Seattleites eagerly await the months of March and November, when it’s easy to experience the best dining the city has to offer, with the return of Dine Around Seattle®.

Now in its tenth year, Dine Around Seattle® will be satisfying cravings throughout the Emerald City with prix-fixe dinners for $30 and prix-fixe lunches for $15.00 (before tax, tip, and beverages) at some of Seattle’s most delicious establishments.

Each restaurant will offer their Dine Around Seattle menu Sundays through Thursdays, now through March 31.

Follow the latest breaking news on the Dine Around Seattle promotioin on Twitter @dinearoundsea and Facebook #dinearoundseattle.

March’s participating restaurants include:

35th Street Bistro

ART Restaurant and Lounge

Barking Frog

Barrio Bellevue

Barrio Seattle

Barolo Ristorante

Beach Café

Bin on the Lake

Blue Acre Seafood

Café Campagne

Chandler’s Crabhouse

Chez Shea

Cutter’s Bayhouse

Earth & Ocean

Eva

Hunger

Hunt Club

Lecosho

Lot 3

Mamma Melina

McCormick’s Fish House & Bar

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant Downtown Seattle

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant Bellevue

Monsoon East

Monsoon Seattle

Nishino

Palisade Waterfront Restaurant

Palomino Bellevue

Palomino Seattle

Ponti Seafood Grill

Purple Café Bellevue

Ray’s Boathouse

Salty’s Alki

Salty’s Redondo Beach

Shuckers

Spazzo Italian Grill & Wine Bar

Stanford’s Northgate

Stanford’s Southcenter

Steelhead Diner

Stumbling Goat Bar and Bistro

Szmania’s

Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge

Urbane

A recent press release came with the happy news that The Art Institute Portfolio Restaurant is just about to celebrate its tenth anniversary celebration and that the public is cordially invited to join the students, staff, and faculty in celebrating the restaurant’s big day.

Portfolio serves as an educational dining lab for students from The International Culinary School at AiS. Classical cuisine and white-linen service are de rigeuer here. Last summer, we enjoyed a multi-course meal and perfectly paired wine, thanks to long-time restaurant manager, Dieter Schaefer.

Under Dieter’s direction, upper-level students will create, prepare, and serve several four-course menus to choose from. Wines from Washington’s Willis Hall Winery will be matched to your menu choices.

This event is your opportunity to experience for yourself the outstanding cuisine, unique environment, and lovely Elliott Bay views of one of Seattle’s outstanding culinary institutes.

Event Specifics:

Wednesday through Friday, March 9 to 11, 2011.

Seatings daily at 5:30 and 6:00 pm.

The Art Institute’s Portfolio Restaurant

2600 Alaskan Way, Seattle WA  98121

Dinner with Wine $39, without Wine $29.

Reservations required by phone 206-239-2363.

Info @ WineDieter@cs.com.

Remember the holidays? They seem like such a long time ago. We’ve even seen Valentine’s Day come and go. Times flies when you’re having fun, etc.

But one meal we enjoyed in December still sticks in my mind. We enjoyed it right after we returned from our Carmel and San Francisco getaway/food-and-wine fest/decadent dalliance.

Since we overindulged so much during those glorious nine days, the moment we returned to Seattle I knew it was time to get back to my usual, more sensible diet.

As often happens when we return from and an eat-and-drink fest, I craved The Pike Pub’s Spinach Salad with an Oven-Roasted Wild Salmon Fillet. It’s a healthy combination of the freshest baby spinach leaves, a perfectly cooked piece of wild salmon (medium-rare in the middle), slivered almonds, a sprinkling of real Parmigiano-Reggiano, and hard-boiled eggs.

It’s usually tossed with low-cal Honey-Mustard Dressing. Good girl that I was and am, I always ask for my dressing on the side so I can drizzle, dip, and dab to my heart’s content.

It’s served with a freshly baked Spent-Grain Roll, which, by meal’s end, helped me scrape up every last piece of spinach and salmon from my plate.

My better half ordered his favorite, the Pub’s perfectly battered and air-fried Halibut and Chips. As good as I was trying to be diet-wise that day, I really love it when he orders this dish cuz I can steal a good, browned corner of one of the fish fillets and a few fries, and thereby get my crunch and potato fix for the week.

During our meal, we enjoyed catching up with the Pike Pub’s effusive founders and owners–Rose Ann and Charles Finkel–one of the most fun couples we know.

We realized that, as much as we love California, it felt great to be home. . .

Which more than qualifies The Pike Pub’s Spinach Salmon Salad and Halibut and Chips as our Dishes of the Day.

It’s that sick and sickening time of year again. . .cold and flu season. And when coughs, sniffles, and sneezing season is rife, nothing beats a big bowl of soup to loosen the phlegm and raise the spirits.

Here are three soups that truly reign supreme in the downtown-Seattle soup universe.

Chicken Pho at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine

Matzoh Ball Soup has long been known as a cure-all for seasonal sickness. But I’d like to nominate the Chicken Pho at Bambuza Vietnamese Cuisine as a strong contender. Warm chicken broth, redolent with fresh coriander and green chiles, and swimming with noodles and white-meat chicken chunks is as much fun to “doctor” up (so to speak) with Thai Sriracha sauce, soy sauce, and a few drops of fresh lime juice, as it is to eat (with chopsticks and a deep spoon).

The venerable Seven Elements Soup at Wild Ginger

For years, I’ve been ordering and enjoying a venerable signature dish at Wild Ginger–Seven Elements Soup–but only at lunch (sadly, it’s not available on the dinner menu). Its coconut-curry stock is thick with three kinds of noodles, the most tender white chicken breast chunks, fresh coriander, and dried chiles. To gild the lily (as if it needed it), coconut cream and thin slices of red onion adorn the top.

Spicy King Crab Soup at Japonessa Sushi Cocina

A newcomer in the sphere of outstanding Seattle soups–Spicy King Crab Soup–comes from  Japonessa Sushi Cocina, which is conveniently located just across the street from our condo. The slightly sweet seafood stock boasts a bit of a back-throat burn, but in a good and addictive way. A generous number of king-crab claws are perfectly sliced up the back so the meat is easy to remove and toss with the soup.

So whether you are hail or hearty, these three Seattle soups are worthy of  your slurping pleasure.

We loved our first visit to the new iteration of a long-standing Seattle restaurant, Vito’s, which is located on Pill Hill near the Sorrento Hotel and St. James Cathedral.

The first night we ate there, it was my vegetarian night, something I’ve observed one night a week for many year now, so I enjoyed the Vegetarian Lasagne.

This time my diet was more free, so I ordered the dish that caught my eye the first time–Ahi Tuna Puttanesca. This glorious dish of slices of rosebud-pink tuna with a spicy, caponata-like puttanesca partnered perfectly with lightly olive-oil-bathed angel hair pasta. I’m getting hungry just describing and thinking about it.

It paired nicely with a wine we liked so much on our first visit, we ordered again (something we rarely do)–Tommasi Ripasso, which is reminiscent of a lighter-style Amarone.

More fun finds when I went to the Ladies Room and discovered a miniature statue of Michelangelo’s “David!”

But the best surprise that evening came thanks to our server, Ron, who suggested we visit the Cougar Room (just past the restrooms). We discovered a full-size, stuffed cat behind glass and 13 red-leather armchairs around a rectangular table. Talk about the perfect place for a small dinner party or business meeting!

Radicchio, Cuttlefish, and Spring Onion Salad with a grand schmear of Kalamata Caramel at Quinn’s gastropub on Capitol Hill

Last month, just before we headed to a movie at the venerable Egyptian Theater on Capitol Hill, we stopped in for dinner at Quinn’s gastropub. It was still (relatively) sun-shine-y then, so we scored a window seat beside the busy bar and settled in.

We enjoyed lots of good dishes that evening–Baby Greens and Roasted Beet salads; Roasted Idaho Trout with Radish, Mizuna, and Romesco Sauce; and Mussels with Saffron, Grain Mustard, and White Wine–but perhaps the most memorable dish was the Radicchio, Cuttlefish, and Spring Onion Salad with a grand schmear of Kalamata Caramel.

The Rosé flight at Quinn’s

A Rosé wine flight called, “Everything’s Coming up Roses: Select 2009 Rosés by the Glass,” featured French and Portguese offerings along with Gilbert Cellars 2009 Rosé from Washington’s Wahluke Slope. All three paired well with everything we ordered.

Back when it was still summer time in Seattle, back when the sun was shining and you could eat outside without freezing to death or getting blown into Puget Sound, we enjoyed a Saturday lunch at Tom Douglas’s latest eatery–Seatown Snack Bar. It’s located just across the street from the venerable Pike & Western Wine Shop at the corner of Virginia and Western overlooking Victor Steinbrueck Park and right next door to Tom’s long-running Etta’s Seafood.

Since our visit, Seatown has been renamed Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie to better mirror its mission–as a place for a drink and a nosh or even full meal, with a handy rotisserie serving take-out mains and sides next door. It’s also had a bit of a menu overhaul; luckily, the dishes we ordered are still on the menu.

Here’s the Seatown Sampler, replete with tastes of all six types of seafood featured in the Smoked Seafood section of the menu. We especially liked the Westport Black Cod with Nectarine Miso–silky, slightly sweet, and a bit salty. Less desirable was the Willapa Bay Oysters with Fennel Relish and Tobiko (mea culpa: I’m not a fan of smoked oysters in general and this one was really smoky).

Spencer ordered the Northwest Free-Range Chicken Dinner from the Entrée Plates section of the menu. It came with Dripping Potatoes and Garlic Rapini and proved to be a sizable chunk o’ chix. And who could ever resist a dish with a name like “dripping potatoes!”

We loved the whimsical murals in the ladies’ room. Made me want to tango with the merrily dancing crabs!

And we would have loved to have ordered a scoop of Concord Grape Sorbet, which sounded cool and refreshing and very Northwest to boot, but we had to get on with our Saturday afternoon errands. Next time!

We stopped into chef/owner Kevin Davis’s fabulous new Blueacre Seafood last Thursday evening after I had a long but productive meeting at The Seattle Times to discuss story ideas for 2011, and since we were leaving at dawn the next day for Victoria, BC, the larder was bare, and I was too lazy to cook at home.

We’d run into Kevin on the street the weekend before and he said we had to come in to see the new transparent blue glass that he’d recently installed in front of the kitchen to keep down noise and smells that were bothering diners sitting at the tables on the other side.

He said the new glass created a sort of aquarium effect. When we saw it with our own eyes, we couldn’t agree more. It’s a neat decor element that casts a warm glow over the booths below it, plus it matches the panels that rim the lower portion of the outside walls, so seems like it has been there from the get-go.

We had a truly wonderful dining experience that evening including a helpful and knowledgeable server; an excellent bottle of wine that paired well with all our dishes (the well-aged Sonoma Cutrer 2004 The Cutrer–more French-styled and Meursault-like than your typical California oak bomb); memorable salads (including the Windsor Court, named after the New Orleans Hotel of the same name); and three remarkable dishes (Idaho Trout, Alaskan Spot Prawns, and Hot-Smoked Salmon Cheesecake).

The cheesecake is destined to become one of Blueacre’s signature dishes, designed to rival Steelhead Diner’s divine and decadent Caviar Pie. Dense and richer than Bill Gates, it is even served with the same accoutrements: egg, capers, and red onion, plus one new and wonderful addition–chive sour cream.

Ian, our server, suggested we try the Salt-Baked Alaskan Spot Prawns, a steal of a deal on the appetizer menu at just $12.95. It was so generous in size and my Organic Baby Lettuce Salad with pears, a yummy lavender-infused goat cheese, candied walnuts, and lemon vinaigrette was so satisfying and filling, I chose it as my main course. Five perfectly fresh spots were first baked in their shells over a bed of salt, then stir-fried with a sweet-salty sauce made up of soy sauce, shallot, ginger, and black pepper. Asian-fusion perfection!

Idaho Stream-Raised Rainbow Trout “Grenobloise” (Spencer’s entrée) was another generous portion, served with a piccata sauce, herb salad, and pine-nut gremolata. Spencer ate every bite and was still raving about the dish days later.

We were thrilled to see Terresa Davis (Kevin’s wife) back in the house after having given birth to twin boys just six months ago. Seems like all the Davises’ recent “births” (boys and resto) are bright and bouncing!

Many moons ago, a restaurant on First Hill in Seattle called Vito’s was known as a hang-out for people of dubious character who liked their martinis strong, their Italian food authentically prepared, and the lights turned down low.

Menu-wise, the original Vito’s was perhaps best known for its Cannelloni Bolognese. Thin sheets of pasta were stuffed with veal, beef, and vegetables, gently rolled, then baked in a rosa sauce with provolone cheese.

Management changed, and, according to our server, Vito’s became a hip-hop bar. It closed a few years ago, much the worse for all the wear and tear throughout the years.

Glad to report it reopened a few weeks ago and has successfully recaptured the coveted Rat-Pack vibe. The menu offerings and food have definitely been thoughtfully reworked, revamped, and revived thanks to Michael Bruno, former long-time chef at Tango.

Lasagne Vegetale (Vegetarian Lasagne) at VIto’s

“When I walked in here, I just felt like I knew it,” Michael told us during a recent Saturday-night dinner, undoubtedly referring to the space’s East Coast vibe. Smoky glass mirrors, real burgundy-leather-colored banquettes, sparkling lights over the dimly lit bar, and even a disco ball hanging over the grand piano make you think you’ve been swept back in time (in a good way).

I knew exactly what he meant, having grown up in suburban Philadelphia with its large Italian population settled in south Philly, not to mention Italian immigrants with businesses throughout the region. I’ll never forget Giuliani’s, a family-run Italian restaurant in Narberth, Pa. Mama Giuliana pumped out her own lasagne, pizza dough, and spaghetti and meatballs for years. My mother craved Italian food throughout her pregnancy with me and partook at Giuliani’s more than she rationally should have; both my parents only half jokingly used to say they were surprised I wasn’t born with spaghetti sauce flowing through my veins.

Spencer and I found out over credible Minestrone Soup (I would have liked more white beans and Parmesan, a lighter broth, and fewer chunky potatoes) and delectable Vegetarian Lasagne (fresh spinach pasta layered with zucchini, ricotta, béchamel, and marinara) that Michael hails from suburban Philadelphia, too! I went to Harriton High; he graduated from Norristown. Undoubtedly, our two schools competed in athletic competitions. Coincidentally, when Spencer and I got married almost 29 years ago, we got our marriage license in Norristown, the county seat.

Spencer enjoyed his Lasagne Bolognese–fresh pasta layered with ground beef, pork, ricotta, béchamel, and marinara; the wine list is thoughtful and reasonably priced; and the demographic runs from young to old. We both predicted the new Vito’s will do really well.

And we can’t wait to return to try specials of the day such as Ahi Tuna with Puttanesca Sauce, along with menu standards such as Scampi Nero d’Angelo (black tiger prawns over a spicy red sauce on black angel hair pasta) and Steak Piazzola (a 12-ounce rib-eye steak with a spicy red sauce, red wine, and fresh oregano, served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables).

And good news–the Cannelloni Bolognese remains a stalwart on the new Vito’s menu.

A few weeks ago, right before Labor Day, I came down with what, in retrospect, I believe was an early case of the flu.

You know how having a touch of something–whether a cold, flu, grippe, or whatever you want to call it–makes you feel. Sore, draggy, headache-y, generally crappy.

And when I feel that achy-breaky feeling, the first thing I want and crave is hot soup.

The Vietnamese have a wonderful way with all things warm and broth-y. So that particular Saturday, Spencer and I headed uptown to the long-running Seattle restaurant, Bambuza Vietnamese Bistro.

This place really rocks on the weekdays, drawing nearby office workers who need their Asian dining fix. Weekends things are much more quiet; there is never a wait for a table and you get lots of attention from the cute young male server.

Vegetarian Pho courtesy of Bambuza Vietnamese Bistro

Here’s the dish that saved my soul that achy Saturday afternoon–Vegetarian Pho–and a half-eaten Chicken Salad Roll with Peanut Dipping Sauce along with a pot of steaming jasmine tea.

And here is the dish that Spencer always orders–Catfish Claypot–redolent with garlic, chiles, and just the right touch of sweetness. With an order of healthful brown rice, we were both good to go.