Snackdown! Lower Queen Anne vs. Capitol Hill

Our fourth match-up in the Neighborhood Snackdown pits Lower Queen Anne against Capitol Hill. Which is the better neighborhood for eating?

Gavin Borchert eats very well in Lower Queen Anne.

Is there a denser concentration of restaurants, of such variety, in any other four square blocks in Seattle?

From Republican north to Roy and First Avenue North west to First Avenue West, you can find hot spot Toulouse, so popular there's a wait even on a Tuesday morning at 10. Next door, Peso's offers neo-Mexican cuisine far better than such an unabashed meat market honestly needs to.

Mecca, in its eighth decade, is Seattle's grande dame of vintage diners. Ten Mercer is an upscale choice for before or after a Seattle Center play, opera, or ballet performance. There are two fine Thai places, Racha and Phuket, and two cozy coffeehouses, Uptown and Caffe Ladro. The Melting Pot offers indulgent fondues; T.S. McHugh's, across the street, hearty Irish fare.

For a sumptuous lamb burger, try Athina's; for everyone's favorite pizza, Pagliacci's; for classic burgers and shakes, Kidd Valley and a spacious Dick's. A half-dozen other options, from pho to burritos, come to mind. Just outside these four blocks are another Thai place, Tup Tim Thai; The Sitting Room, your own slice of Montmartre; and Ozzie's, if you want a little karaoke with your steak and fries special. And waaaay over on Second Avenue West, but worth the 50-yard walk, sits Nielsen's Pastries, homey and Midwestern.

And Hanna Raskin never complains about dinner dates in Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill is chockablock with going-out restaurants: There's the highly sophisticated Spinasse for entertaining visiting relatives, Quinn's for raucous reunions with friends, and Café Presse for supremely romantic dates. Yet for all the ready-made meals the neighborhood has to offer, what really makes it an edible destination are the emporiums hawking the city's very best food and drink.

Melrose Market--a gussied-up, coherent version of Pike Place for locals--houses Rain Shadow Meats, where carnivores can stock up on lovingly butchered lamb chops and housemade hot dogs. Across the way is The Calf & Kid, Sheri LaVigne's well-curated selection of cheeses, with an emphasis on Pacific Northwest dairies. And Taylor Shellfish Farms, the building's newest tenant, sells bivalves harvested from nearby beaches. Not sure what to do with your haul? For culinary inspiration, Matt Dillon's terrific Sitka & Spruce is close at hand.

And Capitol Hill's got beverages covered too. Wine educator Steven Brown brings his expertise to 12th and Olive Wine Company, and Sun Liquor Distillery--perhaps the best cocktail lounge in a neighborhood populated by the likes of Liberty, Ba Bar, and Tavern Law--is on the cusp of pouring its own spirits. In Capitol Hill, the serious eater will find plenty of culinary achievements to cheer.

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