Chinoise Cafe on Queen Anne, Seattle

Inside Chinoise Cafe on Queen Anne, golden walls and hardwood accents guide the eye toward the masters at the sushi bar turning fresh seafood into art. And although the star subject is, as always, the fish, unexpected ingredients such as fried jalapeno, lime juice, and thinly sliced mango provide the innovative flourish in Chinoise Cafe's specialty rolls. However, chef de cuisine Thoa Nguyen has more in store than creative maki. Summer salad rolls—such as soft-shell-crab with avocado and pickled daikon—impart light, fresh flavors. Heartier pan-Asian mainstays such as cantonese lo mein, mongolian beef, and a number of thai stir-fries round out the menu. Jon Fisch praised the selection's diversity in a 2008 review in the Seattle Times, adding, "What stands out is how fresh the food was." The dining room's nature-inspired artwork brings the outdoors in, and a sidewalk patio allows guests to sit atop Queen Anne Hill and plan out their postmeal bobsled runs.