I have visited Prelude once a year for the last five years as part of our family's annual holiday pilgrimage to the Nutcracker at McCaw Hall, and I regret to say this will be the last year for the dinner if not the dance. I enjoy the experience, the people, and the somewhat frenetic atmosphere of the place, but after a steady decline the food now ranges from miserable to inedible. The quality has never been great, but given the limited menu and the built in time constraints of seating and serving between opening and curtain, one would imagine they could come up with some simple solid dishes that are both appealing and forgiving. Gluey old pasta and overdone but somehow greasy chicken is neither, particularly for the Seattle Center inflated price. The seasonal nature of the business and unique hours might be part of the problem; most of the staff seemed new and not well acquainted with the facility in spite of their enthusiasm. I noticed a number of complimentary dishes and beverages served around us as apologies. Neither of the hosts could operate their computer, our server was not aware there was a kids' menu, wine was served in glasses still hot from the dishwasher, and our table was zealously cleared after the appetizer so that when the entrees arrived we had nothing to use to eat them. As it turned out, this hardly mattered since after waiting for the table to be re-set no one ate their dinners after a few test bites. The one advantage to enduring this experience is the ability to order drinks and snacks for intermission ahead of time and return to the same table to enjoy them without waiting in line. (One can also do this at any of the bars.) I was dubious about the success of this experiment but our champagne and sugar cookies were indeed waiting for us at intermission. Not the healthiest of dinners, but it was edible.