By Karen Sutherland

The following is one lawyer’s totally unscientific, opinionated -- and wholly unsolicited -- guide to eating in downtown Seattle. I do have one confession to make about this list -- I am not supposed to eat dairy products, so it leans heavily toward places that either have dairy-free options or are cheerful about substitutions.

Eating on the Run
Nordstrom’s Cafe, 500 Pine Street, 628-2111; www.nordstrom.com. Eat in or take out. The barbecue chicken pizza, shrimp nicoise salad and the Chinese chicken salad are especially good.

Fifth Avenue CafŽ, 1522 5th Avenue, 621-7137. Huge, deep-fried bagels with cinnamon and sugar. Good soup, too.

Gelatiamo’s, 1400 3rd Avenue, 467-9563; www.gelatiamo.com. Eating here is a great way to reward yourself for standing in line at the post office. Minimalist sandwiches in the European style, just like the ones at the cafŽs in Rome. Richly flavored ham or beef, a little oil, a piece of cheese (easily removed), and a basil leaf on a thick, chewy roll. Excellent gelati or sorbetto, too.

Uwajimaya’s Food Court, 519 6th Ave. S., 624-6248, www.uwajimaya. com. Lots of variety if you like Asian food and no big corporate chains. I like the Aloha Grill best, especially the Huli Huli Chicken with brown rice. The grocery part of Uwajimaya has decent takeout, too.

Benihana’s, 1200 5th Ave, 682-4686; www.benihanaseattle.com. The weekday all-you-can-eat sushi lunch is a bargain if you’re a big eater. It is served buffet style, so you can refill your plate quickly. Get there early, though. The all-you-can-eat deal applies to tables in the bar only and the tables fill up fast.

Mae Phim, 94 Columbia St., 624-2979. Oily, but good, Pad Thai and decent, inexpensive beef dishes. The line may be long, but it moves pretty fast.

Cilantro’s, 93 Marion St., 652-9300. Tastier than Mae Phim, but a little more expensive and slower service. If you need it in a hurry, call first and they will have it ready in 10 or 15 minutes. The black sticky rice is one of my favorite desserts. Just be sure to pick the black stuff out of your teeth before you meet with clients.

Ivar’s Acres of Clams, Pier 54. A little out of the way unless you’re catching a ferry, but sometimes you just need to spend a few minutes ignoring/forgetting about your caseload and feed fries to the seagulls instead.

El Puerco Lloron, 1501 Western Ave., 624-0541. Handmade, hot corn tortillas. Charred beef. Fresh avocado. Goopy cheese things that I can’t eat. Chipped enamel tables that rock and aggressive sparrows if you dine outside. What more could you want for authentic Mexican food?

Dinner with Clients
Nara Grill, 2027 Fifth Ave., 727-2225; www.naragrill.com. Like Benihana’s grill-as-a-show, only smaller with tastier food. The flames coming out of the onion are a nice touch, too.

Koji Osakaya, 89 University St. and near the new federal courthouse, 583-0980. The one on Harbor Steps doesn’t close between lunch and dinner, so it’s handy for early late lunch or early dinner meetings.

Sea Garden, 509 7th Ave. S., 749-9385. Fresh, understated Chinese food. More expensive than most, but worth it. Also good for a pre-ballgame dinner.

Shanghai Garden, 524 6th Ave. S., 625-1689. Famous for its hand-shaven barley-green noodles, which are chewy and substantial. The pea vines offset the noodles nicely as a side dish.

McCormick & Schmick’s, 1103 1st Ave., 623-5500; McCormick’s Fish House, 722 4th Ave., 682-3900. Extensive fresh sheet, heavy on the fish, but there are usually one or two steak, pasta and chicken entrees to pick from. Service can be slow on busy nights, though. They have excellent inexpensive “appetizers” (more like meals) in the First Avenue bar before 6 p.m. and after 10 p.m.

Il Terrazzo Carmine, 411 1st Ave. S., 467-7797; www.ilterrazzocarmine. com. A wide variety of Italian food. The venison-stuffed ravioli is great if you’re OK with eating Bambi. It’s worth asking for extra bread to sop up the ravioli’s sauce.

Al Boccalino, 1 Yesler Way, 622-7688; www.alboccalino.com. Smaller and more intimate than Il Terrazzo Carmine, and the staff may mistake your client for your date. This issue can be avoided if you make reservations ahead of time and let them know it’s a business dinner and that you will be picking up the check.

Andaluca, 405 Olive Way, 382-6999; www.andaluca.com. Some of the entrŽe combinations are a little too unusual for my taste (the chicken and peaches, for example, was not one of my favorites) but the crab tower salad is very good. Andaluca’s menu is also available upon request in the bar at Oliver’s, and tastes way better than the free bar food that they serve during happy hour.

Dahlia Lounge, 2001 4th Ave., 682-4142. I liked the ambiance of the old place better, but change happens. The menu is limited, so you need to be in the mood for whatever they’re serving. The bakery gets rave reviews.

Catering
Ingallina’s, 135 S. Lucile St., 766-9400. Box lunches, so you need to know who is showing up for your meeting in advance. They have one of the few vegetarian sandwiches that I actually like.

Mel’s Market, 1001 4th Ave. Plaza, Suite 50, 224-7007; www.melsmarket. com. Sandwiches, etc.

Gretchen’s, 2415 Airport Way S., 689-8194; www.gretchensshoebox. com. Sandwiches, etc.

Gourmondo, 309 S. Cloverdale, 587-0190. The salad with the pears and walnuts is very tasty. They also have sandwiches.

Culinary Arts, 6100 4th Ave. S., 768-0677. Hot meals come with stinky Sterno, so use good ventilation or reheat in the microwave. The green beans with nuts are really good.

Romio’s Pizza & Pasta, 917 Howell St., 622-6878 . Chewy crust, with speed bumps on the bottom to help reduce sogginess. They’re good with substitutions, even on a big order. Discount coupons are on the takeout menus, so ask for a couple when you order. Also, the chocolate cake by the slice is excellent, though not really affordable as part of a group lunch. Get one for yourself and eat it when no one’s looking.

Jackrabbit, 999 3rd Ave., 2nd Ave. Plaza, 292-6922, www.ejackrabbit. com. Decent sandwich and salad options.

Fare Start, 1902 2nd Ave., 433-1233, www.farestart.org. More expensive than the other places listed, but good food for a good cause. They provide job training and placement for the food service industry.