Here's all The Stranger's recommended places for the Eastside. You'll have to sort through to see what's in Bellevue and open for lunch, but these have all been vetted pretty carefully. Try Monsoon East if you want a fancier lunch, and Regent (which isn't showing up here for some reason, we will fix) is a good strip-mall Chinese bakery and restaurant. Chace's is a great old-school diner-type place. Some people really like Goldberg's Deli, which I think is in Factoria, but the reviews have been pretty mixed and I've never been, so it's not starred/on this list.

http://www.thestranger.com/gyrobase/LocationSearch?locationSection=2115787&feature=Staff%20Pick&neighborhood=24841&page=1

Check this out too—looks like some places worth trying:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/644381

We'll look in to What The Pho, too, and add to our listings. Let us know what you find out at chow@thestranger.com! Happy lunch!

I haven't had it, but I'm betting the chicken-fried steak at Local 360 is great.

And here's a piece from a while back on Seattle's best CFS—I believe all the places mentioned are still open except for Blue Onion Bistro.

Now I want chicken-fried steak!

Your dream is here:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/la-fontana-siciliana/Location?oid=31441

I've never been! I hope it is MAGICAL for you.

THIRTEEN oyster happy hours over here!

http://www.thestranger.com/suggests/11406745/oyster-happy-hours

Have fun!

Private rooms for dining are kind of rare in Seattle. Quinn's has a nice private table upstairs, but more on the casual than fine-dining side. There's Volterra, which is always good. The Dahlia Lounge doesn't mess up. Crush is very nice, quiet and elegant. The mezzanine at Tavolata would be less fancy but lots of fun. RN74—brand new, downtown—appears to have a private room—that'd be the most hottt choice for sure, but you'll spend quite a bit. Oh! Madison Park Conservatory is also new and exciting (and verified really good), and they have a great-looking private room upstairs.

Of course, if you want to REALLY spend: Canlis.

If you don't require your own separate space, you might consider Boat Street or La Bete or the Book Bindery.

More on all these here:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Search?search=restaurants

Felicitations to the happy couple!

I'm not sure about the war-on-drugs connection (and I would put very little past ol' Uncle Sam on that one), but tons (literally!) of asparagus is still grown in Washington—however, RM and marymc are right, the season's done by now. Here's some interesting extra info about this year's harvest:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003092811_asparagus29m.html

I LOVE DIVE BARS. Here is our carefully curated list of favorites—you can then search by neighborhood. Convenient!

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Search?search=bars&category=173492&show=staffpicks

Have fun!

Dick's is a Seattle institution, but you're right—the burgers are flat and sometimes a tiny bit gristly. (Don't get me wrong, I love Dick's for what it is, and even if you hate Dick's, Dick's still loves you, and doesn't care if you use it in the middle of the night and deny it later.)

Here are my recommendations for better burgers—some basic, some fancy, all available with bacon (and probably malts)! More info on all these over here.

BuiltBurger
Burgermaster
The Counter
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
King's Hardware
Loretta's
Lunchbox Laboratory
Red Mill Burgers
Skillet and Skillet Diner
Uneeda Burger
Zippy's (in the process of moving might still be closed, call ahead!)