* = Drive-up box

BALLARD

Ballot Box: Ballard Branch Library (Corner of NW 57th St and 22nd Ave NW)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Gather Kitchen & Bar Like List

Gather, brought to you by Chef Ryan Donaldson, is located in The Commons at Ballard and aims to serve a "family style menu of both intriguing and familiar flavors with a global influence in a setting that invokes feelings of comfort." Donaldson was inspired both by travel and family get-togethers. The menu, which places an emphasis on local and sustainable food, is categorized into three main parts: Garden, Water and Pasture. A charcuterie menu and a snack menu (featuring a mason jar stuffed full of seasonal veggies) round it out.

BEACON HILL

Ballot Box: Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Avenue South)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Homer Like List
This buzzy anticipated restaurant from former Sitka and Spruce chef Logan Cox features a Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern-inspired wood-fired menu, with grilled vegetables, proteins, and pitas, as well as a walk-up window with seasonal soft serve flavors.

Ballot Box: NewHolly Neighborhood Campus (7054 32nd Avenue South)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Bang Bang Kitchen Like List
Miki and Yuki Sodos, who own Capitol Hill's Cafe Pettirosso and Belltown's Bang Bang Cafe, have opened this new full-service restaurant and bar near the Othello light rail station. Like Bang Bang Cafe, the establishment serves New Mexican staples with a Northwest influence, including Bang Bang's famous burritos, and prominently features fresh hatch chile peppers, a well-known specialty of New Mexico which the Albuquerque-born Sodos sisters fly in from their home state.

BROADVIEW/GREENWOOD

Ballot Box: Broadview Library (12755 Greenwood Avenue North)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Pop Pop Thai Street Food Like List
Pop Pop feels warm and personal—almost defiantly so—in spite of its sterile surroundings, which include an L.A. Fitness, Hobby Lobby, Staples, Jimmy John’s, and T-Mobile. The owners’ vision is to “bring home cooking to our customers,” including excellent hard-to-find dishes such as braised pork leg and red sea noodle soup.

BRYN MAWR-SKYWAY

Ballot Box: Skyway Library (12601 76th Avenue South)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Catfish Corner Express
Many mourned when Catfish Corner, a Central District institution for 30 years, closed its doors. Luckily, Terrell Jackson, grandson of founders Woodrow and Rosemary Jackson, revived the family business as Catfish Corner Express, this time in Renton's Skyway area. Terrell, who literally grew up in Catfish Corner as a dishwasher, server, and cashier, is serving fried catfish and hush puppies made from his family’s recipes.

CAPITOL HILL

Ballot Box: Seattle Central College (Broadway-Edison Building, northeast corner, 1701 Broadway)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Nacho Borracho
The Mexican spot sells frozen drinks and El Xolo food to go. Charles Mudede once wrote, "After a day's work, I almost never fail to have one or two or three drinks at Nacho Borracho." (He also recommends the nachos.)

CENTRAL DISTRICT

Ballot Box: Garfield Community Center (2323 E Cherry Street)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Meskel
"Meskel stands out among the sea of Ethiopian restaurants with an atmosphere unlike any other—or rather, three atmospheres," Naomi Tomky has written. Though they're currently open for takeout, the previous vibe should be enough to entice you: "In the main restaurant, on the upper floor of a remodeled Central District craftsman, diners dig into the stellar qanta firfir (dried beef and injera). On sunny days, the outdoor patio becomes a place to linger over combo platters of lentil stews, and when the barbecue’s running, the air is filled with spices and the tantalizing smoke of mouthwatering meat. And downstairs in the bar, everyone sips Johnny Walker while watching soccer games projected onto the wall."

CHINATOWN/INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT

Ballot Box: Uwajimaya (619 6th Avenue South)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Dough Zone
Dough Zone specializes in juicy Chinese dumplings like xiao long bao (tender little meatballs and a puddle of broth encased in a delicate wrapper), q-bao (fat, fluffy-crisp pork buns seared in a pan), and lacy pot stickers. Sides like the tangy fermented green beans and snacky green-onion pancakes complement them nicely. There's often a wait, but you can put your name in ahead of time through their waitlist on Yelp, drop off your ballot, then wander around the Asian grocery explosion that is Uwajimaya while you wait.

COLUMBIA CITY

Ballot Box: Rainier Community Center (4600 38th Avenue South)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Super Six Like List
Super Six serves up the same Hawaiian- and Asian-influenced food (think kalbi beef, kalua pork, and kimchi fried rice) that has helped owners Kamala Saxton and Roz Edison build a loyal following at their other businesses (Marination Mobile, Marination Station, and Marination Ma Kai). A neighborhood joint in Columbia City, Super Six also features espresso in the mornings, weekend brunch, as well as a full bar and expansive covered patio.

DOWNTOWN

Ballot Box: King County Administration Building (500 4th Avenue)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Casco Antiguo Like List
This Mexican restaurant and cantina, opened by Harvey Ward Allen (owner of neighboring Altstadt), is tucked away in an alley in Pioneer Square. You might miss it, but don't: The guacamole, scratch margaritas, and tacos are worth it. 

FREMONT/WALLINGFORD

Ballot Box: Waterway 19 Park (next to Gas Works Park, 2119 N Northlake Way)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Pablo y Pablo Like List
Pablo y Pablo is a taco kitchen and margarita bar serving the Wallingford and Freemont neighborhoods. It is run by the same folks who own Barrio and Meet the Moon and is named after the bromance between Pablo Neruda and Pablo Picasso.

GREEN LAKE/PHINNEY

Ballot Box: Green Lake Community Center (7201 East Green Lake Drive North)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Mykonos Greek Grill
People really, really love the fresh and authentic Greek fare and the friendly, prompt service. On the menu: classic appetizers (tzaziki, skordalia), feta-rich salads, and soulvaki made with all forms of grilled meat.

LAKE CITY

Ballot Box: Lake City Library (12501 28th Avenue NE)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Toyoda Sushi Like List
Toyoda is the hidden gem of Lake City; its existence is a well-kept secret, spread mostly by word of mouth. The fish is unbelievably fresh and creamy: For whole seconds, it is impossible to focus on anything except this heavenly taste, as if you have just seen the Holy Virgin outlined on a piece of pickled ginger. You will feel capable of such a vision.

MAGNOLIA

Ballot Box: Magnolia Park (1461 Magnolia Boulevard West)*
Best Restaurant Nearby: Pink Salt
This new addition to Magnolia's dining scene serves an upscale take on Peruvian fare, including ceviche, beef tenderloin, and whipped potatoes, along with cocktails like Pisco sours and pink salt margaritas.

NORTHGATE

Ballot Box: North Seattle College (9600 College Way N, south visitor lot access from N 95th St)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Watershed Pub & Kitchen Like List
This family-owned pub in the Thornton Place complex makes pizza using local/organic products whenever possible, has 21 rotating taps, and gets its name from something real: The Northgate Mall area is actually a watershed (the patio here overlooks Thornton Creek).

QUEEN ANNE

Ballot Box: Seattle Pacific University Bookstore (310 W Bertona Street)*
Best Restaurant Nearby: Rooftop Brewing Company
This hyper-local brewery has something for everyone—including an array of participating food trucks like Smokestack Lightning BBQ and Mr. Gyros. The titular rooftop is dog-friendly!

RAINIER VALLEY

Ballot Box: Rainier Beach Community Center (8825 Rainier Avenue S)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Jude's Old Town
Named after co-owner Beau Hebert's mother Judi, this cozy, family-friendly neighborhood bar offers comfort food like poutine, mac and cheese, fried Beecher's cheese curds, and grits, plus craft cocktails.

SANDPOINT/LAURELHURST

Ballot Box: Magnuson Park/The Brig (6344 NE 74th Street)*
Best Restaurant Nearby: Magnuson Cafe & Brewery Like List
Dexter Brewhouse and Mollusk Brewing in South Lake Union recently opened this new cafe and brewery in Sand Point with a spacious patio overlooking Lake Washington. The family- and dog-friendly restaurant has sixteen taps of mostly Mollusk Brewing Beer, plus coffee, milkshakes, espresso, and local wine, as well as a menu of familiar pub fare like nachos, wings, burgers, and fish and chips.

SOUTH LAKE UNION

Ballot Box: South Lake Union (310 Terry Ave N)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Cactus
This local chain offers a blend of Southwestern, Mexican and Spanish cuisine, including tacos, enchiladas, and a selection of tapas-style small plates, as well as plenty of cocktails.

SOUTH PARK

Ballot Box: South Park Library (8604 8th Avenue S)
Best Restaurant Nearby: South Town Pie
This old-school, all-ages South Park pizzeria from Sam Crannell (the former owner of the erstwhile Lloydmartin, which closed at the end of 2017) and El Camino owners Rob Coburn and Paige Crandall, is next door to Loretta's Northwesterner and features Neapolitan-style pizza by the slice with local ingredients, beer, and cocktails. They also have a daily "Unicorn Pizza" special, or you can build your own.

UNIVERSITY DISTRICT

Ballot Box: University of Washington Campus (Schmitz Hall, by north entrance on NE 41st Street, 1410 NE Campus Parkway)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Guanaco's Tacos Pupuseria
"Don’t be distracted by the tacos in the name," Naomi Tomky has written. "You are eating here for the thick stuffed corn cakes from El Salvador called pupusas. Like the bruising older brother of a Mexican taco, the disks come stuffed with your choice of cheese, chicharrones, and any number of other options, including the most traditional, loroco, an edible flower bud. The best way to eat them is with plenty of curtido, a tangy cabbage salsa that cuts through the thick pancake."

WEST SEATTLE/DELRIDGE

Ballot Box: Alaska Junction (Corner of SW Alaska Street and 44th Avenue SW)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Talarico's Pizza Like List
Talarico's features two different kinds of booths. On the north wall, you'll find a row of low-slung black pleather three-sided beauties that stretch their arms open in a generous hug. The south wall has tall wooden booths with facing seats, creating enclosed spaces perfect for sharing secrets with your quarantine pod. No matter which kind of booth you choose, you'll get Talarico's signature bigger-than-your-head slices brought to your table. The slices will take up all the empty space in your booth and fill your heart—and your stomach—with a gluttonous Italian kind of joy. (You can also get takeout.)

Ballot Box: High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond Street)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Grillbird Teriyaki
This fast-casual teriyaki-focused restaurant from owner Matthew Parker, who's served as creative director and designer for spots like Westward and Great State Burger, serves a small menu of gluten-free dishes with vegan options.

Ballot Box: South Seattle College (6000 16th Avenue SW, at the entrance of the Robert Smith Building)
Best Restaurant Nearby: West of Chicago Pizza Company
This West Seattle pizzeria specializes in classic Chicago-style deep-dish pies, with seasonal toppings like butternut squash and pulled pork.

WHITE CENTER

Ballot Box: White Center Library (1409 SW 107th Street)
Best Restaurant Nearby: Seattle Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant Like List
This Vietnamese restaurant has a 100% vegetarian menu, with plant-based versions of dishes like pho, bún bò Huế, and hot pot.