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Best Seattle restaurants for out-of-town guests

Julien Perry, contributing food writer for Seattle Magazine, lists the top five Seattle restaurants for visitors.

The seasonal local cultural mash-up Though Matt Dillon’s Sitka & Spruce was born in a humble strip mall on Eastlake Avenue, it has since become a mecca for seasonal foraged foods, outgrowing both the space and the underdog persona. After four years, Dillon has moved to more sophisticated, airier new digs deep inside the vibrant mixed-retail Melrose Market. The menu’s flavors have likewise expanded, reaching from that early rustic Northwest base into far-reaching corners of the world: braised veal pulled into hunks atop tender flatbread fresh out of the wood-fired oven, served with tahini, harissa and chickpeas; roasted beets topped with tangy house-made yogurt and the unexpected nuttiness of brown butter. Dillon’s experiments with the warm seasonings of the Middle East, with those wood-fired breads and house-preserved this ’n’ that, with raising his own vegetables and greens on the restaurant’s farm on Vashon Island—all of this makes dinner at Sitka & Spruce personal, revelatory, fresh, inspired. Dillon could’ve easily ridden the seasonal/local/foraged train (which he helped usher into the Seattle mainstream), but playing with new spices and dreaming up new dishes seem to be far more fun for him. It sure is for us. File under: Nose-to-tail cooking, small producers, everything made from scratch Also see: Poppy, Blind Pig Bistro, Madison Park Conservatory

If you have out of town guests visiting during the holidays, where do you take them to experience great food in Seattle?

Julien Perry, contributing food writer for Seattle Magazine -- to give us the top five Seattle restaurants for visitors.

Her choices are found all over Seattle -- in neighborhoods like Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill and Wallingford.

Her top five: Matt's in the Market at Pike Place Market, which overlooks the famous Pike Place clock. It's a great way to see the market without being there in the middle of the day when it's crowded.

Perry says another great restaurant is Sitka and Spruce on Capitol Hill. It's a cozy spot inside Melrose Market. Perry says there's a great wine bar right next door where you can grab a drink if you have to wait for a table. The owner, Matt Dillon, also owns London Plane in Pioneer Square, which Perry says is a great place to take guests for lunch with a beautiful open air atrium.

Perry also suggests taking your guests to the Canlis Lounge. You can grab a drink and listen to live music, and not pay a fortune for dinner.

And finally, The Whale Wins in Wallingford. Perry says owner Renee Erickson owns some of the best restaurants in Seattle like Boat Street Cafe and Walrus and the Carpenter.

Eat the Whale Wins is made with Northwest ingredients -- and Perry says it's one of those places she always takes out of town guests, especially ones who are picky, because everyone loves the food there.