Used to be, August was the longest, most boring month. Hot, sticky, days; endless, dull evenings. Now we're in the midst of winter: cold. Wet days; long, dark nights. Dog days just the same. How to escape?

At Seattle Heights, the condo building that recently emerged from a two-year retrofit with all new windows and a new paint job, they're basically friendly toward the resident dog population, even a separate entrance for pooches. But what is one to make of the sign in the lobby admonishing dogs to leave by the north exit? Do they really think dogs can read? And if they can, that they know which way north lies? More doggy news shortly. First, well, this is a restaurant column after all, so let's go to dinner.

Africa doesn't leap to mind as a hotbed of culinary delight, does it? But look around: Across Capitol Hill and into the Rainier Valley you'll find one Ethiopian cafe after another, where contented diners of all colors are mopping their tefs and wats with hunks of injira. And right here in Belltown we have Seattle's only Senegalese restaurant, Afrikando.

West African cuisine as served here shows the influence of its French colonizers. Jacques Martin Sarr arrived in Seattle in 1991 and opened Afrikando five years later. It's an unpretentious, relaxed place, decorated with African prints and fanciful figurines snipped from colorful tin cans. Sarr, tall and thin, handles the kitchen chores with dispatch, then settles himself onto the couch to watch an episode of Cops! on the big-screen TV. He knows his flavors, that's for sure. Debe, a shoulder steak of lamb rubbed with spices and grilled, is served over a fragrant couscous topped with spicy, mustard-flavored onion sauce and a beautifully dressed salad of field greens. Thiebu Djen, described as the Senegalese national dish, is a halibut steak simmered in tomato sauce and served with eggplant, carrots, cassava and cabbage over basmati rice. What lifts both dishes out of the ordinary are the dabs of habanera-style hot sauces on the fish and the meat.

Beverage choices are limited, as Sarr, a Muslim, didn't serve alcohol at all until recently. I tried all three of the homemade drinks: zurik, yogurt sweetened with pineapple; bissap, a deep purple concoction made with hibiscus and fresh mint; and a refreshing yellow-green drink flavored with ginger that reminded me why ginger beer used to be popular. It had real zing to it. And that's what Afrikando offers: nothing fancy, just authentic and zesty.

Time now for our bartender-of-the-month citation. Kudos to Sarah Forbes at Barocho for her carefully made mojito. Baccardi rum, muddled limes, sweet and sour mix, soda, and a large handful of fresh mint leaves.

It's a friendly space, that bar at Barocho. Relaxed, unhurried. And dog-friendly, of course. Rachel Ray was on one TV, making arugula salad, while the Sonics were dribbling away on another. In a waiting area adjacent to the bar, on a red leather banquette, sat a Weimaraner named Jack. Jack's owner was at the bar, drinking a Stella. The house dog is a chocolate Labrador retriever named Mocha whose countenance graces the cover of the ambitious wine list: 18 vintages of Grgich Hills, for example, and several magnums of Stag's Leap cabernet.

Speaking of wine lists, congratulations are in order for Cascadia, one of only three Seattle winners of the accolade "Restaurant of Ultimate Distinction" awarded by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. (The fancy wine mags have truly bizarre designations, don't they?) The wine list offers 450 selections, with some 6,000 bottles in inventory, presided over by Jeffrey Dorgan. After 19 years as a waiter at the Space Needle, and a stint as operations manager at Jitterbug, Dorgan landed at Cascadia, put himself through an introductory Master Sommelier course, and was promoted to wine and spirits director shortly thereafter. He'll be keeping a closer eye on all those bottles now that he's moved into the McGuire. "Love living in Belltown," he says.

Rant: Sunday night at Wasabi Bistro. Live jazz. Three guitars, a pan flute. Fairly crowded, several groups of six and eight diners and drinkers. Standing room only at the bar. Closest to the band, a vacant table, four chairs, covered with detritus: dirty plates, napkins, glassware. You'd think, wouldn't you, that someone would at the very least clear the table. The hostess, surveying the floor, picks up a napkin. A cocktailer and a dinner server pass by, carrying orders to customers at a neighboring table, and ignore the mess completely. Another cocktailer swoops down on the table ... and removes one glass. After half-an-hour a busser shows up, loads dirty dishes and silverware onto a tray and disappears. Glassware and napkins remain behind. No one seems to be in charge, no one cares, and after 45 minutes, the table is still not reset. The band plays on, tunelessly.

Crumbs: Isabella, shut down for a few weeks now in a landlord-tenant dispute, will reopen shortly as a live-music venue ... Torero seems to be struggling, offering free snacks at the bar along with deeply discounted drinks during virtually all-night Happy Hours, but to no avail. When it comes to south-of-the-border formula fare, Belltown just ain't Burien. ... The Belltown is about to change once again, though it's not clear just what its next incarnation will be. Chef Paul Precaido is moving to Washington, DC, and the landlord, Brooke Barnes, has little interest in actually running a restaurant. So he's turning the place over to two restaurateurs from Florida who want to "upgrade," always a tricky proposition for a historic building. ... The new tenants of the building at the corner of First and Battery don't seem to be in any hurry with their remodel. The name on their application for a liquor license says Volta, but that's not likely to stick. ... Persian  dinners at the Cherry Street Bistro on First seem off to a slow start but merit closer attention, given the dearth of Middle Eastern cuisine around town. Four menu items: two chicken, two vegetarian and a nightly special, Tuesday through Friday. The recipes are from owner Ali Gambori's mother

Messenger restaurant reviewer Ronald Holden welcomes news and comments from foodies and feeders alike. Additional dispatches on his weblog, www.cornichon.org.

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