Serves: dim sum, dinner. 424 Seventh Ave. S., 622-8181. INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
Kingfish Cafe
David Newall
Eating for the cause at FareStart . . . nah, it’s just tasty.
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Leslie and Lori Coaston have appeared on the cover of this paper, as well as the sides of Metro buses, in the 13 years since they opened this joint. Their culinary celebrity has cooled, the novelty of a Deep South enclave on Cap Hill has diminished, yet Kingfish remains the reliable linchpin of the 19th Avenue food strip. Crucially, the sisters haven't heedlessly taken the place up-market. Dishes like the fried green tomatoes (to start), griddled catfish, or mac and cheese aren't supposed to be expensive. In our current recession, it's worth remembering that the traditional cuisine of the South—especially in African-American homes—grew out of humble, cheap, local ingredients. You can find Alaskan king crab crabcakes at thrice the price elsewhere in Seattle, but I prefer Kingfish's house crab-catfish concoction. Likewise, we've been too spoiled by airfreighted fresh Copper River salmon, making the blackened Atlantic farm salmon a refreshingly against-the-grain mode of preparation. Save us from this fish being treated as sacrament; it's just food. If you insist on Southern airs, you can always order a mint julep from the bar. Otherwise, the Coaston sisters (both locals) and chef Kenyatta Carter continue their common-sense approach to dining. And for Sunday brunch, the grits and buttermilk flapjacks couldn't be fancy if they tried. BRIAN MILLER
Serves: brunch, lunch, dinner. 602 19th Ave. E., 320-8757. CAPITOL HILLthekingfishcafe.com
Oddfellows Cafe & Bar
Oddfellows Cafe & Bar, the joint venture of nightlife queen Linda Derschang and Ericka Burke of Volunteer Park Cafe, is a dining hall for the Capitol Hill of today. Decorated in washes of nostalgia—gray-blue walls, scuffed wood tables, signs and portraits salvaged from the basement of the Oddfellows Building—it's Derschang's most beautiful space yet, where old-timey cocktails served in Grandma's glassware look like they've always shared tablespace with MacBooks. Chef Burke's gift is for classing up basic American food without sparking class resentment. Her simple mac and cheese looks circumspect yet has a surprising depth of flavor, and her shepherd's pie is covered in a constellation of buttery mashed-potato poufs. For every plate of clams with chorizo the kitchen puts out, it assembles six BLTs and chicken-salad sandwiches, all for less than $10. And the anise-haunted blueberry cobbler that occasionally shows up on the blackboard is the greatest $5 find you'll score. JONATHAN KAUFFMAN
Serves: breakfast, lunch, dinner. 1525 10th Ave., 325-0807. CAPITOL HILLoddfellowscafe.com
Saba
I've long believed the best way to order off a menu from a cuisine you don't know well is to find the most unfamiliar items, point, and hope you don't completely butcher the pronunciation—which of course you will. Sitting in the bar at Saba, I go for it. "Um, gored gored?" I request. The waitress raises an eyebrow. "It's raw," she tells me over the sound of Ethiopian music videos playing on a television overhead. I pause for a moment before I decide to stick with the plan. "That's OK," I assure her, adding an order of spicy lentils and kikle alicha, a spicy lamb stew, just in case. It turns out the beef is lovely and tender, featuring just enough spiced heat to keep it interesting without overwhelming the meat itself. Of course, the lamb and lentils are delicious as well, and scooping it all up in the spongy injera is a unique joy for people whose grandmother insisted on exquisite fork-and-knife manners. LAURA ONSTOT
Serves: lunch and dinner. 110 12th Ave., 328-2290. CENTRAL DISTRICT
Señor Moose
My plus-one grew up in El Paso, of Mexican-born parents, and is extremely picky about the food of his homeland. And he loves this cozy Ballard spot for precisely the reason they intend: their avowed emphasis on comida tipica, traditional Mexican home cooking. Their alambres (beef, chorizo, bell peppers, and other staples grilled together and topped with cheese) inspired wistful reverie: "We used to eat this stuff after Mass. They sold it for $3 in the rectory." Of the pastel de tres leches, a dense milk-soaked cake: "Better than I've ever had it." Their hongos guisados, sautéed mushrooms with strips of poblano chiles and a dollop of sour cream, is scrumptious out of all proportion to its simplicity, tasting as though it'd been whipped up effortlessly in the kitchen of some archetypal Mexican mom-goddess. GAVIN BORCHERT
Serves: breakfast, dinner. 5242 N.W. Leary Way, 784-5568. BALLARDsenormoose.com
Tamarind Tree
I still have total recall of the taste of Tamarind Tree's homemade black sesame ice cream after a meandering dinner on their covered, it's-so-L.A. outdoor-seating appendage. The best meals, for me, fire on all cylinders, and the kitchen here consistently bangs out the comforting and vibrant flavors of Vietnam—sometimes a little bit sweet, sometimes sour, and often spicy. How can you not become smitten with a restaurant that stuffs tofu with pork and has a menu item titled "Seven Courses of Beef?" Whatever you do, do not skip the cinnamon pork rice balls hidden among the appetizers—ground pork surrounded by young rice, deep fried and served with a tangy tamarind sauce. This wildly popular spot continues to remind you that Vietnamese cuisine is a marvel of simplicity when done well. MAGGIE SAVARINO DUTTON
Serves: dinner. 1036 S. Jackson St., Suite A, 860-1404. INTERNATIONAL DISTRICTtamarindtreerestaurant.com
A FEW MORE BUDGET-FRIENDLIES WE LOVE: Cafe Presse, Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine, El Paisano Rosticeria y Cocina, Jack's Tapas Cafe.
