Fresh Today

Representatives of 43 of the 99 Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide visited Seattle this month to check out facilities of the local member - the Sorrento Hotel. Between bites of appetizers prepared in the Hunt Club kitchen, they agreed that quality restaurants are of prime importance to smaller luxury hotels. ``It's a lot more fun to eat in the restaurant than sleep in the bed,'' said Mike Malone, owner of the Sorrento. Bill Trimble, representing the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C., said he has booked more rooms over good meals in his hotel's three restaurants than he has giving tours of the building.

The newest issue of Consumer Reports confirms the importance of good hotel food. Readers responding to a questionnaire about what aspects of hotel life failed to meet their standards placed food quality at the top of the list, ahead of climate control, bed comfort, amenities, room size and cleanliness.

Restaurantouring

The Mitchell Brothers (Mark and Dave) are suffering a bit of an identity crisis. They've been in the Seattle restaurant and club business for more than 20 years, but few patrons are sure of their identity. At the recent opening of their Buddy's Homesick Cafe in Greenwood, several guests looked around the rooms and wondered aloud who were the owners. The final straw came when their mother, Margaret, listened to a radio talk-show-host and guest who were unable to agree about the identity of her sons. For the record, they say they are not ``those'' brothers from San Francisco who operate clubs featuring people in a state of undress, and they are not brothers or family members of Danny Mitchell, owner of Trattoria Mitchelli and other local restaurants. They are the owners of Spinnaker's and Charlie's, both at Shilshole. And this month they have opened two new restaurants in the former Windjammer restaurant at Shilshole - Sharky's Beach Bar and Eatery and The Beach House. They'll include their names in advertising the new places. ``We're realistic enough to know that this one tactic may not make any difference, but at least when Mom hears the radio someone will get it right,'' Dave says.

Fresh Today by Larry Brown appears Wednesday in the Food section of The Times.