Top 5 Restaurant Choices for Dine Around Seattle

Dine Around Seattle is a twice-yearly month-long restaurant extravaganza, in which  over 50 restaurants offer a three-course prix fixe menu that includes a starter, an entree, and dessert. This delectable time runs from March 2 to 27, but get your feast on during the workweek, because Friday and Saturday nights aren’t included in the deal. This year’s per-person prix fixe menus follow a flat rate: $30 for a three-course dinner, and $15 for a three-course lunch. The month-long event won’t be happening again until November so make sure to investigate Dine Around Seattle’s website and check out all the scrumptious bargains. I’ve listed my top five choices for this year’s Dine Around Seattle, so when you see that person at the next table who’s really enjoying their food, that’ll be me.

Manhattan Seattle ($15 Lunch)

Manhattan Seattle’s lunch sounds scrumptious and quixotic. I’d order the King Crab and Roasted Tomato Bisque appetizer, served with roasted garlic parmesan crostini, and then I’d follow that up with their Chicken and Waffle
 entrée which boasts a champagne buttermilk waffle, a deep fried drumstick and thigh, and a drizzle of sausage gravy. Just to top off the wholesomeness, this entree is served with a side of maple syrup. For dessert (Yes! There’s more food!), I want to keep mixing my genres, so I’ll be ordering the Earl Grey Creme Brulee
. This traditional creme brulee has a hint of Earl Grey flavor, which, although it’s not a light dessert, will at least tame some of that rich lunch food with its subtle flavors and scents. 1419 12th Avenue | Seattle | 206.325.6574

Barolo ($30 Dinner)

Barolo’s decadent, seafood-filled menu makes me drool, but I want to order the Polipo, Rucola e Fagioli appetizer, which is Italian for octopus that is served atop arugula and beans. For an entrée, their Seppia ai Capperi sounds delicious. It’s a grilled squid steak accented with capers, lemon, and rapini. After all this seafood, I think that Barolo’s Chocolate Tortino dessert will leave me feeling satisfied.  1940 Westlake Avenue | Seattle | 206.770.9000 

Tango Restaurant ($30 Dinner)

The dinner at Tango Restaurant pulls together an exciting blend of flavors that promise to make for an unforgettable meal. As my appetizer, I’ll order the Queso Azul which is a Valdeón blue cheese soufflé that has fallen, but is topped and drizzled with a blueberry compote and port wine syrup. Tango has a lot of exciting entrees, but I’m ordering the Moqueca de Peixe, a fish stew which has scallops, mussels, prawns, calamari, tilapia, chilies, farofa, coconut broth, dende oil, and rice. Farofa is something that I had to look up: it’s a traditional Brazilian side dish made of ground up manioc flour that’s cooked into a crunchy stuffing. Once again, these dinner offerings are so overwhelming that dessert seems superfluous, but this dessert is worth having: the El Diablo is a cube of bittersweet, rich, dark chocolate that is graced with cayenne, spicy almonds, cocoa nibs, and burnt meringue, and is finished with a tequila caramel sauce. Seriously. 1100 Pike Street | Seattle | 206.583.0382

Skillet Diner ($15 Lunch)

Though Dine Around Seattle has few lunch menus, the Skillet Diner has a lunch that I can’t wait to try. For an appetizer, I’ll order the Skillet Poutine with hand-cut fries, gravy, cheddar cheese, and herbs, because I’m a sucker for diner poutines. The real gem of the lunch menu, though, is the entrée, which is simply called The Burger. It’s a meaty patty topped with bacon jam (yeah, you read that right), arugula, and a creamy blue-brie mix, and it’s served on a brioche bun. Who can resist that? Although I’m sure Skillet serves a mean milkshake for dessert, I’d bet my money on their Chocolate Pie in a Bowl, which is a concoction made of semi-sweet chocolate pudding, a pie crust, sea salt, and cocoa nibs… but perhaps I’d forgo that awesome dessert for more of their bacon jam. 2034 NW 56^th Street | Seattle | 206.512.2000

La Bête ($30 Dinner)

La Bête has a very upscale menu that is surely a bargain for the price and great food that is heavily discounted is one of the reasons I get so excited about restaurant week. (Or, for that matter, restaurant month. Really, Seattle. Do you know how lucky you are?) For my appetizer, I’ll be ordering the Chicken Liver Mousse with grapes, greens, walnuts, dates, and some crispy, crunchy toast. After I’ve devoured that, my chosen entrée is the Housemade Pappardelle Pasta. Pappardelle is that delicious, wide, flat pasta and in this recipe, it’s been tossed with braised beef tongue, mushrooms, leek, bacon, and mustard greens, and then topped with some tangy parmigiano reggiano. For dessert, I have to order the Hazelnut Financier with Roasted Pear, paired with luscious lemon curd and lemon-crème-fraiche ice cream. Delish! 1802 Bellevue Avenue | Seattle | 206.329.4047

Even though Dine Around Seattle will be continuing for the entire month of March, make sure that you don’t put your dinner reservations off until the end of the month. With these amazing restaurants, you’ll want to make sure you have the time and space to enjoy each meal separately and fully, and you won’t want to be rushed. Enjoy your meals, Seattle!

Photo licensed for use by Ewan Munro