Kayla Sager-Riley

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Kayla Sager-Riley

As euphoric as unlimited banchan and meats can be, K-BBQ often has a little anxiety attached when left to your own devices with a bright-hot table grill. Exit 5 serves solid food, but strikes a better balance for the experience. You get some control, but are never in danger of burning $90 worth of pork belly. Servers will swing by to cut kalbi off the bone, grill swaps happen regularly, and there’s someone roaming around with a banchan cart to keep you fully loaded.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Kayla Sager-Riley

Mama’s Kitchen is easily the best thing Factoria’s busiest stretch has going for it. The restaurant keeps things simple, but it works for any kind of hangout fueled by fabulous Korean dishes. You can have a casual meal with bibimbap and sikhye. Or pass plates of fried chicken at the communal table to strangers who caught a glimpse of that golden mountain coming out of the kitchen.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Kayla Sager-Riley

We were bummed to include this beloved Central District fried fish joint in our recent closings round-up, but turns out they’ve resurfaced as a food truck in Kent. No need to shed any tears over lost hushpuppies and flaky catfish after all. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Kayla Sager-Riley

Doce brings brioche donuts to the Eastside, with a third location in Bellevue. And much like their Fremont and SLU outposts, here you’ll find dozens of flavors like tres leches, guava con queso, and tiramisu. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Kayla Sager-Riley

Taking over the old Rapport space on Capitol Hill is another self-pour wine bar—rest assured, none of those taps are going to waste. You can sip your way through fermented grapes and snack on sandwiches stuffed with mortadella, or go all in with bigger plates like rigatoni bolognese and porchetta. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.