There's a fun place called Sam's Steakhouse at 2947 Eastlake Ave. in Seattle. I was up there last January, right around the time of the mad cow disease scare, and a buddy of mine and I went there. On the sign out front, they had fun with it: "Customers go mad for our steaks." The owner, Sam (duh), comes around to tables regularly. It's a more laid back scene. The quality isn't like at my favorite Chicago steakhouses, but I was very pleased with their New York strip. It was also really fun, as well as more inexpensive than the general chains. And the atmosphere made it a great choice -- it's right on the lake. I don't think you'd expect to find earth-shattering steak in Seattle, what with its seafood resources (as others have pointed out), so I think Sam's is a good choice because it's high-quality, competitively priced, and a little off-beat. Definitely my first choice in Seattle. It's not far from downtown, either.

For some more info, here's a review from the Seattle Times:

http://www.nwsource.com/ae/scr/nws_r...id=390&rtype=v