Belltown Messenger

Oh, we Seattle restaurant-goers are a savvy bunch, aren't we? We just love our little secrets, such as Assaggio Ristorante's insalata di spinaci. You've never tried it? OK, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but it's an unexpected take on spinach salad. Not your standard leaves tossed with raspberry vinaigrette, this is sautŽed spinach, served warm and fragrant, redolent of pine nuts, garlic, mustard and balsamic vinegar.

Good news: five Belltown restaurants are participating in the "25 for $25" promotion throughout March. In addition to Assaggio, there's Brasa, Cascadia, Flying Fish and Zo‘. Heck, throw in Andaluca, Vivanda and Etta's, too; they're no more than a block from the edge of Belltown.

Are you a target customer for malternatives? That's the fast-growing "flavored malt beverage" category, dominated by big spirits companies (Smirnoff, Skyy, Bacardi) and their "training wheels" brands (think Ice, Blue, Silver). The kick comes from alcohol that's brewed, rather than distilled now that technological advances in the beer industry make it possible to produce a clear, clean-tasting beverage to advertise on TV, aim at 20-somethings who don't like the taste of beer yet sell in taverns.

The malternative brand favored by dudes on the make for those 20-somethings is mike's hard lemonade, especially in Seattle. [Note: mike's is always lower-case, and ideally in "typewriter" font.] Well, the guy who started mike's six years ago in Colorado has decided to move the company. Ditching Denver and blowing off Chicago, he settled on Seattle. No, not because it's such a good market, but because he thinks a lot of smart, creative people live here. Hah!

After four years on the move, the "pizza guys" known as Zagi's have parked their trailer and moved the ovens indoors. Henceforth, Zagi's signature New York-style pies the most popular food attraction at west coast music festivals and on Snoqualmie Pass will be baked in New York's newest borough ... Ballard.

Creators are the bearded Zagi himself, "Cap'n" Ryon Weber, and his business partner, "Lieutenant" Steve Stehlik. Among Zagi's authentically hand-tossed pizzas is Seattle's largest, a 21-incher. How good is it? New York-style is perhaps the most distinctive and elusive type of pizza. [Super-foodie site eGullet.org has over 150 entries on the search for New York-style pizza in Seattle.] I loved it: a slightly charred, slightly smoky crust with just the right crunch; cheese that was tasty but not dribble-down-your-chin oily. Ballard? You betcha!

The eyes of the culinary world were fixed on Belltown a couple of weeks ago. A TV show called "Cooking With Fire," destined for PBS, was taping auditions the Art Institute of Seattle's culinary school. Two celebrity judges PBS chef Ming Tsai and culinary writer Michael Ruhlman were on hand for on-camera interviews with several dozen hopefuls.

When the show begins its 13-week run in April, they'll have a roster of 12 finalists, competing for a job behind the stoves of a Todd English restaurant. How's this different from Fox's upcoming "Hell's Kitchen" series, where the finalists compete for a job behind the stoves of a Gordon Ramsey restaurant? I'll get back to you on that. Meanwhile, didn't Food TV just finish a contest to discover America's next new celebrity chef? And isn't Seattle's own Allrecipes.com advertising for its first-ever editor-in-chief?

Anyway, I wondered whether any of the Seattle slicers-and-dicers had even made the first cut. The word from PBS was that judges Ming and Michael had taken the evidence under advisement and would issue their verdict in a couple of weeks.

Look, we already know that anyone who wants to be a chef in a restaurant has to have a couple of screws loose. Add to that the terms of the "Cooking Under Fire" contest: if you misrepresent any aspect of your application, you're on the hook for half a million bucks in damages. Yikes! Result: the finalists are guaranteed to be flaming egomaniacs at best, pathological nutcases at worst. (Remember Omarosa?) As they say in the promos, stay tuned.

Are you as thrilled as I am with the success of Mireille Guiliano's new book, French Women Don't Get Fat? The last time she came to Seattle, we had dinner at Campagne, and she ordered Veuve Clicquot, of course. Disclosure: Mireille's husband, Eduardo, once wrote a very flattering review of my guidebooks in Wine Spectator.

The book's premise is simple: take pleasure from food. Healthy living and healthy eating, not guilt or deprivation: it's about getting the most out of the food you most enjoy. Following her own advice, Mireille relishes her life of indulgence as ceo of Clicquot, Inc., a life that calls for regular consumption of Veuve Clicquot and other fine beverages ... Imagine that! Eating and drinking for pleasure! What a concept!

San Francisco treat: a weekend getaway to California. First step: getting to SeaTac. None of this Town Car business for us Belltown residents, all we need is the 194. For two bucks, it takes us from the bus tunnel to the airport. We've already saved $30, right? The trip's paying for itself every step of the way.

Glide effortlessly into Oakland, onto BART, emerge at Embarcadero station in downtown San Francisco, drop bags at hotel. Off to find a spot of lunch and discover an alley full of cafes called Belden Place. Take a seat at the sunny and very French Cafe Bastille, order a crab salad and a glass of wine and feel like I've never left Paris.

Another discovery: a wine bar called VinoVenue. About 100 win es by the glass, dispensed by the ounce from contraptions that debit your prepaid card. As little as a buck for a taste of a simple white from California or New Zealand; as much as four, five or six for some pretty impressive reds from prestigious vineyards in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Napa.

The software comes from Italy, I'm told. Only a matter of time until we see the same concept here. Until then, check out vinovenue.net. After three days of tastings, dinners, good friends and temperatures in the 60s, and I'm ready for March in Seattle.

Messenger restaurant reviewer Ronald Holden welcomes news and comments from foodies and feeders alike. Additional dispatches on his weblog, www.cornichon.org.