Photo by Anna Erickson

Kathleen Flinn is a Seattle-based author of several food memoirs, including the just-published Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love From an American Midwest Family. She’s also the source of many-a recipe through her website cookfearless.com. And, for us, she is an authority on the Best of the city.

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Best Romantic RestaurantThe bar area at Il Terazzo Carmine in Pioneer Square. Nothing says romance like Italian, and that’s where I first laid eyes on my husband in 2004.

Best Place to Indulge/Overeat/SlumChicken-fried steak from Local 360 or Jules Mae in Georgetown—total diet-killers. After a tough day, I just must have the wild-boar sloppy Joe from Quinn’s (sometimes I have two… which is wrong).

Best Underrated RestaurantPlace Pigalle. It’s often dismissed as a tourist restaurant given its stellar location at Pike Place Market, but they’ve been consistently executing excellent French cuisine for years.

Best Place to Send an Out-of-Town FriendMatt’s in the Market. You get the fabulous view of the Sound, the Pike Place Market experience, plus their wonderful combination of fresh Northwest produce artfully blended with Southern influences.

Best Pike Place Market Food StallPiroshky Piroshky, hands down. Love all their savory pastries, but their chicken, rice, and mushroom is my favorite.

Best Dish in SeattlePerfectly shucked fresh raw oysters at Taylor Shellfish on Melrose in Capitol Hill, paired with a crisp oyster wine.

Best AmbienceSerafina. The place manages to be both intimate and romantic, yet lively, casual and formal.

Best BarPoppy on North Broadway. The food is artfully executed, the bartenders are great, and it has the best happy hour in Seattle.

Best New RestaurantI can’t pick just one. So here are three: Joule for bold yet balanced flavors; London Plane in Pioneer Square for its sophistication; and Westward on north Lake Union for the fabulous views, casual-chic setting, and lovely seafood.

Best Locally Produced Must-Have Picnic StapleThe pickled figs by Renee Erickson of the Boat Street Cafe. They make the best addition to a cheese plate or a fabulous addition to a simple balsamic vinaigrette.

Read all of our picks for Food & Drink, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.