Nosh Spots

Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel
Now that London's distinguished Savoy Hotel is also owned by the Fairmont chain, afternoon tea "Savoy Style" lends a little proper English to Seattleites. It's a classy affair, housed beneath the Georgian Room's towering ceilings and magnificent chandeliers. Loose-leaf teas range from basics such as English breakfast, Darjeeling, and Earl Grey to intriguing flavors like Cherry Rose or Kea Lani Orange Pineapple. Tomato and goat cheese, Dungeness crab salad and cucumber, smoked salmon and crème fraîche, and foie gras with a brandied fig impart mature, husky flavor to tea sandwiches. Currant scones are positively sinful slathered with lemon curd and Devonshire cream. Sweets include a glistening fruit tart, the creamiest of cream horns, dense truffle cake, and shortbread cookies. Tea's poured for you by the delightfully formal and courteous staff. It's so darned flattering. If you're still extending your little finger over drinks later on, you'll know it's gone to your head! EMILY PAGE

411 University St., 206-621-1700. DOWNTOWN $$$ www.fairmont.com/seattle

Mighty-O
A few months ago, The New York Times ran a story about how, try as they might, Dunkin' Donuts just can't come up with a doughnut-frying substance free of hydrogenated oils. (Another word for hydrogenated oil is poison; the world is getting wiser to this, and many grocery stores won't even carry products that contain it.) It's funny—Mighty-O has been doing it for five years; they use palm fruit oil. Their doughnuts are also fully organic and totally vegan, but they'll only tell you that if you go poking around asking what makes the lemon poppy or the plaid mint so damn springy, moist, and delicious. The short answer is that Mighty-O makes a clean product. They care about what you put in your body—but yeah, they'll totally slather it in chocolate and cover it with sprinkles, too. You can get these little babies all around town, but I recommend you go to the cozy and communal mother-ship store in the wee morning hours, when the doughnuts are fresh and warm from the (far healthier) fryer. LAURA CASSIDY

2110 N. 55th St., 206-547-0335. GREEN LAKE $ www.mightyo.com

Olive You
And they seem to really mean it —your next hors d'oeuvre party couldn't have a more accommodating supply source. The folks behind the counter will cheerfully guide you through a sampling of exotic finger foods. (A good thing, since the jumbled row of labels leaves much to the imagination.) You might venture to taste octopus chunks or Sicilian sardines; still, sticking to the basics won't bore your guests. Green, black, and kalamata olives are offered in various sharp marinades or stuffed, and a variety of spreads (feta and red pepper, sun-dried tomato and garlic, artichoke hearts with roasted bell pepper, and tahini, to name a few) lend sharp accent to pita, crackers, apples, or whatever's on your shelf. And if you're in the mood for heartier Mediterranean cuisine, they'll grill panini sandwiches, kebabs, and veggies for your dine-in pleasure. There are wine tastings every third Saturday, live music on the weekends, and cooking classes to boot (inquire within). EMILY PAGE

8516 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-706-4121. GREENWOOD $ www.olive-you.com

Frites
Unless you are crazy and/or especially tolerant of potatoes, this is a snack spot only. Even if you're enough of an early bird that Frites' 2:30 a.m. closing time would allow for such things, do NOT attempt to eat breakfast here—and proceed with lunch or dinner only if corn dogs are all you require in the way of protein. But for quick snack food, there is none in the city more giddy-making than the stuff advertised in the name of this tiny joint, nestled between Neumo's two entrances. To list a few sauces—there are more than a dozen—is to provide as surefire a litany of cheap pleasure as a Lil Jon mixtape: ketchup, curry ketchup, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, "Frites" mayo sauce, poblano ranch, tartar, roasted red pepper chipotle, drool (collapse). Like we say, a snack spot. But, oh, what a snack. MICHAELANGELO MATOS

925 E. Pike St., no phone. CAPITOL HILL $

Bottega Italiana
In the Midwest, they eat ice cream with brio when it's 16 below. Snow-phobic Seattleites, on the other hand, tend to steer clear of frozen desserts in the wintertime, which makes Bottega's (fairly) steady business from December through March all the more impressive. While there are other places to get your gelato fix downtown, Bottega's tiny interior, excellent biscotti, and thick, Italian-style hot cocoa are instant convincers. Oh, and the gelato: It's like someone transposed fruit into frozen form without altering its basic fruitness. The wild berry bowls you over, the pear with chocolate ribbon is a cryogenic take on pear belle Hélèna, and the orange puts even fresh-squeezed OJ to shame. And though we endorse Bottega primarily for snacking purposes, we promise to look the other way if you decide, one warm summer (or cold winter) evening, to make a meal of gelato alone. NEAL SCHINDLER

1425 First Ave., 206-343-0200. PIKE PLACE MARKET $ www.bottegaitaliana.com