opening Feb 1? ← That's really good news, I'd heard that he had left Oceanaire, but didn't know what he was doing. I attended the Boomtown dinner he did; it was fantastic and certainly not out of the Oceanaire playbook.

My house, hands down.

Reese, so glad you liked NnC. If they have the lamb chops on the specials board next time you go, give'em a whirl. They cook them in the tandoor and they're super tasty and an amazing value. It's true, the ctm there is absolutely fantastic.

I guess I'm a little confused on the piadina issue in particular. Is there some place outside Emilia-Romagna where they're inexpensive and widely available? When La Spiga opened, they were one of two restaurants in the entire US serving authentic piadina sandwiches.

Good sandwiches with sit-down: Harried & Hungry on 3rd btw Union & Pike, Nordstrom Grill in the basement of the store Piadina: Osteria La Spiga, soon to reopen on 12th on Capital Hill (great, appropriately portioned, pasta as well) My biggest shopping complaint remains the difficulty in getting decent, non-sprouted, garlic.

You could check with Mayas. I would guess most hotels aren't going to want you to bring outside food in.

94 Stewart is, IMO, the best combination of the food quality and kid-friendliness in town, hands down. The Chow Foods restaurants are decent choices as well.

I ran into Pietro at Pike Place the other day and he said they will be opening at the end of the month. I'm on the email list and will post here when they send out the exact date.

As someone who's been something of a self-loathing Seattle-ite, at least when it comes to restaurants, its good to be reminded that I probably shouldn't be so jaded. I'm so glad you enjoyed you dining experiences here, John, and it was a pleasure to have lunch with you.

:sobbing uncontrollably: [set you up for that one, didn't I?]

I've been wanting someone I know to try the Painted Lady....so c'mon, take one for the team! I'm glad someone else doesn't particularly love the JP House, I thought there was something wrong with me.

You can get freshly made tortillas at Guadalupe Market on S 128th in Burien. Best I've had in the area.

Just playing my kiljoy roll here... Of your list, you could eliminate (or at least de-prioritize) the following and not be missing much: The Hunt Club Assaggio Ristorante Sazerac The Brooklyn Troiani Queen City Grill Georgian Room at the Fairmont Bambuza The Pink Door Union Square Grill Ten Mercer Dragonfish (truly awful) Dilletante Add Green Leaf

I had dinner at Purple a couple weeks ago and liked it. The bar appetizers and cheeses were great. My biggest problem is the volume.

Dude, I think you need to ease up on the literary stylings a little and focus on fundamental grammar/spelling and clearly conveying your point. I couldn't discern your true opinion of Union until the last sentence.

I second the idea of dropping Wild Ginger. If you want great, authentic Asian food, Tamarind Tree or Green Leaf (both Vietnamese) are much better and way cheaper. I would trade Chez Shea for the next-door neighbor, Matt's in the Market, in a hearbeat. The Herbfarm experience is fine for first-timers, it's hearing the same thing over and over on repeated visits that really grates. The food is generally excellent.

This may sound snotty, but I can't help it. How can you miss Australian lamb when that's almost all that is available (along w/NZ), at least in grocery stores? Also, I would be interested in what you believe is better (subjectively or objectively) about Australian vs US lamb.

Bigger query...how many traditional French Bistros does Seattle actually need?!? ←

For the soup I just melted some butter into 6 ears of corn (after i cut the corn off the cobb of course) then added chicken stock to just cover all the corn. Let it simmer for about 40 mins. Then hit it with the immersion blender. Then strained it. I think this would have been great as is, but I had some heavy cream laying around and I couldn't resist. I'm thinkng if i made the dish again. The only change I would make would be to omit the cream in the soup. Not because I didn't like the texture and the taste of the cream. But only becasue I think the soup is more "pure" with just corn, stock, and butter. Personally, I loved the ginger Altoids with the peach. I know Ferran Adria used peach flavored Smints for his dish. I couldn't find those. ← I follow Ethan Stowell's technique of using Pellegrino instead of stock in making vegetable puree soups. To my taste, the flavor ends up much clearer and purer. I also soften some diced onion in the butter before adding the main ingredient. ← I've also found that simmering the cobs in the cooking liquid for a bit gives extra corny taste, have you ever tried that? ← No, but it sounds like a good idea. I'll give it a whirl next time.