Jack's Tapas Cafe
The quirky, little yellow place that Jack Tai and his family run draws a mix of U-Dub students, Chinese-food connoisseurs, and, on occasion, one of Jack’s elderly relatives, who watch the action from a couch up front. Tai chose the word “tapas” to translate “small eats,” the inexpensive, informal dishes that make up his eclectic menus. Given the chef’s Taiwanese upbringing and Shanghainese heritage, resist all thoughts of ordering rice (that’s a southern Chinese thing) and go for northern-style noodles, dumplings, and especially the sesame bread: a fat round cut into wedges, enough to serve five. You’re with friends—don’t think about how much oil went into making the seed-coated crust so crisp or the layered insides as soft as cotton batting. Get the bread to dredge through a couple of stews, such as the classic northern pickled-cabbage-and-lamb soup or the wonderful pork stew on the white specials board, which is red-cooked with root vegetables in a sweet, soy-based sauce redolent of star anise. Little eats, big impact. JONATHAN KAUFFMAN
Serves:5211 University Way N.E., 206-523-6855.
http://www.jackstapas.com
La Carta de Oaxaca
Perhaps the most stylishly designed Mexican restaurant in the entire Pacific Northwest, La Carta de Oaxaca avoids every piñata-cactus-blanket cliché you’ve ever drunk a strawberry margarita under. Sure, there’s a Virgin de Guadalupe on the wall, but she’s surrounded by black-and-white pictures of Oaxaqueños, whitewashed tables, and twig-shaped lights floating in the ether. La Carta’s equally well-displayed food isn’t all Oaxacan—lamb birria and posole are Jalisco specialties—but you can find foods rarely tasted north of the Sonora Desert: entomatadas stuffed with tasajo (grilled, thinly sliced beef); shredded Oaxacan string cheese speckling the tops of tostadas and enchiladas; and a proper mole negro, the chile-nut-chocolate sauce that takes most of a day to concoct. The smartest thing about La Carta is that its portions—and prices—are designed for sharing. You and your friends can taste your way around, and around, the menu without each having to commit to a mound of beans, rice, and melted cheese. Leave room in the night’s schedule, though, to drink a margarita or two in the bar while you wait for table time. JONATHAN KAUFFMAN
Serves:5431 Ballard Ave. N.W., 206-782-8722.
La Rustica
With Puget Sound mere yards away and a menu chockablock with fresh-catch items, this Alki Beach Italian bistro accomplishes its presumed goal of transferring patrons’ palates and minds to the Mediterranean Sea. In the States, this sort of authenticity typically comes at a (high) price, but La Rustica is priced as modestly as if you were actually dining at a restaurant in the pristine cliffs of the Cinque Terre. Standouts include the salmon spaghetti and the ricotta gnocchi with spicy sausage—as well as that charmingly unpretentious tracksuit on the old fella at the door. MIKE SEELY
Serves:4100 Beach Dr. S.W., 206-932-3020.
Saint Germain
Saint Germain is first and foremost a wine bar, not a restaurant, though local customers kept demanding affordable dinner fare. So owner Jean-Michel Omnès has instituted a simple, wonderfully priced menu that includes open-faced sandwiches (such as the Monsieur Seguin, with smoked duck breast, aged goat cheese, and garlic) and a soup of the day (occasionally a heavenly white bean with tomato and bacon). Perhaps you’ll just want a few cheese plates before moving on to dessert: chocolate-mousse cake, say, or pear tart. If you’re in the mood for a little more substance, get one of the gratins, especially the shepherd’s pie or “La Mer,” mussels floating in a sea of béchamel sauce and covered in cheese. The food may clog your arteries, but the wine selection and atmosphere—a simple mix of blue and white, awash in natural lighting—will ensure that the conversation will flow to no end. KARLA STARR
Serves:2811A E. Madison St., 206-323-9800.
http://www.saintgermainseattle.com
Tamarind Tree
A dive is comfy, but sometimes your sociability could actually be boosted by some well-wrought cuisine. If so, you’ll be talking a blue streak at this place. Once you get a table (plan on an hour’s wait during weekend prime time), the brisk service will deliver some of the freshest, most elegantly presented Vietnamese dishes in Little Saigon. The beef pho comes in eight steaming varieties (large is just $7.50). The “braised fish pot”—catfish fillet braised with fresh coconut juice—is a simple delight (and a generous serving for just $10). Green mango salad is wonderfully subtle. Eggplant satay flat-out rocks. And if none of those appeal, there are 27 more pages’ worth of menu to consult. With a comfortable, convivial room—or, if you prefer, a heated deck looking out on the expanse of parking lot—the primary risk to your conversation will be repeated interruptions to say, “Goddamn, this is good.” MARK D. FEFER
Serves:1036 S. Jackson St., Suite A, 206-860-1404.
Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria
There’s something inexplicably convivial about this upscale pizzeria, which first opened in Columbia City and went on to open a sister restaurant in Wallingford. There’s charm, certainly, in the airy space and wooden tables of the original Tutta Bella, which I frequent. It’s more than looks, though—a kind of good-spirited informality pervades, in both food and atmosphere, making it a natural place to hang out with your friends. At the same time, the thin-crust pizza, baked in a wood-fired oven, is dressed up enough—with ingredients like Gorgonzola, fresh basil, and arugula—to make it feel like a treat, and the pie carries a certification as genuinely “Neapolitan” to boot. Perhaps even better are the salads, which come festooned with items like fennel, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and salami; even a small is large enough to share. After gelato and the complimentary coffee that comes with dessert, everyone leaves happy. Bring your kids. Everyone else does. NINA SHAPIRO
Serves:4918 Rainier Ave. S., 206-721-3501.
http://www.tuttabellapizza.com