SeAAttle

Sorry for the vague request. Best food is definitely at the top of the list, and not too formal (tie not required). Wine selection will also be important. Past experiences have included Patina in LA, Norman's in Miami/Coral Gables, Tapenade (?) in La Jolla and K-Pauls in New Orleans. One couple in the group is local. The others will be staying near the Convention Center but we are willing to drive for the right place.

Two friends and I have a 15 year tradition of dining together when we attend an annual conference, this year in San Diego. The "rules" require that the restaurant be "the best" in the area and that we spend at least $1 more that the previous year! This year will be especially noteworthy as our spouses will attend for the first time. The recommendations we have so far are Mille Fleurs and Mr. A's. Any comments, suggestions or other recommendations would be appreciated. The event will be in late October. Thanks.

We have tried to dine there with no luck. The first time we showed up, they were closed for a special event (the large sign announcing this was off to the side, out of sight, so we had already parked, etc). They were rather apologetic and gave us 10% off coupons. We asked about the next night and the gladly took our reservation. The situation was handled well. We showed up the next night, only to find that again they were closed for another special event. When we complained that we had made the reservation the day before, the person just shrugged. Since then, friends have been and reported a great view, mediocre food and terrible service. I wonder how long before they revert to a "special event only" establishment or close.

I second the Waterfront recommendation. Recently, we had one of the flaming desserts (volcano?) and it was quite spectacular.

This place opened in December and was mentioned elsewhere on this board. We managed to find it last week - no sign but if you look inside, it will be obvious. The food is actually Oaxacan, far from Tex-Mex. Several items have mole sauce. A bit on the sweet side but very tasty. Will certainly return. BTW, the walls are covered with very interesting photographs of Oaxaca. I think the name is La Carta de Oaxaca.

I grew up near Shiner, Texas. In the early days, the brewery literally had direct lines to people's houses so they had there own tap. Shiner was very small town in the 50's and probably has not changed much, although I have not visited in decades. Shiner Beer went commercial in the 80s and can be found throughout the South/Southwest. Interesting to know it finally made it to the PNW. Must admit I never liked it but I am not a big fan of beer.

We have not been to 727 for several months and had not heard about this change. Can you elaborate? I thought it was one of the best places in Seattle. I agree with tighe about Brasserie Margaux!

We returned a few days ago and are recovering from jet lag. It was a real treat to visit your wonderful city again after 30 years (we lived in Stockholm for 2 years in the 1970s and traveled extensively in Scandinavia). Our hosts made most of the arrangements for our visit so we did not have a chance to experience Bagatelle, which I now regret. We stayed at the Holmenkollen hotel - a truly beautiful place - and had dinner one night in De Fem Stuer. Excellent in service, food and setting. Our hosts took us to Bar og Restaurant on Kirkeveien near Majorstuen Station. I highly recommend it for its creative approach to the preparation. Also, I love the extremely tall entrance door. We had one dinner at the Holmenkollen Restaurant down the road from the Holmenkollen Park Hotel. While the view was spectacular, the food was not especially noteworthy. However, we were quite tired and did not want to travel into Oslo. All in all, a delightful visit to your wonderful, although very expensive city. Thanks for your advice and interest.

Thanks to The Viking for great suggestions. We will see where our hosts take us and then perhaps try Bagatelle and/or Oro. Will probably pass on Palace Grill since cigarette smoke is an issue of us. Bolgen&Moi also sounds very interesting. Any other suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. Always very helpful to hear from a local. I hope that I can reciprocate with recommendations if you travel to Seattle. Just post a request on the US/Pacific Northwest site.

We will be in Oslo the second week in September and would appreciate any restaurant recommendations. Interested in those considered to be among the best in the city. Will be staying at the Holmenkollen Park Hotel Rica. Any comments on the hotel's restaurants would also be appreciated.

We have been to Dahlia 4-5 times in the last 2 years. The last two times were disappointing and we have not been back. But others rave, so I perhaps we hit off nights, or just ordered the wrong thing. 727 Pine is excellent, although rather pricey. Have been there 7-8 times in last year or so - never disappointed, and usually very, very pleased with both the food and the service. Their kobe beef is superb. Edited to add: Brasserie Margaux is also outstanding, in the opinion of several of us here.

The Boat Street Cafe is gone - literally. The building has been razed to make way for an office park. Too bad - a nice place for lunch for those of us at the U.

Nice review, tighe. Ms SeAAttle and I were there also. Were you by any chance seated at the table nearest the kitchen and immediately to Arnie's left (when he was seated)? I noticed some one photographing the table before sitting and thought "I bet that is an e-gulleteer"? We were the designated (perhaps a bit annoying) glass ringers, assigned by Arnie to quiet the group so that he could speak. We were seated in the booth with him. He is such a knowledgeable guy and I really enjoy his historical description of the wine producing areas. I agree that the Morgante was the best wine of the night. The orichietti was terrific but I also enjoyed the octopus. I must say that I was disappointed in the veal chop. The piece was so large that I thought it was not really cooked properly. A bit on the fatty side for my tastes. Chris said that the pieces were much bigger than he had expected but that cutting them to smaller portions was problematic. The dessert was superb, as you said, but IMO, the dessert wine was not as great as Arnie seemed to think it was. To each his own. Overall, another very nice evening at Brasserie Margaux.

This is very sad. Since I moved to Seattle, I have had lunch there numerous times, although not in the last several months. For people working at the U and Medical Center, it has been a delightful place for lunch.

Excellent description, tighe. Ms SeAAttle and I attended the event also and I would agree with you on every point. The cassoulet was excellent but the venison was the weakest of the courses - not bad but just not up to the standards of the other items. We hope to return while cassoulet is still on the menu.

That is really too bad. I went to Andaluca with a friend a few months ago and he was also dissappointed in the pheasant. Four of us went a week ago and the food was great (I have a terrible memory for what we had). I hope they are not scrimping on the 25/25. That is bad PR and drives away customers.

I highly recommend that you NOT have your cholesterol/lipid panel test done the day after enjoying the kobe beef at 727. From personal experience, the results can be very sobering.

We have been several times, including last night for a wonderful wine dinner featuring Betz Family wines. The syrah was superb but very hard to find. We bought Fremont Wine Bar's last bottle this evening. In general, we like Waterfront very much. Great food (but pricey), excellent service, beautiful site and very reasonable valet parking ($5). For a real treat, ask to meet the chef, Steve Cain. A delightful fellow who loves to schmooze with the customers.

I must be missing something. The site says "rave review", not raving. Perhaps they edited after seeing your post. The menu for the Rhone wine dinner does look very good.

We have been once - more than a year ago. The evening was memorable only for the very snooty waiter and the rather substantial bill. I do not recall what we had but we left vowing not to return. Admittedly, this is not a fair evaluation. Our general rule is to try a restaurant three times before deciding its merits. I would be very interested to know any recent experiences.

We like the cassoulet at Maximillien. I would not recommend the "cassoulet" currently on the menu at Dahlia. We both had it last night - very dissappointing. Dry, undercooked and virtually no flavor. We should have known better since it was cassoulet with sausage and venison (?) but nothing else on the menu seemed very attractive. The venison was the best part, but that is not saying very much. First time we have been to Dahlia in about a year. Was this an off night or have they gotten.....uh...boring?

Great review, tighe. I agree completely with your assessment, although I would probably rate the rock fish as my favorite dish. The lamb was definitely a disappointment. Mine was also undercooked and had little taste. And I agree that Arnie did pitch his comments to the novices. We have been to 5-6 of his tastings but this was the first with a full meal. In the tastings that feature wines only (with appropriate snacks), he has more time to elaborate, gives a history of the featured wines and describes their preparation. Also involves the participants, asks their opinions, etc. More in his element when wines are the (only) topic.

Did anyone else attend this event? We did, our first time at Brasserie Margaux, and were quite impressed. I thought the rock fish was superb, but the lamb was less successful. Also, they did not scrimp on the wines. Leave it to Arnie Millan to pick terrific matches for the food. The 99 Domaine Drouhin was particularly nice, especially with the mushroom saute course. The restaurant is under new management as of a few months ago and the food and service was terrific. I expect this is now the standard. We will definitely return.

Although not really a restaurant, Seattle Wine Bar has closed. Also heard that the restaurant that replaced 96 Union (Harborview, or something like that) may have closed. Not surprised about the latter.

Seattle is by far the most progressive US city I have lived in (total of 6 covering most areas of the country) and probably the cleanest. But I agree, we need public transportation, and many other things. OK, back to good food.