City of Seattle

Central District

R & L Home of Good Bar-B-Q 1816 E. Yesler Way, Seattle, 322-0271. Nothing fancy here; the soda comes out of a vending machine in the corner, and they don’t take plastic. But R & L sure makes a mean pulled-pork sandwich and fine plate of ribs. The Southern hospitality exhibited by the mother/daughter team who run the joint couldn’t be more welcoming. Even if the food didn’t call you back, the atmosphere—or wonderful lack thereof—would. $

Saba Ethiopian Restaurant 112 12th Ave., Seattle, 328-2290. Squeamishness about raw food is perfectly understandable. Most Seattleites have gotten past that when it comes to tuna or egg yolks (thank you, Japan), but now it’s time to let raw beef push you the rest of the way. Saba’s Gored Gored comprises tender, uncooked beef cubes covered in awaze, a red chile sauce. The combination of heat, sweet, and raw meat juices (aka “blood”) explodes on your tongue, pushing away all thought of mad cow. By the end you’ll just be grateful for the injera, the pancake-like bread served with Ethiopian cuisine, to sop up anything left on your plate. That said, if you just can’t bring yourself to put chunks of raw cow in your mouth, Saba’s menu is filled with flavor-filled cooked lamb, lentils, and more. $

Columbia City

Lottie’s Lounge 4900 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 725-0519. Lottie’s Lounge is a low-key, funky neighborhood place—the gathering spot for Columbia City’s bohos. The coffee shop turned bar-cafe serves a full dinner menu, allowing you to polish off a grilled ham and cheddar panini or a plate of caper-studded linguine carbonara as you listen to the DJ’s set and nurse a martini. $

Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria 4918 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 721-3501. Tutta Bella’s pizza is certified by the Italian government as authentic Neapolitan pizza. The requisite thin crust, floppy-centered and almost translucent at the center, tastes of the wood fire it was baked over and will leave some more jazzed than others. Pizzas come topped with classy items like pancetta, goat cheese, and kalamata olives. Dessert includes gelato and Italian cookies, as well as tiramisu and cannoli. A good-spirited informality pervades the Wallingford, Westlake, and Columbia City locales, in both food and atmosphere, making Tutta Bella a natural place to hang out with friends and kids. $

Downtown

P F Changs China Bistro 400 Pine St., Seattle, 393-0070. Will you get daringly authentic Asian food at PF Chang’s that will set your taste buds aflame? No. But at the Westlake location of this national chain, you will get consistently tasty and well-executed fare that will please adults and kids alike. (Unlike most Asian restaurants, it even has a kids menu, one that features lo mein rather than hot dogs.) The stir fried eggplant, spiced with chili peppers, is a stand out dish. $$

Pabla Indian Cuisine 1516 2nd Ave. Ste. 101, Seattle, 623-2868. You feel like you’re visiting Pabla’s actual home when you sit down for a meal. Lace curtains adorn the windows, fresh flowers sit on the table, and the scent of simmering stew wafts in from the back kitchen. Her Punjabi dishes are comforting: lamb jalfrazie is soaked in freshly ground spices, and pepper and chicken tikka masala is sweet with the perfect hint of spice. And more often than not, your server will be Pabla herself. $

Steelhead Diner 95 Pine St., Seattle, 625-0129. Poutine, baby. Pou-friggin’-tine. It’s the answer to almost every question mankind asks, the cure to damn near anything that ails us. And you know where you can get some fine poutine? At chef Kevin Davis’ Steelhead Diner. Made with Beecher’s cheese curds from right around the corner, a trained chef’s version of cheap diner gravy, and perfect french fries, Steelhead’s poutine is a lowbrow dish served in a very high-tone setting. True, Steelhead’s the kind of place that often fills up with suits and swells and beautiful people out flexing their new haircuts and business cards at each other, but sometimes you have to look past the crowds and the surface details to find the really good stuff. And at the Steelhead, that really good stuff includes Davis’ idea of the American diner “evolved”—buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches, fish and chips, meatloaf served with juniper sauce and parsnip puree rather than mashed potatoes, and slices of pie filled with caviar. $$

Thai Ginger 600 Pine St. Ste 406, Seattle, 749-9100. The special at Thai Ginger, with locations in Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, Downtown and Madison Park, is a must-try for ginger lovers, containing ginger strips sauteed in a dark sauce with onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and chicken or beef. For appetizers, try the coconut-milk-marinated chicken satay or the tom kah gai. Good entrees include the cashew chicken or a bowl of good old red curry. $

Eastlake & South Lake Union

Skillet Street Food locations vary, Seattle, 512-2000. Nothing more than an Airstream trailer found weekdays in various curbsides, alleyways, and parking lots, Skillet is undoubtedly Seattle’s best restaurant on wheels, attracting a cult following of neighborhood foodies. On the gourmet end, there’s really no better burger around than their $12 offering, touting grass-fed beef they grind and salt-cure themselves, arugula, and bacon jam. The steal is the poutine, that Canadian delicacy of thick fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds—a delicious way to stretch your stomach. No matter what the options on their chalkboard are (many of which will be crossed out if you return to Skillet for a later lunch), the ingredients are the best of the best—in-season, fresh, and locally sourced. With not much space in the trailer to prepare their food, there’s no room for bullshit. And though the servers hang out the door of a tin can, Skillet boasts impeccable service. $

Georgetown

Smarty Pants 6017 Airport Way S., Seattle, 762-4777. The sandwiches, soups, and salads here deserve your full consideration. The gringa, with pulled pork, lime, and mayo generously slathered on a pillowy roll, is as dependable as the Reuben, sturdy and slightly sloppy with sauerkraut. Everything on the menu can be easily transformed into vegetarian fare at no extra cost with a substitution of grain-based Field Roast. Daily soups are inventive twists on old favorites, and homemade salads—tuna, potato, and egg—are available as a trio sampler. $

International District

Mike’s Noodle House 418 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, 389-7099. One of the many noodle houses now en vogue in the ID, Mike’s attracts Chinese and Vietnamese noodle aficionados for its Hong Kong-style wheat noodles—hair-thin, elegantly springy filaments—served in a clear chicken broth with a few yellow chives floating on top. If you want to take your noodles one step further, order the wontons, sui kau (sort of a cross between siu mai and wontons), or the squid balls, whose hollow centers contain a gush of coral-colored, sweet shrimp roe. $

Phnom Penh Noodle House 660 S. King St., Seattle, 748-9825. When Seattle eaters can’t face one more bowl of pho, but desperately need a steaming hot bowl of broth to see them through yet another chilly day, they tend to turn up at Sam Ung’s outpost of Cambodian cooking. Phnom Penh serves upstanding noodle soups, but eaters who stick around will also discover the sticky chicken wings, grilled short ribs and mee katang, which benefits immensely from a dollop of the house hot sauce of roasted chiles, garlic and dried shrimp paste. (A quarter buys an extra serving if you’re taking your Phnom Penh to go.) Like many Asian restaurant owners, Ung has a harrowing life story. More unusually, he’s written his memoirs in English. The slim book’s sold at the restaurant. $

Purple Dot Cafe 515 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, 622-0288. Purple Dot Cafe looks like a cross between Space Mountain and a casino buffet. The walls are bright purple and yellow and the tables iridescent silver, and the food—well—there’s a lot of it. Purple Dot serves Hong Kong-style cuisine, meaning it’s influenced by everything. The wacky menu includes chow mein and honey-walnut prawns, baked spaghetti and pork chops, even French toast and banana pancakes. It’s a hugely popular spot with clubgoers, who come in gaggles after the bars close. (Owner Sindy Chan actually doubles her staff on weekends.) It’s the International District’s ultimate greasy spoon—you don’t necessarily want to have dim sum here, but boy, does that chow mein hit the spot at 3 a.m. $

Samurai Noodle 606 5th Ave. S, Seattle, 624-9321. An all-ramen restaurant with no plastic packets? Yup, Samurai Noodle does it all in-house, serving huge, redolent bowls of broth that took much longer than 90 seconds to concoct (but still make for cheap eats). The house specialty, tonkotsu ramen, rivals a bowl of gravy in its richness. Though the recipe is subject to a nondisclosure agreement with a Japanese ramen company, Samurai’s chef simmers pork bones for hours, creating an oinky liquor with the color and creaminess of a good cafe au lait. There are other ramens at Samurai, including versions with chicken, soy, seasonal yuzu, and cold-fish broths, but none come so bundled with memories of Christmas dinner. $

Seattle Deli 225 12th Ave. S., Seattle, 328-0106. At this squeaky-clean (sometimes literally, since the owners regularly come out to mop around you) Vietnamese deli, it’s hard to narrow down your choices. Should you paw through the stacks of sticky-rice desserts and fresh spring rolls on the counter, or ask the counterpeople to dish up a glass of sweet beans and warm coconut milk? Should you add to your order a puffy fried bread or some toasted-coconut macaroons? It’s easy to fill up a grocery bag with snacks, and for less than $10. But to leave without ordering one of Seattle’s best banh mi—the barbecued pork or the xiu mai (meatball)—stuffed with pickled vegetables and herbs into a warm, crackly roll, you should consider your entire visit a wash. $

Seven Stars Pepper Szechuan Restaurant 1207 S. Jackson St., Seattle, 568-6446. Seven Stars, housed on the second floor of a cramped strip mall, has lost some of its luster since the founding chef moved to Bellevue, but this Szechuanese restaurant still offers some intoxicating spicy fare. The hot pots, prawn and octopus with wild peppers, and boiled fish in spicy sauce will set your mouth a-steaming, and even vegetables like cucumber and potato come doused in chile oil. The Szechwan crab, hand-cut noodles, and house special pancake have a devoted fan base. $

Szechuan Noodle Bowl 420 Eighth Ave. S., Seattle, 623-4198. An ID staple, tiny Szechuan Noodle Bowl specializes in … wait for it … bowls of spicy noodle soup. There’s a subtle anise-tinged sweetness to the broth of the beef noodle soup, and it softens you up so the chile kick hurts all the more deliciously; the bowl is topped with beef stewed so long it can barely remember to hold its shape. Forget the cold sesame noodles and stick to the soups and SNB’s two cult dishes: the dumplings and the fried green-onion pancake. $

Tamarind Tree 1036 S. Jackson St. Ste. A, Seattle, 860-1404. More often than not, Asian fine dining is a cerebral fusion whose aesthetic and cuisine depart from the culture that inspired them. Enter Tamarind Tree, which bridges a sophisticated, modern decor with unquestionably authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Their signature spring rolls are probably the best in town, seemingly flowering with noodles and lettuce in a perfectly sticky rice wrapper. If you can’t get enough of them, order the ban cun trang tay (steamed rice paper) and wrap your pork, crispy shrimp, or shiitake mushrooms yourself. While most rave about Tamarind Tree’s specialty noodle soups and the whimsical crepes—shells of rice flour packed with scallops, prawns, and pork and covered with coconut milk—I’m a huge proponent of its salads. Whether green papaya or duck, the ingredients are gorgeously laid out, super-fresh, and satisfying. With prompt, friendly service, an elegant patio, and fancy cocktails with ingredients like lychee and kumquat, you can have a night on the town without sacrificing the soul of the food. $

Tenoch Mexican Grill 208 Fifth Ave. S., Seattle, 381-8994. The reddish walls and orange floors of this bustling taqueria in the International District, named for an Aztec leader, are as spicy as the food. Tenoch’s Mexican menu brags that the cooks use no lard and opt for long preparation methods. You won’t spot their richly flavored chipotle-spiced potatoes and meats (puerco en pasilla, pollo en pipian) at your local taco truck. Just ask the person making your plate to cut down on the lettuce, rice, and other healthful stuff, which can bulk out your tacos and rice bowls without adding flavor. $

Thanh Vi 1046 S. Jackson St., Seattle, 329-0208. Tucked into the “Asian Plaza” at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Jackson Street, Thanh Vi is hidden in plain sight. Decorated with a casino owner’s eye for color, this unpretentious spot is crowded with families working their way through enormous platters and bowls. The best dishes require some assembly. You can braise raw seafood, fish balls, and veggies at the table in a hot-and-sour hot pot, which has a fragrant, tamarind-pineapple broth. Or make your own spring rolls with charbroiled pork, pickled vegetables, herbs, and rice paper. $

Leschi & Madrona

Naam Thai 1404 34th Ave., Seattle, 568-6226. If all of the Thai restaurants in Seattle stretch from the earth to the moon, with the shittiest one on the bottom and the best one on top, Naam Thai probably just barely grazes the edge of the lunar surface. That’s how fucking badass it is. I’ve eaten Pad See Iew many, many, many times, and without a doubt Naam Thai fucking nailed it. Silky wide rice noodles, like welcome mats for your taste buds, were piled high on a platter with lightly sauteed broccoli and soft supple slices of beef in a sweet and smoky sauce. The sauce in Total Green Beans was so tasty I would drink it from an elephant’s butt. Panang Curry was the best. Rich creamy pink curry sauce, thick with coconut milk, embraced tender chunks of chicken breast, sliced red and green bell peppers, and was topped with ground peanuts and a fine dusting of red pepper.

North Seattle

Fu Man Dumpling House 14314 Greenwood Ave. N., Seattle, 364-0681. If there’s one thing that you should order at Fu Man Dumpling House, a six-table hole in the wall in the northern stretches of Greenwood Avenue, it’s the boiled dumplings. Avoid the mushy chow mein, pass over the ho-hum stir-fried entrees. The lumpy, pinched little dumplings, plumped out with pork and vegetables, are the thing here. You’ll see families hunched over a couple dozen of them at a time, dead to everything but the slipperiness of the casing and the kick of the garlic sauce they dredge the dumplings through. If your tablemates demand more variety, maybe branch out with a plate of cold roasted chicken or the “hamburger” (a pan-fried, hockey-puck-shaped dumpling filled with ground beef). $

Pike Place Market

Market Grill 1509 Pike Place, Seattle, 682-2654. This market stand, its U-shaped counter always mired two deep in customers, specializes in four, maybe five kinds of seafood sandwiches a day. That means there’s just one guy on the grill, toasting buns and flipping fish, and he’s done it so many times that week that he can sense exactly how it should be done, time after time. The halibut, salmon, cod, and prawns all come from City Fish, just down the hall, and they’re grilled to that elegant point between moist translucency and flakiness, then blessed with grilled onions and your choice of rosemary mayo or tartar sauce. If you’re famished, start with a cup of clam chowder, made with lots of dill and just the right amounts of potato and salt. $

Oriental Mart 1506 Pike Place Market, Seattle, 622-8488. It’s all about the chicken adobo at this hidden, ever-so-worn Market counter (located behind an Asian grocery of the same name and across the hall from Fero’s Meats). The sisters who cook here have been asked for the recipe so many times that they’ve taped up a poster at the back that gives it out. It’s pure comfort food: The meat is stewed long enough in its marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, and bay leaves that it collapses off the bone the moment the cooks ladle it onto rice and pancit noodles. Other steam-table stews worth ordering: the tangy fish sinigang with mustard greens and beef spare ribs braised in black-bean sauce. $

Pear Delicatessen & Shoppe 1926 Pike Place, Seattle, 443-1926. Sandwiches at this market deli are best when eaten in as opposed to ordered out. Pike Place Deli offers delivered box lunches in the downtown area, too, but it is our experience that this option is dicey at best. Daily specials are probably your best bet; we enjoyed the slow-roasted pork sandwich, but we would have liked it with a bit more seasoning, more in the way of greenery, and far less mayo. $

Procopio 1501 Western Ave. Ste. 300 (Pike St. Hillclimb), Seattle, 622-4280. Procopio’s owner, Brian Garrity, snagged the recipes for 350 exquisite flavors of the Italian frozen dessert (don’t call it ice cream) from a Milanese gelato master. Better still, he uses fresh, all-natural ingredients and makes everything on site. When this spacious downtown dessert-and-espresso joint, equipped with a patio, dubs itself Seattle’s best gelateria, it’s hard to disagree. Hours vary with the season (and sometimes, it seems, with the phases of the moon); if you’re not going to be in the neighborhood anyway, call ahead. $

Sound View Cafe 1501 Pike Place Ste. 501, Seattle, 623-5700. Unwind at a window table and study the cool blue of Puget Sound, the Olympics reaching impossible heights, and ferries sailing to and fro across the water. It’s undeniably breathtaking. Turn around to see who’s accompanying you and you’ll find a flock of tourists happily chowing down on sandwiches and studying their guide books. Sound View Cafe serves breakfast all day; the restaurant also offers unremarkable soups and sandwiches. $

Turkish Delight 1930 Pike Place, Seattle, 443-1387. Depending on what city you find yourself in or what neighborhood you’re wandering through, doner kebab is not always easy to find. Gyros, sure, and shawarma is almost as ubiquitous as Big Macs. But doner (also called iskender) can be a bit harder to lay hands on, which is ironic because it’s one of the most popular dishes in the Turkish canon, and in my opinion the hands-down best. So it’s a good thing for those living or working within hollering distance of Pike Place Market that Turkish Delight—the little family-run, 10-table operation at the far end of the market—not only offers doner but does a really good job with it, cutting big slabs of meat, laying on the tomato sauce, and making a proper meal of it. There are gyros on the menu, too, of course—and shawarma, boreks, soups, and the namesake Turkish delights, gooey little nut, cinnamon, or rosewater candies dusted with powdered sugar. But while any meal at Turkish Delight is guaranteed to be three things—fast, cheap, and hearty—going for the doner adds a fourth promise: It’s going to be awesome. $

Pioneer Square

Grand Central Baking Company 214 First Ave. S., Seattle, 622-3644. The Grand Central storefront may be tiny, but every day its fan base of lunchers and pastry-lovers fills the vaulted brick entryway out front. It’s not just the bread that inspires devotion. Grand Central also makes its sandwiches with local, sustainably raised products like summer tomatoes and Beecher’s cheese press-grilled between slices of olive bread, and a portabella banh mi on an airy Bolo roll. $

Tat’s Delicatessen 159 Yesler Way, Seattle, 264-8287. Tat’s is the place where Philly native Brian Tatman and New Jerseyite Jason Simodejka first pushed their serious East Coast originals on both locals with a taste for the good stuff and expats craving a hit of home. The new Tat’s (with new partner Mike Sichel taking Simodejka’s place) works under the same guiding principles—big deli sandwiches, done in the best Philly tradition—but in a bigger Pioneer Square space and with one important addition: Beer. $

Queen Anne

Olympia Pizza and Spaghetti House 1500 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, 285-5550. This cozy, if not divey, eatery in Queen Anne comes complete with takeout counter, comfortable seating and a small outdoor dining area. Olympia Pizza and Spaghetti House’s pies are thick, cheesy, Greek-style, and made to order, though there are 39 recommended combos. If you are superhuman, try the desserts, made with Oreos, ice cream, and lots of sinful sauces. $

Portage 2209 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, 352-6213. Vuong and Tricia Loc have named their restaurant after their home town of Portage, Michigan, but it’s modeled after the mom-and-pop bistros of small-town France. The small gold room has the subdued comfort of a much tonier place, and Vuong’s menu is filled with gratins, tart tatins, pots au feu, and cassoulets—dated but not forgotten. Modern American cuisine is all about juggling a handful of distinct, discrete flavors (black sesame! grapefruit! basil!). But in Portage’s classic French food, everything converges. So it goes with a dish like Loc’s roast quail stuffed with fennel and walnuts and surrounded by vinegar-spiked onion jam: it’s so robust, so full, that you may find yourself sucking the legs in an inappropriate manner. Dab your lips with your napkin and compose yourself. $$$

Rainier Valley

Joy Palace 6030 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle, 723-4066. This Cantonese seafood restaurant has Seattle’s most underappreciated dim sum: food that’s as good if not better than 90 percent of the restaurants in the ID and servers ready to rush back to the kitchen to hunt down any kind of dumpling you can’t see on the carts. Look for the shrimp and pea-sprout dumplings, the mashed-taro puffs stuffed with ground pork, the braised tripe, and the pineapple buns. Don’t pass up the big wooden tub of ephemerally fresh tofu custard (served with ginger syrup) that circles the room on the hour. $

Tacos El Asadero 3517 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 760-9903. There are many taco trucks around the city, but for South Enders there is only one taco bus: Tacos El Asadero. Yes, it has a tattered metal exterior, but unlike many taco trucks, you can actually walk inside, see the kitchen, and eat while sitting on stools that come out of a ‘50s diner. Over on one side, by the kitchen, there are trays loaded with radishes, limes, and spicy carrots and peppers. Then there are the main courses. El Asadero’s tongue and al pastor (spicy pork) tacos are unbeatable. Four-inch-round tortillas topped with salsa, onions, and cilantro, they produce a contained explosion of flavor. Get over your ridiculous “roach coach” fears and top off your order with a ceviche taco, which positively sparkles with lime juice and herbs. $

Toshio’s Teriyaki 900 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 323-6303. In a city where beef Pho is de rigeur, any chicken broth-based soup is an also-ran. How to explain then Pho Ga 900, which has found success largely on the back of its signature dish, Pho Ga, a hearty Vietnamese stew of steamed chicken and all of the traditional fixings. Perhaps the reason is that more effort is put into making it better than the next Pho joint. There are, after all, paintings of roosters adorning the walls. It’s a not-so-subtle indication that in this particular roost, chicken rules.

Willie’s Taste of Soul Bar-B-Que 3427 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, 722-3229. Willie Turner cooks Louisiana-style barbecue, not to be confused with Texas style, Kansas City style, or any other style. His generous (an extreme understatement) servings of brisket, wings, ribs, chicken, and links, are exhaustively rubbed, thoroughly smoked, and comprehensively doused in Willie’s own sweet-spicy mop sauce. Whereas once he was housed in a small Beacon Hill storefront with rabbit-eared TVs and very few dine-in surfaces, Turner’s Rainier Ave. digs now feature plasma-screen tubes and ample seating. His soda cooler might be the only one in town to feature an extensive array of Faygo pop. $

Ravenna & Wedgwood

Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor 2616 NE 55th St., Seattle, 525-0220. Having established the popularity of Pair, Alex and Sarah Penn have opened a second restaurant three blocks away, which gives a nod to the traditional American steakhouse and their grandparents’ notion of going out. The winks are all respectful: The room is paneled in psychedelic-woodshop chic, while the kitchen updates and lightens up classics like crab louie, deviled eggs, and baked potato (shrunk, Alice in Wonderland style, into grilled fingerlings). Overly casual service doesn’t always rise to the standards Grandpa would have demanded, and the entrees are a little too contemporary to be interesting, but Frank’s does evoke that same warm, comfortable feeling that fuels the nostalgia of millions of American grandchildren. $-$$

Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon 8917 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle, 528-5575. Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon is one of the best Chinese restaurants north of the Ship Canal. The Dragon delivers even though it’s housed in a very folksy, safe northeast Seattle neighborhood that teems with Subaru wagons and backyard hibachis. But what truly separates the Snappy Dragon from the pack is its hallmark dish, jiaozi-a pork-filled boiled dumpling not far removed from the venerable pot sticker. It’s difficult to explain what makes jiaozi superior to its better-known sibling. It just is, OK? $$

Pair 5501 30th Ave. N.E., Seattle, 526-7655. Pair is so lovely and romantic that it doesn’t feel sporting to grouse about the food. But the small plates at this Euro-leaning bistro often falter: A recent visit elicited adjectives such as “tough” and “greasy,” words which have no place in the warmly-lit dining room. Yet you’ll likely forgive an overcooked chicken and limp French fries if you have the right wine and right dining companion: Just keep your eyes trained on your partner instead of your plate. $$$

Pies & Pints 1215 N.E. 65th St., Seattle, 524-7082. The name of the place states its purpose, but this honesty is offset by the fact that P&P’s pies are only so-so. The underspiced curry pie and predictable burgundy beef pie do little to combat the stereotype of bland British vittles; still, a post-pie slice of Guinness chocolate cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream sweetens the pot considerably. Service is friendly and chatty, the atmosphere is warm, and kids abound despite the proximity of pints—the comfy 21-and-over bar area is in back, and fills up fast on weekends. $

University District

Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria 4106 Brooklyn Avenue NE, Seattle, 547-2369. Housed in a bright green, orange, and purple building in the University District, Guanaco’s Tacos Pupuseria’s shack-like feel, servers, and menu come straight from the heart of Central America. Guanaco’s is famous for its pupusas, a traditional Salvadoran dish made of corn or flour tortillas stuffed with meat, cheese, and veggies, but it’s the lunch combos that make eating here special. All the tacos, burritos, empanadas, tamales, and soups are light, but the combination of any of these with a traditional pupusa satisfies all the necessities of a good Latin American meal. And their Fresco de Ensalada, a mix of juice and freshly minced fruit, is a refreshing and sweet finish to a Salvadoran masterpiece. $

Mars Bistro 5247 University Way N.E., Seattle, 632-5132. From the outside, it looks like a dive-bar or a cheap diner, the type that features glossy pictorials of every dish. But inside is a colorful space with modest decor—stained wood chairs, simple place settings and Formica tables. Fortunately, the interior does not match the menu at this wholesome restaurant. The food looks and tastes homemade (and not in a “are you sure you remembered to add the sugar?” sort of way). The menu features organic sandwiches, salads, soups and every pancake and omelet dish imaginable. $

Wallingford

Rancho Bravo 211 N.E. 45th St., Seattle. Not only does Wallingford now have a taco truck, but it’s open late on weekends. Choose from five salsas (from cool green to incendiary red) on the picnic table to drizzle over the double-wrapped soft tacos. You can also get a hulking burrito; tamales, which can be bought by the dozen; and aguas frescas like horchata and pineapple punch. Everything’s wrapped to go in case your apartment or car has better ambience than the parking lot of Winchell’s Donut House. $

Smash Wine Bar and Bistro 1401 N. 45th St., Seattle, 547-3232. Smash’s fat white-cheddar macaroni with white truffle oil is the ultimate comfort food. Also of note at this simply decorated wine bar is flatbread with fig jam and artisanal blue cheese. The menu of small plates changes frequently, and you can order goodies appropriate for any level of hunger, ranging from a handful of Marcona almonds to a serving of pork tenderloin with Swiss chard. Wine director Jeffrey Dorgan, formerly of Cascadia, offers many themed flights (such as Rhone Rangers). Where there’s wine, there’s cheese; the cheese flights will also make you go “mmm,” especially the “French Connection.” $$

Tilth Restaurant 1411 N. 45th St., Seattle, 633-0801. When Maria Hines first opened Tilth, her certified-organic restaurant, the food was good—the duck burgers with fingerling chips damn good—but you could sense the strain the budget imposed on the four-star chef. A few years on, she’s upped the prices slightly (all dishes are still available in small and large portions), and her creativity has taken flight. A truffled cauliflower flan with bits of Meyer lemon and fried capers is as unctuous as a French triple-creme cheese, and a sablefish fillet cooked sous-vide has the texture of a poached marshmallow. Hines’ servers can muster all the polish of a much pricier restaurant without dumping the friendliness befitting a restaurant housed in a tiny Craftsman. And her sublime choucroute garnie—braised sauerkraut, velvety pork cheek, and a breaded patty made of the meat picked off a pork trotter—transcends the Era of Bacon Overkill. $$$

West Seattle

Kokoras Greek Grill 6400 1/2 California Ave. S.W., Seattle, 913-0041. The Greek food at Demetra and Spiros Rouvas’ tiny, peach-colored restaurant in West Seattle is well suited for a night out with the family. Kokoras Greek Grill is brawny and likable, piling big, simple flavors on top of each other. If you bring a big enough group, maybe you’ll start your meal with an appetizer combo: eggplant salad, skordalia (potato-garlic spread), calamari, and taramosalata (smoked carp roe whipped with oil and lemon) that you scoop up with stacks of warm, soft pita. Maybe you finish it with a cube of nutty, sticky baklava. But you don’t need to, because the sandwiches and platters of souvlaki, gyros, and grilled vegetables are affordable and gigantic. $

Pepperdock 2618 Alki Ave. S.W., Seattle, 935-1000. Most of the burgers on Pepperdock’s plastic Pepsi readerboard are appropriately prefaced with the word “King,” with the huge and juicy King Bacon Cheeseburger scoring particularly savory marks. But what truly distinguishes the Pepperdock from your average greasy grill is the three onion rings that come with each full order of skinny fries. And what burger shack can beat the Alki Beach and Sound views here? $

White Center

Marv’s Broiler 9808 16th Ave. SW, Seattle, 763-1412. No one will argue that Marv’s Broiler is the quintessential White Center dive. Dark and musty, it’s got a little bit of everything—pull tabs, a modest selection of draft beers, pool tables, a few TVs here and there. The booths are gunky and the only pinball machine is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The liquor shelf is notoriously disorganized: Grey Goose sits between a bottle of Goldschlager and De Kuyper Blackberry Schnapps. But the bartenders are friendly and pour HUGE shots. Plus, drinks at Marv’s are cheap: Shots of Jack Daniel’s are $5.50. A pitcher of Bud Light is $7.50. Busch, the crown jewel of shitty beers, is a mere FIVE DOLLARS FOR AN ENTIRE PITCHER, and not one of those lame mini-pitchers.

Taqueria El Rincon 11066 16th Ave SW, Seattle. Of all the converted school buses in White Center, we like this one the best. You can sit inside if you’d like (the benches have been taken out; a few stools have replaced them), or in nice weather, park yourself at one of the picnic benches. Or, take your order to go. Just be sure to order the carnitas tacos; the cumin-spiced slow-cooked pork is incredible. The $3 tortas (Mexican sandwiches, gringo) are also delicious, and don’t forget an order of homemade flan before you head home. $

Taqueria La Fondita #2 9811 15th Ave. S.W., Seattle, 551-0529. This White Center taco truck seems to have it together more than most. Its al pastor tacos and mulitas (a burrito-quesadilla hybrid) have the proper spice-to-grease ratio, and the carne asada rules here, especially with the grilled onion you get if you’re eating under the plastic canopy attached to the truck. You can even call in your take-out order ahead of time. $