Best Capitol Hill meal for less than $50?

I get e-mail. Neighbor James writes:

I've got two friends that are getting married and moving to Capitol Hill after the first of the year. I’d like to gift them with something that will knock their collective ass off. I'd like to buy them dinner at the kind of place a native would take a date for a special occasion. I've looked at some places online and I'm thinking, "damn, dinner is EXPENSIVE in Seattle!" but what would YOU do for less than $50 and walking?

The thing that is gonna make your dream a challenge, James, is the wine. Romance without wine is a dinnner date home by 9. You need a place where you can score a cheap bottle. You also need a place that serves noodles. A good noodle joint typically has at least one entree priced under $15. And, of course, you want the food to be good, the service to be good 'nuf and the ambiance to be dark and mysterious. For me, cheap wine, relatively cheap plates, good experience and perfect dark and dirty lighting meant Machiavelli. But caveat: I haven't been there in two years. So, neighbors, what's your Machiavelli?