I know everyone raves about Black Bottle. And I’m not one of those people who cry every time they think of how the Olde Belltowne was, and lament endlessly the dearth of dingy places and the encroachment of the IT crowd. —Because I LIKE good food and wine, as well as dingy places. But I looked really nice and dressy and I have a lovely voice and a pleasant demeanor (not that it’s really any server’s business what my voice or personal style is) and everyone still seemed to want me dead. Also, it was still light, and the place utterly lacked any sort of ambience under those conditions. And let’s face it, Seattle has many, many hours of sunlight in spring and summer, so any design should take that into consideration. It felt, with the whitegray outdoor light unbuffered by any gentle and warm indoor tones, a little too Soviet for me. And I didn’t go there for borscht.