Part of a series of restaurant recommendations offered in The Strangerâs 2017 Guide to Food and Drink (International Edition).
Le Caviste
This Denny Triangle gem from Seattle wine mind David Butler serves up exactly the type of sidewalk bistro fare you might find yourself noshing on after a long morning spent traipsing around Paris. There's always an ample selection of cheese and charcuterie boards, the stuff on those boards is always amazing, and the salads and specials that accompany the core offerings are similarly on point. You can consistently find beef tartare, poisson en papillote (fish in paper), and salad with warm chèvre, and will occasionally be treated to pleasant surprises like choucroute garnie. As wonderful as the compact menu is, it's really all about the wine. Longtime sommelier Butler knows wine and, more importantly, he knows how to source it. Le Caviste is your chance to get stuff by the glass you won't find elsewhere, as they usually have at least a dozen glass pours on offer. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
Le Pichet
Downtown's Le Pichet is the more expensive cousin of Cafe Presse. It has many of the same dishes (often at different times), and it turns out, what you pay does make a difference. The same dish at Le Pichet is executed with considerable more finesse than the Capitol Hill restaurant. In a contest of Frenchiness (a highly technical term), Le Pichet wins. They do not mess around with the charcuterie, for example, which includes terrine au poivre vert (duck liver and pork), langue de boeuf (beef tongue), and saucisse lyonnaise (sausage with pork and pistachios). That said, for all its fancy Frenchiness, it's still a pretty affordable and casual night out. TRICIA ROMANO
Marmite
The latest offering from Bruce Naftaly of Le Gourmand fame, Marmite joins and collaborates with Amandine Bakeshop, his wife Sara's side of the mini Chophouse Row empire-to-be. Currently, Naftaly serves up various soups and "restorative" entrĂŠes for lunch and brunch, with plans to add dinner soon. Naftaly is a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, and it's safe to assume he'll continue the level of Le Gourmand quality at this Capitol Hill site. If you're reading this during Seattle's miserable, rainy months, I highly recommend seeking out their bone broth immediately. Naftaly knows what he's doing. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE 
