Above: a selection of views from Seattle restaurants: below, views from Kirkland.
OpenTable, the national reservation service, has bought Rezbook, the reservation system offered through Seattle-based UrbanSpoon. No visible changes yet, but OpenTable is quite aggressive when it comes to wooing diners, and encourages customers to use its system with loyalty points and the like.
One thing they promise, in the takeover announcement, is more useful, independent information, the first example being a press release in early August listing the 100 Best View Restaurants in the country. Seven are in Washington State.
No surprises with the Seattle choices: Canlis, Six Seven (the restaurant inside the Edgewater Hotel, on Pier 67 ), SkyCity (at the Space Needle). Had it been my call, I'd have added Salty's at Alki and Ray's Boathouse for sure.
But then they get to Kirkland, and the nod goes to a mid-market waterfront joint currently known as BeachHouse. (Used to be the Fog Horn, a smoke-filled den back when you could smoke inside). Sure, it's got a view, but the Carillon Point restaurants have even better settings (Le Grand Bistro Americain, bin on the lake, the Beach Cafe). BeachHouse has zero reviews by critics, and only a handful of (often negative) diner comments on UrbanSpoon. If this list is any sign of OpenTable's commitment to expanded, impartial content, they've got a ways to go.
Rival Tripadvisor.com, meantime, is also sending out nutty stuff,claiming that Seattle is the 5th-best city in the country for pizza.
BeachHouse Bar & Grill, 6023 Lake Wahsington Blvd.NE, Kirkland, 425-968-5587 
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