Restaurants in Martha Lake

Longtime Ballard residents Andy and Tammy James opened the doors of Market Street Traders just two years ago with a mission of promoting the Fair Trade movement. The Jameses strive for their establishment to act as a good neighbor in the community and a good citizen in the world by finding and selling fairly traded products, supporting sustainable environmental practices, and providing a venue for cultural community events.

Paragon spontaneously manifests fusion cuisine in the form of steaks, seafood, and salad dishes while live music appeases ear buds throughout the week. A bounty of small plates, such as an order of crispy calamari served with Anaheim chili rings, green-chili aioli, and garlic-chili sauce ($9), infuses an evening with a level of spice paralleled only by rap-battling a seventh-grader. Dine on delectable entrees such as the grilled Creekstone Farms black angus marinated skirt steak served alongside roasted garlic mashed potatoes, greens, and chimichurri sauce ($22) or the southern fried chicken salad: romaine lettuce tossed with buttermilk-marinated pieces of fried chicken, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese crumbles, candied pecans and homemade ranch dressing ($15). Saddle up to the 30-foot bar and sip from a glass ($6+) or bottle ($22+) of wine or imbibe from one of 15 taps flowing with only the coldest, most emotionally distant of beers.

Birthing alligators or running from washing machines in your dreams all night can leave you famished come morning. Today’s Groupon will revive you after a rigorous round of REM with $10 worth of morning treats from Homegrown for $5.The Nightmare: Hamburger is eating you. What It Means: You never got over your first girlfriend, Ashley.

When the feasting hour commences, a lunch and dinner menu unravels a host of homemade meals inspired by a childhood in Calabria, Italy. The traditional recipes enjoy a modern makeover complete with marinara muttonchops. Lucia's signature spaghetti acts as a semolina cradle for hand-rolled meatballs in a white-truffle-oil fondue topped with shaved black truffle ($18). Sample the eggplant parmigiana, which is baked with mozzarella in a sea of red sauce ($15). Poached pear salads satisfy light cravings with a fresh blend of mixed greens, gorgonzola, and candied walnuts with blue cheese ($8 for a half salad), while a Kobe beef burger with onion jam and house fries ($15) fully fills empty tanks. The pistachio-crusted snapper with roasted fingerling potatoes ($19) gives sea-legged stomachs solid grounds for edible exploration.

21 Central Steakhouse's extensive menu centers largely on its specialties: USDA prime corn-fed beef and fresh-caught seafood. The posh steakhouse's steaks are all seared in a 1,800-degree broiler, creating a deeply flavored external char that houses the juicy, broiled-to-order interior—similar to the one that houses Wile E. Coyote after an ACME bomb malfunction. After starting with a plate of baked goat cheese ($9.95) over tomatoes Provençal with chive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, boost your vitamin B12 intake with a 10-ounce center-cut filet mignon ($42.95) or a 20-ounce porterhouse ($46.95) and add a side of creamed spinach ($8) for color. You can also enhance your steak by dousing it with a coat of 21's brandy chanterelle sauce ($5), caramelized balsamic onions ($4), and more.

A two-story, 1930s Wallingford house with a pillared front porch and white clapboard siding isn’t the typical setting for pad thai and green curry, but Djan’s Modern Thai Restaurant doesn’t have an interest in being ordinary. Inspired by the eclectic, global tastes of co-owners and brothers Tum and Lek, the restaurant prides itself on fusing East and West in both its menu and decor. Input from chefs in Bangkok and New York City helped create the menu, which tempts diners to sink chopsticks into contemporary versions of classic Thai dishes, such as wok-fried ginger beef or fried rice with pineapple and tofu. Foundational Thai ingredients—coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, and basil leaves—still appear on plates, but they share the stage with Hawaiian-style prawns and Japanese shrimp tempura. Instead of washing down mouthfuls by drinking from a date's seltzer-filled boutonniere, diners can sip the vintages from Washington, California, and Chile that grace a hefty wine list.

Djan's decor reflects its cuisine’s multicultural influences with modern, geometric tables and backlit alcoves that give a nod to the past with lanterns and suspended silver bells. For those who would rather eat in the comfort of their own homes or need to feed a party, the restaurant also offers delivery and catering.