tighe

Oh my - is the Market lightening up? This could be a bad precedent, though not a bad decision. ← I've gone by the Market location a few times, far too close to my office. I'm wondering if they got by on the technicality that the Market Location is 'Belle's Buns' and not 'Belle Epicurean'. The actual product is the only thing th two have in common, as the Market location is spartan at best.

I would go to Walla Walla, even though it's a longer drive than the Yakima Valley. Better food, better hotels and largely better wines... Some links: http://www.wallawallawine.com/ http://www.wallawalla.org/

Are they calling it that on the menu now??

Ruth's Chris is in the Hyatt, not quite attached to the convention center. It's just a steak house. ← Yeah, one of those huge soul-less chains.

There's a Ruth's Chris in the Mariott that's attached to the Convention Center, it is what it is. Nice space. Two other possibilities in the immediate area of the Convention Center are Palomino (OK chain restaurant) and Geneva. It's just not a particularly inspiring area for eating unfortunately. Probably the best hotel option is Earth and Ocean in the W hotel, a few blocks away.

I'm schlepping from 3rd & Pike, so I've got you beat! If anyone hasn't tried the fried duck soup, you damn well should. It's a $20+ fine dining dish masquerading a $7 soup in a Vietnamese restaurant. Some day I'm going to have to order something other than that and the ban xeo.

I tried Naan-n-Curry in Renton for the first time last night and liked it. Indian/Pakistani food is a gaping hole in my culinary experience, so I can't say how it rates compared to other places. Apparently this is an off-shoot of a small Bay Area chain that has a good reputation. We had pakora, seekh kebab, chicken tikka, karahi chicken, vegetable biryani and garlic naan. The karahi chicken was excellent, as was the seekh kebab. Then only dish that I wouldn't have again was the biryani, just not very interesting. It's a halal restaurant, so no beer or wine.

Most of the high end places in town (Mistral, Lampreia, Rover's, Canlis, Palm Court) are quiet, but I don't know if you're looking to drop that kind of $. At lower price levels, it gets really hard to find a place that's both quiet and good. Geneva comes to mind for quiet, but I haven't even eaten there in it's current incarnation.

Lampreia is a great restaurant, but be aware that the chef has a reputation for being very difficult to work for.

I think you're misinterpreting the information on the web page. The page that tsquare linked to pretty clearly states that a 12" round with buttercream costs $55 (serves 24-30). The other price sheet on the site is specifically for wedding cakes, which are typically price per person, as is everything else for weddings.

I'd second the EoD rec. Seriously good cakes. If you want to do something special, I'm sure they'd work with you.

Funny, there's a discussion on Chowhound right now about this very issue. The overwhelming consensus (including my own) is the Grilled Salmon Sandwich at the Market Grill. ← I've never had a salmon sandwich that wouldn't have been better without the bread....

I think I would differ on some of the details of the previous posts and I'm going to assert my "authentic Seattle native" status here... Salmon, definitely, especially smoked (hot smoked, not lox) or cedar planked. Butter clams (steamed), Dungeness crab (steamed, served cold) and oysters (raw). Coffee (does relate to the local Scandinavian influence I believe). Despite the 800 pound gorilla (Starbucks), Seattle has a vibrant group of small roasters and coffee shops. Japanese (especially sushi) and Vietnamese food and influenced food. I don't think Thai food is especially strong or prevalent. Fruit from the other side of the mountains: apples, pears and cherries. RedHook may have been one of the originals, but these days they're a national brand, distributed by Anheuser-Busch. Many small microbreweries still flourish and make excellent beer. For better or worse, the food philosophy that prevails is to take high quality ingredients and cook them very simply.

Emmanuel Rubin's guide. Very useful book.

Even better, pick up a copy of Gourmet Paris which is organised around where to find the best version of various foods/dishes...

Warning: snotty comment follows.... From the Daily Astorian article: When the 'Restaurant of the Year' features coconut prawns, chicken parm and linguini with clam sauce, I find this statement particularly hard to swallow. No doubt all these dishes can be delicious when done well, but on par with the best restaurans anywhere?? C'mon!

I second Cafe Paloma, probably the best Turkish food in town. There's also Ibiza for something nicer and Collins Pub for good burgers and such.

I had a pizza in New Haven, CT last summer that made me want to stop eating any of the pizza available in Seattle.

Tat's looks like a must-try and may be good option for DrKoob's friends.

It is one of life's great mysteries.... FWIW, I think Philadelphia Fevre (24th & Madison) does a good job with cheesesteaks...

The new-ish place in Factoria is Goldberg's which has received uniformly mediocre to poor reviews and originates out of Detroit.

Why in the name of all that is good and holy would people from NYC come to Seattle looking for a New York style deli?!?! You should save them the disappointment and admit up front that their is no place here that holds a candle to the best delis in NYC, because there isn't.

Search the 'Cooking' forum for Turducken, I'm pretty sure there was a thread where people shared tips, techniques and experiences... Edited to add: Voila!

My recommendation on other threads, Ravishing Radish, still stands as the best catered food I've had, hands down.

We are going to Maximillien. They have had Rouge perform for other special dinners - although not exactly my favorite type of music, they are good. ← We thought the Maximillien NYE dinner was one of the very best special dinners they have served. The actual menu was quite different from that shown online but much better, IMO. Main courses were venison and quail stuffed with foie gras mousse. Both excellent. The wine pairings were so-so. The entertainment was also quite enjoyable. ← Probably different because my original post was in regard to last year's NYE dinner. Here's this year's version: NYE '05 menu Sounds delicious, glad you enjoyed it.