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Arts & Entertainment

Savor Some Sweet Deals in Kirkland During Seattle Restaurant Week

Purple Cafe, Anthony's, Bin on the Lake, Beach Cafe and Lynn's Bistro are offering deep discounts starting Sunday.

Hot on the heels of March’s Dine Around Seattle promotion, local diners' taste buds might well be piqued by April’s Seattle Restaurant Week. Starting Sunday, more than 150 restaurants in Seattle and on the Eastside--five in Kirkland--will be offering three dinner courses for $28.

You'll be able to choose from three options for each course just to sweeten the deal. Some restaurants will also be offering the deal at lunch for $15. Seattle Restaurant Week menus are available Sunday through Thursday, April 10-21.

Below are descriptions of the participating Kirkland restaurants, menu options from each, and a couple of suggestions in case you want to hit the big city for a meal.

Anthony’s Homeport:
This seafood mecca is taking Seattle Restaurant Week a step further, offering its discounted menu all through the month of April.

Choose from a classic Caesar salad, clam chowder or crispy calamari to start.

Entree choices include an alder-planked wild Alaskan salmon with smoked sweet red pepper beurre blanc, spice rubbed and grilled mahimahi in banana leaves with tropical chutney, and garlic prawn fettuccine with a light cream sauce.

Sweet endings are offered in burnt cream, Olympic Mountain ice cream, or Bailey’s Irish Cream chocolate mousse varieties.

Beach Cafe:
Located in Carillon Point downstairs from bin on the lake, Beach Cafe is bin’s casual cousin, serving Northwest inspired American fare.

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Starter choices include chicken sticks with buffalo butter, a classic chicken Caesar salad, or a half order of mussels with balsamic cream, bacon and shallots.

Alaskan salmon makes another appearance, seared with polenta and vegetables. Other main dish options are the chicken picatta with pasta and vegetables, and the Pacific stew featuring shrimp, salmon, sausage, crab and pepper rice.

Saving some room for sweets, diners can choose from vanilla creme brulee, apple cranberry crisp a la mode, or flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

:
Beach Cafe’s swanky upstairs cousin with sweeping lake views offers seasonal Northwest cuisine and a huge wine selection.

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Appetizer choices are a delicious tuna tartare, warm goat cheese smeared over a grilled baguette slice, and organic bibb lettuce salad with herbs and goat cheese.

Try the saffron-infused seafood risotto, organic chicken breast with potatoes, Brussels sprouts and bacon, or a pork chop with red garnet yams, organic greens, pepper jam and maple for an entree.

Finish with a warm seasonal fruit crisp, creme brulee with biscotti, or seasonal ice cream with fresh berries and cookies.

Lynn’s Bistro:
This intimate French restaurant is located on the north side of Central Way. The white tablecloths and dark wood chairs may appear formal, but chef Lynn Tran welcomes families with children to dine at her establishment. Though the complete Seattle Restaurant Week menu wasn’t available during our interview, she did give some dishes the green light.

Appetizers may include the shrimp ravioli, crab dip and her famous French onion soup.

Entrees like the Ribeye steak, crab cakes and seafood pasta are sure to please, finished by a house-made sea salt chocolate truffle caramel.

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar:
Purple is offering both lunch and dinner options with a sommelier wine pairing selection for an additional $22.

At lunch diners can choose from a mixed green salad, bruschetta or soup to start. Lunch entree options are the half purple chopped salad, bbq pork sandwich or the basil pesto pasta. That's followed by sea salt caramels, vanilla bean cheesecake or a peppermint chip brownie for dessert.

The dinner menu starts with a mixed green salad, calamari or bruschetta.

Diners can choose from the spinach pesto linguini with vegetables, the grilled mahimahi with mashed potatoes, or the free-range chicken marsala with sauteed green beans for an entree.

Desserts include the aforementioned peppermint chip brownie and vanilla bean cheesecake, as well as a brown sugar spice cake with bourbon caramel.

FOR THOSE looking to get out of Kirkland for the evening, two of my very favorite restaurants are also participating in Seattle Restaurant Week.

Joule:
A short trip over the bridge and slightly north, this cross-cultural dining experience is located on the south side of 45th in Wallingford. The food is a surprisingly imaginative blend of Korean, French and American cuisines resulting in artfully prepared and always delicious dishes. The restaurant is very cozy with tables and a small bar allowing diners to peer into the open kitchen to watch the chefs prepare their meals.

Appetizers include a duck terrine with pickled ramp and ginger scallion, grilled asparagus with preserved lemon, and the curried cauliflower soup with spicy mussel and whipped coconut cream.

Those should get you in the mood for one of the entrees: grilled scallop with charred bok choy, beef cheek pot au feu with savory pickled root vegetable, or the jasmine ricotta agnolotti with pea vine and edamame.

Finish off the meal with a chili panna cotta with cinnamon chips and bittersweet chocolate, lychee tart with cardamom caramel and creme fraiche, or the smoky lapsang ice cream with hazelnut biscotti.

Spring Hill Restaurant & Bar:
If you’re up for a longer drive, trekking to West Seattle for a meal at Spring Hill is well worth it. The contemporary menu and design of Spring Hill speak of chef Mark Fuller’s commitment to fresh, simple, regional Northwest food.

Try an appetizer of Kumamoto oysters, beetroot salad with spring onion and fresh milk curds, or a butter lettuce salad with radish and tender herbs.

Entree options are positively hunger inspiring: a wood grilled flat iron steak with charred green garlic and buttered gold potatoes, sauteed halibut paired with English peas and smoked king clam crumbs, or the roasted hen of the woods with hominy grits, Beecher’s jack cheese, soft egg, English peas and fava beans.

Desserts include Valrohna hot chocolate with a toasted oatmeal raisin cookie and buttered popcorn ice cream with caramel.

MAKE YOUR reservations today at one of these or any other restaurant participating in Seattle Restaurant Week. I just secured a table for two at Spring Hill--hen of the woods, here I come. To see a complete list, please visit www.theseattlerestaurantweek.com.

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