Much of the love for Renee Erickson’s work centers on the redoubtable The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard, which remains near the top of the city’s best-restaurants list. But for your money, I’m going to Erickson’s Boat Street Cafe, which manages to summon a summery French vibe in an unexpected basement location. The ambience is eclipsed only by the food, which is reliably excellent. The justly famed bread pudding is always available, but if I were dining on your dime, I’d order whatever’s just been added to the menu, including lots of oysters; housemade pate; a salad of locally grown greens; freshly caught fish; and a bottle of white Burgundy. And, OK, maybe bread pudding for dessert. HANNA RASKIN 3131 Western Ave. #301, 632-4602, boatstreetcafe.com