Belltown Messenger

Hundreds of thousands of kids are graduating from college this month, but only the skilled, the fortunate and the lucky few will find the perfect job. What job is that, you ask? A job that can't be outsourced, a job with seemingly unlimited openings: coffee house guitar player.

Yes, even here in Belltown, where we pride ourselves in doing things differently, where you're not likely to hear the twangy chords and plaintive lyrics to "House of the Rising Sun," we see the evidence: hand-lettered signs announcing live music (pick your time, name your day) inside traditional diners and newly-minted espresso stands.

Latest example: Cafe Darclee, a comfortable new creperie at Fisher Plaza. Guitar from 7 to 9 on Saturdays. Not that there's anything wrong with music, mind you. And Cafe Darclee has surely earned the right: it's named for a noteworthy Romanian soprano, Hariclea Darclee, whose verismo singing dazzled European opera houses at the end of the 19th century.

What sets Cafe Darclee apart isn't the music, though; it's the crepes. Genuine buckwheat crepes, just like you find in Brittany. Darker, tastier and a lot healthier than refined white flour. Typical is a "Complete," a buckwheat crepe filled with eggs, cheese and ham, for $6.75.

Had one just like it not long ago at a roadside stand in Brittany, as it happens. Two euros, under three bucks. On the other hand, no live music. Just cows.

nazir An elegant new restaurant named Spice has opened at corner of Fifth and Bell where Chin-Chin's used to be. It's good news for the neglected eastern edge of Belltown, under the monorail.

Proprietor is the estimable Nazir Khamisa, founder of Chutneys and co-founder of the super-deli chain Beba's. He closed Chin-Chin's; successful at lunch, it died at night. No such danger for Spice: the lounge is twice the size of the dining room, there's a terrific happy hour, and a menu studded with enticing dishes from Latin America, Asia and India. Can it be true? Curry in Belltown at long last?

In the kitchen, veteran Vincent Rivera has an honest-to-goodness, authentic clay tandoor oven to bake perfect naan and turn out dishes like Sonoran wild boar and clay-pit rack of lamb. As Nazir puts it on the menu, "It's Not About the Heat; It's All About the Flavor!" Yes!

The Ocean Biryani was wonderfully tasty, the Vietnamese spring rolls full of spicy crunch, the Peking Purses stuffed with richly flavored poultry. Traditional desserts were less impressive. Now all Spice has to do is get its Happy Hour times straightened out. Late afternoon, sure. Late night? First week it was 10 to close, then 10 to 11. Check before you order!

Paul Mackay is a restaurant genius. He took a dying institution, the old-fashioned American steakhouse, and turned it into a swank destination: El Gaucho. He challenged another institution, the waterfront tourist trap, and turned Pier 70 into a sophisticated destination for locals: Waterfront Seafood Grill. He got stuck with a streetfront space at Pier 70 that started as Chez Gus, a sort of everyman's diner. When that bombed, he revamped it as Rippe's, a sort of everyman's steak joint. Now he's bagged it; the space will become a sort of off-site private dining room for Waterfront. Looks like U-Wa Kitchen has closed for good. Rumor has it the next tenant will be French. Rumor verified. It's called Le P'tit Bistro. Another creperie, of all things. Merde alors!

Who are these guys? A spate of busboards lately promote something called Seattle Urban Pages "because you haven't moved to the suburbs." It's a handsomely produced 216-page directory calling itself the "guide for city dwellers."

But sheesh, this is downright awful. The first piece of editorial copy lists Happy Hour spots in Belltown; one of which has been closed for months. Dozens and dozens of typos, outdated listings and incorrect addresses.

Should be better, more current online, right? Wrong. First sponsored link has a typo, next goes to a dot-com instead of the correct dot-net. C'mon, guys, you're collecting big bucks from all those advertisers; they deserve better. Kudos, meanwhile, to the Stranger, with a terrific team of food writers now in place. Sara Dickerman, whose erudite observations can be found online with welcome regularity at Slate.com, handles restaurant reviews. Bethany Jean Clement backs her up with a new, lushly descriptive column about bars. What is Seattle Weekly's Laura Cassidy smoking? La Fontana Siciliana is Belltown's best Italian restaurant? Maybe she means "best on the north side of Blanchard between First and Second."

Johnny Apple, the portly gastronome who doubles as a globetrotting New York Times political reporter, was in Seattle recently on a tour to promote his latest book, Apple's America. It profiles 40 cities: 5 or 6 pages of civic history, a map, and 2 or 3 pages of where to stay and where to eat. Belltown restaurants dominate his advice for Seattle dining: Dahlia Lounge, Mistral, Le Pichet, Shiro's.

But speaking of Tom Douglas (owner of Dahlia and many others), what a disappointment the other day at the one he named for his wife: Lola. The kitchen sent out plenty of freshly baked pita bread to dip into the assortment of spreads (my big complaint last time), but the haughty waiter (French, of course) forgot my order for a lamb skewer. We waited in vain for 45 minutes. As we left, we finally spotted him at the bar, reading a newspaper. Merde, alors!

Messenger restaurant reviewer Ronald Holden welcomes news and comments from foodies and feeders alike. More at: www.cornichon.org