94 Stewart: Homey newcomer to Pike Place Market

Here's what I love about Pike Place Market: No matter how long I live around here, no matter how well I think I know this tourist-magnet, I always find something new, something fun, something absolutely delightful to remind me why the Market remains the beating heart of Seattle.

Places like 94 Stewart, a fabulously friendly Northwest-style bistro, open since April.

If you're like me, it's possible you've walked past this address — formerly the Garlic Tree — a zillion times, noting the scent of garlic wafting out from the side door and a couple of cooks visible through a plate-glass window. Perhaps, as I did, you envisioned a small cafe hidden in the space behind them, then walked on by, never stopping to find out what lurked beyond.

So imagine my surprise when I entered this recently re-imagined restaurant to find a deep, dark, subterranean dining room with a classic-bistro checkerboard floor, walls covered with small mirrors and framed oddities, a wide black counter facing an open kitchen and a bar offering specialty cocktails. Add to that a warm and wonderful wine-steward-cum-waitress whose mother runs the kitchen, whose boyfriend is the sous-chef, whose brother works as host and cheesemonger, whose father acts as "fix-it-man" and who's apt to break into song at the least provocation.

Her name is Lindsey Norton and, on my initial visit, while she sang "A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track" to youngsters seated nearby, I was busy crooning over a fried avocado ($14). This Northwest-meets-Southwest inspiration is the gotta-have-it dish on this Market-inspired menu. Offered as an appetizer (but making a swell lunch) it's presented in a margarita glass rimmed with salt, layered with sweet fresh Dungeness crab, corn relish and tomato and topped with a whole creamy avocado, sliced and panko-fried. What's there not to love?

And though each menu item is artfully paired with a worthy wine suggestion, I suggest pairing this one with a cocktail: "Rita's Breakfast" — fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice spiked with tequila.

Dungeness crab is all over this menu, showing up as a pair of fat, filler-free crab cakes ($14 as an appetizer) and in an oversalted corn-and-crab chowder ($5 for a cup, $8 for a bowl). It's the main ingredient on one of the "classic and innovative sandwiches" available at lunch ($12).

Another innovative sandwich is the BLT Northwest, a two-fisted focaccia slab stuffed with B, L and T, pan-fried oysters, Swiss cheese and herbed mayo. My guests went nuts over this Northwest natural, and I'd have too, had the cheese been melted.

Grilled focaccia embraces a mean, lean, lamb burger available throughout the day and billed, erroneously, as "the perfect between-meal snack." Finish this one after 2 p.m. and you'll beg-off dinner. That boffo burger is buffeted with bacon, cheese, housemade relish and excellent pickles.

Like the BLT and the Reuben (which I'll try next time, as a trusted source swears by it), the burger comes with slender sweet-potato fries. They're also the "chips" in the wild salmon fish and chips. The fish was white king salmon when I sampled it, crisp, chubby filets served with housemade tartar sauce and a side of fresh-tasting slaw.

Wild white king was also featured at dinner, though I chose, instead, the pan-roasted halibut ($26). That fresh fish, proudly procured from nearby Pure Food Fish Market, was simply sauced with brown butter and kicked up with an unusual combination of sweet pickled peppers and lightly salted preserved lemons. Loved it!

Another terrific meal began with a fresh pea salad and moved on to gently sautéed veal medallions with a profusion of wild mushrooms and a dill-scented demi-glace ($24). The veal was simply sided with roasted fingerling potatoes and sautéed spinach. It's a far better dinner choice than the grilled New York steak ($28). Despite its pedigree (it's Painted Hills natural beef, from Oregon), that expensive steak lacked the proper degree of char and offered little flavor.

When your server brings around the dessert tray, you'll find it arrayed with an ungodly number of ooey-gooey cake-slices. Those cakes are made in-house by Lindsey's talented mom, Celinda Norton — who brought her family to the big city after years spent running restaurants in Southwest Washington. Give in to the lure of combinations like chocolate ganache and espresso; marionberries and brie cheese; toffee and Marcona almonds. Prepare to have your sweet-tooth knocked unconscious.

Then promise to come back again, to prove to this family of restaurant veterans that their big-city dreams, lovingly prepared foods and small-town kindnesses are a very welcome addition to Pike Place Market.

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or taste@seattletimes.com.

More reviews at www.seattletimes.com/restaurants. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/nancyleson.

Sample menu

94 Stewart


94 Stewart St., Seattle; 206-441-5505

New American

$$$

Web site: www.94stewart.com

Reservations: recommended

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays (dinner menu begins at 5 p.m.)

Prices: lunch starters $5-$14, entre salads/sandwiches/main courses $8-$19; dinner starters $5-$14, entrees $12-$28, children's menu (12 and under) $4.95-$8.95.

Wine list: Well-curated, mid-size, reasonably marked-up, West Coast-leaning. Menu items thoughtfully paired with wine suggestions. Interesting by-the-glass pours.

Parking: none provided, pay-lots nearby.

Sound: moderate

Who should go: Anyone looking for a comfortable, scene-free Market bistro where the food, wine and cocktails are a draw and everyone (even the kids) is warmly welcomed.

Full bar / credit cards: AE, MC, V / no smoking/no obstacles to access.