The New Wave -- A Bite-Size Look At Some Fresh Flavors Around Town

TRIED AND TRUE, OR SOMEPLACE new?

Restaurants come and go, but lately it seems more have been coming than going as Seattle hones its growing reputation as a restaurant town. Downtown and Belltown are sizzling with new prospects. So are many neighborhoods - Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, parts of the Eastside and others. Downtown Seattle's newly opened Pacific Place retail center at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street houses a quintet of newcomers: Il Fornaio Restaurant and Bakery; Stars Bar & Dining; Desert Fire: A Southwestern Grill; Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant and a Cafe Starbucks. More are on the way. Morton's Steak House plans to open in downtown Seattle. And look for a reincarnated Cyclops Cafe in the old Hotel Latona building on First Avenue in Belltown.

"I think we'll see it continuing for a while," says Anne Haller of the Washington Restaurant Association, where membership has doubled in the past four years to more than 4,000 statewide. But restaurant-goers are a fickle bunch. "What's here now might not be around two years from now," she adds.

So who among the pack will make it long-term?

We sent our reviewers out in search of some promising newbees. Here are their reports:

Afrikando, 2904 First Ave., Seattle. Lunch ($8-$14) 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dinner ($9-$16) 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. No alcohol. Major credit cards and checks. Reservations recommended on weekends or for larger parties. 206-374-9714.

Senegalese cooking brings the food of the American South to mind, with good reason. Many of the dishes that came from the kitchens of slaves were adaptations of West African cuisine. Imagine a homesick cook substituting hominy for couscous or rice. Picture collard and mustard leaves, in place of more familiar greens, stewed in pot liquor and tears. Fried fish and fritters made from a "foreign" grain like corn could stand in for the fritters of the homeland. The tastes make the connections clear. Most of the dishes owner and chef Jacques Sarr serves are traditional (some are family recipes), and many can be fiery.

Open just over a year, a loyal crowd stops in for the savory, spicy peanut sauce of Mafe, jasmine rice with root vegetables, or a platter of Debe, grilled lamb with couscous and mustard-onion sauce. Others are addicted to Thiebu Djen (the national dish of Senegal), a stew of white fish and vegetables in a tomato sauce with a bite. All that fire can use some dousing, and delicious, fresh Senegalese juices are available. Sarr, a Muslim, does not serve liquor, but diners are invited to bring a banquet permit and cork their own alcoholic beverages.

To make the mood, there's handsome African decor and a wait staff happy to engage in conversation about the food and its history.

Agua Verde Cafe, 1303 N.E. Boat St., Seattle. Lunch, dinner ($3.95-$7.50), 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Beer, wine, margaritas. No smoking. Major credit cards. Checks. Reservations accepted. 206-545-8570.

New taquerias are popping up all over, but chances are that Agua Verde, with its killer views and inexpensive, Baja-inspired menu, will be here a year from now. Work up an appetite paddling one of the kayaks for rent at the foot of Boat Street near the University of Washington, then head upstairs to Agua Verde for smoked salmon or halibut tacos, mango quesadillas or pozole stew. Tacos - stuffed with fish, chicken or sweet potatoes, onions and peppers - come two to a plate. Everything's made on the premises. The names of some of the sandwiches say all you need to know about the crowd here: "La Professora" combines a thick black-bean spread, asadero cheese and red onion. "El Estudiante Pobre" is basic black-bean spread by itself on white bread, a bargain at 91 cents. Dinner fare is more substantial. Our favorite was the Ceviche, a fiery bowl of plump bay scallops tossed with fresh lime juice, green olives, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and jalapenos.

ARO.space, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle. Lunch and dinner ($3-$8) 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday. Full bar. Smoking. Major credit cards. Reservations not required. 206-860-7395. m

It's hard to imagine a more eclectic eatery than ARO.space (Arts & Revolution Organization), a funky club/restaurant popular with a young, hip, late-night Capitol Hill crowd. This is not your usual cafeteria-style vegetarian fare; consider it cuisine. There's an Indian plate with a fresh, sweet-tomato and golden-raisin chutney, a chewy golden pakora, smooth dal, fragrant eggplant, white basmati rice and triangles of flat wheat bread the cafeteria takes the trouble to fry. The Southern Vegetable plate has cornbread, collards, beans, rice and smooth mashed yams. The baked macaroni and cheese is better than mom's: fat penne tubes oozing with white cheddar and smoked mozzarella, crusty on top, prettified with a sprinkle of fresh green parsley. Desserts are homemade and baked in-house every day.

The space, formerly the home of Moe's, now mixes murky cocktail nooks and lava-lamp projections with sleek white tiles and frosted glass reminiscent of Tokyo chic in the early 1990s. There are musical tributes, celebrity DJs and live acts booked.

Avenue One, 1921 First Ave., Seattle. Lunch ($6-$12) 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner ($14-$28) 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Bar menu until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Full separate bar. Smoking (cigars and pipes allowed after 10 p.m.) in bar only. Major credit cards. Personal checks OK. Reservations recommended. 206-441-6139.

The former Cafe Sofie (and, before that, funeral home) is now a lighter, livelier French-cum-Northwest bistro, orchestrated by chef Katherine MacKenzie, late of Adriatica. So the requisite smoked-salmon appetizer takes a striking turn, wrapped in tuna tartare and highlighted with a lemony dill-mint vinaigrette. A salmon fillet finds renewed life in a lightly crispy ground-coriander crust, atop couscous with just-wilted spinach. Some classics remain so, as with the flavorful Grilled Rib Steak and accompanying thin fries, both contending for sopping rights to the burgundy sauce. Desserts such as Warm Bananas with Creme Mousseline practically cry, "Tuck me in." Considerably longer than the menu is the wine list assembled by general manager Rodney Flores, which already has been bestowed a 1999 award of excellence by Wine Spectator magazine. With a First Avenue-facing bar and intimate back room, owner Arnie Millan, who came here after a successful run with Mississippi riverboat casinos, may inherit the role of anchor for this block following next month's closure of Labuznik across the street.

Cafe Paloma, 93 Yesler Way, Seattle. Breakfast, lunch, takeout ($3.25-$6.25), 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; First Thursdays (gallery-tour evenings) until 9 p.m. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Kingdome football Sundays. Beer, wine. No smoking. No credit cards. Checks accepted. No reservations. 206-405-1920.

It won't be long before stadium mania hits full force and every nook in Pioneer Square becomes a high-rent district, with businesses catering to the sports crowd. In the meantime, if you savor the district for its bookstores, art galleries and coffee bars, cozy Cafe Paloma is here for you. Tucked inside a former juice bar, it attracts a steady following of office workers and artsy types. Hitting the galleries on a chilly Saturday afternoon? Grab one of a half-dozen stools at the bar in the front window and warm up with a glass of wine or an espresso and a grilled panini. Turkish-born Sedat Uysal's Mediterranean-style sandwiches come stuffed with luscious fillings such as eggplant, roasted peppers and crumbled feta and gorgonzola with fresh basil, spinach, onions and tomatoes. Office types like to pick up goodies-to-go from the glass case in front filled with stuffed grape leaves, roasted potatoes, crocks of homemade rice pudding and sticky wedges of baklava.

Cafe Starbucks, 4000 E. Madison St., Seattle, and Pacific Place in downtown Seattle. Madison Park: Breakfast ($3.95-$6.95), 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, until 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Lunch ($3.25-$6.95), 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Dinner ($4.95-$8.95) 5 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 10:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday. No smoking. Major credit cards. Checks. Beer, wine, coffee cordials. No reservations. Pacific Place: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. 206-329-3736 (Madison Park); 206-587-2423 (Pacific Place).

The tyke in the designer sweat shirt bounced in his high chair as the waitress brought him a paper coffee cup filled with crayons. Dad ordered the meatloaf and a beer. Mom tucked into a grilled Boar's Head pastrami on onion rye. Next table over, an older couple sipped liquor-laced coffee cocktails from martini glasses, a nice change from ice-cream cones after their post-dinner walk. Welcome to Cafe Starbucks in Madison Park, the coffee roaster's first full-service restaurant, which opened in September.

Flickering votives on blond wood tables make this a cozy place to linger. The menu ranges from yuppified versions of familiar comfort food, such as the meatloaf and chicken pot pie, to gourmet pizzas and frothy coffee drinks. Flag down one of the servers and try the "Smocha," a blender concoction of espresso, chocolate, steamed milk and Kahlua topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Lines form on weekends for breakfasts of Huckleberry Pancakes and Vegan Scramble with tofu.

The Capitol Club, 414 E. Pine St., Seattle. Dinner ($10.50-$18.50) 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Bar menu until 2 a.m. daily. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards. No personal checks. Reservations accepted. 206-325-2149.

Martinis and Morocco may not be an obvious match, but it works well here on Capitol Hill, where young crowds have kept all the nooks and crannies of this intriguing spot hopping for nearly two years, despite a dizzying lack of street parking. New arrivals often disappear into one of three areas: up a dark stairwell to the main bar, spilling over onto the fresh-air balcony overlooking Pine Street, or just inside the front door into the Blue Room, often the domain of private parties. With deep red walls, flickering candles and pillows, the relatively small dining room matches the Moroccan decor with flavors of North Africa, continuing with the recent arrival of chef Michael Felsenstein, late of Theoz and Etta's. Many diners start and finish with shared appetizers such as the Mixed Mezze Plate, a veritable tour with a lemony Hummus, Imam Uyaniyor (roast eggplant, garbanzo beans, mint, lemon and, of course, garlic), the marinated bread salad Fattoush, aged Spanish cheese, olives and both pita and the crispier house Hobiz bread. Albacore tuna, grilled rare with piping-hot sauteed winter greens and an almost creamy tomato-fennel puree, is joined by an uplifting room-temperature skordalia (garlic-potato mousse). Hearty toasted grains soak up the deep sauce of a lamb shank slow-braised with figs, currants and sour cherries.

Chef Wang, 2230 First Ave., Seattle. Lunch ($6-$9) 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner ($8-$35) 4:30 p.m. to midnight daily. Full bar. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards. Checks. Reservations recommended. 206-448-5407.

Chinese in Belltown? Sandwiched between the Lux Coffee Bar and The Flying Fish on Belltown's restaurant row, Chef Wang's red neon sign beckons you to take the dare. Bypass the tables in the sedate-looking entryway. The action is in the inner sanctum where the food is as high-tech as the decor - two open rooms with a sweeping bar; a counter with a kitchen view; sleek low-voltage lighting fixtures suspended from wires; skylights and high-backed wooden booths.

The busy menu with color pictures of dishes corresponding to numbers appears to be a throwback to Midwest American-Chinese. But Chef Bobby Wang, who used to run Wang's on Main Street in Bellevue, delivers on his promise to create gourmet dishes. Order the "S1," marinated steak sauteed with spicy tangerine sauce, and watch it arrive with Wang's signature miniature eagle carved from a carrot. Or choose from the "create your own" menu, customizing your dish with a combo of meat, veggies and sauces. No MSG or clanging dishes here. Only the sounds of sizzling woks and soft jazz.

Desert Fire, 7211 166th Ave. N.E., Redmond, and Pacific Place, Seattle. Redmond: Lunch ($7-$12) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Dinner ($8-$19) 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Seattle: Lunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Dinner 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards. Full bar. Children's menu. Limited reservations taken. 425-895-1500 (Redmond); 206-405-3400 (Seattle).

Desert Fire brings Southwestern grill cuisine stylishly and tastily to two of the region's big, new, mixed-use extravaganzas, Redmond Town Center and Pacific Place in downtown Seattle. The decor is stucco, peeled logs and hanging chili bunches - in the Redmond dining room there's a big, round fire pit - and the menu favors fresh meats, poultry and seafoods with chili-accented seasonings and marinades. Oft-ordered are Hannah's Roasted Chicken, basted with a garlic-smoked jalapeno marinade, and Adovo Chicken Pasta, with a red-pepper cream sauce and jullienne vegetables. There are pot-roast, tuna, salmon, shrimp and pork-chop dishes, a half-dozen salads, plus sandwiches and tacos. Dessert? Think Banana Burrito.

Desert Fire is part of a chain that has grown steadily from roots in Dallas. But care in cooking and service create a meal that is attentive and personal, not mass-produced. It's also family-friendly.

El Nino, 113 Virginia St., Seattle. Lunch ($5.95-$7.95) 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner ($9.95-$12.95) 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly; late supper from an abbreviated menu, 10 p.m. to closing. Full bar. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards. No checks. No reservations. 206-441-5454.

The venerable downtown Gravity Bar is gone and El Nino has arrived to warm up the space left behind. Happy hours are hopping at the home of Pacific Northwest magazine's top-rated margarita. Revelers who stay for dinner enjoy fare with higher aspirations than your basic neighborhood Tex-Mex cantina's. Chef Ryan Sylvester serves the hearty, spicy dishes found along the coastal regions of Mexico, laced with the tastes of serrano and habanero peppers, lime, tequila, cinnamon, pineapple, ginger and cilantro, combined in interesting ways with chicken, duck, lamb, pork, beef, snapper or prawns. This is a pretty place, with a sophisticated after-work crowd and candlelight glowing off Mexican tiles. The bar stocks 40 tequilas, and the list is growing.

Figaro Bistro, 11 Roy St., Seattle. Dinner ($10.95-$15.95) 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Bar menu until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards (not Discover), local personal checks. Valet parking. Reservations recommended. 206-284-6465.

Four months of work magically transformed the Shoo Be Doo Diner into an inviting French bistro that's quickly become a favorite of opera and ballet aficionados. Co-owners Philippe Bollache, a native of Lyon, and Parisian Laurent Gabrel have fashioned a corresponding classic bistro menu, from Coquilles St. Jacques to Veal Normandy to Steak Frites. Gabrel's Soupe a L'Onion leaps ahead of the typical American French Onion Soup with a rich, potent, dark broth sprinkled, not smothered, with Swiss cheese. Magret de Canard features tender, succulent duck breast pan-seared and highlighted with a deep creme de cassis and black currant sauce. The homemade touch is especially evident in the Ravioli de la Mer, hand-shaped ravioli filled with shrimp and Dungeness crab served atop a decadent saffron cream sauce.

Hilbo's Alligator Soul, 7104 Woodlawn Ave. N.E., Seattle. Dinner ($11.95-$21.95) 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, personal checks. Reservations accepted for five or more. 206-985-2303.

In lieu of a birthday trip to New Orleans, one local couple toured this area's Louisiana-style restaurants instead, and this little storefront just off Green Lake Way was the clear favorite. Its older sibling, Alligator Soul in Everett, specializes in coarser smoked-meat dishes in the Cajun tradition; this spot steps up to the rich rainbow of cholesterol-be-damned Creole sauces. Nowhere is it more enticing than in the Crawfish Bayou Boat, an oversized plate with three coarse-battered, deep-fried eggplant wedges ladeled over with what seems like endless morsels of crawfish meat swimming in a cream sauce that cries for a spoon - or a straw. Diners who try one of the six regular chalkboard-menu items often are already planning return trips for the others, including Smoked Duck Sauce Picante, Shrimp Creole and Crab Claw Gumbo. Save room for Chef Monty Richardson's stand-alone desserts, including Sweet Potato Pecan Pie and Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce. The popular Sunday Crawfish Boil - customers sometimes went through more than 100 pounds in a few hours - is on hiatus until the seasons (first Louisiana's, then Lake Washington's) open next spring.

icon Grill, 1933 Fifth Ave., Seattle. Lunch ($6.75-$13) 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Dinner ($11-$27) 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Full separate bar. No smoking. Major credit cards, personal checks. Reservations recommended. 206-441-6330.

Nothing - or everything - is sacred in this splashy space in the shadow of the Monorail across from the Westin Hotel. Every wall, every pillar, every counter is filled with curios and the curious (wire nets filled with glass art?) as if all decors needed to be represented. A vibrant atmosphere results, and although one of the signs outside says "LEAVE HOME," the menu is often reminiscent of what your mother might make - if she cooked like executive chef Philip Kephart. The Fried Chicken is brined overnight to ensure crispiness and served with old-style buttermilk mashed potatoes and cream gravy. The lunch Tuna Melt uses fresh ahi, and Chicken Fried Halibut brings the ubiquitous fish patty into the 21st century. The foody quotes sprinkled through the menu (e.g., "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." - Sophia Loren) may be the only things that wear thin on return visits.

Lush Life, 2331 Second Ave., Seattle. Dinner ($9-$19), 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Limited menu until lounge closes. Full bar. Major credit cards and checks. Reservations recommended. 206-441-9842.

Marco Rulff and Donna Moodie know how to turn a restaurant into a place to see and be seen. They proved that down the street at Marco's Supper Club. Now, in the space formerly occupied by Cafe Septieme, they've turned things up a notch. A bit fancier and quieter, Lush Life is a jazzy, ultra-cool and romantic Italian spot geared for intimate dinners and couples who want to be with each other, not the crowd. It's perfect for fancy pizza, fresh pasta and a bottle of something red from an affordable wine list - or perhaps for something more adventurous. There's a stunning beet soup with saffron. Executive chef Matthew Burian's specialties include Portobello Alla Griglia (portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar with a hearty barley risotto) and Maiale Ubriaco, a grilled-to-perfection pork chop marinated in juniper berries? and served with polenta. Service is leisurely but attentive.

A word of warning: Lush Life can be hard to find because the sign in the window is difficult to read. But it's worth looking for.

Yakima Grill, 612 Stewart St., Seattle. Breakfast ($4.50-$8.95) 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday brunch until 3 p.m. Lunch ($6.50-$11.50) 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Dinner ($6.50-$15.95) 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Late-night tapas until midnight Monday through Friday. Full bar. Smoking in bar only. Major credit cards. Checks. Reservations recommended. 206-956-0639.

Cut to the chase and go for the tapas at the new Yakima Grill in the West Coast Vance Hotel. There's lots to like about what Theoz Restaurant & Bar co-owners Gary Bocz and Theodora van den Beld have done with the former Salute In Citta. Create a meal for two out of three or four of the 21 hot and cold tapas on the menu. Platters like the "Jamon Serrano," a generous heap of paper-thin ham, Greek olives and melon wedges, pair well with hot appetizer-size plates of colorful roasted vegetables and jumbo coconut shrimp in a honey-curry sauce. Combine a few of these with a glass of Chilean merlot and a basket of the complementary blue cornbread and black-bean dip laced with red bell pepper, and you've created a meal for two for $30. Lunch attracts business types. The dinner crowd tends to be a mix of hotel guests and Seattleites on their way to or from Nordstrom, the nearby ACT theater or a performance at the Paramount.

Restaurants were visited and reviewed by Carol Pucci, Molly Martin, Kathy Andrisevic, Paula Bock and Richard Zahler, Seattle Times and Pacific Northwest writers and editors.