Best Restaurants 2008: All the Rest

Best Chicken Wing
Mistral
Belltown, 113 Blanchard St.; 206.770.7799; mistralseattle.com
Chicken wings aren’t the standard pub fare at Mistral; here, they are cooked sous vide, then fried and topped with a slurpable, slightly sweet house-made harissa sauce. Be forewarned: Mistral is not a place you can drop in with your football buddies for a pint and some wings. These were served as part of a recent multicourse tasting menu.

Best Fish on a Stick
Lola
Downtown, 2000 Fourth Ave.; 206.441.1430; tomdouglas.com/lola
At this Greek joint named after his wife’s grandmother, Tom Douglas has given the traditional Greek meat kabob a Pacific Northwest feel. Not just any salmon is used for these little melt-in-your-mouth morsels on a stick, but sustainably troll-caught Alaska King salmon, which is quickly grilled (read: not overcooked) and graced with the flavor of sweet fennel for a savory—and hearty—bite of fish heaven.

Best Reason to Order a Second (Half) Bottle
Quinn’s
Capitol Hill, 1001 E Pike St.; 206.325.7711; quinnspubseattle.com
For those who can’t decide between white or red to go with the excellent gastropub fare at Quinn’s, why not order one of each? Quinn’s exclusively half-bottle list (with by-the-glass options) is most conducive to the wide-ranging small-plates menu, which includes a fantastic braised oxtail and crispy marrow dish.

Best Spicy Noodle
Samurai Noodle
International District, 606 Fifth Ave. S; 206.624.9321
At Samurai, the spicy Hellfire ramen noodles (thicker than the ones in their excellent pork-based tonkotsu broth) are served dry with a small cup of chile sauce rich with shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and shreds of tender pork. (Real masochists—and we’ve witnessed a few during lunches here—drink the sauce after they finish their noodles.)

Best Fried Dough
Rocking Wok
Wallingford, 4301 Interlake Ave. N; 206.545.4878
The thousand-layer pancake arrives crispy hot out of the fryer, towering and flaky, and speckled with five-spice powder. It’s the best thing on the menu and will satisfy even your strongest salty/fried/carb urge.

Best Tongue
Tavolàta
Belltown, 2323 Second Ave.; 206.838.8008; tavolata.com
The beef tongue sugo with ricotta gnocchi arrives like a delicious, braised-beyond-fork-tender mess on a plate. The piquant sauce is hearty and rich, and if you haven’t had tongue before, this might be the easiest and most delectable introduction yet to this unctuous part of the animal.

Best Underrated Pork Product
Da Pino’s
Central District, 4225 Rainier Ave. S; 206.356.8502
Da Pino’s is an oft-overlooked salumeria that produces fantastic wild boar salami. Be warned: They won’t slice your cured meats for you, but these flavorful meats taste best generously sliced and served with a crusty baguette at home anyway.

Best Chocolate Desert That Won’t Break the Bank
Dahlia Bakery
Downtown, 2001 Fourth Ave.; 206.441.4540; tomdouglas.com/bakery
The rosewater-and-red-wine chocolate ganache tart that occasionally makes an appearance at Dahlia Bakery is easily one of the loveliest pastries to grace the city, with a sugar-dusted rose petal skirting the edge of the properly bronzed crust. With so many restaurant desserts in the city pushing $10, this lovely bit of eye candy is even more delightful at a mere $5.

Best Sign That Summer Is on Its Way
Sakuma Brothers Market Stand
Burlington, 17790 Cook Road; 360.661.4252; sakumamarketstand.com
Tulips might signal spring in the Skagit Valley, but it’s the fresh strawberry milkshakes at Sakuma Brothers Market Stand fruit stand in Burlington that mark the sweet start of summer. This venerable grower blends its berries—picked every morning—into old-fashioned shakes for a killer chiller that is loaded with fruit bits. Open mid-May through November 1.

Best Treat to Make You Feel Like a Kid
Taste at SAM
Downtown, 1300 First Ave.; 206.903.5291; tastesam.com
Taste’s better-than-homemade cookies are served warm alongside a shot glass of milk. The ever-changing assortment includes nostalgic throwbacks to the childhood classics. A screaming good deal at $4, the plate is splattered with versions of chocolate chip, peanut butter and snicker doodle that aren’t fancy, just flat-out delish. Go ahead and dunk.

Best Place to Bump into a Celebrity Chef
Pecos Pit BBQ
SoDo, 2260 First Ave. S; 206.623.0629
We’ve spied Tom Douglas grabbing barbecue at this no-frills sandwich spot. Leave it to Douglas to sniff out the real deal, and we’ll add a big, messy thumbs up. The meats are cooked low and slow over applewood, making the smoky brisket tender enough to cause even a Texan to grin. Pulled pork has that telltale pinkish smoke ring—a surefire sign that it’s done right.

Best Fried Oyster Po’ Boy
The Jolly Roger 
Ballard, 1514 NW Leary Way; 206.782.6181; maritimebrewery.ypguides.net
We’re breaking the pact and, at the risk of ruining the place, letting you in on a secret: The Jolly Roger serves some seriously great pub food, and the oyster po’ is the star attraction. Served on a soft, buttery toasted roll with jalapeno-laced slaw, the fried oysters are fresh as can be and pop with juiciness. It doesn’t hurt that the po’ boys come with awesome onion rings, either.

Best Hunters Plate
Brouwer’s Café
Fremont, 400 N 35th St.; 206.267.2437; brouwerscafe.com
If charcuterie plates lure well-heeled wine sippers, Brouwer’s Café’s hunters plate aims straight for the hearts of plaid-clad brew fans. The juicy house-made sausage is perfection partnered with sauerkraut, a beer-mustard reduction and one of Brouwer’s 200-plus beers from around the world.

Best Matzo Ball Soup
Eats Market Café
West Seattle, 2600 SW Barton St.; 206.933.1200; eatsmarket.com
Seattle is still in dire need of a real-deal Jewish deli experience, but Eats Market Café’s matzo ball soup is one step in a very promising direction. Close your eyes, pretend you aren’t within stumbling distance of a Bed, Bath & Beyond and slurp the chicken-y broth, pieces of tender dark meat strewn about, slowly nibbling spoonfuls of tender matzo.

Best Meat Stew
La Carta de Oaxaca
Ballard, 5431 Ballard Ave. NW; 206.782.8722; lacartadeoaxaca.com
In spite of a constant onslaught of hipsters, foodies and, uh, foodsters, La Carta de Oaxaca’s satisfying Mexican food is as great as it ever was. And dishes like the lamb birria, a stew of lamb hunks cooked until tender as all get out, are pure belly-warming pleasure when stuffed into fresh, soft, homemade tortillas. 

Best Vanilla Malt
Red Mill Burgers
Phinney Ridge, 312 N 67th St.; 206.783.6362; redmillburgers.com
Those lines you see stretching out the door are for the fantastic burgers, sure, and maybe for the onion rings, too. But when it comes down to “Will we or won’t we stop and wait (and wait) in that line,” it’s sweet memories of super-thick vanilla malts that convince you to pull the car into the lot.

Best Way to Get Your Greens
La Medusa
Columbia City, 4857 Rainier Ave. S; 206.723.2192; lamedusarestaurant.com
It’s been 10 years since La Medusa started Columbia City’s renaissance by introducing a hot new eatery to the up-and-coming neighborhood. Yoga studios, brunch spots and one of Seattle’s best bakeries now call the neighborhood home, but one thing hasn’t changed: Grandma’s Greens, Medusa’s signature tart-tangy-spicy warm salad of winter greens, anchovies, raisins, pine nuts and olives. Think of it as collards, Sicilian style.

Best Excuse to Say “Nudie” in a Restaurant
Restaurant Zoë
Belltown, 2137 Second Ave.; 206.256.2060; restaurantzoe.com
Everyone’s talking about Quinn’s (including us), but Scott Staples’ first baby, Restaurant Zoë, serves one of the city’s most-craved dishes: fresh ricotta gnudi. The pillowy ravioli minus the wrapper, gently sautéed with fresh sage in a nutty brown butter-Parmesan sauce, are heaven on a plate. 

Best Pork Shumai
Jade Garden
International District, 424 Seventh Ave. S; 206.622.8181
Dim sum in Seattle is a sore subject; it’s hit or miss at nearly all the Chinese restaurants in town. That’s why the long lines at Jade Garden on weekend mornings urge a second look, especially for addictive shumai dumplings stuffed with a savory filling of ginger, scallion and pork. Grab two orders from the steam tables; you won’t have leftovers.

Best Example of the Three-Block Diet
Steelhead Diner
Pike Place Market, 95 Pine St.; 206.625.0129; steelheaddiner.com
Brunch at Steelhead Diner, where chef Kevin Davis maximizes his location within Pike Place Market, takes “eating local” to a whole new level. Beecher’s Flagship cheddar cheese melts into the Eggs Jeremy; Kilt Lifter brew from Pike Place Brewery gives the fish ’n’ chips batter a malty tang; the “Rich Boy” sandwich features Uli’s hot sausage. The fresh crab, salmon and clams he uses are all purchased—you guessed it—right across the street at the market.

Best Hands-On Experience   
Shi’an Restaurant
Lake City, 12534 Lake City Way NE; 206.322.3388
There’s nothing like a little hard work to make you appreciate your meal. Order the lamb stew at this northern Chinese eatery and you’ll immediately get put to work crumbling a disk of stiff pita-like bread into pea-size particles at your table. When you’re done, a server takes your bread back to the kitchen where it is bathed in a rich lamb broth and comes back to the table accompanied by addictive pickled garlic and sesame oil to add a little punch to the earthy stew.

Least Photogenic Dish We Love 
Alborz
Redmond, 8461 164th Ave. NE; 425.883.1080; alborzrestaurant.net
The paste-thick, dun-colored fesenjon morgh sauce isn’t the prettiest we’ve seen, but Alborz’s version of the classic Persian combo of pomegranate and ground walnuts is very, very tasty. The bistro serves it with tender chunks of chicken, which are utterly delightful, though we secretly think it’d be even better with duck.

Best Indian Fast Food
Mayuri Foods & Video
Redmond, 2560 152nd Ave. NE; 425.861.3800; mayurifamily.com
Frankly, there’s not a lot of choice when it comes to Indian fast food in the region, but Mayuri’s snack-shop/bakery-cum-video-store is the place to go if you crave the subcontinent’s crispy fried, tangy snack food. Among the fritters and samosas at Mayuri, the best bet is bhel puri, a little mountain of spiced, crisped rice and grains drizzled with herb and tamarind chutneys.

Best Spin on Fried Chicken
Kawali Grill
Columbia City, 5300 Rainier Ave. S; 206.723.6179; kawaligrill.com
Marinated in coconut milk, ginger and pandan leaf, then fried golden brown with panko bread crumbs, this Filipino restaurant’s pandan chicken reminds you that it’s never too late to try a new version of a classic. 
 
Best Soundtrack to a Great Wine List
The Triple Door
Downtown, 216 Union St.; 206.838.4333; tripledoor.com
You get two for the price of one at this jewel box of a dinner theater tucked away beneath its parent restaurant, Wild Ginger. In the Triple Door’s bar, the Musicquarium, you can enjoy excellent half-price happy hour appetizers, often with a backdrop of a live music combo. Or, do the full meal deal in The Mainstage, where national acts play as you dine in one of the cozy supper club throwback booths. Wine director Ole Thompson will suggest a great bottle to pair with your steak—and the music. Don’t miss his annual Triple Sip, an always sold-out concert featuring wines and winemakers from Washington and California.

Best Way to Compare Cows
Metropolitan Grill
Downtown, 820 Second Ave.; 206.624.3287; themetropolitangrill.com
If you’ve ever wondered if the latest craze in pampered Japanese beef is really better than the American stuff, now you can compare the two on the same plate. Metropolitan Grill’s combination plate lets you taste a “True 100 Percent Wagyu Japanese Beef” steak side by side with the best in American-grown Wagyu. Beef beauty is in the taste of the beholder: The velvety Japanese Wagyu melts in your mouth, while the American is firmer and more “meaty” tasting.

Best Not-So-Wild Food We’re Wild About
“Wild” boar
“Wild” boar was everywhere this year, and although most wild boar is actually farm-raised (“wild” refers to the breed), we like the trend. A staple on the Italian menus at Volterra (Ballard, 5411 Ballard Ave.; 206.789.5100; volterrarestaurant.com) and Osteria la Spiga (Capitol Hill, 1429 12th Ave.; 206.323.8881; laspiga.com)—there’s even a wild boar sloppy joe at Quinn’s (Capitol Hill, 1001 E Pike St.; 206.325.7711; quinnspubseattle.com)—this richer-than-the-other-white-meat meat brings succulence and flavor to sauces and stews. At Ethan Stowell’s How to Cook a Wolf (Queen Anne, 2208 Queen Anne Ave.; 206.838.8090; howtocookawolf.com), the savory pork is the base of a hearty red sauce ladled over house-made semolina papparadelle pasta—a perfect rainy-day meal in our misty city.

Best Fine Dining in an Eastside Strip Mall
Tosoni’s
Bellevue, 14320 NE 20th St.; 425.644.1668
In an unlikely spot in a Bellevue strip mall, Tosoni’s is a romantic little hideaway popular with in-the-know Eastsiders. The continental menu features simple and satisfying flavors, such as savory grilled lamb, crab cakes, lots of mushrooms, grilled vegetables, and delicate fresh fruit and Grand Marnier soufflé. Attentive service and a small but varied wine list make this great find worth the trip.