Come in from the cold for seasonal warmth

The word "seasonal" is one of the most abused in the culinary canon. How often have you seen asparagus in January or pears in May described as "seasonal produce"? At Dinette, a new neighborhood bistro on Capitol Hill, they are dead serious about serving a seasonal menu without being, well, dead serious.

It's wintertime. I want preserved things: salt cod, pickled peppers, cured meats. I want root vegetables, squash, cauliflower and wild mushrooms. I want stew, lots of good bread to sop it up with and a pint of dark beer.

Dinette is here for me and anyone else who looks forward to the winter braising season.

One section of the menu is devoted to good things served on toast, like fig-and-walnut spread with prosciutto and arugula ($8) or herb frittata with Fontina and truffle oil ($8). The crusty bread comes from the talented Columbia City Bakery.

Dinette

1514 E. Olive Way, Seattle; 206-328-2282

American

$$

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, closed Sundays- Mondays.

Beer and wine / credit cards: V, MC / no obstacles to access.

Rating: recommended.

The printed menu consists of fairly small plates to share. Daily specials, written on a chalkboard, are more entree-size, with their own sides. They're just as appealing as the rest: One night, I tried halibut with abalone mushrooms, cipollini onions and admittedly less-than-seasonal pea shoots ($22). The soup was a smooth and light cauliflower puree with walnut oil and chives ($6).

Dinette also boasts a small, well-thought-out wine list, mostly inexpensive imports. Many are available by the glass ($6-$8). Beers include the very wintry Black Butte Porter ($4).

Dinette is open for sit-down dinner only, and it's very easy to go over $50 for two if you order drinks or the pricier specials. But the prices are reasonable and the plates are a mismatched set; this is not one of those restaurants where you're supposed to treat each dish with a hushed reverence. In fact, if I have any complaint about Dinette, it's that the service is a little too personal — one waiter sat at our table with us while we ordered.

I was going to zing Dinette for having fresh king salmon on their menu, but when I went back a week later, it had been replaced with smoked salmon. See? Serious.

Check please:

Chicken-liver mousse with spicy pickled peppers: It would be very easy to fill up on this: rich and smooth chicken-liver mousse, spread on toast and topped with a little mound of Mama Lil's peppers.

Gnocchi with wild mushrooms, leeks and truffle oil: Dinette's gnocchi, made with ricotta rather than potato, are featherlight. The buttery sauce is loaded with chanterelles, creminis and shiitakes.

Cassoulet: Dinette's cassoulet, made with cranberry beans, pork shoulder and belly, garlic sausage and duck confit, was pretty good. It needed salt, and not all of the beans were cooked through, but it's a hearty serving at a reasonable price.

Chocolate terrine: Flourless chocolate cake's dressed-down cousin, this rich, bittersweet slab came with crumbles of homemade almond brittle and whipped cream.

Itemized bill, meal for two

Chicken-liver mousse with spicy pickled peppers $8

Gnocchi with wild mushrooms, leeks and truffle oil $12

Cassoulet $14

Chocolate terrine $7

Tax $3.81

Total $44.81

Matthew Amster-Burton: matthew.reviews@gmail.com