Restaurants in Fairwood

Wrap taste buds around an impressive lineup of savories, including vegetable ratatouille under melted imported Swiss cheese, herb butter, and fresh spinach ($6.95), and scrambled-egg crêpes draped in a subtle mushroom sauce ($5.75). Smoked-wild-salmon-lox crêpes with crème fraiche and lemon ($7.25) punctuate brunch-time bites alongside the semi-sweet cooked-apple crêpe with a dash of maple syrup and imported Swiss ($6.50). Make the leap to full-on sweet with dulce-de-leche caramel crêpes topped with real whipped cream ($4.50), or dark-chocolate crêpes with raspberry sauce, chopped hazelnuts, and real whipped cream ($5.95), among many others. Locally made ice cream and hot and cold drinks are also available.

For the benefit of wines rich and wines sweet, Cellar 46º unfolds a menu of savory indulgences. Pick up a mealtime preamble such as hot crab dip with artichokes baked under a melted sea of havarti cheese ($12) or the poached pear and gorgonzola salad marinated in red wine with cinnamon and nutmeg ($12). Larger cravings look toward roasted pork loin stuffed with spinach and mushrooms alongside whipped Yukon gold potatoes ($21), while veggie-minded diners can pair a glass of Villa Diana Pinot Grigio ($8) with the breaded eggplant Napolean, which is layered with roasted red peppers, spinach, and chevre ($17).

With an extensive menu of island-inspired eats, the eatery blissfully deserts feasters on an island of inspired cuisine. Start with an order of Spam musubi and enjoy the canned delicacy swaddled in a nori wrap with egg and rice ($4.95) or go for an order of Shanghai-style lumpia, a Pac Island family recipe of pork, shrimp, and vegetables in an eggroll-esque package ($5.50). Dinner at the eatery offers an abundant bounty of nourishment, with everything from noodles, rice, and burgers to their 13 barbecue combination platters. The loli chicken and Kalua pork, whose delectable pairing of barbecue chicken and slow-smoked pulled pork sautéed with cabbage ($10.49) was crowned best entree in the 2007 Taste of Tacoma festival, while the teriyaki-marinated kalbi short ribs ($10.95) was top entree in 2006. Most platters are served with two scoops of rice and either macaroni salad or island slaw. Salute sweet teeth with a tropical-fruit smoothie ($4.50), slice of pineapple upside-down cake ($3.75), or slice of molten-chocolate "luv-a-lava" cake ($5.95).

Brasserie Margaux executive chef Michael White conjures a French-inspired menu of delectable dishes from a harvest of fresh Northwest ingredients, which he in turn conjures from the very air itself. Start the day off sweetly with a breakfast of malted-honey Margaux waffle ($9) drizzled with marion-berry syrup, or indulge in a luxurious lunch of pan-seared halibut ($15) cooked in a white wine and lemon fume. White's decadent dinner menu kicks things off with steamed clams or mussels ($7) in a butter and white wine sauce and panko-crusted crab cakes ($14) served with jalapeño aioli before moving on to eclectic entrees. Everything from the lemon-basil-butter salmon ($24) to the Dungeness-crab-covered filet mignon ($35) will find a leggy tango partner on the brasserie's extensive wine menu. Herbivores, meanwhile, can abide by their uneasy peace treaty with cows by ordering wild-mushroom crêpes ($16) stuffed with ricotta with a goat-cheese fondue. Brasserie Margaux's signature dessert of "perfect" profiteroles ($6) topped with whipped-cream peaks and glazed with dark chocolate mark a satisfying completion to any meal or intra-restaurant reenactment of the signing of the Constitution.

Southlake Grill's lunch menu features pared-down versions of the eatery's dinner selection: soups, salads, warm sandwiches, and eclectic entrees. Share an order of flash-fried calamari fingers ($9.99) before moving on to hearty habanero-chicken mac 'n' cheese ($13.99) or a 6 oz. sirloin steak with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies ($14.99). Because things said during that quarrel with your broiler can’t be taken back, outsource heated eats with warm sandwiches, including a prime dip ($14.99) or a classic half-pound burger served with bottomless fries ($11.99). Stop in on Saturdays or Sundays for the breakfast menu, and start the weekend off with an order of hearty bacon cakes, made with meaty bacon crumbled right into buttermilk batter ($7.99). Friendly and prompt service makes Southlake Grill’s colorful, modern dining room a pleasant place to spend a rain-soaked afternoon after being kicked out of the public library.

The Burien eatery boasts a menu of Old World authentic Italian fare inspired by the chef-owner’s southern Italian upbringing. Start with an order of the crispy carciofi fritti ($7), and dunk the deep-fried artichoke hearts into a flavor-filled bath of spicy aioli, or opt for the fresh pepata di vongole ($12), steamed intra-shell clams in a white-wine broth. Italian film buffs will analyze the dramatic depth of the eatery’s entree selections, noting the complementary selection of palate-pleasing pastas and protein-packed piatti alongside wood-fired pizzas and insalata. Split a Primo pizza ($16.50) with a co-diner, and savor the prosciutto and green-olive-enhanced flavor of the disc-shaped dinner, or hoard an order of the agnello al terrone ($21), a tender rosemary-seasoned lamb chop, for the post-modern prometheus you keep in the basement next to the unused flower pots.