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AVENUE ONE—It's cause for double celebration as lunch service resumes and the dining terrace reopens for summer at Arnie Millan's ambitious bistro. Charles Walpole's spring menu includes seared foie gras with citrus and rhubarb ($16); a salad of sweetbreads, endive, and pancetta ($9); risotto with garlic, mascarpone, and asparagus ($18); and juniper-rubbed venison chop with currant glaze and parsnip bread pudding ($31). 1921 First, 441-6139.
THE PINK DOOR—Now open for Sunday supper, Jackie Robert's Post Alley trattoria in the Market is currently glorying in the fresh things of spring: house-cured salmon served carpaccio-style with a unique grappa-mustard sauce ($11.50 serves a table); fresh spinach pappardelle pasta with asparagus, onions, and saffron cream ($14); and, back on the menu after a five-year absence, penne with eggplant and smoked mozzarella in tomato sauce ($13). 1919 Post Alley, 443-3241.
SZMANIA'S LAKE STREET—Fans of Ludger Szmania's Magnolia restaurant will find plenty of novelties on the menu at his new enterprise in Kirkland, among them a portobello-mushroom "carpaccio" with wilted greens ($8); pan-roasted caribou with baby Walla Walla sweet onions ($28); and fresh salmon with tarragon tapenade ($19). Opens for lunch in early June. 148 Lake S, Kirkland, 425-803-3310.
IL TERRAZZO DI CARMINE— Classic Italian dishes that never get old: eggplant baked with tomato and mozzarella ($8.75); prawns in a fragrant proven硬e sauce with wild mushrooms and garlic ($10.50); venison-stuffed ravioli in a mushroom sauce ($14.95); osso buco melting off the bone, served with buttered fettucine ($23). 411 First S, 467-7797.
MONSOON—Among recent inspirations for Yen Banh's Asian-inspired menu: a salad of mango and green papaya ($5.50); a Vietnamese-style crepe stuffed with shrimp, chicken, and bean sprouts ($7.50); a grilled shrimp mousse served on a bed of sugar cane ($15); and, while the leaves are in season, the not-to-be-missed leaf-rolled la lot beef appetizer ($6.50). 615 19th E, 325-2111.
IN THE MARKETS
It's morel time at the Pike Place Market and, though these wrinkly little brown thimbles don't look like much, they're as close as our native soil comes to producing a mushroom that can look a truffle in the eye. Unfortunately, they're up there in price too ($20 to $25 per pound), but it doesn't take many to perfume a whole dish of risotto or pasta. Get 'em while they last!
COMING UP
5/28—Six Western Washington wineries hold an afternoon open house on Memorial Day with a tasting and tour at the Herbfarm at Willows Lodge, right next door to Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia on SR 202 (a.k.a. Woodinville-Redmond Rd.). See www.willowslodge.com for information.
6/6—Just when you've recovered from Taste Washington!, here comes The Great Match: an opportunity to sample 150 wines of Spain accompanied by tapas created by local chefs including Carmelita's Daniel Braun, Jeem Han Lock of Wild Ginger, and Nell's Philip Mihalski. Paramount Theatre Ballroom, 6:30-9 p.m., $65. Reservations 866-468-7619.
6/11—Rover's Thierry Rautureau organizes a benefit at Joe McDonnel's private club The Ruins for fellow chef and cancer victim Jean-Louis Palladin. Celebrity cooks participating in the evening include Lee Hefter of L.A.'s Spago, Sylvain Portay of The Dining Room in San Francisco, and New York City's Fran篩s Payard. Tickets (all-inclusive) $150. Call 236-6108 for information and reservations.
6/17—On select Saturdays and Wednesdays this summer, you can join the Painted Table's Tim Kelley on a jaunt among the butcher shops, fish markets, and produce tables of Pike Place Market in search of the perfect seasonal ingredients; watch him prepare them; then sit down to devour the results from the Table's custom crockery. The program fills up fast. For information and reservations, call 340-6710.
If it's hot, it's hot. Tell us. E-mail food@seattleweekly.com.
