Adjarian khachapuri
Dacha Diner
Capitol Hill
I first fell in love with khachapuri, a Georgian bread boat filled with cheese and topped with an egg, on a trip to Russia 10 years ago. At this new Capitol Hill spot, the dish is comfort food personified—warm and hearty as a hug.

Breakfast nachos
Sawyer
Ballard
Brunch, even at its best, is often pretty basic. Not so at this Ballard hot spot, where the breakfast nachos (which are more like chilaquiles) feature a flavorful combo of braised short ribs, salsa roja and scrambled eggs.

Buttered crab and charred rice cake from Samara 

Buttered crab and charred rice cake
Samara
Sunset Hill
With its emphasis on wood-fired cuisine, it makes sense that this newcomer excels at grilled meats and roasted vegetables. But who could have anticipated the standout dish being a pile of heavily buttered Dungeness crab atop an almost smoky rice cake?

Risotto
Violet 
Capitol Hill
I’m almost always disappointed by risotto, but this version at chef William Belickis’ new spot, prepared this particular evening with the most tender octopus, was perfection. 

Vegetarian tasting menu
Art of the Table
Fremont
It’s impossible to pick just one dish from chef Dustin Ronspies’ parade of plant-based delicacies—perhaps the chanterelle tamale, or the croquette of Dinah’s Camembert? Epic, all of it.

Garden dessert
Conversation
Downtown
When it comes to dessert, I will always choose peanut butter, caramel or banana. Matcha, herbs and green apple? Not so much. And yet, pastry chef Kate Siegel tricked me into falling in love with the playful, inventive Garden dessert, which you have to crack a sugar dome to get to.

Cauliflower chilaquiles
Eden Hill Provisions
Queen Anne
Crisp and chewy, tangy and just spicy enough, the cauliflower chilaquiles have long been an Eden Hill favorite, and I was really pleased to find them on the menu at Provisions when it opened this fall. (The burger is amazing, too.)