Here’s one of my favorite dishes about town: ART Restaurant and Lounge’s Indian-Spiced Salmon with Lobster Mashed Potatoes.

I love the gently-spicy, perfectly cooked slab of salmon perched atop a mound of buttery, lobster-y spuds (that contains succulent knobs of fresh lobster meat). A glistening green streak of basil oil completes the dish.

Some dishes are (almost) too pretty to eat. Which is the feeling I had when this gorgeous Baby Artichoke Salad with Vine-Ripened Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan was laid before me at Barolo Ristorante in downtown Seattle.

Properly called Carciofi alla Romana in Italian, I was immediately taken by the visual image of baby artichokes made to look like flowers–the artichoke heart’s leaves serving as the flower’s “petals” and sprigs of fresh basil as its “leaves.”

Once I broke down and tasted the dish, I was smitten with the tender flesh of the slow-roasted artichokes, the meltingly gentle tomato sauce, the punch from the basil pesto, and the crunch of the toasted pine nuts.

Willis Hall 2007 Roussanne, produced under the loving hand of winemaker and friend John Bell, formed a clean, crisp foil to the strong flavors of this dish.

All of which more than qualifies Barolo’s Carciofi alla Romana as today’s Dish of the Day.

I don’t eat fried foods very often, so when I do I want to really make it count. These Zeppole–Lemon Donuts with Powdered Sugar–from chef/owner Ethan Stowell’s tantalizing Tavoláta in the Belltown neighborhood of downtown Seattle are the perfect reason to fall off the healthy-eating bandwagon.

They’re light and lemon-y and utterly addictive. Just don’t breathe in the powdered sugar while conversing over the dinner table, or you might choke!

These Lemon-Sugar Donuts join the Made-to-Order Doughnuts at Dahlia Lounge (where they’re served in a paper bag for shaking the sugar, alongside seasonal berry jam and vanilla mascarpone) and the Vanilla-Dusted Donuts for Two at ART Restaurant and Lounge in the Four Seasons Seattle Hotel (which come in a box with sides of Fromage Blanc Sorbet and Northwest Rhubarb Compote) as very-sweet finales to any meal and our Dish of the Day.

Roasted chicken is one of those benchmark dishes that Spencer and I love to try at various restaurants because such a seemingly simple dish can really show a chef’s mettle.

The Whole Roasted Chicken pictured below (Note: This very generous serving is meant to serve one person, not two!!!) is one of the best renditions about town, available at Le Pichet in the Pike Place Market, but only with one hour’s notice. And you have to be in the restaurant in person to order it–no phoning ahead!

Butter-basted to order, this Washington-raised chicken from Don & Joe’s Meats in the Pike Place Market has a crispy skin, moist and steamy interior, and tantalizing texture. The evening we enjoyed it, its chicken broth was swimming with fresh English peas, dandelion greens, and bite-sized bits of ham hock.

Half a chicken is way too much for me (especially after the Salade Verte–Butter Lettuce and Hazelnut Salad with Mustard-Hazelnut Vinaigrette–plus an interesting appetizer, such as Friture de Calamars Sur Salade Aux Pois-Chiches et Frisée–Fried Calamari and White Bean-Frisée Salad, pictured below).

Luckily for us, roasted-chicken leftovers make for a glorious soup or stew the next day.

Deviled eggs. For many of us they conjure up memories of childhood, when the rich, eggy spheres were nothing more than smashed yolks, gobs of mayo, and perhaps a dice of bread-and-butter or dill pickle for crunch.

Modern-day deviled eggs take many forms, and one of the best in Seattle is at (perhaps surprisingly) Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar, with locations in downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

Here’s an almost celestial photo of the bouncing beauties, whose slightly spicy filling was as smooth as glass and as addictive as opium. As you might expect of a restaurant that specializes in seafood, the eggs come topped with your choice of Truffled Ahi Tartare or Citrus Salmon Gravlax.

Or do as we did, and get an order of each.

You know we’ve blogged frequently about how much we enjoy eating Saturday or Sunday brunch at Etta’s Seafood restaurant, just north of the Pike Place Market.

Here’s a new dish we’ve tried recently. . .Etta’s Penn Cove Mussels (or clams or a combo–your choice) come with a rich Spring Garlic and Washington Chardonnay Sauce and plenty of crunchy croutons.

The broth is to die for–redolent of the Chardonnay, buttery, perfect for unabashedly sipping with the soup spoon that accompanies it.

With a side of Yakima Asparagus (perfectly grilled to tender-crisp), I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.

Which is the reason this qualifies as my Dish of the Day.

In a weird twist of fate, I had written this blog, and pre-scheduled it to post, after our most recent of many visits to The Oceanaire Seafood Room in downtown Seattle. Late last night, I heard via Twitter that the venerable seafood palace had closed–collateral damage of its parent company filing for bankruptcy.

My first instinct was to delete this entry, but instead I decided to leave it as a sort of RIP for all the fond memories and fun times we experienced within the seafood restaurant’s regal confines.

Cheers and all best to Oceanaire’s ever-vigilant and -amiable general manager Ed Grandpre, and the many fine chefs who have created a succession of succulent seafood dishes there–Kevin Davis, Eric Donnelly, and Aaron Valimont. And to the ever-gracious serving staff. We will miss you all!

<<Our Dish of the Day comes from The Oceanaire Seafood Room in downtown Seattle, where new executive chef Aaron Valimont is doing an admirable job of filling the very large shoes left by former chef Eric Donnelly.

Here’s a big, and I do mean BIG, plate of Lobster Spaghetti, happily sauced with Roasted Tomatoes, Basil, Spinach, and White Wine Butter Sauce, with the operative word here being BUTTER–and I’m not complaining.

I made up for this transgression by ordering a side of asparagus simply steamed instead of grilled and served with shaved grana cheese. Leftovers of both dishes made for lusty leftovers the following day. I’m makin’ myself hungry just writing this and looking at the photo again. . .>>

Brunch at Etta’s Seafood, just north of the Pike Place Market along Western Avenue, is one of our favorite weekend rituals. I usually opt for the Dungeness Crab Salad, but occasionally choose Tom’s Tasty Albacore Tuna Sashimi with Green Onion Pancakes. Every time I do, I realize this more than qualifies for my Dish of the Day. It’s especially good (and healthy!) when you order a side of Grilled Yakima Asparagus. Grapefruit juice is my drink of choice for additional Vitamin C and a tart, refreshing palate cleanser. 

When we are in search of a quick and satisfying place for lunch before a movie or shopping at Pacific Place in downtown Seattle, we sometimes stop in at Mexico Cantina y Veracruz Cooking for sustenance and a frozen margarita (or two). 

Here’s the Ensalada à la Evelyne, fresh organic greens with pepita-crusted provolone (rich and naughty!), roasted artichoke hearts (yum–I adore artichoke hearts, but am too lazy to fix them at home), fire-grilled chicken (spicy!), sliced plum tomatoes, cotija cheese (similar to feta in texture and flavor, but not as salty), and sliced avocado (what’s not to love?). 

Although I always get my dressing on the side, when prepared “normally,” the salad is drizzled with a combination of roasted jalapeño-garlic and tequila-lime dressing. Along with an order of corn tortillas and a bowl of fresh-made salsa, I am good to go!

This main-dish salad definitely qualifies as my Dish of the Day any day of the week. 

Chef Kerry Sear has been working in Northwest restaurants for many years, most recently landing at the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in downtown Seattle as executive chef at ART Restaurant and Lounge. It’s a place we frequent since it’s right across the street from our condo; the Lounge is particularly inviting for a glass of wine and heavy appetizers.

You can order from the Lounge or dining room menus, but often we opt for Chef Kerry’s Salmon, Vegetarian, and Beef Sliders. Three come to an order, and you can mix or match as you desire. For example, I’m not into beef, so I order two salmon and a veg. My hubby, on the other hand, manly man that he is, goes straight for the beef, along with an order of Truffle Fries, of course.