This is the newest bar from the people who bring us the wonder that is El Gaucho. What was formerly Fleming's Steakhouse, an awkward space and not a good bar, has now been replaced by a delightful bar. Brandon, Vince and I got together to have drinks and dinner, because it sounded like an excellent idea, and it was.

The first thing one notices is the vast but appealing proportions of the restaurant. With a small waiting area just inside the doors, and a banquet room to the right, the left is where the eye is drawn, to the high-ceilinged dining room. The bar is first, just past the hostess station, and it's nice, but it's not what you notice. Because there is so much space in the restaurant, the bar and it's small seating area for the moment almost escape notice. Instead, you see the tables, placed with space and thought, and the huge windows that make up the walls, and the fact that this place is a lot bigger than you would have thought if you had visited Fleming's.

The seating is handled well, with the three of us recieving a spacious and attractive booth. Service was friendly and smooth. The drinks were quite decent, but (although it's not the point here) the food was amazing. Alright, I thought my Lobster Risotto was a bit fishy, but my brother Damon loved it the next day. And the Pork Shank was superb, as were the sides. Vince assured us his halibut was incredible.

But on to the drinks and the bar. It's a very attractive bar, well backlit and long, with numerous stools and several small tables. There's a vast assortment of liquor which was a delight to stare at. And our drinks were good, at least mine was, although I was brought a lime which I had asked not to have, but at least it hadn't been squeezed into the drink for me.

The front room man for the restaurant came and chatted with us before we left, which was nice. He seemed to really be working the room, along with the chef, who was out and about several times. The waitstaff were friendly and helpful. Pretty much everything was wonderful (my risotto, in my personal evaluation, excepted).

It's a marvellous place, and you should go there.

(visited 5/12/4)

A relatively new and kind of hard to notice bar in Wallingford. My bus passes by it every day, however, and so I was well aware of this place, but I think most people have no idea it exists. Which is too bad, because it's a nice little place. A narrow store front means that it's probably most people will overlook it, but the facade, in cool colors with a sea monster painted on the window, is an eye catcher.

The space is narrow, with room for the bar and stools, and then tables along the opposite wall. In the back, there is a good amount of area, enough for more tables, including two that hide in partially curtained off nooks. The rear is used for the live music the Sea Monster hosts pretty regularly, and there was a band just getting started as we had our drink. I think they were some form of jazz, and they sounded pretty good.

The bartender might have been the owner, since he was talking about why he quit having ads in the Stranger. He had a good hand with the booze and good patter. The drinks were 5 dollars, pretty strong, and made with attention, as if he actually cared that even the simplest (well) drinks were to your satisfaction, which is unusual.

They have Pabst Blue Ribbon in bottles. Which is the coolest thing.

There's a kitchen, but we didn't look at the menu. They have a little slogan on the front window that changes regularly, saying "Voted Seattle's Best..." One time it was French Toast, which I noticed because I didn't think it had said French Toast before, but then I decided I was wrong. However, I apparently wasn't, as now it reads Kept Secret. And while I think that for the people who have found the Sea Monster Lounge, they might like it to stay a secret, that people should still seek it out, because it's worth a visit.

(visited 6/3/4)

We shut off the comments feature some time ago, not because we don't like comments, but because of the endless supply of spam comments we were getting. However, the old comments, where they were, were able to still take new ones. So for about 250 of the entries, you could still comment, maybe 1 in 6 or 7.

Friday night, and into Saturday very early morning, over about 6 hours total, those 250 or so entries got hit by 2000 comments. About 8 each. Which we have to go through and manually remove, one by one, because the system isn't well set up to do it any other way. The entries we can take out easier, but the comments, well, no.

Sigh. I just did about 150 of them. 7%. It took about 12 minutes. So I've got hours of work to do on this. I'm not happy.

But if I need online gambling, boy howdy do I know where to find it.

Located in Lower Queen Anne in the old Sorry Charlie's space, this new bar is pretty decent. I didn't much care for Sorry Charlie's, since the piano bar has nothing to offer me, and so, unlike a great many others, I wasn't put out to see that it was going under. Its replacement is a bit of the old and a lot of the new.

The space is still divided, as it was when it was SC's. There's the "main" area, with a bar, tables including booths, a small dance floor and DJ setup, and a piano. Because they still have the same guy in the bar for happy hour every day, and maybe one or two nights a month besides. He still plays the same way as ever. So if you loved him at the old SC's, you can still see him at the Mirabeau room. But everything inside looks, without being, futuristic. From the sheet metal that marks the exterior, to the small tables that are reasonably uncomfortable, to the expansive light rigs, there's a lot of "the future" embraced at the Mirabeau Room. But like I said, none of it actually is that way, it just gives a sort of impression.

On the other side is the lounge. It's rather a lot like it used to be, but the furniture is all newer. Not in appearance, just in age. It's got a lot of red pleather chairs and wood tables, very new but seeming very old. The music from the other side is piped in, quieter which is a good thing.

There's a lot of variety in the staff. Every type and sort seems to be represented, and the clientele much reflects that same eclectic mix. I rather liked that.

The drinks were okay. The prices were okay. But the lounge side was quite nice, and I'd go there again certainly. I know, though I can't recall the hours, that they have a happy hour, and it might be quite a decent thing to head there after work, have a drink, and sit in the lounge side to avoid the piano stylings. Or on the other side, specifically to hear them, whatever suits you best.

(visited 6/3/4)