My wife and I just discovered "La Bete" on Capitol Hill. Delicious food and very romantic atmosphere. http://labeteseattle.com/

I haven't been to Blue C, but I have been to similar joints in Bellevue, Bellingham and Tokyo. I tip 10% at conveyor belt sushi places. I tip 20% everywhere else, but my theory is that the belt is doing half the work. I feel 10% is enough to cover the sushi chef getting his/her cut, and still compensate the server for bringing me my tea and miso soup. If that makes me a cheapskate, so be it, but I just don't feel compelled to tip the full 20% when a mechanical device is delivering my food.

For what it's worth, there used to be a joint down by the Kingdome called the Iron Horse that used toy trains to deliver your burgers and fries to your tables. If it was still there, and I wish it was, I'd probably tip 10%. The train doesn't need my money, and neither does the belt.

Taqueria El Sabor, 15221 Aurora (just south of Sears and Central Market) is really good. Maybe not so vegetarian (though their refried beans are heavenly, but maybe have lard in them). Actually, a good rule of thumb is ANY Mexican restaurant located in a former Taco Bell is going to be pretty good.

Amazing Korean up around there, too -- try Old Village across the street, or Hoo Soon Yi waaay up at 238th SW in Edmonds.

Best pho in town is at Than Brothers, between 77th and 78th. You might see me there.

If you like your groceries crunchy-granola style, PCC is where it's at. Little-known secret: five of the six most gorgeous checkers in the entire city work there, not that I'm a pervert or anything, but jeez.

Also right around there are some very useful holes to drink in -- Ueber for German beer, St. Andrew's for Scotch, and Kangaroo & Kiwi for mad-as-hatters Aussies and New Zillanders. Skip the Fosters and have a Cooper's Sparkling Ale. You'll thank me. All between 73rd and 76th. I've never been in Duck Island, alas.

The Jack in the Box at 85th can usually supply all your crack cocaine and meth needs; if no one is around, dash across Aurora through traffic to the Arco station. Shari's is also good if you want to lose faith in humanity; I once watched a waitress there attempt to sweep a little tub of cream that had fallen to the floor into one of those dustpans with a long handle FOR TEN SOLID MINUTES.

Aurora is my favorite street in Seattle.

Seattle Met has a great list of places to eat out on Thanksgiving. From $10 at Linda's (TV Dinner... no kidding, yuk) to $225 at the Herbfarm and of course plenty in between.

Part 1: http://www.seattlemet.com/blogs/nosh-pit/thanksgiving-dinner-seattle-restaurants-part-1-november-2011

Part 2: http://www.seattlemet.com/blogs/nosh-pit/thanksgiving-dinner-part-ii-november-2011/

There are a few things that came straight to mind:

1. Tutta Bella on Westlake and Denny. This is one of their nicer locations: great city views, cool space and yummy eats. Lots of veggie options.

2. Cafe Lago in Montlake off of 24th. Great pasta, nice atmosphere.

3. Coastal Kitchen on 15th on the hill is always a nice family night out.

While not in Seattle proper, The Herb Farm in Woodinville is a pretty amazing experience. $200 for 9 courses over 4-5 hours, with several glasses of wine, too.

Tilth is fabulous.

Metropolitan Grill. Honestly, I just love this old school fancy steak house.

The "Man" is open! Dixies BBQ, 11522 Northup Way in Bellevue is open Tue thru Sat 11-4:30.
Enjoy!

Report it to your regional health authority.

The ideal course of action when you get food poisoning is to go to a doctor, who can identify the pathogen, and maybe confirm it as a food poisoning case, and report it.

Realistically, for a mild case you probably won't go to the doctor (and it sounds like you're over your symptoms anyway.)The next best thing is to report it yourself. I believe these would be the people to contact. This page has instructions on it - like they say, it's important that you give them as many exact details as you can. It can be hard to track down the culprit with foodborne illnesses, and the details will help them.

I understand not wanting to rat out an eating establishment that you like, but this is a safety issue. Look at it this way: there are probably other people whose immune systems aren't as strong as yours, and there's a chance that someone could get seriously ill or die from the same thing you got.

As for calling the restaurant, that's up to your discretion. On the plus side:

Best case: they're responsible types who will be grateful that you called and double-check everything to see if they can find a problem. Plus, they'll probably give you free stuff.

Medium case: they're ingratiating types who will give you free stuff to shut you up.

Worst case: they're assholes who will deny it and tell you to go away, in which case, you'll know not to go there again.

Then again, if you call the health department and the restaurant,there's a chance that they'll remember you as the person who reported them, whereas if you only call the health department, you'll remain anonymous. Something to think about. At any rate, if you do call, make sure you're talking to a manager. Also, calling during non-busy hours usually gets a better response.

Besalu.

No contest.

Probably the best on the West Coast.

I definitely would not go it alone. There's a chance that you could make some new best friends, but there's also the chance that the other people at the table would want nothing to do with you, making you alone in a crowd (the worst way to be alone).

Shorty's!
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/shortys/Location?oid=24325

There's not a lot on Camano besides houses and trees. Everything's in Stanwood on the mainland across the bridge. I don't remember seeing anything that looked like a restaurant there, but apparently there are a few. Two are up by the airfield as you first come into the island: Westside Pizza, which doesn't look too special, and Camano Lodge, which is part of the Diamond Knot microbrewery chain, and might be more interesting.

http://www.diamondknot.com/Camano/index.html

http://www.westsidepizza.com/camano/

In a more secluded area on the western shore, there's the Camano Inn, which has expensive "fine dining": http://www.camanoislandinn.com/camano-island-restaurant.html

There are a ton of places in Stanwood. Veracruz is your basic family-style Americanized Mexican joint that I vaguely recall serves ostrich meat, though you shouldn't hold me to that; Dos Reales is a funkier, more authentic taqueria. There's more up the side streets.

You missed your chance to share cold canned pork and beans in the woods with the Barefoot Bandit; he's been arrested.

Bimbo's on Capitol Hill, El Chupacabra and Gordito's in Greenwood have really good vegan burritos.

Wayward in the U District and Highline on Capitol Hill have really good breakfast burritos.

Taco Del Mar, Taco Time, Chipotle all have vegan burritos if those count.

Watch out for Rancho Bravo - they have a habit of putting meat in their "vegetariano" food EVERY time.

Endolyne Joes, Easy Street Cafe, Husky Deli and Yummy Teriyaki, who has delicious fresh and surprisingly cheap California Rolls.

Not if you believe in transubstantiation.

You can't beat Big Marios. It is easily the closest to what a NYC-phile would be looking for. As a second choice, there is also Bruno's downtown on 3rd.

As an aside, it's true that Seattle doesn't really do New York style pizza well. But that is different than saying Seattle has inferior pizza.

What we're really good at is the wood fired/Neapolitan style: Tutta Bella, Via Tribunali, Serious Pie among others.

If he is willing to try a different species of pizza and has an open mind, I recommend heading to one these places to get a taste of what Seattle pizza can be.

Hi Life is always a really good bet

If they are open and serving cocktails they also have to have "minimum food service" at all times that liquor is being served, according to the WSLCB.

I also don't like the "we close when it is slow" attitude of a lot of restaurants. Pick a time and stick with it. Come up with a late night menu that you can cook with one person in the kitchen. I can guarantee that if they keep closing when it gets slow, the slow will start happening sooner and sooner.

For lunch you should hit up Kenny and Zuke's:

http://www.kennyandzukes.com/

I had one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten in my life there a month or so ago, I think it was called the Kenny's Special. It was their pastrami and chopped liver served on Jewish rye w/coleslaw and Russian dressing. I also got the matzoh ball soup.

If you are looking for a sleazy good time you should check out one of the many strip clubs. I recommend Mary's Club:

http://www.marysclub.com/

If you like the ladies.

And the Silverado:

http://www.silveradopdx.com/

If you like the fellas.

Given your conditions, I recommend Cafe Juanita. It's a little out of town, perfect for a special occasion, and the food is amazing. Chef Holly Smith and her team will make it a memprable evening.

My friend Chako(hisako) has a place next to toys r us in southcenter and makes a bitchin okonomiyaki! Its called Miyabi. Her husband is a v. Good sushi chef also!

I don't know if you want to name names.

Maybe check out the yelp for said high rated American/French restaurants. Maybe they're not so high end?

I don't eat out that much. Just offering this comment as a suggestion of sleuthing.

On 15th, Smith serves good burgers and beers and that's about it. Hopvine Pub serves good pub grub. Remedy Teas, as the name suggests is a tea joint. They also serve tiny tasty finger sandwiches. North Hill Bakery for desserts is worth the extra trip.

Volunteer Park Cafe on 17th and Monsoon on 19th are just off the East Capitol Hill retail core on 15th Avenue East but worth the trip.

Anchovies & Olives, Spinasse, Marjorie, Tavern Law, Quinn's, Cafe Presee and Lark are around the Pike-Pine corridor not far from East Capitol Hill.

Don't die. I can help you.

Get thee to Hing Loon. It's a totally delightful Chinese restaurant in the ID, keepin' it real, dishing up chow fun and other great dishes.

I grew up in Chicago and crave that style of Chinese food every now and again. You might also be wondering where the hell you're gonna get a real egg roll or some god-damn egg foo young, right? Right?

For this, you can go to the Little Shanghai above the QFC on Broadway and Pike. It's a hole in the wall, and not all their food is great, but it will surely scratch your itch.

Now, if only someone could open up one of those stands that sells hot dogs, gyros AND Italian beef...and deep dish pizza! Christ, would it KILL Seattle to have some deep dish?

I really like La Botana at 8552 Greenwood Avenue. It's not fancy, and may be too run-down, er, "authentic", for you, but the food's really good. I get tacos or birria (or birria tacos), but they have the standard items as well.

Taqueria Tequila nearby at 85th and 3rd (kittycorner from the Greenwood Market) is similar, a bit more like Tacos Guaymas maybe. Speaking of which, the Green Lake Guaymas is pretty traditional Am-Mex now, since they put in their bar and table-service section.

Mr. Villa's on Lake City Way just north of 80th is terrific.

Best of all, though, in all of the North End, is El Sabor on Aurora just south of Sears and Central Market at about 152nd. Best taqueria in the city limits north of Muy Macho in South Park, sez me. It's probably not the style you're looking for, but the food is muy rico.

Sammy Sue's. It was Emil's for decades before that.

Seriously? My kitchen. I can't stand anyone's posole but my own, which is really my dad's recipe, and I gotta say that this year's first batch using stew pork from Rain Shadow Meats was ethereal. I'll let you know when I make another 5 gallons of it ;)

I just saw that LUC is doing a Seahawks brunch...from the email:

Sunday, January 16, 2011
Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears
10am – 2pm
Watch the game at LUC and enjoy a few Game Day specials from Chef Seamus.

$12 fo an Open-Faced Pulled Pork Sandwich with Caramelized Onion, Rosemary Jus, a Fried Egg with Fries AND a can Rainier Beer
Be the 12th MAN for $12!
Limited Seating get in early for a spot at the bar.
No Substitutions Please

I am a huge fan of Toulouse Petite. Located at the bottom of Queen Anne Hill just up from Belltown. It has a very lively bar scene and is great for socializing. Has an insaine happy hour scene 3 times/day and the breakfast is to die for! http://www.toulousepetit.com/

Palace Kitchen has a HUGE eating bar and people rave about it...I like it for late night but it's worth checking out as well: http://tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=palace-kitchen it's between down town and Belltown so might be convenient if you are staying at a hotel.

I have a soft spot for the eating counter at La Bete: http://labeteseattle.com/
Love their food, a little pricier that the rest of these places but a wonderful new addition to lower Capitol Hill

Two Delicious places that has supper talented chefs are Spur in Belltown http://spurseattle.com/

And Tavern Law http://www.tavernlaw.com/
on Capitol Hill and there is a secret bar upstairs that is worth picking up the old fashioned phone on the wall next to the safe. Some of the best drinks in Seattle hands down. Just Eat downstairs first!

These two are in Ballard so not specifically where you requested but it is a great neighborhood (I am biased, I live here) with a lot of great bars and other restaurants.

I like Bastille for the environment. The food is not mind blowing but better than decent! Love their Lamb Burger : ) http://www.bastilleseattle.com/

Not a fancy place at all but supper yummy Mexican food is Senor Moose http://senormoose.com/

Basically if there is an eating counter then there is a communal scene.

Hope this helps and HAPPY Dining!

Gorgeous George's is my favorite place to go with my family. It's located on 78th & Greenwood and serves Middle Eastern food. Chef George is from Nazareth and makes the best lamb shawarma, "George's Grandma's Chicken" (a whole small chicken big enough to share and available Friday-Sunday), fantastic hummus with lamb, great falafel, an incredible fattoush salad, and delicious lentil soup, among other wonderful dishes. The prices for entrees are higher than $14 apiece, but the portions are huge. Most often, my parents and I order two appetizers and two entrees and split them. And we always have leftovers. The restaurant can get a little noisy on Friday and Saturday nights, but other nights are generally quieter.
http://www.gorgeousgeorges.com/dinnermenu.html

emmer & rye on Queen Anne is a great place to go with family as well. It used to be Julia's, so the space couldn't be less romantic and there's little intimacy with the bright lights and other families surrounding you. But, the restaurant is separated into rooms (old house, ya know), so each room's sound is rather self-contained. Also, the menu is extensive and most plates (including apps) are available in small/half portions, for individual ordering, or large portions for sharing. http://www.emmerandrye.com/menu.php

Ray's Cafe works well, especially during the winter and early spring, when fewer people are there. Their menu items for dinner usually hover somewhere in the 11-22 dollar range, so many of the dishes would work within your price range, while others would be a little steeper. The atmosphere is very casual and family-oriented.
http://www.rays.com/cafe/entrees

Another great choice would be Saltoro, on 140th and Greenwood. Their sea salt chicken is delicious and the prices are moderate.