The many meals I eat to compile guides to the city’s 50 best restaurants, best new restaurants, and top tasting menus for $100 or less give me a lot of time to notice the tiny details that can set a restaurant apart and the little patterns that emerge at any given moment. Some of these trends deserve to be served up to customers on a silver platter; others leave a bad taste in my mouth. Take a nibble of this season’s trends, listed from sweet to sour.
Africa, Expanded
Seattle’s African restaurant scene has always been a bit limited in scope, mostly Ethiopian and Eritrean. But in the last few years, we got Pass D Jollof (Nigerian) and Gold Coast Ghal (Ghanaian/Liberian), which were recently joined by more Nigerian food at Suya Palace, Ku Mana’s Authentic Burundian Cuisine, and Angolan food at Queen Nzinga.
Pizza, Pizza
The less certain the economy, the more sure restaurateurs seem that pizza is the answer. Proving our point: Un Po Tipsy, A.K. Pizza, Roma Roma, Sinners, and new locations of Moto and (soon!) Stevie’s Famous.
Eviction Upsurge
No wind-down, no mad rush for the final days, just an official notice on the door. It’s not the best way to learn of restaurant closures, but it’s been an increasingly common way to bow out.
