Fork Dork: Dine Around Seattle Grows to 46 Restaurants Offering Deals

JennyLee Lieseke grew up in Port Orchard cooking alongside her Thai mom as a child.

“Thailand is big on food culture,” said Lieseke, 27. “I’ve always been interested in food and cooking. When I moved to Seattle, my interest in food exploded.”

That interest includes taking part in Dine Around Seattle, the semi-annual restaurant promotion featuring restaurants offering three-course dinners for $30 (exclusive of tax and gratuity). It kicks off March 1 and runs through March 29.

Lieseke, who pours her passion for food into the social group she founded, Menu Hunters Anoynymous, shares that love with her nearly 2-year-old daughter, often taking her out to dinner at fine dining restaurants such as Canlis in Seattle.

For diners like Lieseke, Dine Around Seattle is like the Christmas shopping season, with abundant tantalizing deals.

Among the 46 restaurants participating in this 11th year of the promotion are some of the best in Kirkland and on the Eastside, including , ,  and  in Bellevue; , ,  in Kirkland;  in Redmond;  and  in Woodinville; and Preservation Kitchen in Bothell.

Le Grand Bistro Americain, Monsoon East, Lot No. 3, all three Eastside Purple Café & Wine Bar locations and Preservation Kitchen will offer three-course lunches for $15.

Participating restaurants will offer the special three-course menu daily, except for Fridays and Saturdays, in addition to their regular menus.

Lieseke advises to take advantage of the special menus early during the promotion. She suspects restaurants' staff grow tired toward the end of the campaign, working twice as hard for half the profit.

She also encourages fellow diners to try restaurants they haven’t tried before at the cost-friendly $30 to get a general idea of the restaurant. If the restaurant passes muster at first blush she will return for the regular menu on another night. Steelhead Diner at the Pike Place Market and Local 360 in Belltown are on Lieseke’s to-do list.

“(Dine Around Seattle) is a good way to try to see what kind of stuff they have,” Lieseke said, before adding, “It’s tough to tell how their food is during that promotion. Sometimes I’ll come back to see if they do something beyond what I tried.”

She also warns against expecting $200 meals for $30.

“I’ll tend to go to a place that would have a higher price point but not too high,” Lieseke explains. “At fine dining restaurants I fear the experience will be more compromised. I went to Canlis when they had a promotion last year. It was awesome but it wasn’t the classic Canlis experience.”

Lieseke also says Dine Around Seattle produces fascinating people-watching.

“People not having the best table etiquette can be an entertaining show,” Lieseke said. “Sometimes you will see guests trying to bargain with what they can get, hoping to order something off the special menu. Everyone likes to get as much as they can and you can tell the server and people around them are getting really uncomfortable.”

Koral opens March 1

Also opening March 1 is the much anticipated  by Bradley Dickinson and Mikel Rogers, the men behind Bellevue’s .

Koral will open at the  in Bellevue, replacing O8 Seafood Grill for dinner service at 4 p.m. Koral will serve dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. weekly, until 9 p.m. on Sundays. The bar will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight nightly. Brunch service from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will kick off March 17.

Dickinson and Rogers have appointed Peter Kelly as head chef and Tracy Ducken as general manager.

“Tracy and Peter are both incredibly talented in their respective positions,” Rogers said. “Bradley and I are confident that they will lead a successful group here at KORAL, offering both the best customer service and cuisine.”

For reservations or more information call 425-623-1125 or click on www.koralbellevue.com.   

Novo Fogo’s Axinte faces off against Tini Bigs' Cargill

Bellevue-based  will be the featured spirit producer in this week’s edition of Tini Bigs' Sunday School on Lower Queen Anne from 4 to 6 p.m.

Novo Fogo founder Dragos Axinte and Tini Bigs' Ian Cargill will compete for the best cocktail made with cachaca, voted on by guests. Axinte will also lead a discussion on cachaca, the Brazilian sugar cane spirit.

For $35, guests can enjoy appetizers and a pair of Novo Fogo cocktails. For reservations, call Tini Big's at 206-284-5003.