I'll be seeing Judd Hirsch in Below the Belt at ACT next Saturday night. It's over at about 9:40. Walking back to the Belltown Inn. What's a good place for single dining -- "trendy and lively" any kind of food, that time of night? Most places I look at only serve till 10 and I'll be cutting it close. I hate being the last in a place. Lola seemed like one option -- I've only had breakfast there. Any other suggestions?

Ooops. Forgot to ask. Tell me about Tavolata -- which is right by my hotel and serves till midnight. Sounds fun and has a huge communal table. Any comments?

We had a nice meal at Etta's and arrived a little after 9:30, very good coconut creme pie here. ***kim***

Queen City Grill is very good and is open til midnight on the weekends.

Palace Kitchen (a Tom Douglas place) is on your way and it is open until 1:00 a.m. Tavolta is an Ethan Stowell place at which I haven't eaten, but it's open until midnight and its communal table may be just the ticket for you.

HTTY

Palace Kitchen would be my choice as well. I like to sit up at the bar when I'm eating there on my own. A Burger Royale and a piece of coconut cream pie, perfect post-theater dinner, LOL.

I haven't been to Tavolata yet, either. I think I heard some not so great reports early on so just haven't been motivated to get there...you'll have to post how it is if you go.

Txori is a tiny Basque tapas place in Belltown, open to 1 am. The food is great and authentic (but portions small, as they are pinchos and tapas), and they are very friendly.

http://www.txoribar.com/

Ummm. Great ideas. I've done most of the Tom Douglas places and I'm doing Etta's again on Friday night (it remains my favorite meal in Seattle). I didn't realize Palace Kitchen was on my way -- that escaped my radar and is a Tom Douglas place I've missed. Hmmm. I think it's between Tavolata and Palace Kitchen. I'll let you know.

It's funny, but when I brought up Open Table before, it showed almost nothing taking reservations past 10, but now when I do it, there are many. I wonder if I didn't put in a Saturday night before.

Brasa?

www.wann-izakaya.com is open to 11pm on the weekends, if you're in the mood for trendy & Japanese (on 2nd between Virginia & Lenora).

We loved the late night menu at Lola. (Far, far better than breakfast). Can still taste the delightful Greek Salad and Kebabs. Yum. Check the menu on their website.

If you're a Douglas fan, have you tried Serious Pie? It's a couple of blocks from your lodgings.

Also speaking of pizza, Via Tribunali has a branch adjacent to the recently resurrected Crocodile Cafe, also a couple of blocks away. http://thecrocodile.com/index.html?p...&event=1289109

Patrick, not sure how long you're in town, but your hotel appears to be close to a place I found to have a pretty good house white and excellent tapas. They also have a full restaurant, but I haven't eaten there- just the bar.

Anyway, it's a fab place to snack before the show. It's Barolo.

http://www.baroloseattle.com/index2.html

Have fun!

I tested the burger and coconut cream pie at Palace Kitchen for you last night before going to see Star Trek to make sure they are still good and the answer is a resounding yes ;-).

OK, STOP, you people. I only need one place and now I have at least a dozen that all seem like "don't miss" places. I may throw them into a hat and choose that way.
So many choices, so little time.

I'm almost thinking maybe I shouldn't return to Etta's on Friday and do a different place -- any of the above, but that "rub-with-Love salmon on the cornbread pudding with shitake relish, and the beet, walnut, and blue cheese salad" just keep calling to me. As I said, it remains one of the most memorable meals tastewise ever, although the restaurant itself didn't do a lot for me. Maybe I should leave it as a memory.

I think it'd be fair to substitute one of the other Tom D. places for Etta's... Palace Kitchen, Lola's, or Serious Pie.

Patrick- it's nice to have choices, isn't it? Have a safe trip!

OK, Last night I stuck with Etta's and the Rub-with-Love Coho Salmon on cornbread pudding and shitake relish was just as good as I remembered -- plus a bonus of some grilled fresh Yakima asparagus spears. Added a half dozen oysters, and it was an outstanding meal.

Tonight I did see Judd Hirsch in the delightfully funny "Below the Belt" at ACT, then stopped at Palace Kitchen to sit at the bar. Had the amazing wood grilled chicken wings with coriander sauce. WOW. And a full order of the Yakima grilled asparagus with a fresh poached egg on top. (didn't get enough of that last night. It was excellent. The wings plus the huge order of asparagus made a great very full meal -- for a total of $18.

Interesting side note. My great Dewar's Dry Robroy at Palace Kitchen was $7.50 -- I had the same drink at Daily Grill before the show (but not as large or good) and it was $11.50 -- so much for the theory that everything at Tom Douglas restaurants is overpriced. I've heard that from several locals this weekend.

Oh, and I didn't have a burger tonight because I had an amazing one (my rationed one a month or so) for lunch today at Two Bells Tavern. Wow, was that an excellent burger!

Ah, yes, the Two Bells burger is very good as well even if it doesn't come with fries ;-).

Thanks for the report and glad you had some excellent meals.

How is the Belltown Inn?

Hi there Patrick! As usual I love your reports and descriptions of the meals you ate. Poached egg on asparagus, I had forgotten how good that is, thanks for the reminder! You have been in my thoughts, sounds like you are having a wonderful time.