Belltown Messenger

This month's hot tip just barely qualifies as Belltown, but since it's located at 94 Stewart St., the restaurant called 94 Stewart does, in fact, anchor Belltown's southwest corner.

If the space looks familiar, it's because you remember the Garlic Tree. Get over it, and hurry on in. Cindy Norton, a newcomer to Seattle, is the chef, and she's a fireball. At lunch, the crab focaccia ($12) has what we all crave: plenty of Dungeness crab, moistened with a basil aioli and drenched in cheddar. At brunch, there's more crab in the Crabby Morning scramble ($14). Come for dinner and start with crab cakes ($14). Yes, there's more than crab. A terrific Reuben ($8-and better than the $12 Reuben at Goldberg's Deli over in Factoria). A burger made with ground lamb. Roast lamb at dinner, too. Cindy's daughter Lindsey is the wine steward, and she could teach most sommeliers a thing or two. Sunday is BYO night, no corkage. Tuesday is half-price wines. There's a specific wine suggestion from the by-the-glass list for every dish on the menu, lunch and dinner. And if you need more libations, there's a full bar as well.

And if it's not quite as cozy and steamy as Le Pichet, who cares! In the beginning, Le Pichet didn't know what it wanted to be, either.

This almost unknown restaurant offers Belltown's best view, from corner windows five stories above Alaskan Way. The best prices, too: salads and appetizers for about $5, main dishes for $7.50, fine wines for $3 a glass, $15 a bottle. And the servers are forbidden to accept gratuities.

It's called the Portfolio Dining Room, the public face of the Art Institute of Seattle's two-year program in culinary arts. Chef-instructor David Wynne, a veteran of the Culinary Institute of America and local kitchens like Roy's, Brasa and The Ruins, oversees a group of two dozen 6th-quarter students who rotate between dining room and kitchen stations at lunch and dinner. Wine guru Dieter Shafer keeps an eye on service details.

I was delighted by the mezze plate of hummus, fromage blanc, tapenade, lentils, peppers and marinated beans, accompanied by freshly baked pita. Dieter brought out a bottle of earthy Erath pinot noir from Oregon that matched the meal perfectly. Then came a fragrant dish of cherrystone clams cooked with sausage and tomatoes.

Best part of the meal was an exquisitely tender chicken tagine with an apricot-flavored couscous. A perfect Mediterranean lunch. Chef Wynne gets a new class every 11 weeks; the students approach each station with enthusiasm. Trouble is, the schedule keeps changing! In the best of times, Portfolio is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for lunch (11:30 to 1) and dinner (6 to 7:30). But it's lunch only during summer quarter, which lasts until mid-September.

Best bet: call 206-239-2363 to be sure of a reservation. You won't be disappointed.

Wild Fish is serving dim sum lunch, but it's not dumplings on a trolley. Instead, it's just small portions from the regular menu: calamari, tuna rolls, age-dashi tofu. There's also an astonishingly good sushi special for $11 at lunch with six pieces of fish, a tuna roll and a California roll.

BIRTHING PAINS: The storefront Le P'tit Bistro at Seattle Heights, between Vine and Cedar, seems to be faltering. Owners Danielle and Laurent Cheung were selling their cafŽ in Grenoble and moving to Seattle; they'd planned to open mid-June, but there's no sign of activity.

No visible setbacks at Black Bottle, in the space vacated to no one's regret by Two Dagos from Texas. Restaurant industry veteran Chris Linker is building out his vision of a gastro-tavern, a British-style import that enhances pub-grub with a fresh, seasonal flair. Sophisticated yet unpretentious, convivial, oriented to the neighborhood, good value. That's the plan, anyway. No opening date announced.

Have you downloaded Lampreia's new cookbook yet? It's called All About Apples, available online only at www.tastingmenu.com. If it were sold at Borders, it would cost 30 bucks; electronically-the first title published by TastingMenu's creator, Hillel Cooperman-it's free. Great photos, too.

Penelope Corcoran gushed all over Torero's in a Seattle P-I review, not mentioning the consistent rumor that they're about to close the doors and retreat to their natural base in South King County. The article reiterated her bias against eating establishments in Belltown (too hard to find parking), but lo and behold, she now understands why: people in this neighborhood actually walk to restaurants.

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

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