Back when it was still at 1904 Fourth Avenue, Tom Douglas’ restaurant Dahlia Lounge was made famous by the movie Sleepless in Seattle, where it played a cameo role. These days, it’s moved across the street and become one of Seattle’s staples. Everybody knows it, even if most of us don’t get there too often.

I proposed to my wife at the first Dahlia Lounge, incidentally. My wife says I looked pretty damn funny shifting around in my seat. I claim it was because the ring was stuffed rather uncomfortably into my pants pocket. So if I have a soft spot for the place, well, there’s a reason.

The Dahlia Lounge has been around long enough to be labeled a “classic,” and yesterday we had further proof: they’ve been nominated for the “Outstanding Restaurant Award” by the James Beard Foundation. Despite that little issue of where exactly their money was going a couple years ago, the James Beard awards are still considered one of the prestigious awards of the culinary world, so getting a nomination is an honor.

The “Outstanding Restaurant Award” is awarded to “the restaurant in the U.S. that serves as a national standard bearer of consistency of quality and excellence in food, atmosphere and service,” according to the foundation. Restaurants are only eligible for this award after they’ve been open for at least ten years. Dahlia must compete with four other restaurants around the country for the final award, including San Francisco’s Boulevard and Chicago’s Everest and Spiaggia. Here’s hoping, guys, and congrats to Chef Erik Tanaka and his staff for the nomination.

Also in the awards, Leslie Mackie of the Macrina Bakery & Cafe earned a nomination for “Outstanding Pastry Chef” (and not for the first time, according to the Times). Time to go buy some artisan bread, and hope Mackie finally gets the well-deserved award this time.

In regional awards, the chefs of Lampreia, The Harvest Vine, Cafe Juanita, and Lark all received nominations for best chef in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

I love living in a town with this much good food.

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