ON THE PLATE
Charlestown Street Caf頼/B>Champion two years running in chowder cook-offs on both coasts (Newport, R.I., and Seaside, Ore.), this 10-year-old West Seattle eatery is eager to show locals what the shouting’s all about. A bowl of the gold-medal chowder (or seafood bisque) will set you back just $6.25. Main dish items include curry chicken salad ($8.45) and a chicken breast in a lemon-caper wine sauce accompanied by a baked potato ($11.45). The roast beef in mushroom-red wine-sour cream sauce ($11.95) is served over penne pasta. 3800 California S.W., 937-3800.
Harvest Vine Belly up to the tapas bar for some of the best Basque food west of Bilbao. Sip some sherry while grazing on salt-cured tuna with mullet caviar ($8.75), the grilled sardines drizzled with lemon ($9.75), and veal tongue in a sweet-hot chorichero pepper puree ($7.25). There’s lots more, and be sure to leave room for the dynamite flan, subtly scented with citrus and saffron ($5). 2701 E. Madison, 320-9771.
67 Fresh from a $5.5 million makeover, the venerable Edgewater aims to draw fans of fine dining with an Asian-accented menu featuring items like steamed mussels in curry broth ($8.95); a warm salad of potatoes, herbs, and “20-second” salmon in a mustard seed vinaigrette ($10.95, $16.95 as a luncheon main dish); tuna “meatballs” with Peruvian vermicelli ($16.95); and a revisionist “osso buco” of star anise and cassia-simmered lamb shank served on goat-cheesed mashed potatoes ($16.95). 2411 Alaskan Way, Pier 67, 728-7000.
Restaurant Zo렼/B>New for summer: a salad of fresh artichokes with roasted onions and tomatoes ($8.25), albacore tartare with cucumber coulis and horseradish vinaigrette ($9), seared sea scallops with roasted cauliflower and beet risotto ($23), and braised rabbit with tomato and olives ($17.95). 2137 Second, 256-2060.
IN THE GLASS
’99 Cayuse syrah Fewer than 500 cases of this luscious, fragrant blend from three Walla Walla Valley vineyards are on the market, so check your wine shop now. About $28.
IN THE MARKET
Washington-grown cherries (accept no substitutes) are starting to appear. And, though the weather continues to be unfavorable, the first local strawberries and raspberries are shyly making their debuts. And spinach—real spinach!–is abounding.
COMING UP
6/29 Hey, big spender, how’s this for inconspicuous consumption? Chow down on a seven-course supper at Mistral featuring champagne-poached lobster, foie gras and squab tart, and rack of venison to accompany a vertical tasting of five vintages of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1994 to 1970. Room for just six sippers with $2,000 (plus tax and tip) to spare. 113 Blanchard, 770-7799.
6/29 On a more modest but still Francophile note, how about a French country- style buffet dinner by Bertrand Chez Vous with desserts from Le Fournil to benefit the Nostrand Professorship at the UW? Admission $55; for more information on the evening event at the UW Waterfront Activities Center, call 425-743-9620.
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