Seattle - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 164

Shanik is run by Vij's wife, Meeru, and promises more of the same clever crossover
cuisine that marries the flavors of the subcontinent with Western style and presentation.
It'll stay etched in your memory for months.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
SEATTLE'S GASTRONOMY DISSECTED

Surrounded by water, Seattle is an obvious powerhouse of fresh seafood - and
they know exactly how to prepare it. Local favorites include Dungeness crab, sal-
mon, halibut, various types of oyster, spot prawns and clams. Although it's not one
of the US' most cosmopolitan cities, Seattle has a sizable Chinese population and
a strong selection of dim sum restaurants in the International District. The ID also
harbors a good cluster of Vietnamese restaurants in its 'Little Saigon' quarter.
Seattle's Italian restaurants are often highly progressive, many of them specializing
in regional Italian food such as Roman or Piedmontese. Chef Ethan Stowell has
successfully married Italian cuisine with Northwestern traditions and popularized
the use of homemade pasta. Other genres in which Seattle excels are bakeries (a
by-product of its coffee-shop culture), Japanese food (the sushi is unwaveringly
good) and - perhaps surprisingly - spicy Ethiopian food; the bulk of the East Afric-
an restaurants are in the Central District (CD). Many visitors from the south com-
ment on the dearth of Mexican restaurants (though there are a handful of good
'uns) and, while the Indian fare can't compete with the likes of Vancouver to the
north, the appearance of Canada's Vikram Vij's Shanik restaurant has upped the
ante somewhat. In common with most American cities, Seattle loves a good steak
- especially one that's led a happy, grass-fed life on a farm just outside of town.
The city's latest food fashion is crusty sweet or savory pies, with several new res-
taurants dedicating themselves exclusively to the genre.

Capitol Hill

The scene on Capitol Hill is almost as much about style as food. It's no use enjoying a
fabulous dinner if no one can see how chic you look while you're eating it. Then again,
ambience hardly detracts from a fine dining experience, so who's complaining?

Molly Moon's ICE CREAM$
MAP GOOGLE MAP

( 206-708-7947; www.mollymoonicecream.com ; 917 E Pine St; ice creams $3-5; noon-11pm;

Pike-Pine) So what flavor will it be today? The chamomile blossom with 'vegan