212 12th S, 324-4091 11 a.m.-11 p.m. everyday $6-$35
No, it's not a hut (though it is in a strip mall), but if it weren't for the nondescript facade, you'd never get a seat in this formica-topped flavor haven. One step into this cheerfully noisy family joint explains its popularity: Your nostrils fill with smells you want to taste. While you wait, you're practically standing over the appetizers you want: as-good-as-it-gets baby-tender satay served with a peanut sauce you know didn't emerge from a jar, and roti, grilled flatbread served with a potato-chicken curry sauce. Then reinvent the stir-fry with Buddha's Yam Pot—chicken, shrimp, and vegetables in a deep-fried basket of grated sweet potato and taro root. Paint the town red with Ikan Merah, crisp snapper fillets in a stunning, garnet-hued spicy-sweet sauce. Or go a little wild with curried fish head soup (yummier than it sounds) or Kang Kung Belchan, Chinese watercress with shrimp paste. But beware dessert . . . unless you love neon gelatin squares. Come with a crowd: The menu's vast, the specials many, and you'll want to try it all. D.S.
Marco's Supperclub
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2510 First, 441-7801 Dinner Sunday-Thursday 5:30-11 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5:30-midnight $13-$20
There are plenty of restaurants in Belltown more than willing to take your money; Marco's remains one of the few to truly deserve it. Delectable dishes, good wine, and discreet, romantically lit corners make every day Valentine's Day at the Supperclub, but Mom or sophisticated out-of-town guests may enjoy it just as much as your sweetie. Start simple: The fried sage leaves remain a classic, while the crisp, piquant Caesar smartly acknowledges its dressing's anchovy roots, and mouth-melting flash-fried calamari handily avoid the Goodyear-textured fate of many an overcooked squid. Some may feel seasick traversing the menu's whirlwind tour of world cultures, but chefs Matthew Burian and Joe Serquinia handle them all with grace, from the firm, creamy gnocchi nestled in a classic pesto sauce to the tuna seared in coconut milk curry with black sticky rice, a Thai delight gone couture. Too full for dessert? Order something to go; you'll be glad later. L.G.
Matt's in the Market
94 Pike, #32, 467-7909 Lunch Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner 5:30-9:30 p.m. $14-$20
Given only five tables and about a half-dozen seats at the bar, reservations are advised for Matt's at dinner (reservations are taken only in the first 15 minutes after opening); you'll definitely wait in line for lunch. But this is a restaurant diminutive only in size, not excellence. With its single arched window overlooking Elliott Bay, local art on the walls, and friendly, expert help working the tables and open kitchen, there's nothing precious about the tiny place. It's effortlessly hip without the trendiness or attitude (even if most patrons appear to work in design professions and wear identical wire-frame glasses). The warm, custardlike Cabrales flan makes a terrific starter and is delicious on bread that's always instantly replenished. On the small set menu, the fine pan-fried catfish avoids the usual palate-scorching clich鳮 Among recent specials, pan-fried halibut imparted that much-abused fish with perfect texture. Afterward, New York cheesecake arrives at an honest size without froufrou pretensions. Eclectic house music doesn't try to ingratiate, veering from Stevie Ray Vaughan (acoustic) to Galactic. The next time your buddy David Byrne comes to town, take him to this swell joint. B.R.M.
Metropolitan Grill
820 Second, 624-3287 Lunch daily 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner Monday-Friday 4:30-11 p.m., Saturday 4-11 p.m., Sunday 4:30-10 p.m. $18-$42
Steak houses deserve their reputation as meeting places for the rich and gluttonous cigar-chomping businessman. An establishment like Metropolitan Grill even thrives off such status, as the high prices and loyal customers keep the bottom line blacker than the coffee. Beyond the Met's austere exterior, dining room mahogany, and hotel-lobby lighting lies one of the most pleasant dining experiences—not to mention the best steaks, as the menu boldly proclaims—in town. The service amazes, with attentive but never overbearing staff. Appetizers (chilled oysters, onion rings, beer-battered artichoke hearts) merely suffice; salmon and chicken may be great too, but it's hard to avoid ordering steak here. And why would you? The cuts, on raw display at the entry, look more remarkable cooked (in high heat over mesquite charcoal), especially accompanied by prescription-strength mashed potatoes. Chef John Broulette ensures that with the filet mignon, prime New York peppercorn, sirloin, and strip, he expands the boundaries of the very meaning of steak. R.A.M.
Mistral
113 Blanchard, 770-7799 Dinner Wednesday-Saturday 5:30 till whenever $100 (prix fixe for nine courses, $75 for seven, $50 for four)
People either love this Belltown temple of haute cuisine for its attention to food or loathe it for its pretension. Count me firmly among the former—but let the record show that portions are small and prices dear. The innovative classics of earnest William Belickis (Fuller's, Bouley in New York) are best enjoyed as a nine-course splurge, so save up, order a good wine, and prepare to be wowed. On entering the unpretentious, elegant room a warm but formal mae d' of the old school hands each diner a list of ingredients in lieu of a menu. Off of this list Belickis will craft your table d'h� perhaps beginning with an amuse-bouche of goat cheese-Maine lobster quiche, proceeding through a striped bass decorated with bits of a young garden, slices of butter-tender lamb over pureed fingerling potatoes, greens in Beaujolais dressing, a plate of mild cheeses with fruit, and a vanilla bean cr譥 brl饮 If you are like me, you will leave satisfied, inspired, and awestruck. (And considerably poorer.) K.R.
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