I'm not sure what language it would be, but I'm certain that in the thousands of tongues that are spoken on this globe, at least one would translate "Chandler's Crab House" as, Slowest Service Ever.

And I've had some slow service in 300-odd bars. I didn't think, for instance, that anything would outdo the Edgewater for slowness. I thought that would be somewhat less likely than the Pope joining us for a bar. But little did I know that Chandler's was waiting.

And waiting, apparently.

We sat out on the deck, because the bar was just totally packed. We were supposed to meet Melody at Chandler's, and that would get the group up to 10 people, so we needed the room. There were three tables outside that we pushed together, and there was also the largest bachelorette party ever. It was enormous, like 20 odd women. Which probably really isn't that big, in such party groups, but it seemed really big when it became impossible for any waiter to make it past them.

Eventually, cold form being outside and with no working heating units (the ladies had them all) we finally managed to get a manager to come over and take our drink order.

That was the last we saw of anyone for a while.

Except Melody, who joined us with her drink that she had ordered at the bar. It was good to see her, but she had a drink, and we didn't, and we weren't happy about that, none of us.

It took a long time to get our drinks. A very long time. They were seen, at the bar, by an expedition. But then they didn't turn up for a long time after. Like 5 more minutes, after they were all, every one of them, ready and sitting inside for we don't even know how long.

I'll say the drinks were pretty decent. With that much time, they should have been better, really.

And they brought an extra drink, which we hadn't ordered, and left it with us. It was pretty tasty, apparently, and it made the rounds. But they left it on the bill.

They left everything else on the bill, too. At full price. When we complained to our waiter (hurray, we finally had one!) he got the bonus drink taken off. Our waiter's name, by the way, was Aaron, and he was very nice. I'd have liked to have him from the first, because I think the drinks would have come rather quicker, but then, when the manager is working on your behalf, and the drinks still take forever, I guess there may be no hope.

They were busy, sure. But it was really unacceptable. About a half hour for a single round of drinks just to get to the table, is really not good. I'm not going back, because there's no reason.

Although I did like Aaron's fun attitude, as mentioned. I hope he looks at this and shows it to his mom, because he said she'd love to see his name on a website. So Aaron's mom, your son is a good guy.

Julie got the sponsorship, and was overcharged for it. But many thanks to her for picking it up in spite of the hardships.

It was also at Chandler's that Wolf and Bridgit set to haggling over bars. Bridgit had TGIFridays on her list, and it was one of the later bars, and then Wolf wanted ot pick up another, so he wanted Duke's, our next stop after Chandler's. Julie gracefully agreed to drop out of those two, and to just pick up the last two. And that seemed like it would be it.

So we hurried out of Chandler's, and didn't look back.

So in the last week, we've picked up 10,000 unique visitors. In the 5 1/2 months previous, we had 13,000.

This kind of unnerves me. It's a massive change. While I'm very happy for anyone at all to come and look at our site, some sort of barrier appears to have been crossed.

We've reached the level of weird little site to tell your friends about.

That makes me nervous. But thanks to everyone who comes here and laughs at or with us, as your own personal readings dictate. I'm happy for every one of you who appears.

So look around, read a few entries, come back and read us often. We're always drinking somewhere, so if you're close, drop us a line and come out for a drink or three.

But not all at once. I'm already pretty nervous.

(Jason's Note--I've discovered "nervous" is not the proper word, but rather, "anxious". So in all places where you read "nervous" instead read "anxious", etc. Many thanks to Mr. Snicket for clearing up the distinction between these two words. I'd change the text, but I'm against that, as I've noted before, so instead there's just this rather verbose note.)

We moved on to Duke's with great haste, eager to put Chandler's behind us. Brandon and I had been to the Duke's on Green Lake just the week before, and would in fact go to the Duke's on Alki the next day, so we're becoming something of Duke's experts.

This one seemed kind of small, but then, we just moved in and took over all available space. There was one booth that 4-5 people were always at, and about 6 seats at the bar, and there was some back and forth moving. But what was wonderful was that we arrived, we sat down, and the fast, friendly staff took our orders and immediately set about making our drinks, and within moments, we had them in front of us.

And the staff was friendly, and comprised mainly of cute guys, which Bridgit and I thought rather a good thing. After getting us our drinks, they all pretty much were busy with the real workings of a restaurant, and we didn't chat with them much although we did card them, but still, it was nice just to sit indoors, where it was warm, and the drinks were already there, and all that.

Perhaps it was just the contrast between bars, but Duke's did great for us, and I'd go back.

Wolf picked up the sponsorship to keep parity with Bridgit, as mentioned previous. And then we left, and immediately discovered that bridal parties are very common on Lake Union...

Just outside of Friday's we ran into the remains of another Bachelorette night, a tame one, really. The bride had a suck-for-a-buck t-shirt, but she was kind of dumpy, and while a few of our party consented to crunch off a LifeSaver for the aforementioned dollar, I think it was pity that motivated them.

We went inside and discovered that the only seating in the place large enough for us was the table just a moment earlier vacated by the bride and all her swell friends. The tables were a mess, all pushed together and covered with party game handouts, glasses, plastic baskets and the like, which we quickly moved to the far end of the vast table, since we didn't need all the space.

The staff was quick to serve us, which was good, but they took forever to actually clear the end tables, and even when they did they missed stuff, and since we miscounted and ended up with a couple people at those tables, it was annoying.

We ordered food (spendy appetizers that while tasty were not very value appropriate) and drinks that weren't much to mention, and also, Bridgit was overcome by her dessert craving, and chocolate stuff appeared at the table. Tasty, tasty chocolate stuff.

We ended up spending a lot of time at Friday's, and many of us would later return to use their restrooms, so I can't complain about them much, since this time spent was pretty much voluntary. Still, they weren't great, although I love the idea of individual nachos, each covered with their own toppings. But that's not enough to win me over fully.

Bridgit picked up her sponsorship for the night, maintaining her detente with Wolf, and it was all smooth sailing for Julie to pick up five in one night. Or so some might think.

Another place Brandon and I had visited a week before, but this locale was much better looking than it's sibling. Located just beneath and behind TGIF, there's a large restaurant/bar area downstairs, but they had nothing like seating enough for us. So we were recommended to go upstairs, where it turned out there was a smaller bar, a few tables, and a couch seating area that we very rapidly filled up. Comfy leather couches, no less.

We got drinks, and they were pretty much off the fancy bar menu, a tasty assortment of beverages that included a Strawberry Kazi (succulent) and which, including Spanish Coffee, necessitated the ordering of that fancy and possibly dangerous to make drink.

And further dessert appeared, some overwhelmingly chocolate dish that we all sampled and pronounced quite nice.

By this time we were supposed to meet Scott, Melody's husband, and we were also supposed to find a new bar 285, since the Emerald Star was just a mirage. We called to Siam, discovered they were closed, but hoped for the best at Azteca. Scott, upon being called, was informed to meet us at Siam due to some miscommunication, and after Julie picked up the sponsorship and we all moved on, hilarity ensued, with various walking groups, cars and missing persons, until finally, after much difficulty, and almost an hour later, we started out for bar 285.

The Lobo Saloon.

The Lobo Saloon, you say? What is this place, you ask? A crappy dive among dives, is the quickest answer.

Located within spitting distance of I-5 (and I'm willing to bet it's been spit on) the Lobo had a very large doorman who just wanted to come in and get a drink. I can understand, because he didn't have anything to do outside. It was a band night, but the band, Dypak, just plain sucked. They were punk, which isn't bad, but they were bad, loud, pointless punk, which is bad. They had a good drummer, though.

The bar was small, with the performance area in front, and pool table that was covered by a blue tarp near the bar. Other than the bar itself, there was no seating (there was a "show" remember) so we all pretty much had to stand. We arrived in seperate cars, and it turned out that Clarkie and Brandon and I were all in the same car, so that Clarkie went to get a drink, while Brandon and I were waiting for Julie in her own car to arrive.

Then Clarkie hands me a drink. And hands Brandon a drink. And says, out of the blue and very satisfied, that he was picking up bar 285.

And that was how the half way bar was snatched out of Julie's hands, before she even arrived at the bar.

I fled outside to avoid her utter destruction of Clarkie.

There was a little deck outside, where all the furniture that might normally be inside had been piled. I sat on a stack of chairs near a barbeque and was glad to be not quite as exposed to the awful wailing of the band. I drank and when I was done, I headed in.

The drinks were served in plastic cups, always a sign of class.

They had a really interested jukebox selection, and I'd have rather heard such music than the punk stylings of Dypak.

Everyone finished up and we hurried out, not so much eager to end the night as to just get the hell away from that shitty band. A cab pulled up to let a guy out, and he knew Scott and Melody, who were looking for a cab, and they chatted, and then he mooned us all while leaning in to talk to them before they pulled away. It was a strange and yet fitting end to the evening.

Clarkie stole the sponsorship, but that doesn't make it into the record books. It's all clean in the eyes of history.

This morning I got a call from Andy Savage at the End. I called him back and he asked me if we wanted to be on the show Thursday Morning at 8:10 or 8:15.

I said yes. So there it is.

The 570 Bars Quest will be on 107.7 The END.

Now this is a much bigger deal than the Ron & Don Show simply because this is more of our market. Rather than conservative talk radio, this is Alternative and Rock.

So I hope you will also listen to this interview and me.

I say

wOOt!!!

Type: Restaurant
Class: Average

This medium sized Spanish restaurant has a large lacquered wood bar and a small patio out back. We came here with Mel and she picked up this sponsorship and several others tonight. On the bar were large bowls with fresh fruit (oranges, lemons, limes) next to a fruit juicer. Fresh fruit with a drink is always a nice touch.

Our drinks were pretty good and in a large glass. They were priced at $4.50. Once we decided that we wanted to pay, we noticed that our bartender has dissapeared. We started to get annoyed, but then I discovered that the men’s room was occupied so I guess we could let the man pee. He was there all alone so with him gone the animals could easily have taken over the zoo, but instead everyone was very well behaved.

Over the bar is a large hutch with some Spanish musical instruments and lots of other little knickknacks. They had a large number of tequilas but no Porfidio. Over the doorway was a long string of chili lights and on the wall was a terrible painting of Spanish people having fun and playing instruments. Local art hung on the wall.

All in all, Bandelone was nice and utterly uninteresting. The crowd was a younger middle aged crowd and looked to be Eastlake locals. I give them 3 fresh squeezed Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Average

I don’t really know how to describe this place. It was all very odd to be honest. We walked in to the throbbing beats of the DJ and saw a bunch of people packed around the bar across from the door. The large restaurant portion was totally empty as was the attached coffee bar (with the comfy leather couch) on the other side.

There were a number of small crappy tables covered in paper and in various sets of use. One was mostly empty except for a full drink, another was still wet and dirty but devoid of glasses. The locals were all having a good time, especially this one particularly drunk and flirty blonde. It was a bit of a sausage fest in here, with the guy to girl ratio at about 5 to 1 and a quarter of the female population sitting with us. Mel even picked up this sponsorship to bolster her growing list of places. More women came in while we were sitting there but they were usually with guys. I suspect that this place totally rocks on the weekends.

The walls were each a different solid color. There were two circular white curtains hanging from the ceiling on either side of this 3D wall portrait of a Greek villa. It was kind of interesting. The drinks were $4.50 and decent. But what I really want to know is whether you can have a true Greek party here with the breaking of dishes and everything. I give the Porta 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Average

This large pizza place is done up in light wood and exposed brick. The bar is simply enormous, stretching from the back of the bar to the middle of the far side in a zig zag pattern. The bartender was nice enough and even managed to get an order of garlic bread in for Mel (or lovely and gracious sponsor) despite saying the kitchen had just closed.

In their drinks they use crushed ice, rather than ice cubes. I guess this is so that ice melts faster in the hopes that you won’t be able to taste the ABSOLUTELY TERRIBBLE well booze. It was just foul. They were strong, but it was one of those moments when you desperately wish that were not. Jason’s baby sized ice was crying but that is just because it hadn’t grown up yet.

The crowd is older and there were some locals, but mostly this is not the “hopping” place that the Porta Greek Taverna was. I want to be nice to them, but I just can’t ultimately do it. The drink was just that bad. Avoid the $4 well at all costs. Get beer, your pizza to go, or call your booze. I don’t know what they were pouring but it was just foul. I wonder if it had anything to do with the local water. Hmmm. Anyhow I give them 2 garlicy Martini Glasses out of 5, for their bread and demeanor.

-wOOt

We were going down to West Seattle on the odd chance that our friend Jim, who has often said he wanted to go out drinking with us, might come along. But we discover this will be difficult, as he's having a small barbeque with his roommates and a few friends, but they decide to postpone to come out to a bar, so we're off to the west side.

Salty's is the first bar, and the place where we might meet up with Jim and Co. It's on the east side of West Seattle, and looks out to the north-east. Right on the shore of Elliott Bay, it's got an incredible view, that much was obvious from the outside. After Brandon did one of his worst parking jobs ever (but who cares if he took up two spaces, the lot was almost empty) we went in and had a seat at the bar.

We were looking right at that view, and it was incredible. The water was so blue, the city across the bay just looked amazing, and the sunlight was bright and comfortable. The bar was bright, too, with all the windows to let in the view. It's not often that the bar, in this case a massive area that was just part of a really big establishment, gets a good view, but this was one of them. I could pick out the spot on Magnolia where Palisades, with an equally excellent view, was situated.

The service wasn't too quick, but they did tell us they'd be with us as they hurried past, which was nice of them. The place wasn't exactly packed, but it was pretty busy, and as big as it was, being packed would be something of an accomplishment. There were a lot of people seated at the back patio, and even at a few small tables located lower, just at the water level, on their own deck.

Our drinks arrived, and we drank. They weren't great, they weren't awful. The view was really the draw here, and it was a powerful draw indeed. We asked for our check, we paid for the reasonably priced drinks, we moved on.

And we called Jim, who said they weren't coming because they wanted to just start the barbeque. Which meant we had come all the way to West Seattle for nothing, but we still had a few bars to hit, and it would turn out to be for the best that it was just two people, instead of a group.

We cruised up to the tip of Alki, then started down on the west side where the beaches start, looking for the cluster of three bars that we still had to hit.

Parking a block from Christo's and Duke's, we stopped first in the former, because it was the furthest north. It was more of a high-end diner in appearance, although the bar looked much nicer than that, and I suppose at night, with candle light, it would all seem rather pleasant. The bartender made our drinks up quickly, and we sat and looked out the windows at the Sound, wondering if we should have taken a booth to get a better view. But the view wasn't so great anyway, so it didn't matter.

The drinks were pretty decent, the prices weren't outrageous, but there wasn't much to draw me back. We paid and left.

And so in 8 days we concluded the Duke's trifecta, with this establishment on Alki. We got outdoor seating, at a little table, the only empty one, good just for two (see, it was good that nobody else showed up) and sat appreciating the view. It was just across the street from Christo's, but the angle was better, and we were outside, and the sun was lowering in the west, and it was close to perfect.

We ordered our drinks, and because we know that Duke's has good chowder, we ordered some of that, too. Good, but damn expensive. Brandon got a sampler thing, and would have been happier to have done like me, and just gotten the standard Clam. It was very tasty, and didn't at all clash with my drink, although I thought it would. The drink wasn't anything special, but then, I sipped it, so it's hard to be completely certain about its overall strength.

The sun was setting fast, and as we finished with our drinks and Brandon started a cigarette, we turned to watch the sunset. I haven't watched one in a long while, and very seldom with the clarity that the beautiful day was presenting us. It was pretty much a perfect sunset, one we couldn't have seen if we were inside with others, so it was all to the good to be cancelled on.

And then the waitress came by to say that only the last table in the outdoor seating was smoking, so he couldn't smoke.

Stupid rules.

He held the cigarette outside the seating area and we finished and paid, and as we left, I noticed the guy at the smoking table wasn't even smoking. So his priviledge should have passed to us, or Brandon, rather. Oh, well. One bar left for the day.

The friendliest place on Alki, and the one where we actually got to talk with the bartender and wanted to, no less.

Eric the bartender was very talkative and friendly, and so we asked about the bar, how long it had been there, that sort of thing. They'd only had their full liquor licence for about a year, getting it after Duke's was granted one in defiance of previous policy to keep hard liquor off of Alki. And we told him about the quest, which he liked the idea of a lot, and brought over coworkers to hear about it, and they had all sorts of good questions to ask. They also told us that there was a new place, Bamboo, that would be opening very soon next door to them.

The drinks were pretty good, although I wouldn't have minded much what they were like, because I was having a good time hanging out at the Lighthouse. It's got a reasonably small bar area, and the restaurant located past it isn't all that huge either, but it was cozy, and the staff seemed to be having a great time there.

When we asked Eric what we owed, he said, "Whatever you think is fair." So we smiled, tipped him, and left, promising to return when we came down to hit Bamboo after it opens, and I'm surely going to do just that. The Lighthouse Grill was a great place.

It was Tuesday night, it was kind of late, and we wanted to hit a couple bars that would still be open. You wouldn't think that two bars at 11:30 would be a problem, but we've hit most of the usual suspects, so it's getting kind of tough.

The Flame Bar and Grill popped into my head, our only concern being that it closed for a while recently, and we were afraid it might do so again, more permanantly, and be replaced before we were done. Nothing is more annoying than having to hit the same bar, in a different incarnation, twice. But we decided to risk it, because we needed a bar.

And the Flame provided. They used to look a little nicer, before their closing and reopening. I think they decided to get a bit lower end, and it works. There's pool tables and pinball and there was bad karaoke, and the dozen or so patrons were all having their own good times playing pool or singing or drinking, as they liked. We went to the sunken bar, the bartender following us down there, and got our drinks, suffering through mediocre singers on bad songs while having our drinks.

They were pretty strong and flavorless, as if we were in a Chinese bar, and they weren't too pricey, so overall it was kind of satisfying. I'm still kind of concerned they'll close and reopen as something else, but at least they didn't suck.

Down the street, I realized, was another place, and we headed off to the end of the block to visit Jack's Roadhouse.

We wandered into Jack's and were ID'd by a guy who must have been the bouncer. Why they had one, I don't know, they weren't crazy, and the bartender could have ID'd us just as well. But it fit the Roadhouse motif, so who really cares?

And it was kind of a roadhouse, with a lot of wood and a slightly rough feel, but like a refined roadhouse, because it still all looked pretty nice. The bar was full, so we got a booth in the slightly lower window area, a booth with a big wooden table and pillar and with old style advertisments for various products. It was quaint.

Brandon went to get the drinks and chatted with the pretty attractive bartender Molly, who apparently doesn't pay much attention to her bar. She made me the worst drink I might ever have, not because she can't make a drink, but because she grabbed the gin instead of the vodka, and a gin and cranberry is just foul, foul, foul. Don't try one to find out, you'll regret it. Just take my word.

Brandon went up again to get a replacement. I didn't feel like moving. The new drink was pretty tasty, but then, almost anything would have been. It was sadly no stronger, which was the least I expected I'd get out of the deal. Oh, well.

We had apparently come in the back door, because while we were there, several people came in from some other door nearer to where the bouncer was stationed, and he carded them much more conveniently than us, who he had to walk over to to card.

There was a gigantic fish tank over the bar, which I suspect might house some aquatic beast bearing the name Jack, the Jack of the bar's sign being a sharklike animal.

We left and Brandon once again chatted with Molly, who I finally met, and who was very apologetic. Which was nice of her.

Type: Lounge
Class: Dive

There is not much to say about this place. It closes early (10PM every night, I think), it has a large crappy lounge and the drinks are strong, foul, and priced at $3. There was a large blue collar guy who was obviously plastered talking at one of the employees who was eating. He was obviously a regular as the employee knew him by name. The employee’s skills were mighty. He paid just enough attention to the guy that he would go on and on and not feel slighted, but not enough that the guy tried to get too friendly.

There is a large karaoke stage in the back half of the bar. They must stay open later some days, it occurs to me now, but they closed at 10 on a Saturday, so god only knows when they stay open. There is a large projection screen TV and the bar itself was black speckled marble. All in all, dull. I give Siam 1 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5 since the staff was attentive and seemed nice enough.

Oh, sorry about this, but this sponsorship goes to Glen.

-wOOt

Type: Denny’s
Class: Average

The lounge is small. It is an Azteca so there were free chips. Efren was our bartender. The drink was fine and priced at $3.50. Das ist alles.

I give it 2 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Lounge
Class: Midscale

This large steakhouse is done up in dark wood with a basic, but not overdone, steakhouse motif. There are not large heads of steer on the walls or pictures of the ranchers with their cows. This all makes me very happy. They decided not to shop from the steakhouse catalog when designing their place.

We chatted with the bartender about a number of things, but most especially about the Black Orchid drink. It is blackberry brandy and lime juice. It sounds foul and the bartender said that it was in fact just that. Bruce, our bartender, is a 20 year vet and has been here for 4 of them (since Sam’s opened.) He poured a good drink which Glen sponsored. Their happy hour food specials were excellent and priced nicely (for happy hour).

The most notable thing about Sam’s though were the people. The crowd in the bar was mostly younger and we got chatting about the quest with friends of Bruce (who were all notable younger than he was.) While we were talking about it, Penny, a cute Asian girl not involved in the conversation looked over and said, “you guys were on the radio this morning.” “Why yes we were.” How freakin’ weird. Someone actually remembered it and recognized us. We were cool about it until we got outside where we started hooting and hollering like idiots. It was very exciting.

I liked Sam’s. It is a place to come for a quiet drink with friends in a nice no pressure atmosphere. There is not much people watching, but the place is cozy, the drinks are good, and the happy hour food is tasty. I give Sam’s 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

It's small, it's near the U, it's the first Red Robin in the country. I knew two of these three facts, but not the third.

There's the stupidest parking lot ever. Nobody likes the parking lot there, because it's sloped and badly laid out. Plus, there's never any parking. Nobody at all likes the parking lot. Stupid, stupid parking lot.

Inside, it's a Red Robin, only older. We got the story from the bartender, that the founder bought the place in the late '60s, as a bar, and turned it into the first of the famous chain. The original Red Robin is still posted just inside the door, on the old wall of the place, and he's got a joint in his wing-hand thing. He's totally stoned.

The drinks sucked ass here. They all (without exception, and Bridgit who was with us got the high-end Margarita) tasted shitty. We've decided since that it was the water, because several other Eastlake bars have the same shitty drink taste problem.

The bartender was very slow to get us our drinks, the drinks tasted terrible and weren't all that strong, failing to make up for it. It took a while to get our bill, as well. The only good part about the place was finding out it was the first of the Red Robins, as we were told way back at bar 109, Red Robin on the waterfront.

Bridgit picked up the sponsorship, showing extreme bravery after how terrible the bar was, and we thank her for it.

We crossed the street from the stupid, stupid parking lot and the shitty, shitty tasting drinks, and entered Romio's. The three of us, Brandon, Bridgit and I, sat at the bar and ordered our drinks. They were much better than across the street, and we sat and sipped and looked over the menu.

We also noticed the coasters had various bits of art work on them. Just typical crappy doodly sketches, but they were in matched pairs. We looked in all the piles of them and found match after match, except for the poor witch, possessing no match.

The waitress revealed it had been very slow the day before, and they had played memory with the cards they had made. It was terribly cute of them, and Bridgit and I (though not Brandon) were charmed.

Then we were done, and it was time to go. Bridgit picked up the sponsorship. On the way out she thought about taking a cherry tomato from their bar, a thought which I was also having, and so I reached out and touched one of the cherry tomatoes, and discovered I wouldn't give them to an enemy. They were totally nasty. Don't get a side salad late in the day.

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

This small, but nice restaurant smells great. Walking in you are greeted by the smells that say, come on in, sit down, have something to eat. They have a small 5 person bar which is really more of a waiting area than a place to hang out.

Julia poured us some pretty good drinks and then we handed her our card. She says, “I thought it was you guys. I heard you on the radio yesterday.” Well wOOt, freakin’ wOOt for us. God damn it. There was some doubt as to whether we were paying for these drinks but it turned out we weren’t. She says, “Well I guess it’s a good thing I mixed them strong.”

Julia was really nice. She pointed out the local art on the walls, which were incredibly realistic paintings, and she had no idea who we were talking about when we mentioned the bartender from the Courtyard by Marriott who used to work here (like 6-8 months ago.)

While I can’t comment on the food first hand it smelled great and was reasonable priced. The drinks were good and Julia was incredibly friendly, even before she confirmed who we were. It is a good looking place and would make a good date place. It is not much for just hanging out, but still worth a look see. I give the Firefly 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Nightspot
Class: Average

While it is really a restaurant, it is about as close as you are going to get to finding a nightspot in Madison Park. It was packed when we got there and all we wanted was a quick drink and to get out. The crowd was young and was everyone looking at everyone else and chatting and drinking. It is done up in a fairly typical Mexican restaurant style but with a little bit of flare. There was couch seating in one portion of the restaurant and lots of interesting little touches (like the giant cactus.)

We ordered shots of Calvadores (as recommended by Tito(?) from the Luau.) It was not all that. The $6.25 shot rang up as $7.50 and the bartender talked me into taking a $7.50 shot of the stuff rather than futzing with the computer to make it ring up right. I wish I had fought more but the place was just crazy. I got up sold for convenience and I wish I hadn’t.

The bartender also chided me for not saying please. I believe everyone should have manners, but I don’t appreciate getting razzed for brevity when there is a crowd behind me and I just want to drink and leave. I am told he is a great bartender, but lets just say these two incidents have set me against the Cactus and the bartender. I give them 2 Martini Glasses out of 5 since while I didn’t care for them, they probably don’t deserve lower.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

The restaurant portion was packed with diners. The bar area, located up a narrow set of stairs, was utterly empty. We ordered drinks. I tried to go out onto the small balcony with the view of Lake Washington, but the door was locked.

The music was a melancholy triphoppy jazz. A particular piece they played reminded me of Blade Runner. There are Rubenesque paintings around the place and some very attractive staff.

One of the waiters opened the balcony for me by picking up the wooden dowel that was keeping the door closed. I hate being fooled by simplistic technology. Oh well.

Jeanina was our bartender and poured our no well having, $5 + tax, average drinks. I give Sostanza a flat 3 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Lounge
Class: Midscale

This is the closest you are going to get to an actual bar this far from “civilization.” It is located down Lake Washington Ave, almost to I-90 and on Lake Washington. I was running low on gas, driving through unlit areas, on strange twisty roads. It was a little disconcerting. The only thing the drive was missing was thick fog and the sounds of wolves howling in the background.

The bar area has a bronze statue of a guy leaning against one of the center tables. The bar itself is a medium beaten copper affair with lots of glass shelves and beer taps. The staff was friendly, but seemed more interested in chatting with themselves than in entertaining the customers. They were attentive, but there was little chance of them lingering around.

Wolf picked up this $4.50 sponsorship. The drinks were fine, but they were very tall and thus diluted. The ginger ale came out of a bottle which is always a good sign. The bartender brought me an ashtray without my having to ask for it, which is also a good sign.

The décor leaves a little to be desired as there are tons of pictures of fish and fish related items. There are 2 large fish tanks by the door and the restaurant in the back has a view of the docks. It was a pretty nice place for being out in the middle of nowhere and choosing a fish theme.

While I would not seek this place out, I would recommend it if you are in the area. I give it an even 3 Martini Glasses, but since it is in the middle of nowhere you are almost assuredly never going to have a reason to come all the way out here.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Upscale

Located in a converted warehouse, it has enormous ceilings, and enormous chandeliers to fill the space. There is a long marble bar with a muted TV at one end and an enormous 4 gallon bottle of wine on display. We got calamari to eat, which was highly inferior to what we got at the Met. God, I think it is time to go back to the Met and get some more of their excellent Calamari.

The crowd here is significantly older and well to do. It has a good view of Lake Washington and the docks here, but is in every way inferior to the Daniel’s Broiler on Lake Union (with the possible exception being parking.)

The weirdest part about this place is that they served the whiskey in a short rocks glass and the vodka in a tall water glass. It was very strange. Our $5.50 drinks and calamari were bought by our sponsor extraordinaire, Wolf. I give this Daniel’s 2 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5, not for anything they did wrong, but for the lack of anything other than the décor which was at all interesting.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

Gitano used to be the Gypsy Rose but it is now owned by an Argentinean man who is also the chef. We were served by the loveliest blonde with an incredible sense of style. Karin was wearing a black dress (I believe) with a dark maroon scarf that was twined around her neck once then tossed over her shoulder. A simple but elegant gold necklace and green stone pendent hung conspicuously below her neck. It was just a great look.

The bar is a short grey slate affair and had a very solid feel to it. They do not have well booze and thus I was given a Jack and Coke by default. The walls are a multitude of solid colors and real pillar candles stand on the bar. There is not a lot of seating, but you should come and eat here. Soon. We ordered one of the appetizers and all I can say is that the plate was literally licked clean by the time we were done. It was so good.

And so we come to my only complaint about Gitano. The well drink was $6.50 plus tax and was not the most incredible Gin & Tonic that I have ever had. This is the first time since the 727 (bar 21) that we have paid this much for a non-specialty drink. I wish I could say that it didn’t affect us, but if Gitano reads this review then take this advice: The really best places (the Met, Elliott’s, Wild Ginger) have a $4 well (maybe even $5), with not terrible booze. I recommend this. Of course their wine list looked reasonable so you might just want to go in that direction. Otherwise we loved this place. I give them 4 Martini Glasses out of 5.

Oh, and I can not stress enough how much we appreciate Wolf’s Sponsorship of Gitano.

-wOOt

It was a birthday pub crawl (mine) that brought me here the last time I was in the bar, and it was another one that brought me here for the quest. A gent by the name of Jeff, who I'd only met once before and very briefly, was going out for his birthday to four bars, and we'd not been to the first couple, so we were joining in.

There was a whole crew in the Alibi Room, a small-ish place located off Post Alley. It has windows all along one side looking out to the Sound, a long bar, and tables in between. And as always, it was beastly hot in the place, even though the weather outside wasn't the best.

A whole crew had appeared, friends of Jeff and friends of friends. Many of them are part of Danielle's crew, which continues even in her absence. And our group was me and Brandon and Clara and Clarkie.

Jeff showed up a bit after we did, a really good looking guy in a tux for his birthday, which was kind of odd, but it was an odd sort of grouping. A lot of grad students, really. Karol was one of them, who would come out to Perry Ko's with us the next day, and we all kind of hung out and talked and nibbled and drank.

It was a good time, just sitting and meeting some of the bigger crew, but I was supposed to be meeting Chris at the Capitol Club (the second Pub Crawl bar) at nine, and we were running late, so we ducked out at what seemed a good time, and coincidentally so did everyone else, all of done at once.

The prices weren't too high, and the drinks were pretty tasty. I rather like having an occasional drink at the Alibi Room, and I'll have one there again. It's cozy, really, a dimly lit haven of quiet bustle in Downtown, and even if it holds heat like bricks at the foot of a bed (historic reference, watch out), it's still a good place.

Jeff was very interested in the quest, and kind of hung out at my end of the table, and there was much conversing before we all departed, to make our way in a great many vehicles to the next bar.

The Capitol Club was also first visited by me on a birthday crawl (my friend Jim's), and was just as pleasant the first time. The bar is upstairs, and it's very nice looking, with small tables, slate slabs for the bars, and comfortable pillowed couches around the edge of the room. The people always look like they have a little bit more money than you do, but like they're okay with that, and you should be too. The drinks are kind of spendy, but not too weak to bother with.

The crew arrived in bits and pieces, and Chris was already there, so we ended up getting a table, Clarkie, Brandon, Chris and I, a bit apart from the other crawlers. This was, then, the effective end of my night out with them, because I wasn't going to any more bars. I hear they went to two others and had an after bit, which is too bad, cause I liked hanging out and was sorry to miss it.

I ordered a specialty drink, a Casbah, and was greatly pleased with it, because it was just delicious, made with Pomegranate juice and mandarin vodka. It was kind of expensive, but so much better than a well drink would have been that I didn't care.

We drank up, Chris and I, and after I said my goodbyes to the birthday boy Jeff we left, leaving Brandon, Clarkie and Clara to continue on.

I like the Capitol Club well enough, but it's a bit to pricey for me to just hit it regularly. The Casbah was incredible though, and I highly recommend it for those with the cash to toss around.

It's been a while since we mentioned any dead bars, so now I'm going to. We've had three that went pretty much silently by, the first was the Poor Italian Cafe and Corner Bar (#131), which was no great loss. Not even, really, a small loss.

A couple months ago, we lost Avenue One (#137). This was a very nice bar indeed, with a staff that was friendly, and a good look, but apparently it just didn't work out. There was a touching message posted on the door telling people about it, and we're sorry to see them go.

The last one is a real blow, with Lush Life (#147) suffering a sad and divorce related demise. Although a new bar is expected to open in January, I don't know whether it will match the charm of the previous incarnation. Perhaps more importantly, I don't know whether it will retain the former liquor license, or whether we'll have to drink there again, in what would be, I think, a very weird experience. Like finding new people living in a friend's house that you had visited. Odd.

Still, only 5 total that we know of in 6 months is pretty good. A few more have died and/or been replaced before we visited them, but that's alright. We didn't know them, and we're not too sad about their loss.

A bowling alley who's existance I hadn't even suspected (although it turns out I've been here once before, already drunk and meeting people), the AMF is a lonely little place. At least, it was at 3 on a Sunday, but then, what bar isn't lonely at that time?

Clarkie, Brandon and I went in to the first of four bars of the day. There weren't many people bowling, and the bar was a tiny space behind the almost equally small restaurant. The bartender and a guy friend were shooting darts (she would eventually win by a single point) but she broke away to make us our drinks, which were not bad in the taste department and pretty strong. They worked out to be about 3.75, which was a perfectly decent price, and we slurped them down with some haste, because we had other bars to hit and wanted to make an early day of it.

It's a bowling alley, there's no reason to go back for a drink. Bowling, maybe, because it looks like there may be a lane available.

An Ethiopian restaurant in the shadow of Beacon Hill, Cafe Ibex made me sad we had eaten Chinese food just earlier. I wanted to get their food, because the smell was totally enticing.

Instead, as always, we got drink.

The waitress didn't speak much English, and the bartender wasn't very experienced (they just got their license) but it was good. It was fun. My drink was pretty strong, and Brandon got his whiskey and 7 in seperate cups, the whiskey in a tiny rocks glass, the 7-Up in a plastic cup to accompany it. It was strange, it was wonderful. All the staff was actually Ethiopian, and so were most of the few patrons, and it was exotic and wonderful and I was quite happy with the visit.

The Cafe Ibex also has the biggest restroom I've seen for such a relatively small restaurant.

The food, which we observed at a distance, looks very tasty.

Clarkie picked up the sponsorship, while drinking an enormous glass of club soda.

Type: Lounge
Class: Upscale

This is easily one of the most comfortable lounges in the city. There are lots of couches and comfy chairs in the back that are perfect for lounging. The entire place is very stylish, but in a fashion that is a little too pre-planned to be perfect. The look is definitely sculpted and I couldn’t help but get the feeling that there are other Wolfgang Puck’s that look exactly like this one, across the country. I don’t know if I should mark them down for that, but I guess if it is good enough for Red Robin and Azteca, it should be good enough for Wolfgang Puck :)

The look is very art deco. Everything is a strange mix of colored triangles and circles. The lights are 4 sided triangles (you mean a pyramid, don’t you? Uhh, yeah.) Our bartender was friendly but she was a little flighty and went from one thing to next with no real attention given to anything in particular.

The booze seemed to be almost an afterthought. There was a small set of shelves of a small cabinet off to one side that had all of the extra. It was very haphazard looking. While very comfortable, it is still not exactly the type of place you are going to come with your friends to just hang out. Of course, as with Morton’s, this is a great place to take someone who you don’t want to be seen with (just make sure you sit in the back).

-wOOt

Type: Lounge
Class: Midscale

The service was slow. So very, very, very, slow. They screwed up Jason’s happy hour food order and took forever to get our drinks. Their bar area was seriously understaffed considering the crowd and I don’t even think our waitress was only working this area. I don’t explicitly blame her, but if I had known how long it was going to take I would have just gone to the bar and ordered everything right there.

There was a women next to us who spent the entire evening talking on the cell phone. The disconcerting part was that she was using a very small ear piece and it almost felt like she was eating dinner with someone 500 miles away.

The crowd here was very young and the place was packed. While I am panning this place on service and the strength of the $4.50 drinks, they do get good marks for having a hell of a happy hour food special (if it actually arrives) and the strength of their crowd. As such it will even out to a flat, … nah, I give 2 and half Martini glasses out of 5. That feels better.

My advice. Go to Harborside. Better parking, better view, more attractive staff.

-wOOt

A Beacon Hill institution, and one with a very evident local crowd, Perry Ko's was easy to miss. Not because of it's placement, it's on a pretty major corner, but because the sign for Perry Ko's is at one end, and the entrance, under a different sign, a bit further down. So as has happened before, Brandon and Clarkie and I pretty much circled the building before entering.

We were to meet Karol here, who we had met the night before at the birthday pub crawl, and who had told us she lived just across the street, so she'd stop in to hang out. We got there a bit before her, though, and managed with some effort to get our drinks, because it was unclear which of the staff were actually working, and if anyone was working the floor. In fact, the waitress person got off her shift about 5 minutes later, moments before Karol arrived, so while we had drinks, she ended up sitting around for a good several minutes before having to order at the bar.

It's a strange combination of Chinese bar (strong drinks) and neighborhood hang out (far more locals than you'll usually see in a Chinese bars, and obviously the hanging out types.) The crowd was mostly older people, or at least older than us. The cranberry juice, as Karol later pointed out, was very, very sweet, like Kool-Aid, and that was another difference from a normal Chinese bar, where the drinks are almost flavorlessly bland.

We chatted a good while, with our guest struggling vainly to wake up my very atrophied social conscience. Really, I agree with just about everything she said, I just can't be bothered at the present time. Karol was very idealistic, and I liked that about her, but I can't make myself be that way any longer. If I ever was that way, which I'm not sure about.

And after our talk, and finishing our drinks, we still had one more bar to go to, and she had more prep work for her forthcoming teaching job to do, so we parted ways after having a good time.

Perry Ko's is a bit too local for me (since I'm not a local, or anything) but it's still a very nice place.

Who thought it would be such a pain? We just needed to pick up the four bars in Beacon Hill, and then we'd be at 299, all ready for Bar 300 the next day. But no, it couldn't be that easy. The first was simple, and then we quickly realized, with mounting hope, that all four were very close to one another. But at the second bar, trouble struck.

It was called House of Teriyaki on our list, but in person, it's something like Andy's Chinese Food. Whoever this Andy character is, he apparently doesn't speak English, because no one at work at the place could. So although there was a full bar not fifteen feet from us, we couldn't get at any of the succulent liquor, because no one there knew Vodka from Whiskey.

So we had Chinese food.

Cafe Ibex, Perry Ko's, easy.

And then we needed a fourth bar.

We thought to go pick up the waterfront World Trade Center, which was listed, and which would finish off the waterfront. But they don't have a regular bar, only one whenever the conventioneers there want one. Maybe all day and all night (the law permitting) for a great many days. But not, still, a regular bar.

So no use.

Then I thought we could pick up a bar at Pioneer Square, where several restaurants with bars lurk, and where the hour was such that they would all still be open. It wasn't even 6 pm, for god's sake.

Brandon thought there might be a full bar to be found across from Trattoria Mitchelli. There was not.

So we ended up at Aladdin. And how awful that turned out to be, you'll just have to read.

Our bartender in this empty place with just three people at the bar couldn't have been older than 22. And she coulnd't have been a bartender for long at all. Because when I ordered a Cosmo (a drink both pretty easy, and popular) she had to consult her handy bar guide to find out how to make it. And then she made it wrong. There was enough lime juice to drown a cat in the thing. Having taken three minutes to make it up, I wisely (?) decided to reject her offer to make me another, and just accept the drink for free.

It was terrible.

There's nothing more I want to say. Except that I don't trust young bartenders anymore. Give me an old, old woman any time. Their drinks may be awful, but at least they're all booze.

The Lani Kai is the restaurant and bar in Leilani Lanes, the worse one of the two bowling alleys in the North End of Seattle. It was bar 300, we had decided to have a bowling event, and we were getting three lanes and bowling some games.

We had a good crowd, Wolf, Shanda, Red, Clarkie, Trevor, Alan, Bridgit, Brandon and me, and Jeff was able to show up for the middle game of three.

The bar is dim, with a sunken area behind the bar that's also present at the Sundowner in Sunset Bowl. We had to come in and show our ID before Wolf could buy our drinks. The drinks were just peripheral, though, to the real activity: the bowling challenge.

Wolf and Shanda have a long running rivalry. Wolf usually triumphs. Today was really no great exception. Shanda wasn't on fire, although I think she beat him in the third game.

For the rest of us, it was just bowling, with a lot of smack talking, some pizza eating, some drinking, and so on. It was terribly good fun for all involved, even if most of us just plain can't bowl for shit. Trevor did have his best day ever, which is good.

My lane was the U Bookstore lane, featuring Alan who has some skills but not a very steady assortment of them, me who is wildly unstable, and Bridgit who isn't a good bowler. But I took second place of the ten bowlers in the second game, Alan did pretty good all three games, and Bridgit nearly doubled her score by the last game. She even got a strike, which is pretty good with a pink ball.

We went to pay, and Brandon had a coupon which the nice people of the bowling alley honored for all three lanes, saving us like 30 dollars. Alan picked up the U Bookstore lane. And then we discussed the possiblity of hitting another bar. Shanda, Red and Alan departed, though, so now it was just six of us, Jeff having left to work on his house after the middle game.

It was mentioned the DeLuxe had it's old Key Lime Pie recipe back (and it does, and many thanks to the thoughtful reader who brought it to our attention), so we decided to go there and then hit the Broadway Wok and Grill across the street.

The Bar 300 Sponsorship goes to Wolf, thusly, and that gives him two of the Hundreds so far.

It was pretty much unheard of for us to follow up any major bar with further drinking, but here we were, very satisfied with our bowling and pie. The place is pretty much a Chinese restaurant with attached bar of somewhat run down and divey quality, and the six of us, after a few errands, assembled for a drink. Only three of us actually drank, however, but as it was Brandon and me, it was sufficient.

The drinks were strong and flavorless, in this case very much strong, and the prices were pretty cheap, so there were no complaints in the drink category. With pie related joy still to bask in, the bar seemed a real treat. The waitress was friendly, too, and that's always a bonus.

Admittedly, with the cheaper and even stronger Jade Pagoda just a couple doors down, it's tough to compete, and the Broadway Wok and Grill would indeed lose that contest. But it was a decent place for a drink, and I have no real complaints.

Wolf picked up the sponsorship once more, and we thank him heartily. There was an unintentional attempt by Bridgit to seize the bar, since she was buying a CD when it was claimed by Wolf, but fortunately their rivalry has yet to come to blows, so all went well.

I'd never been a Key Lime Pie kind of guy before going to the DeLuxe Bar and Grill at the north end of Broadway. But we started going there years ago for drinks, and there was this big splash item on their menu about the pie, so we got a slice to split between three of us.

After one bite, no one wanted to split. We all wanted our own pie. And from then on, we had it.

Six months ago, give or take, a new head cook tampered with the recipe. He should be beaten about the head and shoulders for it. The new pie, although it looked mostly the same (just a shade lighter) had none of the succulent and sweet key lime goodness that I had gotten to enjoy. It was less flavorful overall, and it lacked the candy-like lime flavor. The crust didn't hold together as well, even.

We wrote it off.

Then a kind and generous reader told us the old recipe was back. And we stopped in, six of us, and had five slices. Some fool didn't want one. But they had half a slice anyway, and we all wanted more. It was the old recipe, in all it's glory, with a tiny exception. Once there was a sort of caramel like sauce drizzled over it, and now there's some sort of lime sauce instead. But who cares? It's delectable, it deserves enormous praise, and although it has nothing to do with drinking, everyone who reads this, whether you've ever liked Key Lime Pie before or not, should go and have some. Right now. You can get it all night long.

Type: Lounge
Class: Average

When talking about the Rosebud, I will have to start with what amused me most, and that was the owner. We had been there a while and Meg, our lovely and generous sponsor, had mentioned “who we were” to the owner. I must admit that every time one of our guests tells the bar who we are, it weirds me out a little bit. The owner then came over to us. He is an amusing little man with a number of interesting flourishes and New York Jewish Accent. He says to us, “I just found out who you were. How were your drinks?” We said that they were good and then started chatting with him. His name is Robert and he is originally from New York. We were told that we simply must mention, “his mother, his father, but not his sister or her husband. Oh and don’t forget his Aunts.” Now maybe I shouldn’t mention that he said not to mention his sister or her husband, but it is so typically Linda Richmond that I can’t help myself.

As for the Rosebud itself, it is a spot with 3 sections: The left lounge portion, the right restaurant portion, and the back deck portion. The walls are painted red, there is local art up around the place, and there are several sleds hanging around the place. Think about the sleds and you should get the reference. The back desk is very nice with a large overhanging tree and some small wooden tables and chairs. There is a patch of bare ground beneath the tree where you can sit, if you are so inclined.

The drinks here are almost always $2 wells and $4 doubles. Their specialty drinks though are like $8 so be careful about the bump from one to the next. Let me just say that a Tequila Sunrise was the wrong drink to order. My bad.

Jason was being “difficult” here for some reason. I would say he was being a bitch, but that is impolite.

So, I liked the Rosebud a lot. With inexpensive, strong drinks you can’t go wrong. It is very popular with the Capitol Hill crowd but doesn’t attract to many snotty hipsters. I think I am going to surprise myself and give it 5 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Average

The Honey Hole is a small quirky little place that has a very conflicted feel about it. On the one hand it is has a bizarre island/tiki theme, with a hut over the bar, large paper mache sharks and other strange things hanging on the walls. On the other hand it is dark and done up with red walls and a lot black. The two feels conflict as it is neither light and airy like a proper Island theme nor angsty or elegant like the color scheme would indicate.

They are primarily a sandwich place that happens to have a bar. It is very popular with the Capitol Hill locals and many people say that their sandwiches are very good. I did not have one myself.

What I do know about the HH, has little to do with the HH itself. It is here that we met the HOPS Usability Team. They will get their own entry, but what you need to know is that this is a crew of very cool people who primarily work for Expedia and go out to drink on Friday nights. They contacted us to take us out and more importantly recognized our description of Mel on the Sponsors page.

Anyhow, the HH is a little too small for a large group but if there are just the 4 of you and you want to some sandwiches and a decent drink then this is your place. A big shout out of thanks goes to Hayf for putting this all together and being the lead sponsor for the HOPS Team here. I give the HH 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Nightspot
Class: Midscale

If you like world music/techno music and you are well to do and plan to slum it on Capitol Hill, then this is your place. I suspect that there are regular people who come here too, but from the look of the crowd, they were all Eastsiders who decided it might be fun to come into the city to slum it with the normal folk.

The Baltic Room almost always has a cover, even when they say that they don’t. I called ahead the night before to make sure that they would not have a cover. They said no cover before 9PM. When we got there at 8:30 they said, $2. We were prepared to walk away. Then Marc talked to the doorman and I think he dropped our name and got us in for “one drink.” It still annoys me when they violate their own rules. A shout out goes to Marc though for being bold.

The BR is dark and fairly well appointed. The bar is long and black and shiny. The staff is fairly good looking but their overwhelming sense of boredom with the crowd was staggering. There are some padded seats, a couple of tables and a couple of booth. Long Velvet curtains hang from the ceiling as do a large number of butterfly mobiles. There is a small dance floor where they set up the DJ stand at one end. The balcony area was closed for a private party.

A shout out goes to Caz for taking the lead on drinks for the HOPS Team here. So in summary, the Baltic Room has good music, is snobby beyond all belief, has lots of good looking hipster/trendy people, and will almost always cost you dearly with their $5 drinks. I can’t say that I disliked it overall, but generally if I want an experience like this, I will go to the Bada Lounge where the look is better and the staff is less annoying. I give the Baltic Room 2 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Lounge
Class: Average

This small Italian place was a quick in and out for us, Clarkie, and Woo. Woo picked this one up for the HOPS Team and we thank him for it. The lounge area is small and decked out in light wood. There is a small 5 seater bar, a small wooden lip around the edge of this 12’ space and a quadrangle shaped table in the center of the small space where we sat.

This lounge area is really just a waiting area for the restaurant, I think. It was fairly packed when we got there, with a row of people 2 deep at the bar (1 at the bar and I think their girlfriends or friends standing behind them.) But then again I wasn’t really paying attention. Not my job. Or is it? I forget. But by that point I just wanted to get another place under my belt and then to move on.

Local photography hung on the wall and the drink was decent. The stools had a handle hole in the center of them and between that and the table, I have summed up the most interesting things about this bar. I give this place 2 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Nightspot
Class: Average

Once the best place to go out dancing on the cheap, it has up scaled itself just a little bit, but enough to make me think twice about going here. The cover has gone up quite a bit. On Thursday it was $1 to get in, and now it is $2. On Friday, it was $5 and now it is $8. I mean, $8 for Neighbors c’mon. Jason and Clarkie never want to pay cover, and I admit that I am not thrilled with it myself. However Caz went above and beyond the call of duty paying cover for all 3 of us, in order to get us to go. I really do need to pay her back somehow, but for the moment I will simply start with a big thank you for the world to see here.

So we made it in and our drinks were picked up separately. I can only say thanks to Mel who picked up mine for the HOPS Team. The drinks were $4 doubles until 10 (which has also been changed as they used to be $4 doubles all night, but maybe that is just on Thursday.)

There is a large dance floor and they usually play pretty good dance music. Tonight the music was just a little off. There is balcony seating with 3 pool tables, a leaning post for watching the dance floor and some TVs. They used to have a Medieval Madness pinball machine, but that has been removed, much to my disappointment. I spent a lot of time playing that machine while at Neighbors. I am good at it and it is a good break from dancing.

Oh, I should mention that Neighbors is ostensibly a gay club, but we “breeders” have discovered it and you can find a number of straight women here and where there are straight women there are straight guys. Neighbors is still pretty good but I recommend giving it a miss on weekends and going during the week when the cover is cheap and the drinks are strong all night. I give Neighbors 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Neighborhood
Class: Dive

The Rainbow is the biggest dive in the U. District, yes, even bigger than Earls. It is large and run down, with a big stage and a single pool table in back populated by scary looking locals. This is not a college dive. This is the place the blue collar locals come to drink and if the U students come in fine, but they are visitors. If you want to belong here, you have to want to belong here. Otherwise you are just a tourist.

The drink was $2.50, tasted “icky”, and was sponsored by Bridgit. They have a great jukebox, but in order to get to it, you have walk into the back to where the pool table and the raggedy couch is. Bridgit wanted to see the back, but was afraid to go alone. The Rainbow is also a great example of the fact that duct tape can fix anything. Trust me, anything. You just have to use enough of it.

The weirdest thing about the music though, was that they were playing a lot of Will Smith (“Get Jiggy With It”). I can’t decide if the patrons have unexpected tastes, or if it was a cruel joke played by one of the college students who were in there. The drinks were cheap and questionable, the clientele was scary, and the place was run down. I recommend coming here to see a punk show, a has been country band, or a has been classic rock band. Otherwise there are better dives to visit unless these are your people and this is your place. I give it 2 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Neighborhood
Class: Average

There is much to say about the Summit Pub, but it will not be said here. Rather it will be put in my journal entry. Bridgit recommended this place, saying that they had great Margaritas and later mentioning that they had great fries. Since she was sponsoring, we all got Margaritas. They were fine, but paled in comparison to the Margaritas at Rosita’s Cantina.

This place is just a small neighborhood pub on the lower portion of Capitol Hill. As the only bar for blocks (and downhill) I imagine it gets a lot of local business and not much else. The place is very homey feeling, with several booths, a midsize bar and a bunch of smaller tables. It is not a huge place but it is big enough for its purposes. There is a pool table and a sit down Galaga (mmmmm, Galaga.). The music was pretty good being a little bit of ambient techno and a little too much Beastie Boys (I know, that some of you would say that you can’t have too much BB, but trust me, you can.)

I got some pizza from Toscano, which was right next door, and we waited interminable for Bridgit’s fries. After about 20 minutes, we asked about them and waitress said, “they will be ready shortly,” which is waitress talk for “I forgot to put the order in.” There was much trauma over this since I parked in a 30 minute parking spot. It got ugly. I know that Bridgit likes this place and doesn’t want us to say bad things about it, but while I liked it in a general sense, I also don’t see a lot of reason to come all of the way down here. The locals are you average Capitol Hill post Gen-Xers with a splash of granola, a splash of geek, and a splash of punk. Check them out, if only for Bridgit’s sake. I give them 2 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Upscale

Fine dining does not equate to fine drinking and Cassis proves that. Cassis is the little darling of the Seattle fine dining circuit, having just been the choice of a number of celebrities recently (I heard the name Elijiah Wood, but I don’t really keep up on this stuff.) If you are looking for some drinks, then avoid this place like the plague, and here is why.

Cassis is well appointed in white and pale yellows with a small number of tables. They are always booked up so you will not get a table if you just walk in. The metal bar is small and attractive, but its shape in anything but appealling. It is an inverted L with 4 prime spots by the bartender another 4 off to side in a virtual siberia. The side bar is cramped with about 2.5 feet of clearance to the wall behind you. There is a magazine rack and some nice pictures.

I ordered a whisky and coke. It was fine. Bridgit ordered the recommended glass of wine for the dessert she was eating (which was decent, but not the end all to be all that people make out Cassis’ deserts to be.) Clarkie’s Greyhound was made with fresh Grapefruit juice but was on the weak side. Finally, Jason’s Lemon drop was bland and the rim was sugared AND salted. That is just sloppy. Clarkie got pear sorbet with a cookie garnish. The sorbet was bland, but the cookies were decent. The service was friendly and helpful with the menu. They were attentive enough, but not being here for dinner, we were not their top priority. Oh I should mention that we were relegated to the side bar away from the bartender, since the bar itself was full.

Now we get to the point where it all goes to hell. The “well” drinks were $7.50 + tax. Yes folks, that is over $8 for a whiskey and coke. It was $8 + tax for the Lemon drop and had Jason known, he might have sent it back. Jason does not send back drinks as a rule, since he believes that each place should get one drink. He is more resistant to bending this “rule” than I am. When you order a well drink you get what you get and that is whole point of this, isn’t it?

So we are horrified by this and leave. There is an incident outside involving Bridgit but that will also be in the journal entry. I should mention that before leaving, we placed a card with a note on the back that said, “Review up in a week.” Not quite accurate, but close enough for volunteer work.

The kicker to all of this came later at the Roanoke pub, when Clarkie went up to get drinks and started chatting with a girl sitting there. Turns out that she was a waitress at Cassis and she thought we were dicks. I am telling this 3rd hand, so if I am wrong, please correct me. We were dicks because we only tipped 18% on those horrible overpriced drinks (oh my!) and also, because if we were reviewing, we should have told them. They would have treated us better. Doesn’t that defeat the whole point. The one thing that was said that stuck in my mind, was that Clarkie said that she said that the wine that Bridgit ordered wasn’t very good and she should have gotten something else. The ironic thing is, that wine was recommended by the waiter and it was the best drink of the 4.

So as you might imagine, Cassis gets the much deserved 1 overpriced Martini Glass, sugared and salted, out of 5.

Don’t drink here. Ever.

P.S. The food is probably great, but then again, I will never return to find out. Go to Serafina for great Italian Food or Eva for French Food (and then have sex in their bathroom).

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

Café’ Lago is a large Italian Restaurant with a tiny wooden bar, a black and white checkered floor, decent looking staff, and no particular charm. It is well lit and has a warm, family feel. Each table is segmented from every other table so there is no mingling allowed here.

They have free olives and the worst olive oil and bread that we have ever tasted. Jason and Bridgit even tried to warn me away from them, but I had to try it. I have a high tolerance for these types of things, but man, they were just foul. Clarkie ate it anyway. We got an antipasto plate and Bridgit and I shared a slice of lemon pie. Both were excellent.

Our water girl was simply adorable. There was photography of Italy on the wall. I should mention that they had no idea how to handle four people who only wanted drinks. The concept was utterly inconceivable to them. Funny if you ask me.

Clarkie picked up the sponsorship of these not worth $5 drinks unless you eat you weight in olives and bread. I give Café Lago 1 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Neighborhood
Class: Average

This large well lit place is one part sports bar and one part neighborhood bar. It has a very friendly feel. There is lots of seating, both table and bar. There are a number of large TVs and 2 pool tables in back next to the Golden Tee machine. The crowd is mostly younger and I suspect that they are all locals.

Grady’s has 2 happy hours and Clarkie picked up this $3.90 sponsorship (what a weird amount.) There is not a lot to say about Grady’s itself. It is friendly, nice, and is a good place to watch the game and drink a beer. The interesting stuff to say about Grady’s all has to do with the people who were there that night.

So I am in the bathroom taking a piss and I see someone walk past me from the stall and go over to the sink. All I see is the color blue. I zip up and turn and realize that it is a cute little blonde in a blue shirt. Just then I get nervous that I might be in the wrong place and open the door to check if this is the men’s room. At the same time she says, “no your right.” Shaking my head, I wash my hands and then go back to the table where I try to tell my story, but nobody stops talking long enough for me to speak until Bridgit finally turns everyone’s focus to me. I don’t like to interrupt when people are talking. Or maybe I just like to be the center of attention and want to know people are listening when I speak, since, lets be honest, they usually aren’t.

After telling this story, Bridgit decides that she wants to go into the men’s bathroom. So we go. While in there we end up meeting Aaron and Ryan and the girl in blue comes in too. I don’t quite remember the order but we all ended up in the bathroom together. Then the 3 guys and Bridgit go into the girls room. Ryan and Aaron ask if women’s room always have a little foyer with a couch and the answer, unfortunately, is: “usually.”

We hang out with them a little bit and tell them about our quest. Somehow Bridgit ends up kissing one of them and then we finally head out. All in all it was a fun time and very strange. I give Grady’s 4 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Neighborhood
Class: Average

The Roanoke’s best feature is the outside. It is an old brick building covered entirely in ivy. I am told that the owner of the building is tearing it down and they are kicking all of the establishments out. It probably isn’t happening until towards the end of 2003, so we have to drink there. I also want to apologize to Caz for giving her away her sponsorship. I didn’t want to, but we didn’t have her phone number and it was the only thing that was open and close and Clarkie was willing to sponsor. I hope that Caz doesn’t hate us.

The Roanoke used to just be a pub, but now they have booze. It is done up in light wood and has lots of little nooks. The décor is Irish and homey. A large wood burning stove sits to one side. I don’t know if they light it, but it looks cool There is a cozy seating area in the back that was full. They were playing classic rock and were showing sports highlights on the tube.

Other than Clarkie’s run in with the Cassis waitress and the fact that Bridgit kissed me a lot, the Roanoke really wasn’t very interesting. It was a good mix of locals who are between 25 and 45. Everyone seemed nice enough and this could easily become your local watering hole. I live too far. I give The Roanoke 3 Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

We were going out kind of late with Mel, and it was hard to find a bar that was still open, but then we hit upon Bandaleone, and saw that at least two other bars within the block looked to be open and were on our list, so we were happy.

Bandaleone is a nice little place where I'm told the food is excellent. It had a nice feel, too, a friendly sort of place where the crowd seemed both comfortable and new, an odd combo that still worked.

We sat at the bar, which was pretty full, and the bartender, flying solo, set about getting our drinks as soon as he got a moment. They weren't terribly remarkable, although they were well mixed, but they weren't all that strong, so that makes up for it.

The problem came at bill time, when the bartender was nowhere to be found, and when, after his reappearence, he took a card to pay with, he then ended up helping another customer with cigarettes instead, and then mixing more drinks, and then finally getting around to running the card. Since the card takes time to run, the opposite way would have seemed more sensible, but then, I'm not working for tips. Apparently, though, neither was he.

Mel picked up the sponsorship, with drinks that were pretty pricey. There's no reason to go here for a drink again, so I won't.

Just a couple doors down from Bandaleone, the Porta was much more the place to be. Everyone was having incredible fun, drinking and occasionally dancing clumsily to the DJ's tunes, laughing and having a great time. If we hadn't had more bars to hit, we surely would have stayed.

It's a sort of crappy looking place, really, just a big bar with tables scattered about and a cleared area for dancing in front of the DJ stand. There's a side coffee room, abandoned at the late hour, which looked very comfortable. Couches and cushions abounded there. But it was too late for that sort of activity, and instead there was the lively bar, with the happy crowd, all packed in to a small area and partying away.

We had to get our own drinks, because there wasn't anything like a server, but the bartender was quick, and the drinks were pretty decent. They were cheaper than Bandaleone, but not super cheap. Still, a couple of them, and maybe a few elsewhere for a prefunk, and it would have been perfect.

It was a Thursday, note, not a night you expect a big party atmosphere at some little Greek place in Eastlake.

Mel picked up the sponsorship again, we all enjoyed the stop, and like I said, we would have stayed under other circumstances. It was good time, and would be again on a return visit, I'm sure.

The bar was closing, but we could get a drink. The kitchen was closed, but garlic bread could still be prepared. A very obliging place, was Pazzo's, and we liked that about them.

Sadly, their drinks tasted like ass.

While strong, my Vodka Cran was so foul tasting that it took all my will, after 300 plus bars, to force it down. Something about it, I don't know what, but it was terrible. Brandon's was also strong but terrible, and Mel's was a poorly mixed Midori sour, and I was glad for the garlic bread because it served as a palate cleanser.

The place was a pizza joint, and there's not much more to say about it. There was a single lonely old drunk at the bar, a common but not automatic bar accessory, and not much more can be added.

Mel sponsored once more, and we got out of there because they were closing, and because their drinks sucked.

In the ongoing battle of the sponsors, Bridgit has regained the lead, 19 bars to 18, with her three sponsorships of last night. How long can she keep the lead? How long until Wolf strikes back? Stay tuned to find out.

Type: Lounge
Class: Average

Thaiku used to be in the center of Freemont but it was going to be torn down to build condos or something. The Red Door (the fucking family style bar) bitched and agreed to leave, but only if they moved the building over a block.
After moving the building, there was no room left for Thaiku. Yes, they moved the whole building. They rolled it a block to the west. Very odd if you ask me.

Now Thaiku is located in the Ballard Bar district and provides an interesting place to drink and get good Thai food. Thaiku is a large place with lots of strange items hanging on the walls and suspended form the ceiling. The mix is eclectic, including: Carved temple gates, a rocking horse, Chinese medicine chests, and lots of bamboo. The bar area is very cool looking with cold white marble tables, small carved wooden stools and a long hard wooden booth. If you drink here, don’t wait for a waitress (they will never appear), but rather you should go up to the bar.

The bar is called the Fu Kun Wu and the sign out front says, “Fu Kun Wu The Doctor is In.” The drink was strong and was delivered in this great little glass that looked like a small flower pot.

The whole feel of this place leads me to believe that it is a secret front for Ninja operation who continually battles against other restaurants (namely Samurai Sam’s and the Magic Dragon.) Instead of ninja attacks, we got some pretty decent food. The drinks were sponsored by Sean and a big shout out goes to him. While Thaiku is a little out of the way for drinking, the bar crowd was made up mostly of young Ballardites and it looked very cool. I give Thaiku 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5

-wOOt

Siam is notable for only two things. One, it foiled us on the half way night. And two, there was a really, really drunk white guy at the bar talking about how he wanted to go to Thailand to show Thai kickboxers how to fight with their hands, because they suck.

The owner was having dinner while this guy was talking and just kept making various semi-positive noises. It was odd.

The batender was sitting with a friend unless someone needed him.

It was a very casual place.

The drinks weren't that strong, and didn't have much remarkable in the quality area, either. They were reasonably priced, though.

And that's all for Siam.

I've already done this Azteca, although you'll find it under #204, Azteca Ballard. The place was almost exactly the same, except the bartender spoke more English.

Chips and salsa. Hurray.

Type: Lounge
Class: Upscale

Located in the basement of the Westin (despite being told otherwise by the front desk), they are a large good looking place that gives free sushi during happy hour. I wish we were there during happy hour. Instead we had to settle for being comped by Phil our bartender. We were going to give Café Nikko to Glen, but … well … what could we do.

Café Nikko is just freakin gorgeous. The bar is a green beveled glass overlay on dark wood. The stools have molded plastic backs for easy sitting. A giant bronze crab sits on the wall languidly waiting to strike at any who get to near it. Its enormous claws ready and eager to snap an unsuspecting patron in half. I didn’t see it, but I would have liked to.

The main restaurant portion of Café Nikko has a large sushi counter and lots of good tables. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, but that has a lot to do with the fact that they are all at least well to do and can afford the prices here. Our drinks were good and came in frosted glasses (due to look, not temperature.) Phil, our bartender, was very busy, and very efficient. He was a flurry of drink preparation. We did have to flag him down to talk to him, but it turned out to be worth it.

I like Café Nikko. It looks good, the drinks are reasonable, and if you come for happy hour you get free sushi. What isn’t there to like. I give it 4 Martini Glasses guarded by a giant bronze crab out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

The first time we came to the Oceanaire, it was 11:00 and while we didn’t see anyone, we weren’t sure if they were closed or not. I pushed on the revolving door at the front and it spun quite easily. Looking into the bar though, there was absolutely no one in sight. We could have just snuck in, poured ourselves a drink, and snuck out again. I don’t think it would have counted towards our quest, but it would have counted towards our records.

The Oceanaire has a swordfish for a logo and is a generally good looking place. A large oyster bar with packed ice dominates the landscape as you walk in. Squeezing past the oyster schuckers and Brits drinking champagne we sat down at the long metal bar. Big band jazz played in the background and the waiters bustled behind the counter. The service was fairly good, except for the fact that the waiter was delayed by an Irish Coffee that he had to brew fresh.

I must admit that the place looked good and was going very highly along our list. The clientele was older however, and a bit aboveboard of what people in my age bracket are usually looking for. Jason and I had a very good feeling about the Oceanaire until we received the bill: $7 + tax per drink, plus $1 for juice. Well shit. That is overpriced like the much loved Gitano, but not quite as expensive as the much hated Cassis. Glen picked up this sponsorship as I figure he still has a couple of bucks lying around from places that were only $9 in total and what not. So, while the Oceanaire started strong, the hideous price on their well drinks knocks them to a lowly 2 Martini Glasses out of 5. Not the worst, but still lots of room for improvement. I would go so far as to say that for each dollar they take off their well drink, they would go up ¾ of a Martini Glass, to a maximum of 4 and a half out of 5.

-wOOt

Type: Restaurant
Class: Midscale

If you didn’t know, today is both Jason and I’s Birthday. This is not because we were born on this day, but rather because this is what the bartenders must say when they comp a customer a Cajun Rattlesnake. The Rattlesnake was good. I don’t know what is in it, but maybe Jason, our bartender (different from Jason the 570 bar guy), will post the recipe up here.

The Union Square Grill is a steakhouse with a great art deco Martini Glass logo. They do look like they shop at the Steak House quickie mart for their décor since it is all dark wood and tan leather. I liked the art deco touches throughout the place. It helped to differentiate it from the other steakhouses.

After telling our bartender about our quest, he told us that when he was 17, he and 4 buddies drank in every bar in Iowa city in one night (32 in all.) Of the buddies, only he and one other guy actually made it. I was impressed.

The crowd is well to do and 30+. They also get a decent late night crowd as they are one of the few places that is still open. I guess the steak house bartenders all know each other as well. That seems strange to me since I would assume they would be competitors, but oh well.

I liked the Union Square Grill and would definitely come back. The drinks were a little on the pricey side ($5.50) but they were of good strength. Glen Sponsored this one as well and a big thanks goes out to him. I give the Union Square Grill 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

There will always be a warm place in my heart for Sam's Steakhouse. It was just an incidental bar, one of those places we've driven by again and again without ever stopping in. Finally, though, after Siam and Azteca, it was on the way back to Ballard. So stop in we did.

And it was a great place. The bar was friendly and generically attractive looking, the bartender Bruce was similarly friendly and was willing to recommend against the bar's own specialty drinks when it was called for, there was a late night happy hour with nice food specials, and we were having a great time.

Then Bruce started telling us that he and a guy across the bar, Alex, had tried to do something similar to our quest a while back, by trying to eat in every restaurant on the Ave. Well, there's a lot of them, and you can't eat as much as you can drink (if you're a normal person) so they never did finish. But we went over to talk to Alex and the other guy at his table, Jody, to share stories about our quest, which is when Sam's entered my heart.

A pretty girl at the table behind us turned around and asked if we were on the radio that morning. Which we were, and we said so. And she said that she heard our interview. Her name, by the way, was Penny, and although I don't know her in the least, I think I love her.

And that moment, the sudden and spontaneous recognition, would have made me love Sam's anyway. But, it was also nice looking, with good cheap drinks and eats, and friendly people, so it was great in just about every way. I'll be heading back for the late night happy hour sometime after we're done (maybe even before) and I'll always treasure that special moment, when someone with no prompting knew who the hell we were.

We managed not to do a happy dance until we were in the parking lot.

This one we gave to Glen for his sponsoring pleasure.

A charming little restaurant and bar on the top of Queen Anne Hill. Firefly was pretty busy when we arrived, and I ended up seated at the very furthest edge of the not-huge bar, Brandon arriving a moment after. Our bartender was bustling about, but was still quick with the drinks, and when Brandon carded her a moment later, she said, "I knew it was you guys."

Julia had heard us on the radio the day before, and when she saw us, she thought it was us, but didn't want to just call it out in case she was wrong. It was great to be recognized by a bartender, too. So we talked a bit about the quest, we talked a bit about Firefly, we talked about the featured artist.

The bar is nice, a dimly lit pleasant looking place, with artwork from a featured artist about the place, all oils most of which have a photographic quality.

The drinks were tasty and pretty strong, which pleased us, but even more pleasing was the price, which was complimentary, in honor of the quest.

The only complaint about Firefly is happy hour. Theirs is from 3-5, which is kind of stupid. Why bother? You can't hit it after work. It's like they just want to say that they have one, without having one. But Julia says she's trying to get it changed, so that's good.

Thanks to Julia for the drink, and thanks to Firefly for a good visit.

We headed all the way out from Firefly to the furtest reaches of Madison Park, where we stopped in at Cactus. Once before we made the trip here, but they were closing, and so we had to come back. Apparently, everyone comes back. The place was completely packed.

There was a restaurant (full, completely) and a bar (full, and filled with people standing). We pushed toward the bar, not even up to it, but near it, and waited while drinks were being made. We decided to just do some shots of tequila, because they would be quick.

And eventually we made it to the bar, and tried to order shots, but they were very expensive. So we tried to go with a cheaper tequila, but then we were upsold. The idea was, if we got the Cassadores, we'd get a bigger shot, and somehow, we agreed to that, even though it was a 7.50 shot. So the bartender produces double shot glasses, and pours them just barely more than one shot full, which was good, because I didn't want much more. But since the glass was so big, it seemed like a big shot, which it really wasn't. Altough I don't know what their normal shot size would be, so maybe I don't know.

Anyway, we were also given lime, in this case tiny halves of tiny limes, and then we shot. It wasn't the best tequila, but it didn't suck. We paid, we were about to leave, and the bartender suddenly asked about our card, which we were leaving for him.

So we told him, and introduced ourselves. His name was Jason, and he seemed like a nice guy, but there were so many people there I don't think I'd go back to the place. It was too insanely busy.

We suspected the existance of a bar past Cactus, but had no idea which bar it was. A quick search, however, turned up Sostanza Trattoria. It's a little Italian place, with a nice view of Lake Washington, and we headed in and upstairs to the bar.

There's restaurant seating downstairs, and more upstairs, but the upstairs was abandoned. There's also the little bar upstairs, and we were the only people around there. The staff all seemed to just hang out upstairs because they could just spend time there without anyone seeing them, except us, and we were obviously not concerned.

We ordered drinks and sipped at them, and Brandon went out to have a smoke on their upper floor deck (from which that nice view mentioned is visible.) The drinks were not cheap, and they weren't great either, but they were, I suppose, fine.

I liked the look of the place, a lot of white, and neo-classical paintings on the walls. The staff was also very attractive. So it's probably worth it to visit for the food, although I saw none of it, and not even a menu. But for just drinks, I don't think it's worth going all the way out to Madison Park again.

We headed out to Lake Washington with Wolf, looking to pick up a couple of very obscure bars in the furthest reaches of the city. It took forever driving along Lake Washington Boulevard to find the two bars hidden out there, and we started at the Leschi Lakecafe.

It's a bar with a lot of brass and polished wood, an Old Tyme sort of bar, and their menu emphasizes the fact that they've been there for a great long time, in one form or another.

The drinks weren't great, but weren't awful, although they weren't all that cheap, either.

And there's really not much more for me to say about the place.

Wolf picked up the sponsorship, his first of three for the night.

It was just down from the Lakecafe, and we marched right on in and into the back of the place to sit at the bar. It was very pleasant looking, a heavy wood sort of bar, with a lot of people sitting at the bar itself and eating, but still enough room for us.

We ordered drinks, and then ordered some calimari. It was decent squid, but not the best we've had (still the Met downtown.) The drinks were pretty good, and we were a while about drinking them with the calimari and all.

And then, as we were leaving, Wolf had the horrible experience of a guy in the bathroom with his daughter, the daughter using the toilet, and the door to the stall for some godforsaken reason left open. You can build up the rest of this story from there. It was shudder-riffic.

Wolf picked up the sponsorship, and we thank him.

It's just opened in the space that was formerly Gypsy Rose, and it should do well.

Gitano is a restaurant with a lot of seafood, and a South American spin, and it smells great. The little bar is candlelit, and friendly, and we sat and ordered our drinks from the wonderful Karin. Within moments we were telling her about the quest, and she was asking all sorts of questions. We decided we should order some sort of food, because it all sounded good, and Karin had good things to say about pretty much everything, because the staff was supposed to eat the food, or at least, they all had.

While we drank our excellent drinks, well but mid-shelf liquor, we looked over the menu and finally decided on an appetizer featuring scallops and onions. It was incredible, and supposedly wasn't even the best appetizer on the menu. I can't believe that, because it was so good.

Karin, who was the sweetest woman and who called us her ducklings at a couple occasions, was a very attentive and quite good bartender. The place is definitely worth a revisit.

But there was one problem. The price of the drinks. 7 dollars for a well drink, even with mid-shelf alcohol, is high. The highest we had paid to that point (although we'd pay more just a week later.) The wine prices were cheaper, for god's sake. You could get most of the appetizers for less than a well drink.

So don't go there for drinks. Go there for the fine atmosphere, for the incredible food, even for some wine. Go there for a date, and win their heart. Gitano charmed, and it should get your business.

Wolf picked up the sponsorship once again, rounding out the weekend.

It's a weird and bright bar, with lots of black furniture speckled with bright bits of color. It was odd, but curiously friendly.

The waitresses told us they were closing, although there were several tables still in use and the door had been open and unattended still. We asked if we could get a drink, and they said to ask at the bar, which we did, heading all the way into the back to get there.

There was one guy at the bar, and a bartender who said of course we could get a drink. So we did, and we chatted, because she didn't seem to have much to do until she could close. The bar wasn't all that well equipped, so it appeared, but then, it's mainly a restaurant, of course. The drinks were good enough, and the prices, although a bit high, weren't outrageous.

Eventually, with no more sign that they were closing, we left. The same people were there. Okay, it had only been like 15 minutes, but nothing further appeared to have been done. It was weird.

I kind of liked the place, but not enough to head back.

Another McCormick's, and that brings with it the super low priced happy hour food. The drinks aren't any cheaper, since they instead have nightly drink specials, but the cheap food makes up for it. 1.95 for what amounts to real food items, how can you beat it?

Well, it could show up at some point. That would work.

There was one waitress and one sort of floating bartender/waiter, plus the actual bartender. You would think that was enough. You'd be wrong.

We sat, and eventually, we were able to order drinks and food. Even more eventually, our drinks appeared. And after that, Brandon's food appeared. Not mine, though. The waitress, when questioned, finally said my food was almost ready.

I'd like to point out my food was cold food. There's no ready time required. You just toss it together.

But it was ten more minutes to get my food.

I hate people who lie and say "It's almost ready" or whatever. Just fucking tell me you forgot the food, and suck it up. It's your fault, you should own up to it.

But they didn't, and we still had to pay for the food that took half an hour to arrive when it took less than one minute to prep. Less than two bucks, so really, who cares, but it's not exactly making any money for them, either, so it's easy to just take it off the bill.

But no.

So the service pretty much sucked, since we were ignored unless we hailed over the waitress. And that included delivery of items, which we pretty much had to demand.

Such a change from Harborside. Which is the McCormick and Schmick's I'll visit in future if I'm going there.

Type: Nightspot
Class: Average

When you are looking for hard to find DJs in a setting with lots of people in club wear and you want to sweat like a pig, then this is your place. When Jason and I went, it was on a Thursday (the only night I know of, that they don’t have a cover.) It was kind of slow, but the patrons were a mix of punk, hipsters, and hip hoppers. When I went there with Clara to see Dimitri from Paris, it was packed, which caused the whole place to get really freakin hot.

The Noc Noc has two small seating areas up from with couches and comfy chairs, but unless you get there early they fill up and stay filled up. There is a high table off to the side and a red felt pool table. The bar can accommodate about 10 people. There is a dance floor in the back that can accommodate about 60 people uncomfortably. A new feature (since I was there for Dimitri) was the flat screen wide angle TV behind the bar. It was so pretty. They were playing Episode 1 and watching that movie on a gorgeous TV with no sound is the best way to go. It is a very pretty movie, as was Episode 2. I just wish that Lucas would lay off the drugs and allow better directors to make his movies. He is a great idea man, but he should team up with Spielberg again for Episode 3 and let him direct it. He should stick to writing and executive producing. That and he should hit his actors with a stick when they start acting all … wooden.

My happy hour drink was $3 and nice and strong. Not like a usual happy hour drink at all. They are normally like $4 to $5, so I recommend buying a bottle of water for a show and then just keep refilling it. The music is techno/DJ/electronica and it is usually pretty good. Local art hangs on the wall and it is the first stop on the Art Walk that the Green Tortoise puts on. I lived in the Green Tortoise for my first month in Seattle (it is a hostel). I love living in Hostels. Sure the rooms are crap and you are sleeping 4 to a room but the people are always awesome and it is always great fun.

Anyhow, the Noc Noc is a fairly good event place, but be prepared to sweat. Put on extra deodorant and don’t wear anything that will show how much your back is sweating. I give the Noc Noc 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5. There is one final note that I should warn people about. It is across the street from the 2nd Ave Drug Rehab Clinic so you get a lot of questionable people hanging around down here. The best way to deal with it is to pretend it is New York. Don’t make eye contact and just keep on walking.

-wOOt

Type: Lounge
Class: Upscale

Whenever we walk into a nice place, it is always hard to tell if they are truly a nice place, or think they are a nice place and don’t understand how it should. I say this, because every truly nice we have been, the well drinks have been reasonable. This is because they know that anyone who comes here is going to call and is going to be able to afford. That way it is no skin off their nose if they have a reasonable well. Examples of this are the Met, Elliott’s, and Cutters. Then there are the places that want to squeeze as much money out of you that is possible because they know you can afford it. Here, I give you Cassis, The Oceanaire, and Roy’s at the Westin. The only exception has been the 727, where sure you paid $6.50 but it was the best fucking drink that you had ever had in your entire life so that makes it ok.

Wild Ginger, we discovered, is a truly nice place with drinks priced at $4. I even checked if we were in happy hour and we were not. So tasty. Now on to the place.

The Wild Ginger is simply gorgeous. It is a large open area with numerous 4 person tables done up in whites and light browns. A set of large stone steps leads up to the lounge where all of the seating is comfortable and made for reclining. The chairs and tables were eclectic and all I wanted to do was put my feet up and relax. It would have been rude so I didn’t, but I really wanted to.

Almost all of the staff is really good looking and they are fairly attentive. Our waiter, Brooke, was a tall thin guy in his early to mid 20s with spiky hair and a model’s build. He was very nice and while he was not all that interested in our quest, he was very polite about it. Our drink was tasty and strong and since it was only $4 (plus tax) we had almost nothing to complain about.

Glen picked up Wild Ginger and we are happy to give him a place that doesn’t suck. Oh, WG also has great matches and the crowd varies from young and hip and well to do, up through older and more reserved and well to do. I give Wild Ginger 4 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-wOOt

Type : Lounge
Class: Midscale

This steak place has one truly interesting feature and that are the Admiral Chairs at the dinner counter. These chairs are enormous brown leather high backed chairs. They look like you should be commanding a fleet of star destroyers and ordering spies of enemy powers to be found and killed all the while you eat an enormous steak.

The bar is a large square with an island of booze in the middle. Long thin old tyme signs hang on each of the 4 corners advertise booze from long ago. A beaten copper counter top and brass rails add an air of the 20s to the establishment. Posters and pictures of the past line the south side giving this section the same older feel. The north side is lined with posters from current shows and Mariners Baseball logo stuff. The two sides do not really fit well together, clashing in terms of style and class.

The crowd is made up of older yuppies and visiting business men. The wait staff is fairly nondescript, except for our bartender who is prematurely grey. Bridgit used to love this place and she knows that he is in his mid 20s but his hair looks like it is in his mid 40s. They do not have well here, instead pouring Skyy and Jim Beam.

While the Brooklyn is fairly nice looking and plays good music the drinks are a little on the weak side for $4.75 + tax (even if it is a call and not a well.) My experience here was fine, but nothing special. Glen picked up this 3 Martini Glasses out of 5 bar so to him, I say

-wOOt