Epicurean SEATTLE

Food at Ponti’s is a definite Pan-Asian/Pacific Rim cuisine, prepared with a spectacular combination of Northwest Bounty and European method. My favorite and everyone else’s, the Thai penne curry is a knockout with scallops and crab in a spicy blend of tomato-ginger chutney and coconut milk $19. The ahi tuna is seared perfectly pink in the middle and accompanied by soy sake and wasabi aoli $23. When offered as the evening's special, try the black cod with red curry sauce, or the halibut glazed with orange miso. Superb !!! For carnivores, cheer! Ponti’s has a succulent roasted rack of lamb served with sweet potato gratin, pearl onions and kale with juniper anise demi-glaze $25. And the melt in your mouth "Chairman's Reserve" beef tenderloin accompanied with garlic potato puree, butter braised leeks and shallot demi, medium rare is served perfectly pink in the middle $29.

For wine lovers, the restaurant has a world roaming list and a very knowledgeable wine steward to eagerly help you with your selection. On weekdays, 4pm-6:30pm and 9pm-close, and on weekends from 5pm to 6:30pm, grilled calamari, ahi nori rolls, mouth-watering Cajun barbecued prawns, and other appetizers are half price, and drinks are $2.50. Ponti’s has an extensive seafood menu with price that will not break your bank account.

Fine dining, fresh ingredients, creative presentation, great service, and a water view. Ponti’s offers one of the finest waterside dining experiences in the city. It is a perfect spot for a peaceful, refined meal. Whether eating alfresco on the balcony or inside in a quiet corner, diners enjoy both intimacy and unique views of the canal and the Fremont drawbridge. Reservation is a must. A short cab ride from downtown Seattle’s fine hotels.

Going up the sweeping steps of Magnolia’s Palisade restaurant you know you are in for a special evening. Upon entering into this Seattle landmark for fine dining, your notions are confirmed. Enjoy a warm welcome from the staff, and faint piano music in harmony with the splash of waterfalls cascading into saltwater ponds teaming with aquatic life. There are fabulous Dale Chihuly art glass hanging from the ceiling and a soaring waterfront view of the cityscape, packaged together makes Palisades a memorable restaurant before your first bite. Chef Mike Bryan presents a menu infused with a definite Polynesian flair and island-style cooking. The Chef searched for ingredients that are special; sea salt from Hawaii blended with spices to accompany steaks and grilled seafood selections.

The extensive menu at Palisades is both unique and original, their food cooked in guava wood rotisserie smoked and apple wood grilled. The Palisade Dungeness crab cakes served with Okinawa sweet potatoes mashed with coconut is memorable $25. The Macadamia nut chicken $17.95 brings back memories of tropical vacations. Cooked in a special smoker using guava woodchips bringing a fruity heavier smoke flavor, the Palisade smoked duck breast $22.95 and the American Kobe style steak $25.95 keeps your palate wanting for more. For small eaters, order from the "pupu" menu(appetizer), Kobe style beef finds its way into bite size burgers $11.95. For cocktail, try the Polynesianed guava-rita and for a festive island cocktail don't miss the Magnolia Mai-tai.

Palisade’s Sunday Brunch is a feast and a Seattle classic. Diners can select from a wide variety of benedicts, along with other entrée dishes and smoked seafood. There is a serve-yourself griddlecake and tropical fruit bar and all-you-care-to-eat macadamia nut and banana sourdough pancakes along with fruits and pastries.

From the extensive menu, I usually start with a small bowl of miso soup ($1.50) or perhaps their sunomono ($6.50), a simple salad made of fresh cucumber and seaweed with a mild sweet wine vinegar sauce. From here, eat to your delight. My favorite, the spider roll (breaded and deep fried soft shell crab) comes still warm and crunchy. The marina roll (shrimp tempura), Sanmi roll (eel, shrimp, egg, tobiko, and cucumber), the Futomaki Roll (egg, shiitake mushroom, kampyo, cucumber, and tobiko) are all great. Also in the menu are appetizers, gyoza, deep-fried chicken; nigirizushi (the torpedo-shaped bundles of seafood and rice tied with seaweed) and makizushi (the long, seaweed-wrapped rolls cut in stubby cylinders) with raw tuna, yellowtail, broiled eel, and many other selections of fresh seafood; combination platters of sushi and sashimi; entrees of chicken teriyaki, broiled salmon, sukiyaki and broiled black cod kasuzuke. All superbly prepared.

Chef Sanmi works within a no nonsense meticulously clean space, if you choose to see firsthand his mastery, enjoy from the restaurant's long spacious sushi bar. However, the bar is set back at the side of the restaurant where the view is limited to Chef Sanmi and his assistant chefs at work. The minimalist space of the main dining room divided by paper-panel partitions trimmed in pale wood takes fuller advantage of the restaurant's waterside vista of Elliott Bay and the downtown skyline through the masts of sailboats and expensive yachts docked at the marina.

If you enjoy superb sushi at the highest quality, combined with atmosphere, location, delicious food, and price that does not rob a bank, Sanmi Sushi is well worth the short jaunt from downtown Seattle to Magnolia (Smith Cove) Marina. Lunch Tues-Fri 11:30 am-1:45 pm; dinner Tues-Thurs 5:30-9:30 pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-10 pm, Sun 5-9 pm; closed Mondays

The most fancy Thai restaurant in the district, Tawon Thai, serves authentic Thai cuisine. The interior is evocative of typhoon with exotic furniture made of dark teak and conspicuous native art from Thailand adorning the subdued purple walls. The ceilings are high with indigenous material typhoon-style electric fans creating a comfortably sophisticated and yet family friendly atmosphere.

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10:30pm.

Tango overlooks downtown Seattle from its Pike and Boren location just up the street from the Washington State Convention Center. It is a sharp-looking place with flamenco dancers on the walls, floor to ceiling windows, impressionistic art covering pale plaster walls, combined with yet paler wood pillars suggestive of sunny Spain. The place overflows with stylish and casually hip, loud and lively atmosphere with a Latin beat congesting the space. In the main dining room, dim lights and tables covered with butcher paper over pale linens impart an unassuming sophistication complemented with urban servers who are offering affected insouciance rather than exaggerated enthusiasm.

While Tango has tapas, its menu looks well beyond Spain for inspiration. Priced between $6.50 and $16.50, the plates here are bigger than tapas and sublimely delicious. The "Ensalada con Pato" -- a warm salad of duck confit tossed with spinach, fried onions, and walnuts in a pomegranate-thyme vinagreta; spinach salad has never been this good. "Cordero con Frutas" -- quince and coriander-encrusted lamb loin served with orange glazed grilled yams and mint chimichurri is delicious and suggestive of Latin American cuisine. There is the Moroccan-spiced chicken in phyllo with preserved lemon and oil-cured olives and the "Tagine con Carnes" is a Moroccan spiced beef and venison stew served with preserved lemon couscous and grilled socca -- both cross over to Morocco. The Gambas Picantes, sautéed tiger prawns with passion fruit and star anise broth and a cucumber melon salad, is decidedly Asian. All are fabulous!!! For dessert, try the flan -- silky Spanish maple syrup custard with honey whipped créma fresca and Spanish almonds; you will think they flew it directly from Andalusia. Or how about "El Diablo," a dense slab of truffle-textured chocolate marquis resting on a cloud of house-made marshmallow cream? Tango also offers a huge selection of Spanish, Portuguese, and Chilean wines and ports, and over 60 top shelf tequilas on the bar list.

Tango serves superb pan-Latin cuisine and sophisticated tapas to an even more sophisticated and stylish crowd. Although the restaurant is slightly on the tight side, tables are very close together (ask for the oversized booths lining the western wall) it is worth the visit. Nominated for best late night dining in 2002. Even with reservation, the wait can sometimes be more than 15 minutes. Therefore, reservation is a must. Open Daily 5pm-2am.

Dim sum restaurants in the Seattle International District abound. House of Hong has been around a long time and has remained to be one of my favorites. It is located in a big yellow building with an open large main dining area, interior is a definite Chinese influence; many large round tables with cherry wood chairs to accommodate big parties and several booth style seating. With the recent remodel it has become bigger, more cheery and bright; tourists and locals alike flock to this place. Here, all the standard fare that makes up dim sum is tasty and very delicious. Little dumplings -- the ever popular Shu Mai and Har Gow with plenty of pork, vegetables, and shrimp in the fillings -- not too greasy, not too starchy and has just the right balance of spices, steamed pot stickers, spareribs in garlic sauce, stuffed wontons, stuffed eggplants are done to perfection. But do not limit yourself to the familiar there's lots of variety to the dim sum offerings, wait for the carts and look out for the shelled whole fried shrimp, crunchy on the outside and moist and meaty on the inside. So, pace yourself and keep an eye out for whatever looks particularly enticing. $2.205 per order. Somehow, a typical Sunday brunch had never looked so appetizing.

If you're looking for a quiet and romantic meal with a date, dim sum restaurant is not a good choice but if you are feeling adventurous and like to sample one of the best dim sum in Seattle, head to the International District for the House of Hong Restaurant. The restaurant is family and group friendly but personal checks are not accepted. Dim sum are served daily between 10:00am and 4:30pm. Besides dim sum, House of Hong is also a great place for Chinese, Szechwan, and Hunan dishes. Although, the restaurant is packed on weekends, the wait is no more than 10 minutes. Typical of the international district, parking can be problematic, come early to avoid the lunch rush hour and parking line. House of Hong has free parking on two lots on both sides of Eighth Avenue South.