If I were a queen, Scott Carsberg would be my cook. If he were my cook I'd gladly succumb to gout. And if Carsberg were a player, you would know him better. He's not. He's a maniac for minimalism, a workaholic chef-genius raised in West Seattle, schooled in classic cookery, invested in the finest kitchen equipment and convinced that no one in these parts seeks out better ingredients and uses them to better effect than he does. He won't get an argument from me. Ten-year-old Lampreia is my castle of gastronomy, my stairway to heaven, my special-occasion treat and my answer to Seattle's four-star-restaurant question.

If I could afford the time and the bill, I'd beat a path to Carsberg's door with regularity and leave only after he'd spoiled me with seared foie gras, impressed me with a thick, elegant veal chop and coddled me with warm chocolate dumplings in a bath of vanilla-laced cream. Dinner would not be complete without a snifter of something heat-producing, enjoyed after a careful selection of ripe cheeses or a thick slice of pecorino perfuming my world with truffle-scented honey as it melts in its tiny cedar plank.

Chef/owner Scott Carsberg of Lampreia is the master of minimalism, four-star style.

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