This place is totally deck. Compared to it, almost all other bars are fin, even those in the totally deck Belltown area.
Confused? Allow me to make all clear.
We drove north from Kim's to stop in at the Twilight Exit, a bar located in the same block as Deano's and Oscar's II, the sorts of places where geeky white boys probably shouldn't go at night. But I had heard from a coworker that the Twilight Exit was different, and it was.
Actually, it was hipster central. Which is why I use deck (cool) and fin (over), since those are terms from the chortle worthy Hipster Handbook that just came out. But curiously, the Twilight Exit actually is pretty much a hipster place. They have bull's horns mounted behind the bar, lots of red lights, a sit down Ms Pac Man, the Sound of Music album jacket pinned on the wall and a coin op rust-felted pool table. Parti-colored hair, often unwashed and curiously styled, was plentiful. In short, hipster paradise, in the CD. Not what I expected at all.
The drinks were pretty good, and weren't too expensive. The place was pretty full for a Thursday, not quite packed, but definitely hopping. There were also a few older guys, working class types, hanging out on one side of the bar (near the Ms Pac Man) and we ended up sitting there.
They have cute staff, a good jukebox, and convenient bike racks out front. What's not to like? Other than the fact that it's a total hipster place, which could be either bad or good, depending on your mood. This night, it was pretty good. Another night, I might not be so sure.
Posted by Jason at March 04, 2003 10:52 PMFor the most part, you can't really go wrong with the Twilight.
When Stephen started the place a few years ago he didn't have enough money to keep more than a six pack of the few bottled beers he had on hand at a time and only had one or two kegs onsite.
Now the place has many tap beers, mixed drinks, surprisingly excellent food, and is in actual danger of being overrun with hipsters.
Granted, they are only there because it is a really freaking cool bar, so I can't blame them. And I love that they keep Stephen in business, but they go to show nothing is free. Avoid the Sunday Karaoke scene if you are offended as I tend to be by rock stars doing covers in shiny gold suits with groupies in tow. It is quite the spectacle if you are up for it, however.
Otherwise, when my feeble oldster bones make it out of the house there is usually room to sit and now there is even an outdoor area. It gets more packed later after my bedtime, or when I am too drunk to hate crowds anyway.
So far, the drug dealers and users just down the street keep away most of the annoying poser hipsters who can be found on Capitol Hill and in Belltown, so a more adventurous group tends to go there. I always go with friends, but have found other people there interesting enough to talk to, or at least be entertained by, most of the time.
That stretch of Madison is about to be redeveloped, with a new Safeway and other things coming in that will likely chase many of the losers off Madison. That is good news for those of us affected by the crackhead noise and danger, but may just open this hidden gem to the vapid Belltown crowd and spoil it for the rest of us.
I have been going there for the past year and you have summed it up perfectly. there are some hipster fucks there, but most of the people there are pretty damn cool. Dave is the shit (rides a specialized P.3)! There are shitloads of crackheads on your way there, but no biggy. They are pussies. The best place to go after riding all fuckin day I think. Its not going to be a lame time.
Posted by: tyler on March 26, 2004 01:15 AM