Chungee's... for some of the only Chinese in walking distance. I don't know about "good" though. It's decent. I don't know of a good Chinese place in Capitol Hill.

Smith? Really? That place blows. I'd run for the hills rather than eat there. Nice hangout place I guess, but skip the food. They keep changing "chefs" despite the ongoing positive reviews.

Cafe Presse is great but do NOT get the steak frites. Just the frites. Big Mario's is a YES if you can stand the "music".

Smith, really! "Good lately," like I said, but you're totally right—as we say over here (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/smith/Location?oid=248677), the food does vary because of a revolving-door chef situation. But right now, it's pretty damn good! The brick chicken has been delicious, and I had a short rib and herbed gnocchi the other night that was great.

I haven't seen a lot of positive reviews—here's one I wrote (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/at-last-actually-really-good/Content?oid=1392539) about the whole chef situation when they finally got a good one in 2009 after being open for two years. He's gone, but the crew there now is solid, seriously!

I agree about the Steak Frites at Cafe Presse: Chewy, chewy, stringy. And it's the most expensive thing on the menu. Not worth it. Pick and choose between the smaller items. The Frites alone are great and the Croque Madame is fantastic.

OK. Bethany, thanks and I'll give it another try I guess. Brick chicken sounds better than rubber chicken, but barely.

Come to think of it, I'm wrong. Genki's conveyor-belt style sushi is the best sushi bargain on the hill. Though I prefer Hana a bit for taste and I'm not sure if Genki does take-out.

The only good thing I could say about Liberty is that you probably won't get food poisining. But that's about it. The Salvadoran place is v. good. I haven't had the guts to try India Express. Is it good other than on a bulk/dollar basis?

Liberty knows their alcohol, with possibly the best top-shelf in town, and their last call is real-time last call, not the half-an-hour-ahead bar-time BS most every other establishment in Seattle uses. When I ate their rolls more regularly, around 3-4 years ago, they were always fresh, tasty and original. Not so sure about recently as I haven't eaten there much. However, I was only mentioning them in my answer to address other recommendations for Liberty and show there's definitely more bang for the buck at Hana if eating sushi is your main purpose for visiting. All in all, I think Liberty is a very good establishment as their focus is good liquor and mixed drinks, which they do quite well. They aren't cheap though.

As far as India Express, I've had better -though also considerably more expensive - elsewhere, but it's as good or better than any Indian in an 8 block radius (there's three), and its Tikka Masalas are bomb. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way if I didn't live in the general vacinity, but it's convenient, cheap and pretty good.

I'm gonna try that Tikka Massala! Thanks.

Sure! Try the lamb.

I really fail to understand the ongoing allure of Coastal Kitchen for Brunch. But agree w/jj. What's the attraction to CK?

They were great in the old location, now just overpriced.