Mojito Cafe on Western (NB?) Having managed to place all the other bars, I realized I still hadn't placed or reviewed the second Mojito, even though it's notably more than a year old. So anyway, here's my review. It's not the old Mojito, that delightful little place off Lake City Way. Instead, it's the Mojito made in every way grand, bigger, louder, fancier, more popular. It was packed the night we went, so that we barely managed to get seats...
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Ravenna Pub (NB 45) Just across the rainy street from World Beat Cafe was a near opposite bar. Where WBC was new, it was lived in. Where WBC was obsequious, it was casual. And where WBC was obviously trying to be something, the Ravenna Pub was just being. It was pretty dark inside, because there was minimal lighting, and there were a lot of tables that didn't have many people at them. A few sat around the edges, drinking...
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Teddy's (NB 46) Named after Teddy Roosevelt, and located in Roosevelt, this used to be just a beer/wine place that I visited a few times with people from work. But a while ago they got their liquor license, and now it's a happening place. Before, there would be tables with people hanging out, and a few guys at the bar, but it wouldn't be too crazy. Now, or at least on the night we were there, after hitting...
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Voila! (NB 47) It was strange and yet so very familiar, as I waited in front of the bookstore for Brandon to pull up, and there was Bridgit in the passenger seat. Deja vu, really. And I sat, and we all said hi, and off we went, looking for bars. Bridgit had one she wanted to hit, but there was another I suggested, along the way, which was Voila!, and so that was the first we went to....
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Via Tribunali (NB 48) We parked not very far at all from this new bar, just around the corner, which location would turn out later to be rather fortunate. The front of Via Tribunali doesn't look like much--you would think it was the multi-paned glass door of a garage, able to raise and lower with ease, and you'd be right. The space used to house a repair show, some time ago, and the door is still there. Just inside...
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The Six Arms (NB 49) And our third bar was this, the Six Arms. They were once just a tavern, only possessed of wine and beer, but have since, as with so many other places, made the leap to a full bar. Part of the McMennamin's chain of Northwest Eateries, the Six Arms was perhaps the weakest spot of the night. No, wait, not perhaps. Again, there was a crowd, though as the Six Arms is rather large, it wasn't...
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Hi Life (NB 50) From the people who brought us the Jitterbug, the Five Spot, Endolyne Joe's (which we haven't been to even though it's more than a year old) and Brandon's least favorite place of all time, Atlas Foods, comes their newest establishment, the Hi Life. Located in the husk of what was once the Ballard Firehouse, a bar I don't miss at all, it's a vast improvement. The big empty space has now been converted, with restaurant...
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Fox Sports Grill (NB 51) It's funny how things change over the long course of time that I've been at this. Once, a long time, like say in my first hundred bars, I would have really liked the Fox Sports Grill (FSG). But now, I think it's kind of a pit of despair. Located in the hollowed out corpse of Planet Hollywood, FSG was not really at all what we thought it would be. I had pictured a place with...
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XO Bistro (NB 52) There used to be a place called Cassis which was apparently much beloved of various persons, about whom I cannot speak. But I can speak about Cassis, and I did, in my review of it. To sum up, the place wasn't bad, but wasn't great, and then was very rude and stupid in the end. Plus, they were painfully overpriced, drink wise. Now they're gone, and it's good. In their place has risen the delightful...
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Medin's Ravioli Station (NB 53) This one was entirely an accident. This little restaurant has been a few blocks from my house for about 5 years now, and we've always gone by it without ever going in. Finally, someone decided they wanted to have some ravioli, so we went. It turned out they have a little bar, so it was very serendipitous. The bar is small, as noted, with a little counter that has about 6 or 8 stools, and...
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