Best New Restaurant

Restaurants come in all sizes, styles, and flavors, so even in our Best of Seattle issue, you won't usually see any establishment awarded with the B-word. But even sound rules have their exceptions, and since our last BOS issue in October 2003, a new culinary star has risen to which attention must be paid, the more so that it shines on a patch of downtown where haute cuisine, until now, was dubiously represented by Wolfgang Puck's late cafe. UNION is the creation of chef Ethan Stowell and a team pulled together from former colleagues at the Painted Table, Nell's, and elsewhere. It serves fancy food without fuss, made from superbly fresh, seasonal ingredients (on average, half the dishes on the menu change daily). You can order the tasting menu (allow a good two hours to do it justice) or à la carte; either way, unless you go wild on the wine, you'll be dining for about half what you'd pay at the handful of established restaurants that can compare with Union in flair, substance, and service.—Roger Downey 1400 First Ave., 206-838-8000.

Best beer-only tavern

Rodney Dangerfield says he went into a bar once and asked for a double, and they brought out a guy who looked just like him. Surely he'd get more respect at a tavern, what's left of them anyway. Beer-only watering holes are few these days, around here anyway; pubs were once the lifeblood of Pike Place Market, for example, but they've all been 86'd there, replaced by the shameless tinkling of ice on glass. Fortunately, Seattle's tavern survivors include three of the oldest businesses in the city: the Comet (started in 1954), the Northlake (1948), and the granddaddy of swill, THE BLUE MOON TAVERN (1934). The Moon's oft-recounted past comprises a chunk of Seattle's own history as the hangout of beats, artists, and Pulitzer-winning writers. But it's also just a cozy, timeless blue-collar joint to get a beer and, per your desire, to engage in discourse about why you're going to throw away your vote again on Ralph Nader, to read a book from the Moon's lending library, or to be left alone to ponder your beliefs. "A man's got to believe in something," explained newspaper cartoonist Ray Collins, a onetime Moon regular. "I believe I'll have another beer."—Rick Anderson 712 N.E. 45th St., 206-545-9775.

Best Place to Get an Ice-Cream Cone

Safe to say that anyone who's been in business for over 70 years is doing something right, but just to be sure, you should make a day trip to West Seattle and try one—or all—of the 40 flavors of ice cream at HUSKY DELI. Mom-and-pop owned since 1932, Husky Deli makes their ice cream on the premises, and they also have a damn fine sandwich counter, tons of chocolates and candies, and a large selection of grocery items ranging from squeezable ketchup to imported German sauerkraut. But by all means, don't feel like you have to mix business with pleasure. You can get your sundries any old time, just don't let summer go by without indulging in a triple cone of double chocolate fudge.—Laura Cassidy 4721 California Ave. S.W., 206-937-2810.

Best Party-style Cooking Classes

Just in time to avoid being mobbed by torch-wielding Madison Parkies enraged by the loss of their on-street parking spaces, Virginia and Mike Duppenthaler have found a new home for their BLUE RIBBON COOKING SCHOOL. Even without the angry mobs, it was time for a move; the Duppenthalers have a lovely home with an even lovelier kitchen and deck, but when you're in the rapidly growing field of producing cooking classes as private parties, wedding rehearsals, and corporate team-building exercises, the fanciest home kitchen just doesn't offer enough scope. The Duppenthalers' new facility down near Houseboat Row on Lake Union— previously home to at least half a dozen failed restaurant operations, most recently Cafe Ambrosia—has three separate classrooms set up for demos and a dedicated barbecue unit conveniently located just off the spacious deck with its view of Gasworks Park across the water. And, as if teaching adult and kids' cooking classes and mounting events for Adobe, Amgen, and AT&T employees weren't enough to keep them busy, the Duppenthalers are considering setting up a cappuccino stand catering to passing kayakers.—Roger Downey 2501 Fairview Ave. E., 206-328-2442.

Best Exotic Beer Selection

It's a tough call, this one. Some brew cognoscenti like the selection at Duck Island Ale House on Aurora, and the atmosphere there, all quirky angles and cozy corners, lends itself to meditation over a pot of fine brew (available not just in pints but halves, imperials, and pitchers). Unfortunately, the atmosphere also provides more than a whiff of the noxious weed of doom (tobacco, that is). Another downside: Food, such as it is, comes from Beth's Cafe next door, an establishment that wears its greasy-spoon cred with pride. They take food more seriously at Ballard's Old Town Alehouse, and they consider the customers' lungs as well with a smoke-free policy. If management only considered the customers' convenience, too, it would be a great spot to tip one; unfortunately the staff has a way of shutting down the kitchen when they feel like it, and you can't even count on finding the place open during its stated business hours. Shucks.—Roger Downey Duck Island Ale House: 7317 Aurora Ave. N. 206-783-3360. Old Town Alehouse: 5233 Ballard Ave. N.W. 206-782-8323.

Best Dive Bar Deck