The Kingfish Café by Debora Ashin

You love exploring trendy, new restaurants in Seattle but your boyfriend keeps begging for a “real” home-style meal.

The Kingfish Café

Why go: Southern comfort food in a stylish setting
Highlights: Buttermilk fried chicken, cornbread, yam fries, bread pudding (even if you don't think you like bread pudding)
Service: Friendly and professional
Forewarning: You may face a 45-minute wait; parking is a challenge; leave the kids at home

There's a reason that for more than a decade Seattle diners have been willing to stand in line for 45 minutes for fried chicken, mashed potatoes and collard greens. This is the best fried chicken you will ever taste —delicate, crisp and not the least bit greasy.

It doesn't get more real or comforting than at Kingfish Café—a charming neighborhood restaurant that manages to meld refined southern cooking with a hip Capitol Hill vibe. Although upscale soul food may sound like an oxymoron, Kingfish Café elevates basic down-home southern cooking into culinary nirvana. This is not to imply that Kingfish offers a new interpretation of southern cooking; it serves up enormous portions of classic southern dishes prepared with lots of butter and considerable care. But the food and romantic ambiance at Kingfish are considerably more refined and sophisticated than what the menu might suggest.

Named for the main character in the ’50s TV comedy “Amos 'n Andy,” Kingfish Café is the inspiration of two sisters, Laurie and Leslie Coaston. Graduates of nearby Garfield High School and UW alumni, the sisters built their popular restaurant on family recipes as well as extensive research. Their personal touch extends to the warm but professional service and the sense of genuine welcome diners receive. The high, dark ceilings, velvet drapes and wooden tables give Kingfish Café an old world charm that is offset by stark plastered walls and low lighting. At night the moody atmosphere becomes a stage set for a romantic rendezvous. Yet the restaurant is also filled with tables of friends out for a casual evening of cocktails and catfish.

Don’t miss the rib eye steak, topped with portabella mushrooms, featuring fresh herbs, garlic and the perfect blend of “secret” spices. The menu includes slow-roasted pork chops topped with fruit chutney, authentic but expensive ($17.50) gumbo and a signature casserole-style Mac and Cheese. The food might be down-home but the presentation is sophisticated.

If you're not in the mood for a huge meal, order the elegant crawfish and corn chowder and the Kingfish house salad. But it's almost impossible to skip their legendary fried green tomatoes served with hot hushpuppies. The delicate sticks of yam fries, with a hint of pepper and brown sugar, are not to be missed (even if you don't think you like yams).

Save room for the luscious three-layer red velvet cake or a spectacular giant loaf of bread pudding, featuring chunks of moist apple and walnuts laced with Bourbon sauce. The ample desserts (enough for four to share) will make you swoon.

The no reservation policy seems unnecessary but has become part of the Kingfish legend, so avoid the wait and go early or during the week.

Cost (dinner menu):
Starters: $4.50-$8.25
Entrees: $11.25-18.75
Desserts: $7.50-$9.00

Open: Dinner, daily; lunch, Monday-Friday; Brunch, Saturday & Sunday