Downtown Luncher: Beecher's

Seattlest recently endured a visit to the dentist by visualizing the delicious and decadent lunch we would pick up from Beecher's on the way back to the office.

The lunch in question was a grilled cheese, a breadstick, and a ginger beer, and it made us forget all about the dentist. The sandwiched is pressed, but not totally smushed; the breadstick is almost spicy; and the ginger beer is spicy. Yum. We've also had the mac & cheese (good, but not the best ever) and we've deep-fried their cheese curds at home (the definition of decadent...or perhaps just foolhardy). Our friends tell us the tomato soup is rich.

The place is a co-production of a cheesemonger named Kurt Beecher Dammeier and a cheesemaster named Brad Sinko. (Don't worry, the day we met the monger we teased him for not naming the place Dammeier's.) It can be a bit of tourist trap, what with the picture windows looking onto the cheesemaking operation--sometimes you need a little bit of Zen to get in and out of there; it's rare that we've been able to nab a milkcan stool and eat in peace. Small price to pay for such a good grilled cheese.

Beecher's is open from 9 to 6 daily and is located in Pike Place Market at the corner of Pine and Pike Place.