Fail-safe restaurants

In the December '07/ January '08 issue of Budget Travel, the publishers have asked their readers to send a recommendation for the fail-safe restaurant in their respective cities. I've been thinking about this for the Seattle area and I'm having the damndest time narrowing it down to just one. I, like most people, have my favorite haunts, but are they truly fail-safe?

Here's a list of some of my fail-safe (if not default) restaurants in Seattle and what you'll find there that makes it a destination for locals and visitors.

- The 5-spot: Bloody Marys
- Vera's, in Ballard: Salmon Benedict
- Market Street Grill: Awesome burgers and fries, their White Truffle Mac & Cheese, Bar Steak Frites, The service is awesome. It's a great upscale place that's a second home for many of the regulars (including myself)
- Coastal Kitchen: The Coffee Cake
- Wasabi Bistro: The best happy hour sushi!!
- Portalis: Excellant wines by the glass and great, though limited menu.
- Purple: Wine list and Coconut Prawns!! I'm a sucker for those puppies.
- Maritime Brewery's Jolly Rodger Taproom: Unexpectedly amazing food with great beer to match.

Ok, ok, I realize that this list is rather skewed towards Ballard, but hay! That's where I live, and these are places that I would go out of the way for anyway. So give 'em a try.