Restaurants M-S

Sit Tight:
MATT'S IN THE MARKET
Matt's is the Mini Cooper S of downtown restaurants: small, cool, nimble, no frillsbut it blows the doors off your average hulking SUV eatery. With about five tables plus six stools at the counter, it seats as many people as a Ford Expedition, only without cup holders. What you get instead is a pithy, seasonally changing menu that perfectly reflects what's fresh in the Pike Place Market just downstairs. (There's also a keyhole view of Elliott Bay and the Olympics through Matt's single arched window.) The chef and staff are your buddies without being unctuous. You're apt to bump elbows with other diners in such a tight space, but that's more likely to lead to conversation than confrontation. Matt's is an acquired secret; those who goand who wait patiently in line outside, though reservations are takenknow that there's not enough room inside for attitude. B.R.M.

Corner Market Building, 94 Pike St., #32, 206-467-7909. PIKE PLACE MARKET $$

Shuck & Awe:
McCORMICK & SCHMICK'S
Seattle Weekly readers have long acclaimed McCormick & Schmick's happy hour as one of the city's best with its generous menu (and portions) of $1.95 items, but it's the large daily menu with a strong emphasis on seafoodand a vast selection of fresh oystersthat is the major draw. The main dining rooms feature dark wood and white linen at tables and boothsa kind of businessperson's chophouse atmosphere, formal enough but accommodating of Seattle casual. Much overlooked by diners is the long front counter where you can watch many of the dishes being prepared: This is not a Benihana-style show, but the flying hands, the open flames, the shouts of the chefs, and the recurrent clang of metal remind one that the preparation of good food is a kind of alchemy, even the shucking of tight-lipped, briny oysters (perhaps especially so). Favorites include whatever fish is fresh, the thick clam chowder, and the shrimp, chicken, or calamari Caesar salads. K.B.

1103 First Ave., 206-623-5500. DOWNTOWN $$

Finer Diner:
MECCA CAFɼ/B>
Lower Queen Anne is chockablock with fancy feasts (e.g., 10 Mercer, places that put the upscale in uptown). Our agents in the field, on a casual stroll through the busy neighborhood surrounding First and Mercer, came across a welcome oasis in a desert of fashionable eating. The Mecca lives up to its name: Hungry wastrels on the prowl for cheap eats swarm in from dawn till dusk . This canny diner wears its greasy-spoon stripe on its sleeve; hell, for all we know, the forks and knives are greasy, too. But the servers and cooks have a sense of humor, and their colorful personalities (and attire, on occasion) distinguish this joint from all the downer diners. Also: The fruit pancakes are excellent, and everything costs about as much as you'd want to pay. The cozy diner might be a culinary clich鬠but nowhere else in Seattle does its familiar charm shine so brightly. N.S.

526 Queen Anne Ave. N., 206-285-9728. LOWER QUEEN ANNE $

Asian Oasis:
MONSOON
Delicate dining in an Asian oasis.
It's a family affair. Siblings Sophie and Eric Banh do the cooking; sister Yen is the hostess. (The clan came to Seattle from Saigon by way of Alberta, Canada, of all places.) Founded in 1999, Monsoon has already become a landmark on Cap Hill's 19th Avenue strip (along with Kingfish and the Little Theatre across the way), someplace almost best appreciated if you walk from 15th or even Broadwayto make it feel like an excursion to a remote Vietnamese village where you know you're going to eat wonderfully well.

At Monsoon, the place doesn't get in the way of your plate. Its design is minimalist and unobtrusive, the furnishings spare and functional. The food is Vietnamese, of course, but a Vietnamese cuisine that's traveled and adaptedlike spring rolls made with Dungeness crab or lemon grass mesquite-grilled pork with kimchi. Among the starters: imperial spring rolls, sesame-seed-coated walnuts. Pot-cooked Idaho catfish comes in a caramelized glaze that balances the spicy sauce and tender fish on an exquisite threshold. The sweet, globular drunken chicken is a delicious steal at $12and Monsoon does take-out, too.

The food couldn't be any better, and the service almost reaches the same impeccable standard. The Banhs know how to keep customers contentedly queued by quickly taking drink orders, and it doesn't hurt that their wine list is so strong and substantialhaving recently drawn the endorsement of Wine Spectator magazine. With a good glass of merlot in your hand and good people-watching inside the restaurant, Monsoon is always worth the wait. B.R.M.

615 19th Ave. E., 206-325-2111.CAPITOL HILL $$

Worth the Wait:
MUSASHI'S
The service is brusque and the ambience is about as cozy (and quiet) as a train station, but that doesn't keep the hungry hordes from lining up night after night to wait for one of a handful of tables at this matchbox-size Wallingford sushi house. The reason? Immense servings of good, fresh sushi at impossibly low prices. Miso soup, skewered veggies, and the nine-piece nigiri platter will set you back 12 bucks or so, and fat, six-piece sushi rolls are under $3. If you don't get there early, you'll likely have to wait outsiderain or shine. And even if you do get a seat, don't count on eating for a whilethe single sushi chef usually juggles dozens of orders. It won't be the most transcendent sushi experience you've ever had, but that's not why people come to Musashi's. For the freshness, portions, and quality, it may be the best sushi bargain in town. E.C.B.