Ballard Bait and Tackle
5517 Seaview Ave NW (Ballard), 784-3016. Mon-Fri 9 am-2 pm, Sat-Sun 7 am-3 pm. $
Ballard Bait is really and truly a bait purveyor, with friendly looking little herrings lined up in pretty little rows in the bait cooler (they may be dead, but they're still kinda cute). The food here is way simple, with the toaster oven standing tall and proud as the only cooking gear in sight. You can have a traditional sandwich (we're instructed to choose a meat, cheese, and bread), or you can get the open-faced crab sandwich. There are two soups every day, a Caesar with or without crab meat, and an extremely serviceable choice of beer, wine, and espresso. The "market price" the day we visited for the crab sammich was $9.95. JIM ANDERSON
Brasa
2107 Third Ave (Belltown), 728-4220. Mon-Sat 5 pm-2 am, closed Sundays. $$$
Brasa is the latest in a troupe of upscale eateries sprouting up around Belltown. Marked by a tasteful neon sign and massive brass doors, Brasa's pumpkin-colored dining room is expansive, with balcony dining available as well. The fare changes daily, and is accommodating enough for vegetarians but decidedly carnivorous in a splashy sense, with forays into venison and wild game. We started with an appetizer of pan-fried calamari which, while palatable, was neither outstanding nor unusual. For dinner, my host ordered the roast suckling pig (slow-roasted in a specially built oven right inside the restaurant), while I settled for the less-than-exotic lamb chops, which were grilled and beautifully sauced, accompanied by several asparagus spears. RIZ ROLLINS
Cyndy's House of Pancakes
10507 Aurora Ave N (North Seattle), 522-5100. Daily 6 am-4 pm. $
Paneled in fake woodgrain and upholstered with red vinyl, the dining room at Cyndy's invites you to mellow out while awaiting your $20 psychic energy reading appointment at the joint across Aurora. It may be best to sit at the bar, bolstered by swivel chairs, and view the high-talent kitchen, where they flip the best pancakes north of the C.D. The banana pancakes ($5 for a stack of 6; $4 for 3) float on your tongue like a tropical dream, and the Bacon & Eggs ($5.50) ain't half bad, either. Crepes -- more commonly called "Roll-Ups" -- are a feathery deal for about $4-$6. A whole continent of hash browns comes with egg orders, and you can choose from country gravy or turkey gravy on anything. TRACI VOGEL
Hattie's Hat
5231 Ballard Ave NW (Ballard), 784-0175. Sun-Thurs 6 am-12 midnight, Fri-Sat 6 am-1 am. $
Hattie's has always been long on character, and the latest owners have continued the tradition by basically leaving the place alone, letting their sincere and friendly waitstaff and bartenders work their time-tested magic. The Black Bean Burger is a house-made mixture, exceedingly preferable to the ubiquitous and corporate Garden Burger. The Mars Oyster Stew ($9.95) towers over all other oyster stews, and a recent Marionberry slice was downright naughty with its seductive blend of sweetness, tartness, and flakiness, with a price ($2.50) that'll be sure to please veterans of those upscale bullshit places that charge five and up for a goddam piece of pie. JA
Monsoon
615 19th Ave E (Capitol Hill), 325-2111. Tues-Fri lunch 11:30 am-2 pm; Sat-Sun brunch 10 am-2 pm, dinner 5:30-10 pm; closed Mondays. $$
Monsoon serves haute cuisine from Vietnam -- a country too often associated with the profligate, salty, $3-a-bowl bargain. Everything about Monsoon is gorgeously restrained. Mom's Tomato Tofu is a perfectly humble dish, with the delicate flavor of fried tofu befriended by a warm tomato sauce. More complex is the wok-fried lemongrass chicken, which comes swimming in a sea of pungent spice. But for a great meal, the meal which will slap your face and tell you to shape up, pick any one of Monsoon's "Signature" dishes: Green Tea-Baked Salmon in Banana Leaf, or Seared Chilean Sea Bass with fresh herbs and chili pepper. Both dishes were so confidently conceived and so honestly good, I lost myself in their flavor. JAMIE HOOK
Stars Bar and Dining
600 Pine St, 4th floor (Downtown), 264-1112. Daily 11:30 am-12 midnight. $$$
Stars is expensive. A proper lunch for two (propriety being the operative concept -- here it means two solid hours of cocktails, appetizer, wine, main course, dessert) hits at $75. But the food is good. Close to excellent, even. Fresh and well prepared. Imaginative but not gaudy, in a well-researched sort of way. Although there is no appetizer menu, the first course includes an ample fresh prawn cocktail and the fancier black bean cake with duck confit. I venture for Stars' unusual riff on the classic steak tartare: At least a third of a pound of fresh ground steak is dished up raw, with ancho-chili mayonnaise, fire-roasted chilies, and capers.
Stars' clientele is oddly reminiscent of All My Children's Pine Valley. So if you've got the money and the time, the remaining requirement is attitude. RR
Wing Dome
7818 Greenwood Ave N (Greenwood), 706-4036. Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30 am-11 pm; Sundays 12 noon-10 pm. $
The apex of the cuisine in Buffalo, NY is hot chicken wings, traditionally served with celery sticks and blue cheese dip, but they couldn't be any tastier than at this Greenwood hangout. Everything has snappy menu names like Kamikaze Wings (teriyaki), Blazin' Bayou (Cajun honey mustard), or Rasta Wings (Jamaican jerk sauce). These unassuming parts are fried crispy and then soaked in sauce, which transforms the skin into something akin to Peking duck. Have a Mac & Jack African Amber and an order of Hot Shots (jalapeños stuffed with cheddar cheese), Dipsticks (beer-battered fried mozzarella with marinara), or the Rings of Fire (homemade onion rings). Get there early on Mondays (29¢ wings) and weekends. MICHAEL HOOD
"Where to Eat" Price Scale (per entrée)
