Wait, don't get your hopes up, it's not a replay of Quincy Pondexter, has nothing to do with March Madness. It's Seattle's top two independent restaurants. Can you guess? Number one, duh, is Sky City at the Space Needle, which serves over 250,000 meals a year at an average of $60 per, for a gross of $14 million. In national terms, that puts the Needle in 33rd place, right behind Chops Lobster Bar in Atlanta, Georgia. The Top 100 list, compiled by trade mag Restaurants & Institutions, is weighted heavily to Noo Yawk and Vegas, the country's biggest markets for big spenders. (Number one in the country, in case you were wondering, is Tao Las Vegas, which served 600,000 meals and took in a cool $60 million. Old Ebbett Grill in DC served a million meals, on the other hand, and only took in $24 mill; two huge Bavarian joints in Frankenmuth, Michigan, for their part, served roughly the same number of diners apiece, but the average ticket was under $15, so no big deal.) We promised you two, so here's the second Washington entry in the top 100: Salty's on Alki, described admiringly in these very columns some months back, where 200,000 locals and visitors spent about $50 apiece in 2009. more ›

Three years ago this week, Seattlest penned a typically snarky post about the proliferation of nutcrackers on Seattle streets. Grumble, grumble, crunch, crunch. Off they went to eBay, ne'er to be seen again. Until now. Turns out, they were almost all bought by one guy, Gerry Kingen, the local hospitality entrepreneur who turned Eastlake's beer-n-burger Red Robin into a national franchise and the old Beach Broiler into Seattle's second-highest-grossing restaurant (after the Space Needle, over $11 million in 2008): Salty's on Alki Beach. more ›

One of Seattle's off-beat pleasures has long been a celebratory meal at Palisade, the fancy restaurant facing Downtown Seattle from the Elliott Bay Marina at the base of Magnolia bluff. The Restaurants Unlimited property gets dinged for being stodgy and overdecorated, but its Sunday brunch, at 30 bucks, was a deal, the service is elegant without being stuffy, and the view as good as anything from West Seattle. more ›

There are still a few openings left in this Tuesday’s Cooking with Class (sponsored by Seattle Dining!), which is also for a cause. This long-running event provides a unique opportunity to take three consecutive cooking classes taught by some of the area’s top chefs. Each class is limited to eight participants, providing the chance for interactive learning. And food tasting—along with wine pairings. Best of all, Cooking with Class benefits Providence ElderPlace and Heritage House at the Market, both part of Providence Senior and Community Services. more ›