Places for a good lunch in Seattle?

[Jenise]

Back in the 90's Bob and I used to fly down to Seattle from Anchorage for medical services not available back home, and we'd time our flight to go straight to Wild Ginger from the airport for lunch. On the first day, we'd order Riesling and have crab fresh from the tank in a fantastic curry sauce, plus a few other things seafood. On the second day, we'd order a California zin of the type hard to buy in California, like Rafanelli or Williams Selyam, and a few of the meat curries. It was like two different restaurants, but all wonderful. Perfect every time. I've never been so enamored of a restaurant before or since such that I would attend it so exclusively.

Yesterday we had lunch there. Bob's chinese chicken salad was tasty but unremarkable, lacking visual character--it was just dumped on a plate, no garnish. I ordered a main course bowl of seafood Laksa, a 'spicy curried Maylasian bouilliabaise" promised to be "fish, scallops and mussels over rice noodles". There was a smaller alternative but the once course was all I wanted--I love mussels and only get to eat them when I'm out, since Bob is allergic--so I went big. I pictured a big, modern steep sided bowl full of an opaque yellow broth turned orange on the surface from red chiles, kind of like a pho but different. What I got was a standard low, squat, thick-walled cafeteria cereal bowl, about five-six inches wide and two inches high. It contained an opaque yellow soup without a speck of chile. There were two tiny scallops, one clam, no mussels, and a few bite-sized pieces of fish. All good and properly cooked, but don't put mussels/plural on the menu if you're going to serve but clam/singular. The noodles were not rice but standard white wheat spaghetti noodles, and there were probably all of five half strands in there. In fact I had trouble finding them at first--I expected a little cache on the bottom as with a pho, but no. Tastewise it was just okay, not compelling but not bad--it just didn't live up the name 'Laksa' or the description on the menu. All in all, pretty odd substitutions: rice noodles and mussels are neither rare nor expensive.

This is probably the fifth or sixth time I've eaten there since moving to Washington eight years ago, and unfortunately we haven't had a single meal that reminded us of why we used to love it so slavishly. Oh sure, we've had a good dish here and there, but too many disappointments and my Laksa yesterday pretty much sums up the way it's outdating itself. The food seems 'institutionalized', and there's no sign of Tom Douglas' early brilliance.

So why did we eat there? Believe me, we had all kinds of other plans, but there weren't any other fine dining establishments downtown open for lunch! We had plans for sushi over on Eastlake but our resto of choice didn't open til 5:00 like just about every other place except chain places and those around the Pike Street Market that cater more to tourists than locals. We looked for an hour before giving up--all we found was coffee, burgers, sandwiches, Thai food, and pizza, where we wanted to sit down and be served a good, healthy meal in a nice-looking room.

So anyway, if you know of places (other than Salumi, which I adore) in Seattle where creative, chef-driven food is served mid-day, I'd love to hear about it!

I can't vouch for most of the "chef-driven" places at midday, but Tamarind Tree is definitely open for lunch. You could do a whole lot worse.

Invite yourself to Jo Ann's.

[Robin Garr]

How about the famous Thai place that was allegedly built by Thai Air for its crews laying over in Seattle? Bai Tong or something like that? In the late '80s it used to be called the Orchid, in a little hotel of that name near Sea-Tac, and later moved into a former drive-in on the main highway. It's been years, and I think it moved again, but still in the same area near the airport. Not really fancy, and probably not "chef-driven," but some of the best Thai food I ever ate.

Jenise,
Last time we were in Seattle, we ate at Cutter's Bayhouse. They had a great menu, views. and a nice place to go after doing Pikes Market. 2001 Western Ave , downtown. This was about 5 years ago, so you may want to check it out, unless you already know of it.

I never cared much for Wild Ginger. I remember my first experience there (it was the place to be seen when Norm Rice was mayor) I thought the servings were too small, the price too high and the food not all that spectacular. I went about a year ago to their much larger, more upscale location for a large gathering birthday party. I still didn't consider it a big whoop. Personally, I like lunch in a dive or very small quaint location where the food is spectacular and you bring your own ambiance. To that end I really like dropping into a couple small places on Eastlake -- Nettletown (chef/forager Christina Choi's little jewel), and Le Fournil (a French bakery and sandwich shoppe). In a nearby neighborhood is a more frequented, larger establishment that is a current "in" location is Flying Fish. The menu and food are inspired (though, the last time I ate there I thought the chicken a bit over-smoked). I also think you would really enjoy Matts in the Market. And, if you are really jonesin' for something from Tom Douglas, he has several establishments for you to choose from -- most of them serving lunch as well as dinner. Someone mentioned Bai Tong, which I agree is some of the best Thai food in Seattle -- SE Asian, and especially Thai is one of my favoriate cuisines -- so I know from Thai. You would not go wrong eating there. It has moved to the Southcenter area on Southcenter Parkway (across from where Toys 'R Us used to be located). I don't consider it a better location, but Sound Transit moved them out of their location on International Blvd. Howie mentione my house -- and I appreciate his vote of confidence. But, I am not going to go into debt and kill myself trying to satisfy your discriminating palate -- which is what I would do! So, uh-unh! But, I'll meet you any place that sells salt and pepper crab! Good luck -- and provide me with a food critic's feedback.

[Jenise]

Not really fancy, and probably not "chef-driven," but some of the best Thai food I ever ate.

I didn't know about this place! I'll figure out where it is and keep it in mind for next time. Btw, by chef-driven, I just meant I wanted to taste some talent, where real culinary people are in the kitchen preparing my food, and 'culinary' includes the little ethnic dives where owner-proprietors are cooking their hearts out vs. the kind of place that serves fried fish platters and chicken caesar salads where the ingredients are purchased frozen, bottled or almost ready-made from the restaurant supply guy. Like every big city, Seattle has a lot of those.

[Jenise]

I can't vouch for most of the "chef-driven" places at midday, but Tamarind Tree is definitely open for lunch. You could do a whole lot worse.

Tamarind Tree looks straight up our alley, thanks! It goes on the list.

[Jenise]

Jo Ann, everything you've suggested is just what we're usually looking for. Actually, we had plans to eat at a sushi resto on Eastlake called Ta Ma Ru (or was it Ta Ru Ma?) but it wasn't open for lunch. (Although it wasn't our plan as we drove away, we ended up staying in Seattle long enough to go back for dinner. Terrific sushi and Japanese food, best I've had in Seattle so far in fact.) However, we didn't realize it wasn't open for lunch until we showed up there at 1:00 hungry. From there we drove the length of Eastlake and only found a grill place or two open, so we drove up around the north end of the length and backtracked on Fremont, then up and over Queen Anne hill and down the other side. We didn't see a single restaurant in all that mileage that gave us that Come Hither look the way the sushi place on Eastlake did. Everything was pizza, coffee and sandwiches, and there's nothing wrong with that but I was looking for an experience, not just fuel, plus I was still numb from the root canal I'd had about three hours earlier. Raw fish and rice would have been pretty ideal. We ended up driving down 5th and passed Tom's Palace Kitchen, coincidentally, but they too weren't open until 5:00. Everything that was? Coffee and sandwiches, and one tiny express Thai place that was too dark and fast for such a pretty day and my slow food mood. I'm otherwise a big fan of little ethnic dives, and typically that's what I look forward to when I go to Seattle. Will be going more often now that Bobby's decided to take the rest of his life off from work.

As for cooking, we'll have to catch up and do a meal together some time. Maybe in August, if the offer I made on a new boat yesterday goes through and I'm cleared for crabbing.

As for cooking, we'll have to catch up and do a meal together some time. Maybe in August, if the offer I made on a new boat yesterday goes through and I'm cleared for crabbing.

It's a deal. I remember us talking about crabbing once. Something that is still on my bucket list. You were going to show me how to handle live crab without them battling me -- something about which I am a total wuss! Good luck on that boat and on your meals. Yes, you must do Nettletown, Bai Tong and the Flying Fish. I think you would enjoy them all. I'll keep thinking about other places for lunch. Please don't forget many of the Vietnamese sandwich shops that have opened up all around the city. Most are take out, but the selection is outstanding and the price is right. You'll find all you need to select from between 12th and 5th ave on and around Jackson street. Good luck on the boat!

[Jenise]

As for cooking, we'll have to catch up and do a meal together some time. Maybe in August, if the offer I made on a new boat yesterday goes through and I'm cleared for crabbing.

It's a deal. I remember us talking about crabbing once. Something that is still on my bucket list. You were going to show me how to handle live crab without them battling me -- something about which I am a total wuss! Good luck on that boat and on your meals.

Yes, I was. And my intentions were good, but season before last I had to quit after just two weeks--on and off I have serious pain in my neck that's triggered by certain repetitive gestures, and we discoverd that picking crab was one of them. That year we borrowed a neighbor's boat. Then last year we got a little 14' Livingston, and discovered that it's barely a two person boat. Especially with crab traps on board. What I'm buying now is a 20 footer with an open bow--seats six for a sunset cocktail cruise or easily handles four for crabbing. Carl can come, too, if he likes. Or you likes. I think this might be our year.

I'm also a fan of Bai Tong. Matt's in th Market used to be a great spot; the management changed a year or two ago and our first post-change experience was good but not what it had been. We should really go back and check in.

Like JoAnn, we've never had a meal at Wild Ginger that did it for us, though we first ate there 5-6 years ago. Melissa raved about her tasting menu at Joule (EDIT: not open for lunch). I haven't been yet, but intend to remedy that soon. Another possibility is Serafina. If it's a warm day, they may have the patio open for lunch.