Rikki Rikki in Kirkland  (425) 828-0707  www.rikkirikki.com

Rikki Rikki in Kirkland is one of a few places on the East side that serves a luscious bento for dinner or lunch. These bentos feature chicken teriyaki, tempura, a California roll or slices of sashimi, miso soup and pieces of nigiri sushi, depending on the one you order. The one we sampled included light and crisp tempura batter on vegetables and shrimp, tender pieces of chicken and top-rate slices of sashimi and sushi. The dinner menu includes gourmet bentos starting at around $16. For lunch, simpler bentos featuring Mandarin orange chicken, black pepper beef and other seasonal ingredients cost around $10. They are some of the most popular items on the noontime menu. Rikki Rikki will prepare the bentos for takeout as well. The chefs change the ingredients seasonally to offer diners the tastiest mix in their boxed lunches.

Photo by CC Yaguchi

I Love Sushi in Lake Bellevue  (425) 455-9090  www.ilovesushi.com

I Love Sushi in Lake Bellevue has delicious boxed lunches for takeout that are well suited to large corporate events or small gatherings of friends. Executive Chef Masa Nakashima and his crew of six Japanese chefs ask that you order at least 24 hours in advance. You can view the bentos on the restaurant’s website: http://lakebellevue.ilovesushi.com/takeout.htm. For $15, you’ll receive a cut of deep-fried pork, a pork dumpling, baked egg, a grilled fish (we sampled some mouthwatering black cod), simmered seasonal vegetables and a rice dish. The rainbow trout, matsutake and bamboo we sampled were deliciously simmered in dashi. Taro root and gobo (burdock) rounded out a well-balanced, plentiful lunch. The right photo is Kyoto tryle “Ajisai” bento ($25)

Downtown Uwajimaya www.uwajimaya.com

The Chef Kenzo bento selection at Uwajimaya supermarket in the International District offers a little luxury in a box for lunch or dinner. The sushi connoisseur will appreciate the saba sushi bento, which features healthy, flavorful slabs of mackerel starting at a very reasonable $7.99. Other bentos include mouthwatering slices of black cod kasuzuke, shrimp scampi, succulent slices of porkbelly, pickled plum, baked egg, lotus root, squid filled with rice and much more. Even the more expensive bentos at Uwajimaya are a bargain. The Chef Kenzo bentos are all made daily in the supermarket’s kitchen using the freshest ingredients. Come by at lunchtime and get them while they’re hot.

Photo by CC Yaguchi

Cafe Soleil in Mukilteo (425) 493-1847  www.cafe-soleil.net

Cafe Soleil makes Euro-Japanese style bento selections for gatherings of all sizes. Try the teriyaki hamburger bento ($10), shrimp fry bento ($10) and Euro-Japanese deluxe bento ($18). Contact them in advance to place your order.