Highlights From The Seattle Wine And Food Experience Slideshow

Living up to its reputation for excellent seafood, Ray's Boathouse offered light, delightful bites of albacore poke, served with refreshing ponzu and sesame seeds on a cracker.

The Seattle Wine and Food Experience packed the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall with hungry and thirsty patrons, while the tantalizing smell of fine cooking filled the air.

The sister restaurant to romantic Eastlake Italian favorite Serafina, Cicchetti specializes in small dishes inspired by cuisines all around the Mediterranean. At SWFE, it served up a delicious single-serving bite of one of its regular menu items: a flavorful and juicy lamb kefta with house-made tomato jam, feta, and yogurt on fresh flatbread.

Swanky Purple Café and Wine Bar, with locations in Bellevue, Seattle, Kirkland and Woodinville, refreshed attendees' palates with an impossibly light and tasty roasted Chioggia beet salad, garnished with a cloud of mint yogurt mousse and topped with pistachio crumble.

Barking Frog at Willows Lodge, known for its Northwest cuisine and use of the freshest local ingredients, is one of Woodinville's most beloved food-lovers' destinations. At SWFE, chef Bobby Moore did not disappoint, preparing a remarkably sophisticated and well-balanced bite: tender braised boneless beef short ribs on a subtly sweet parsnip and celeriac soup, garnished with truffle gremolata.

12 Moons Asian Bistro, one of the restaurants at Snoqualmie Casino, delighted attendees with a spicy tuna roll with crisp English cucumber, topped with pleasantly salty flying fish roe.

Copperleaf Restaurant & Bar, known for its delicious, sustainable local cuisine, proved its commitment to taste and presentation as well with its tantalizing sweet-and-salty SWFE bite: a disc of Anderson Ranch's lamb rillette atop crisp pretzel bread with a sweet, zingy dab of preserved apricot mustard.

Over 30 outstanding Oregon wine producers took the spotlight at the Seattle Wine and Food Experience, including winemaker R. Stuart & Co. from McMinnville, south of Portland, and RoxyAnn Winery in the Rogue Valley in the southern part of the state.

Oenophiles at SWFE enjoyed the privilege of tasting pinot noir, pinot gris and chardonnay from Lange Winery, which not only celebrated its 25^th anniversary last year, but also earned the coveted title of Wine & Spirits Magazine's 2012 Winery of the Year.

Sidetrack Distillery, epitomizing "farm to bottle" production, turns fresh berries from its Kent farm into rich, smooth liqueurs. At SWFE, Sidetrack offered unforgettable tastes of its Nocino walnut liqueur as well as its blueberry, blackberry and award-winning raspberry liqueurs.

If SWFE patrons were wondering why Rusty's Famous Cheesecake won the 2012 Best Desserts category for King 5's Best of Western Washington awards, one taste of the crème brûlée cheesecake explained everything, with its crisp, caramelized sugar top and the dense, creamy trademark Rusty's cheesecake beneath.

Dirty Oscar's Annex in Tacoma, soon to be featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," tempted SWFE attendees with its soft, gooey, upscale take on the humble, beloved s'more.

Wow Chocolates wowed the SWFE crowds with artisan bonbons almost too beautiful to eat. Inspired by their Venezuelan roots, the two sisters behind this Redmond-based company use Venezuelan chocolate, spices, tropical fruits and organic ingredients to handcraft their exquisite candies.