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Where to eat with your eyes
May Restaurant
Walking up the jagged wrought-iron staircase into the main dining area at May Thai is like being transported through time (space? dimensions?) to an ancient Thai temple decorated by chic Seattle restaurateurs. The walls, made from deep-brown planks of teak, are reportedly more than 100 years old, imported from the owners’ family estate in Thailand, and the ceiling peaks impressively nearly 20 feet overhead. Downstairs in the bar, frescoes of Buddha are languidly lit by glowing red and orange chandeliers, and red velvet curtains dim the windows. Prying your gaze away from the scenery to the menu, you’ll find the place is a feast for the stomach as well as the eyes. Try pla meuk yang, tender chunks of grilled squid in chili sauce; nor mai, a bamboo-shoot soup served cold and seasoned with cilantro and red onions; and green curry prawns, complemented nicely with Thai basil and sweet and spicy like a good curry should be. KEEGAN HAMILTON
Serves: Thai1612 N. 45th St., 206-675-0037.
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http://www.mayrestaurant.com
Cellar Bistro
Like an extramarital flame, this nook of a restaurant pulls you into its dark, velvety spaces and tastes heavenly compared to what you’re getting at home. A friend of mine once threw a 10-person birthday party here, and the restaurant’s discreet entrance mystified most guests, who had to call for directions a second time once inside because they couldn’t locate the table of familiar faces hidden away in the innermost of four intimate dining rooms. What if you didn’t want to be found? In a nod to the god of drink and debauchery, bunches of fake grapes dangle from this Italian bistro’s latticed ceiling. Bacchus himself would be sated after feasting on free-flowing glasses of clean, house orvieto classico and a two-chicken-breast saltimbocca with ample pieces of salty prosciutto, mozzarella, and cream. The side of fresh cheese tortellini is an unexpected extra—some postcoital cuddling from the entrée. Follow up with espresso-flavored mud pie . . . unless you can think of a better way to cap the evening with your dining partner. SARA NIEGOWSKI
Serves: Italian2355 10th Ave. E., 206-709-8744.
http://www.cellarbistro.com