BURGERS: Blue Moon Burgers - BuiltBurger - Lunchbox Laboratory - Palace Kitchen - Pick-Quick Drive In - Ranch Drive-In - Shultzy's - Teddy's Bigger Burgers - Two Bells - Uneeda Burger - Zippy's Giant Burgers

TACOS: Barrio - Bimbo's - Chipotle - Chuy El Mexicano - Company - El Gallito - El Paisano - La Carta de Oaxaca - Milagro Cantina - Rancho Bravo - Taqueria El Sabor

PIZZA: Delancey - Northlake Tavern & Pizza House - Pazzo's - Serious Pie - Talaricos

NOODLES: Din Tai Fung - Hoang Lan - Huong Binh - Mandarin Chef - May Restaurant and Lounge - Naam Thai - Pho Bac - Revel - Salumi - Szechuan Noodle Bowl

THINGS THAT SWIM: Canlis - Japonessa - Kanpai Sushi - Maneki - Pike Street Fish Fry - Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie - Tsukushinbo - The Walrus and the Carpenter

MEAT AND POTATOES: Blueacre Seafood - Cafe Juanita - Crush - Delicatus - El Gaucho - El Pilon - Ezell's - Gourmet Dog Japon - Jak's - La Isla - Le Pichet - The Metropolitan Grill - Mistral Kitchen - Paseo - Stan's Bar-B-Q - Tempero do Brasil - 35th Street Bistro - Tubs Gourmet Subs

VEGGIES: Book Bindery - Chaco Canyon Cafe - Georgetown Liquor Company - The Highline - Lecosho - Moonlight Cafe - Nettletown - Other Coast Cafe - Sutra - Thrive

SUGAR: Arosa Cafe - Bakery Nouveau - Beard Papa's - Countryside Donut House - D'Ambrosio Gelato - Erotic Bakery - Gelatiamo - Honore - Pink Door

COCKTAILS: Bottlehouse - The Diller Room - Hazlewood - Liberty - Shea's Lounge - Tavern Law - Verve Bistro & Wine Cellar - Zig Zag Cafe

EVERYTHING ELSE: Beth's Cafe - Black Bottle - Bleu Bistro - Cafe Presse - The Cheesecake Factory - Gorgeous George's - Harbor City - Harborview cafeteria - Henry's Taiwan - Hi Spot - Icon Grill - Jules Maes - Marie Callender's - Olive You - Spring Hill - Staple & Fancy - Yummy House

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On a good day, some of us will be faced with that question several times before lunch. It will be asked by readers and strangers, by family members and old friends. And the answer is never a good one. Because, really, what does "the best restaurant in the city" mean? The answer will be different for someone who really loves fish and for someone who just wants a hunk of prime rib; one thing for the cutting-edge molecular-gastronomy enthusiast and something else entirely for the moss-stomping locavore.

So with that in mind, we have decided to answer the question right here, to the best of our ability, for everyone. This isn't about picking the single best restaurant in the city, but rather the 100 (or so) best—our way of covering all bases and satisfying all tastes. And to make things as easy as possible for you, we've arranged the entire thing in the shape of the Seattle Food Pyramid: a graphic representation of all the food groups necessary for a Seattleite to meet his or her daily nutritional requirements. From Sugar and Cocktails to Noodles and Things That Swim, we have categorized everything for your ease and eating pleasure.

In the following pages, you will find fare ranging from tacos and foie gras to handrolls and cheeseburgers—and everything in between. If your personal best restaurant is a place where gentle hippies sauté free-range tofu, we've got you covered. If you're more interested in a place to get steak rare, some potatoes fried, and a whiskey neat, you'll find that here too.

So what are you waiting for? Three square meals and all the answers you could ever want are just a page-flip away. JASON SHEEHAN

BURGERS

With just two locations, let's call Blue Moon Burgers a "nano-chain." Their locations in South Lake Union and Fremont both offer ample seating, quality local microbrews on tap, and half-price burgers on Wednesdays after 3 p.m. The burgers are made with 100 percent pasture-raised beef from Oregon that gives them a rich flavor. The patty is salted liberally, grilled to a solid medium, then topped with your choice of cheese and the requisite trio of lettuce, onions, and tomato. Several variations are available, including a veggie patty made in-house. Every month features a new "Burger of the Month," with interesting twists like "The Hof," a Reuben-inspired burger with sauerkraut, served on rye bread. Otherwise, all burgers are served on brioche buns from Macrina Bakery. These are soft enough in the center to absorb the burger's juiciness, while the crust is just impermeable enough to maintain its integrity to the very last bite. Don't miss out on the crispy, salty French fries either. SONJA GROSET 920 Republican St., 652-0400, and 703 N. 34th St., 547-1907, bluemoonburgers.com $ VARIOUS LOCATIONS

BuiltBurger does almost everything wrong when it comes to serving the classic American cheeseburger. The former mail-order burger company's single brick-and-mortar space looks like an unadorned white shoebox with some tables inside. It doesn't have a playground or some clown-headed pedophile as a mascot. Most damning, it messes with the basic construction of the burger itself, forgoing the simple expediency of ground beef and jamming its patties full of all kinds of weird stuff, like barbecued pork, roasted chiles, shallots, and lamb. And yet, the king of its short, tight menu—the Magnificent Chorizo—is simply one of the best and most innovative burgers you will ever taste. The burger, if it can really be called that, is adulterated with smoky-hot ground chorizo, poblanos, cilantro, and Cotija cheese, then topped with a cilantro-lime coleslaw. By all rights, it should be awful—just another fancy-pants burger experiment gone horribly wrong. But at BuiltBurger, the combinations work brilliantly; rather than diluting the glory of the classic American cheeseburger, the Magnificent Chorizo instead carves a path into the future of burger greatness. JASON SHEEHAN 217 James St., 724-0599, builtburger.com $ DOWNTOWN

Even looking at the pornographic burger photos taken at Lunchbox Laboratory is nearly enough to give you gout, so it's not surprising that the burgers themselves are as close to a heart attack as you'll ever want to get without a defibrillator nearby. The Lab's popularity led it to outgrow its original Ballard hole-in-the-wall location on 15th Avenue Northwest, and now diners can indulge at the new digs, which offer more sitting space and a full bar without losing any of the original's charm (like the old-school lunchbox collection). Keep in mind the monstrous portions when you order—meaning bring a friend, or wear your Thanksgiving pants. CHELSEA LIN 1253 Thomas St., 621-1090, lunchboxlaboratory.com $ SOUTH LAKE UNION

The cornerstone of the Tom Douglas restaurant empire, the Palace Kitchen is jam-packed every night. Located under the monorail, the bar is the beating heart at the center of the space, and is thumping from the minute happy hour begins (4:30 p.m. on weeknights). The menu is seasonal, but includes several year-round favorites: grilled trout, goat-cheese fondue, olive poppers, coconut-cream pie, and grilled salmon, among others. Yet what puts Palace Kitchen over the top for locals and tourists alike is the Palace Burger Royale. This half-pound patty of Oregon-raised beef is grilled to order, topped with your choice of cheese and served on a soft, warm bun from Douglas' Dahlia Bakery, located around the corner. Served on a cast-iron platter, the burger comes with a monster mound of thin, crispy fries and a "salad" of toppings you can add to your burger: lettuce, onions, pickles, and tomatoes (when they're in season). SONJA GROSET 2030 Fifth Ave., 448-2001, tomdouglas.com $$ BELLTOWN

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Asse 04/15/2012 4:22:00 PM

huge list with little information... waste of time.

10/14/2011 10:36:00 PM

You kidding me! this list should be the worst or the best bar food. HaHa i love this comment: greats like Marie Calendars, Chipotle, and Cheesecake Factory to be featured at the Food Awards and Tastings Wasting my time here looking for a place. going to urbanspoon.

08/12/2011 2:16:00 AM

The art of brewing beer requires cleanliness and patience. My first brew took about five weeks from making the wort to opening my first bottle. I made a California Common style beer, much like Anchor Steam. My first batch produced about 4 1/2 gallons of beer, which came out to be two dozen 22oz bottles. It turned out great and it has propelled me into the world of crafting beer. "Wort is what brewers call the sweet, amber liquid extracted from malted barley that the yeast will later ferment into beer

Nick 05/09/2011 12:50:00 AM

Good recommendation: Stan's Bar-B-Q. Not the amazing barbecue experience Seattle needs, but probably the best I've had so far up here! Tasty ribs. Bad recommendation: Countryside Donut House. Jesus Christ, guys. There's nothing to distinguish this place from any other strip mall "donut house," absolutely nothing. Why isn't Frost on this list instead? Or Mighty-O? I'll try more from the list and report back on what I find. This is fun!

Equinoise 04/06/2011 4:52:00 PM

It is a shame how much the SW's food section has declined, and this list encapsulates that very well. I could agree with maybe half of the 100-plus selections. As others have pointed out, the Weekly has stooped to including multiple national chains among the list, overlooking and omitting other superior locals in their respective genres/cusines. Other selections appear to have emerged from the editors' drunken binges and hangover nostalgia as opposed to any objective measure of food quality. This is evident from the ill-advised promotion of obsolete, cheese-gobbed pizzas (Northlake Tavern), run-down baseline diners (Beth's), and mediocre-at-best bar food (Jules Maes). Navel-gazing, laziness and provincialism have taken hold and the Weekly has lost the drive to do the homework, pound the pavement and find the exciting and notable.

dgog 03/31/2011 4:44:00 AM

Please take this down.... Chef Simpson just passed away. Show some respect.

Grahamwetzbarger 03/30/2011 1:31:00 PM

Gosh I only wish you guys could have pulled some strings and got the greats like Marie Calendars, Chipotle, and Cheesecake Factory to be featured at the Food Awards and Tastings.... That would have made my $75.00 ticket really worth it.... boo...

03/29/2011 12:40:00 AM

Best pizza in Seattle without even a whisper of Proletariat Pizza? This is crazy talk. Besides having one of the best crusts in the state, their Ham & Egg (with arugula) is in a class of its own. http://proletariatpizza.com

Roderick 03/27/2011 2:37:00 AM

Wow, Cheesecake Factory, eh? A little swanky, don't you think?

Adam 03/27/2011 2:09:00 AM

Thank you for this list; I look forward to trying many of these restaurants! One question: Last year the Weekly claimed that The Independent Pizzeria had "easily the best pizza in town," yet it doesn't make this list? Why? Especially when something mediocre like Talarico's makes it on there?

Guest 03/25/2011 3:50:00 PM

Scott Simpson is still passing off his CAFO beef as grass fed organic, and the Seattle sheep are lapping it up.

Guest 03/24/2011 11:51:00 PM

There are so many great restaurants in Seattle. It's quite the shame that Jason Sheehan and SW Staff have found 3 of them.

Guest 03/24/2011 11:40:00 PM

If your food staff's palates are truly as discerning as it seems from reading this article, I think you might love one of my favorite places I noticed was missing from this list, it's called The Olive Garden and they have unlimited breadsticks...

Guest 03/24/2011 11:01:00 PM

This list is so mind-bendingly fucked it's hard to comprehend. The omissions are as surprising as the selections. No Spinasse? Chipotle? Don't even get me started on the re-animated corpse of Lunchbox Laboratory.

TopSecret 03/24/2011 5:04:00 PM

Are these lists even relevant nowadays anymore in the internet age? To each his/her own. Every individual has his/her own favorite place to dine, so yeah, this list makes for some interesting read but it's not really going to matter anymore in 2011. Maybe it did in the past, say, 1990, but with information available 24/7 online, even guidebooks have become irrelevant. Just ask any publisher that's seeing number of books they sell drop faster than the stock market in the last couple of years. I would suggest you ppl spend more time doing quality reviews, proper reviews, and stick with true and meaningful information for the readers (unlike a certain, ahem "food critic" that's clueless as hell) instead of wasting time coming up with lists like this. 107? How'd you arrive at 107? Why not 108?

03/24/2011 3:40:00 AM

No La Bete? I am disappoint.

Chris 03/23/2011 11:55:00 PM

Another year and another pizza list that doesn't have Kylie's Chicago Pizza. Come on!

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From burgers and pizza to steak and sashimi, the Great Seattle Food Pyramid takes shape.

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