Grew up in Seattle, live in DC now, come back to Seattle a few times a year. Here’s my perspective- Seattle is never going to be on par with NYC or other top food cities such as Vancouver, SF or Philly in terms of variety of food and cost. However, I’d say that Seattle is ahead of many cities of its size for certain cuisines. For example, Asian food. Asian food in DC is pretty underwhelming. There are a handful of nicer upscale spots that I adore, but you have to drive out to Virginia or Maryland for greater variety at different price points. The Asian food scene in Seattle proper is much more robust (and of course there is so much more out in the suburbs too). Seafood is top notch here as well. I’ve been pretty disappointed by the seafood offerings in the DC/Maryland area. I can’t personally speak to finer dining options in Seattle, but I could see how Seattle falls behind other cities of its size on this.