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It's mystifying to me that someone saw a need to 'redo' the place. What ever happened to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" That color scheme on the web page (please tell me that's not what the interior looks like now!?!) has got to go. The new menu does lead me to believe that there won't be any substantive change in the food, which is a relief. Is Lumiere going to change their name to 'Light' also?

I would definately recomend Cioppino's Enoteca based on a fantastic lunch I had there. I think their prices are very reasonable and its in a cool part of town.

I would definately echo the reccomendations for Matt's in the Market. High on both the fantastic food and funky meter.... I would also second (or third?) Maximilien and Le Pichet. I would encourage you to consider Harvest Vine, just a little east of downtown (but still in Seattle). Fabulous Spanish tapas and paella. If you can keep yourself from trying everything on the menu, it can be affordable. Another favorite of mine is Le Gourmand, absolutely superb food and a nice, but funky place. They offer a 3-course fixed price menu that varies between about $35 and $45 depending on what entree you choose. It is located in the Ballard neighborhood, which is northwest of downtown.

I'm a big fan of Philly Fevre. I didn't go much before the ownership change, but I think the people who run it now do a nice job. My understanding is that they worked there before the change as well. I absolutely love the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich they do. Haven't ever tried Philly's Best, so I can't compare.

I keep meaning to ask what happened to the passatelli. I haven't seen it there for a long time and it was one of my favorites. I also love the lentil and sour apple soup and some of the puree soups they have. The bean puree soup I had the other day was not nearly as thick as it usually is, which was too bad.

I should say up front that I have a really hard time being totally objective about La Spiga. I've been going there regularly since the first month they opened and know the owners pretty well, they are wonderful people (sorry if I appear to be having a La Nina moment here ...they do use fresh mozzarella on occaision). It is one of the warmest and friendliest places I know of to have a meal. As mamster said (by the way, was that you that sat down at my table during lunch the other day?), service is definately their weak link. I believe it is a combination of hiring decisions and a lack of training. I am certain that Fish's most unfortunate experience was due to ignorance on the part of the staff, not any malicious intent. I was also disappointed when they pared back the menu, but they did it to make things more manageable after Sabrina (the chef and owner along w/her husband, Pietro and sister) had a baby. I will also grant that the items on their menu are not uniformly excellent, but there are a few things that I consider to be the very best of their kind. In particular, I've never had better tiramisu or better lasagne that what I can get at La Spiga. I would agree with mamster that the soup at lunch the other day was not terribly exciting, but this was the first time I've had a soup there that I wasn't totally enamored with. They are generally excellent and quite interesting. I will also acknowledge that since I moved out of the neighborhood and they raised their prices, I don't go there as often (once a month) as I used to (2-3 times a week), but I haven't noticed any significant slip in the food quality.

The place is called George's Delicatessen and is at 907 Madison. I can't personally vouch for it, but a Polish priest I know says its good....

I vote for Panzanella at 12th and Union. Great chewy Italian style bread....

Thanks for the review BH. I'm a big fan of Pegasus but have never tried any of the other places on Alki. I particularly love the pizza with the fried pepperoni strips on it. Would you consider La Rustica to be on Alki (probably not I imagine). I actually have never made it there but have heard great things.

A couple years ago, I spent a long weekend in the Willamette Valley doing the wine thing and had a great time. My only gripe would be that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to visit most of the best wineries. This is not terribly different from other wine regions I suppose. Of the wineries that I was able to visit, I think Argyle definately had the most consistently good wines, from pinot noir to chardonnay and back again. My favorite wine I've had from the Willamette area was a WillaKenzie Pinot Noir, but I think the winery is only open on a very limited basis. I think the less expensive offerings from the better makers is a relatively new phenomenon. I was stunned to see a Domaine Druhin Pinot Noir in the grocery store the other day for $12. I don't thing I'd ever seen anything from them for under $35 before.

And here I thought it was the overwhelming weight of the wisdom of my original argument.... Now that we've taken the first step, can we discuss the fact that it would probably make more sense for Hawaii to be grouped with California than with the PNW? I didn't think so.....

Ok, so I get mocked as being geographically challenged for suggesting that Hawaii should be part of the North America section of the site, and now it has magically been merged into PNW-A? Wha' happen'?

Given that the whole vegan/vegetarian food industry goes to incredible lengths to create fake meat products out of soy and lentils, isn't the eventual appearance of fake doughnuts pretty much a given? Frankly the whole thing just sends me fleeing (I will admit that I voluntarily eat veggie-burgers at times. ) In my experience, Seattle is a doghnut wasteland compared to the east coast, although I haven't tried Top Pot. Mamster, maybe we could meet there for a power grading session at some point this term.....

Actually there is one, however I can't remember the name..... It's on Madison, across the street from the Sorrento. I'll try to come up with the name....

I'm also a big fan of smoke-free places. King County actually maintains a web page that lists (all?) smoke-free restaurants in the county: Smoke-free Restaurant Guide

I like crudite as much as the next guy, especially with some good blue cheese dip, but raw food as a way of life just doesn't cut it for me. Even cave men cooked their food and there's some stuff that is very nutritious but absolutely tastes like crap uncooked and other stuff that will make you sick (or worse) uncooked. I don't get it personally. Kind of like the whole macrobiotic thing. I mean, what are we supposed to eat here in the great PNW in the dead of winter?? There aren't even any good slugs available. The robins outside my office window seem to be really enjoying the juniper berries, so maybe I should give them a try.....

I'm so glad its not just me that thinks these beers change noticeably from year to year. Yeah, the Jubelale a couple years ago was an all-timer in my book. I wonder if the change was intentional or not, don't really know enough about beer making to speculate. Maybe they need to start printing vintages on the bottles.

Chef Ripert, This question is prompted by a conversation about these two terms that I had at a recent eGullet event. I am curious whether you would consider yourself a 'gourmet' or a 'gourmand', or perhaps neither. Thanks for your time.

Scrat -- When you have a chance, could you discuss the Burgundian white truffle d'Alba in the boudin? From the name, these were white truffles, of the species available in Alba (Italy), that were grown in Burgundy? I have not yet taken in such an item. If I recall, there were actually two types of truffles shaved over the dish which may not have been clearly recorded in our notes that scrat was transcribing. One was Burgundian black truffles and the other was the white truffles d'Alba. This was definately my favorite dish of the evening.

I swear they could cut the whole thing down to a 5-page newsletter if he would just friggin' cut to the chase. It's either an intense desire to establish credibility or a need to fill space, I can't decide. The conclusions are, in my experience at least, usually correct however. One of my wife's favorites was the reccomended method for roasting mushrooms, which produced excellent mushrooms, but also almost burned down our kitchen. She still hasn't forgiven Chris for that one I don't think....

Would you smack him if he still had his glasses on, but no bowtie?? I'm not sure I could bring myself to deck someone who is such a pansy. (Note: Don't get me wrong, I actually think his mag is good and has a lot of useful info, but Chris just drives me nuts sometimes.) Having gone to school in Boston, I will say that his attitude is pretty typical of those who consider themselves New England "natives".

I think Chris needs to loosen the bowtie a little.... I've actually cooked lotus root before at home, so I guess I am a 'lotus-eater' after all....

The other place is in church, right? My only question is, how good would it have to be for you to actually lean across the sushi bar and kiss Hajime on the lips? My other reaction to fabulous food, besides profanity, is that my eyes well up with tears. No one has ever said anything, but I can only imagine what the server must think when they see me all red-eyed after devouring some particularly great dish....

I had a really enjoyable bistecca fiorrentina at a place in Florence called Hosteria Ganino a few years ago. The place is very casual and plain, but the steak was fantastic (and huge!). It's located a block or so off of Piazza della Signoria. Compared to many places, the bistecca fiorrentina is very reasonably priced at Ganino. I think if you could finagle a trip to Kobe as well, then you could do the definitive global steak comparison.....

Isn't it amusing how the more refined and sublime food gets, the more crass some peoples' reaction to it becomes?? I know it works this way for me, and apparently the Colonel as well. I can't hardly described the best meals of my life without some string of four-letter words and/or their derivatives! As far as the question at had.....these review are becoming like Chinese water torture. I need to get myself to Mashikos before I completely come unglued.