Onibaba

There are casual lunch spots in Seattle, and there are special lunch spots in Seattle. It was hard to find one that's both, that is, until Onibaba came along. The Japanese restaurant in the ID specializes in onigiri, and with ties to the late Tsunkshinbo, it’s not surprising that this place rules. The long list of fillings covers a lot of ground, like marinated egg, shrimp tempura with honey-laced mayo, and spicy cod roe, and the rice parcels are so good that you could end up perfectly happy by flipping a coin to decide your order. But don’t leave it all to chance—the yaki onigiri is non-negotiable, whether grilled in sweet soy sauce until crackly and topped with a pat of melted butter or covered in gooey torched cheese. Rounding out an incredible midday spread here are Tsukushinbo’s iconic pan-seared gyoza, brothy salmon and roe ochazuke, and silky curry udon noodles.