fine dining with a seven-year-old (Seattle)

What my daughter wants for her birthday is to leave our younger child at home with a sitter and take her out to a nice restaurant.

She has very adventurous taste in food and is excellent in restaurants (other than the fact that she can cost a fortune because she wants her own adult-sized appetizer, main course, and dessert).

I do not, however, want to spend the evening fending off glares from people who (and I don't think they are unreasonable in this) would rather their restaurant and evening be child-free.

So, fine dining where a well-behaved seven-year-old well-behaved kid would be welcomed? She is particularly partial to French and Italian food.

djuna in Pacific Northwest

Where do families dine out in Seattle?

I have two kids, 2 and 5. We like:

St. Cloud's on 34th Avenue in Madrona (they have buckets of toys for the table; they are not particularly cheap, however. The pork is the best dish).

Vio's (mentioned upthread, on 19th in Capital Hill). The stewed chicken special and the lamb souvlaki are in my view the best dishes. They have a gated area with toys for children.

Meskel -- Ethiopian on Cherry Street around 28th Street. My kids are nuts for Ethiopian food, and not only is Meskel in my opinion the best of the Cherry Street Ethiopian restaurants, they are extremely kind to kids, and they have an outdoor deck that is open in warmer weather.

Tutta Bella, also mentioned by other posters, has branches in Wallingford, Columbia City, and in the Whole Foods downtown. I won't claim that I have always loved the pizza (it sometimes seems watery to me), but my kids love it, the salads are good, and nothing makes a small child happier than Nutella-based hot chocolate.

The Madrona Pub/Montlake Alehouse duo is indeed kid-friendly, but your kids are old enough not to need a pit/hearth full of toys, and the food at both is mediocre on a good day.

djuna in Pacific Northwest

Seattle-area Dim Sum

The last thread I could find was from a year ago, so permit me to re-ask: where is the best dim sum in the Seattle area? We are willing to bring our passports if the answer is, "in the suburbs."

djuna in Pacific Northwest

Bellevue Russian Delis

I went to the same deli this week. I had the borscht, which was ok, and my companion and I split an order each of the beef and the potato dumplings. I preferred the potato, and my companion preferred the beef, but what we agreed was that they were not as flavorful as we are used to.

djuna in Pacific Northwest

Oregon Coast Recommendations

There is a breakfast place in Yachats that is great. The problem is that I (1) don't recall the name and (2) could not get my memory refreshed via the magic of Google. What I can tell you is that it is on the same side of the road as the Drift Inn, a few blocks to the north.

djuna in Pacific Northwest

relocating to Seattle, eating-wise

I am a NYC expat who has been living in the hinterlands of South Carolina for five years and who is therefore very hungry. I am relocating to Seattle next summer and need to, you know, pick a neighborhood. I have small children who will attend public school, and I will be working near downtown making a comfortable but by no means extravagant or enviable salary. What neighborhood is best, chowhound-wise? I used to be the sort who would change subway lines twice to get to the right Thai restaurant, but that was in my childfree days. Now, I want to be able to walk to the food, because god forbid I cook.

djuna in Pacific Northwest

kid-friendly in Soho/LES (Paladar?)

I posted a few days ago about my pilgrimage home to NYC with my small children. Can you tell that I've only been thinking about food?

I will have an infant and a four-year-old who are reasonably behaved but not remarkably so. I am looking for tasty lunch spots in the Soho/LES region. Is Paladar at all palatable still? Other restaurants in that vein (I can have a drink with lunch and eat tasty food while indifferent waitstaff and hung-over patrons ignore my kdis) that bear recommending?

djuna in Manhattan