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THROUGH SEPTEMBER 7
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Seattle Art Museum is making its "Painted Visions of India and Pakistan" exhibition a feast for more than just the eyes. SAM's current cafe menu is as Indian as a Bollywood flick, so you can get your tandoori-style chicken salad, your lamb korma, or even the unfortunately punny SAMosa plate either before or after you admire the many masterpieces on display. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues.-Wed. and FriSun.; 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Thurs. 100 University St., 206-654-3100. DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 20
The year 1953 was a more innocent time: a time when steak houses didn't overcharge or disappoint. Local entrepreneur/mastermind Paul Mackay is celebrating that long-lost age of innocence by rolling back prices at his 50-year-old El Gaucho restaurant for one lucky table per night. Pay 1953 prices for sirloin and ribs, and disregard the fact that El Gaucho closed in the mid-1980s and didn't open again until 1996. Historical revisionism never tasted so good. First Avenue and Wall Street, 206-728-1337. BELLTOWN
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 31
Just when you thought the hamburger couldn't get fancier, Szmania's in Magnolia whips out an Angus beef burger with smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, and "onion jam." Make no mistake: This gourmet burger, part of the restaurant's new summer menu, is intended to be savored with a glass of red wine. What's next? Bologna with chanterelles and a port reduction? Dinner from 4:30-10 p.m. Tues.-Sun. 3321 W. McGraw St., 206-284-7305.
AUGUST 15
When Pike Place Market invites you to "dine on the cobblestones," you can be sure you're getting more than a mouthful of rocks. To raise funds for the Market Foundation, 40 local restaurants (including high-powered chowhouses Campagne and Cascadia) are once again joining forces to create a Sunset Supper at the Market. MC Gustavo will provide the tunes; you will provide the chewing. $60/person, $100/couple. 7:30-11 p.m. Pike Place, between Virginia Street and Pine Street 206-774-5262. PIKE PLACE MARKET
AUGUST 17
Slow Food Puget Sound is celebrating Pike Place Market's 96th birthday with sausage, potato salad, watermelon, and jugglers. Local author Braiden Rex-Johnson (The Pike Place Market Cookbook) will be giving Market tours, and Uli Lengenberg, local sausage kingpin, will talk about meat and forgive you for mispronouncing his name. $5/$2.50. 1-4 p.m. Pike Place and Virginia Street, 206-774-5225. PIKE PLACE MARKET
AUGUST 20
Along with FareStart, the Boomtown Café is one of the best marriages of good intentions and culinary achievement in Seattle. The nonprofit eatery for low-income individuals is hosting a three-course dinner prepared by Chef Gavin Stephenson as a fund-raiser. On the menu: squash soup, seared salmon, and strawberry scrumptiousness. Eat up. $20. Seatings from 5:30-8 p.m. 513 Third Ave., 206-625-2989. PIONEER SQUARE
AUGUST 20-21
The phrase "Gentlemen, start your zucchini!" will surely be uttered at two upcoming farmers markets when the Indy 500 of fresh vegetablesalso known as zucchini racingonce again graces our fair city. At the Columbia City market, there will be tomato tasting during the races; in Lake City, racers and their families will get the rare opportunity to "pet live alpacas." Yes, that's right: alpacas. Just for racing zucchini. Life is so beautiful sometimes. Free. 3-7 p.m Weds. at 4801 Rainier Ave. S. (Columbia City); 3-7 p.m. Thurs. at N.E. 127th St. and 30th Ave. N.E. (Lake City), 206-632-5234. COLUMBIA CITY AND LAKE CITY.
AUGUST 22
Toujours Provence? Those who romanticize the region are wise to do so; its typical dishes comprise one of the tastiest mini-cuisines Europe has to offer. Feast on bouillabaisse, seared Muscovy duck, and more at Maximilien's lovely Provençal dinner. Flamenco-based Italian guitarist Andre Feriante will provide slightly incongruous musical accompaniment as you eat. $39. Seatings at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. 81A Pike St., 206-682-7270. PIKE PLACE MARKET
THE GRAPEVINE
AUGUST 14
Famed for its cabbage, the Napa Valley region also turns out some pretty decent wine, and the folks at Esquin Wine Merchants are thoroughly geeked about the latest Valley vinos. Taste them and see what you think. Free. 5-6:30 p.m. 2700 Fourth Ave. S., 206-682-7374. SODO
AUGUST 16
A quick jaunt around Spain courtesy of the Red Apple Wine Bar is almost certainly in your future. Picture, if you will, a collection of pretty people snacking on tapas and sipping cava and sherry, whites and reds from that countries. It's like saving on airfare to Córdoba without missing a thing. $20 before Aug. 11, $25 at the door. 4-7 p.m. 3601 Fremont Ave. N., 206-633-3663. FREMONT
AUGUST 17
There are winemakers dinners, and then there are winemakers dinners al fresco. Sapphire's is of the latter variety; the under-the-stars feast will be accompanied, aptly enough, by wines from California's Starry Night Winery. Scheduled sips to include sauvignon blanc, Russian River chardonnay, and the Rhône-style adara blend, all from 2001. The seven-course menu promises to be Med-inspired and sumptuous. $75. 6 p.m. 1625 Queen Anne Ave. N., (206) 281-1931. QUEEN ANNE HILL
AUGUST 21
Name your three favorite things from Australia. Boomerangs? Maybe. Kangaroos? Perhaps. Hugh Jackman? Almost certainly. Seattle Cellars hopes you'll add Australian shiraz (which is just Aussie for "syrah") to your list, especially since they're offering several varieties of the Down Under wine this week. $5-$10 for newcomers, free for returning tasters with Seattle Cellars wine glasses. 5-7 p.m. 2505 Second Ave., 206-256-0850. BELLTOWN
