This really isn't at all as bad as it will sound. Many of you may know that mixing Nutrasweet in any fashion with booze makes for a terrible taste, but somehow this works.

It's called a Serendipity, which is probably the name of at least half a dozen other drinks.

2 oz Celtic Crossing (a sort of honey liquor, with a kind of whisky base)
4 oz Pink Lemonade Crystal Light

Stir and serve over ice.

Sounds repulsive, but it tastes really rather good. Can't get it at a bar, of course, but you can make it at home.

Type: Hotel
Class: Midscale

The District is the hotel bar for the new Best Western in the University District, but you would hardly know it. The place is very spacious, kind of dim, a little bit private, and very nice looking. Along one wall are several large semi-circle high back booths. They are much like the booths at the Standard Café but no where near as comfy.

The bartenders were very friendly and seemed to know their stuff. They must have been plucked from other places. We met up with Melody and Jay and Erin. Jay and Erin don’t really feature highly in this, but they should at least be mentioned.

There is a lot of space down here. Off to one side is a large area that was closed off for some sort of private function. I had picked up Melody so I didn’t sneak for some free grub, but I am fairly sure she could have owned that room if she wanted to. In addition, the bar area reaches further into the back. I think it was for actual dining, but I am not sure.

The food and drink specials looked pretty nice and their prices were reasonable, I believe about $4 although I seem to recall they were better than that. Anyhow, I really liked the District. It is a good chill out place. It may even become popular with the less rambuncous college population. If this happens then this will become a place to visit on a regular basis.

I give the District 3 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-B

Type: Restaurant
Class: Average

Sitting next door to the Ballroom they seemed to get some spill over from people who don’t want to wait in the giant line to get in on this Friday night. This used to the be Seattle Fish Company or some such. This new place is equally “nice” and unthrilling. There seemed to be a lot of regulars already, but I suspect that since the look is close enough to the old place that they just took up their old bar stool.

Norm’s is decent looking menu but it is nothing special. I think that this is the key word for this place. Nothing new, nothing special. It may be the type of place you like and you live close by, but I don’t see it doing a lot of non-local business on its own. Its location next to the Ballroom is genius, but they need some better drink specials to lure in the kids before they disappear into the Ballroom. The other idea would be some quick cheap food available as people spill out. They have a huge opportunity, but they need to leech off of the Ballroom’s popularity like a lamprey.

I give them 2 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5. Nothing wrong, but nothing special.

-B

Type: Neighborhood
Class: Average

The Ould Triangle used to be the Globe, which used to be a tavern. Now they have revamped themselves, remodeled themselves and gotten themselves some booze. Melody now works here and we stopped up to say hi. We had thought they were still beer and wine only, but with the new booze, we just picked up a new place. Excellent.

The bar is dark brown, extremely long, and kind of curved. This bar can probably seat about 20 people, but I don’t think there are that many chairs. A lone pool table takes a large portion of the place by the door. Two real dart boards with chalk boards stand ready for use. This is something you don’t see much. A large screen TV sits at one end of the eating area. I even saw a couple there eating their own food, watching TV, and drinking beer.

In the back, they have a beer garden where the owner is building a fountain to St. Agatha (I would swear he said Marta, but Melody said Agatha.) The fountain isn’t done, but it is going to be cool and strange. Supposedly “they” (probably the Romans) cut off her breasts, but they grew back, put her in a brothel for 10 years, but she remained pure, and eventually cut off her head. She is the patron saint of all sorts of things (like Breast Cancer and Sterility.) It is a wacky story the owner tells. He believes that places should be interesting and characterful. I have to say that I agree.

They have live music almost every night and the drinks are reasonable. I give them 4 and a half Martini Glasses out of 5.

-B

It's from the party we had last weekend, and it's so very weak that you can do a dozen of them, if the mood is upon you. Since it's just a shooter, there's no problem with sheer drink volume, either.

Pixie Stick

1 oz Tropical Blue Pucker
1 oz Watermelon Pucker

Pour both into a shotglass, drink as is.

Total proof is barely 30, so it's barely twice as strong, ounce for ounce, as a decent beer. Six of these will thus be a bit more than two real drinks.

So why drink them? Well, they're damn tasty. They taste like a Pixie Stick, and not one of the little ones, but one of the gigantic plastic ones you buy at toy stores. Successive shots often taste better, then worse, then better, and so on. But they're great for lightweights.

This one was made up for us yesterday by the great Joe at Elliott's. It's a little weird, but tastes pretty good. It's refreshing.

The Cucumber Cooler

2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Midori
4 oz cranberry juice
Cucumber

Cut a slice of cucumber, perhaps 1 inch thick, and muddle it with ice. Add the vodka and cranberry, shake, and pour into a glass. Add Midori, stir. Drink very cold.

Okay, it does sound weird, and it reminds me of the Cheers episode with the Screaming Viking, but it's not a bad little drink. A double is just perfect for a pint glass.

Located in what was once the Globe Tavern on Greenwood and 100th, the Ould Triangle is a newly converted full service bar. Formerly possessed of only beer and wine, the new bar has a full assortment of alcohol, although as yet it lacks a number of specialty spirits.

The bar is a neighborhood place, nothing terribly fancy about it. An Irish pub theme is noticable, but not as yet terribly dominant. There are real wooden dart boards, with chalk boards next to them to keep score on. A pool table, a big screen TV and a good jukebox round out the bar features. The actual bar is long, seating a dozen or more.

The drinks are good, but this comes with a caveat. I know the bartender who served us, so I'm not certain that others would get the same drink. However, the entire crowd seemed pleased by their refreshers, which is a good sign. The bar also has foreign candy and crisps available for sale, things you could get in Ireland.

There is a patio in the back with a half dozen tables, which in the evening should be nice and cool, located as it is on the east side of the building. A small fountain dedicated to St. Agatha, and featuring a stone breast (one of St. Agatha's areas of concern) and several Buddha fountains promises kitschy goodness once it's complete.

It seems like a comfortable place to waste away an afternoon, but there is nothing which truly recommends it to me except that I know someone there.

(Visited 7/5/3)

Jake's Bar and Grill, on 15th on Capitol Hill, is no more. However, there is a very similar looking place there, so maybe it just morphed identities.

Lemieux's on 1st Ave by Sodo Center is also apparently gone, although it is possible but extremely unlikely that it is merely getting a remodel. Since it looked like it hadn't had one since the Eisenhower years, that seems doubtful.