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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,948 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Saturday, December 30, 2017

#2609 - Bonney Lake Tavern, Bonney Lake, WA - 8/30/2014

The "BLT" is owned by an ex-coach from the University of Washington football team and provides the standard contemporary SSS bar.

Bonney Lake Tavern (BLT), Bonney Lake, WA







Suburban Stripmall Sportsbar checklist
 Located in strip mall or shopping center
 On a highway
 TVs with sports on
 Lots of corporate beer paraphernalia
 Pull Tabs
 Pub Food Menu - Burgers, Salads, Pizzas, Wings, Tacos, Steaks
 Karaoke
 Pool Tables
 Cocktail focus on sweet juices and flavored vodkas
 75% male customers
 Backwards baseball caps
 Middle aged cover bands (70s rock, soul, funk) on weekends

Not sure $80 really projects to "Set For Life"
18212 Washington 410, Bonney Lake, WA 98391 - (253) 863-9904
Est. year - Building constructed: year
Previous bars in this location:
Web site: bonneylaketavern.com - facebook
Reviews: northwestmilitary - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2608 - Bigfoot's Steakhouse, Seaside, OR - 8/25/2014

Bigfoot's Steakhouse, Seaside, OR
Steaks, a bar, and a Bigfoot theme? I am so there. It's a solid, medium-priced steakhouse with burgers and the other American comfort foods you'd expect. And did I mention Bigfoot?






































2427 S Roosevelt Dr, Seaside, OR 97138 - (503) 738-7009                 &nbsp
Web site: bigfootssteakhouse.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor   

#2607 - Bay Haven Inn, Newport, OR - 8/25/2014

Bay Haven Inn, Newport, OR



The Bay Haven Inn states that it was established in 1908, but I have not been able to find or confirm any details. The bar is in a portion of a building constructed of cinder block, which did not start to become commonly used until the 1920s. Easier to verify are the evidence and stories of Paul Newman and Henry Fonda hanging here in the early 70s, as well as filming several scenes for Newman's film version of Ken Kesey's "Sometimes a Great Notion" (in the film the bar is known as "The Snag"). These include an apocryphal story of a Drunken Paul Newman cutting off the legs of the pool table with a chainsaw. It also appears that Mohava "Mo" Marie Niemi purchased the bar in 1940 and run it for six years before founding local favorite "Mo's."

Today it remains a nice local dive, populated mostly by fishermen and other locals, at least on the day we visited.





















608 SW Bay Blvd, Newport, OR 97365 - (541) 265-7271
Est. 1908?
Reviews: letitpourbeerchaseryelp 

Friday, December 29, 2017

#2606 - Barge Inn, Newport, OR - 8/25/2014

Historic Barge Inn, Newport, OR
I've found no details about the "since 1935" history of the historic Barge Inn, but its current incarnation is largely attributable to longtime owner Pat Witham -- and Witham's sense of humor. It's plain as you approach the place and see the sign above the door announcing that it is "Home of the Wino's, Dingbat's & Riff Raff" (why Wino and Dingbat have apostrophes is not abundantly clear). It continues inside, for example when you notice the sign in the kitchen that brags "Same Day Service on Most Orders."

Witham has owned the place since the late 90s, explaining to the Oregon Coast Bank that he was looking for a new business that would “pay me even less than I was making as a trucker.” (The bank says they enjoy having Witham as a customer "despite the fact that he tends to dispose of any Beaver memorabilia he finds on our desks."

Historic Barge Inn, Newport, OR
The bar opens at 7 and serves classic dive bar cocktails along with a small menu of old school bar food -- hamburgers, hot dogs and breakfast items.





358 SW Bay Blvd, Newport, OR 97365 - (541) 265-8051                   
Est. 1935
Web site: facebook
Reviews: oregoncoastbank - tripadvisor - yelp 

#2605 - Ocean Bleu at Gino's Seafood, Newport, OR - 8/25/2014

Ocean Bleu at Gino's Seafood, Newport, OR
In 1983 Gino Freson opened Gino's Fish Market and Deli here across the street from the charterer boats and barking California sea lions on the historic bayfront of Newport, Oregon. Newport, constructed where the Yaquina River meets the Pacific, is the largest city on the central Oregon coast and might well have become the largest city in Oregon but for a couple snapped steamboat cables that may or may not have been an accident. European settlers began homesteading in the Yaquina Bay area in 1864. It is now tourist-central of the Oregon coast, populated by glass art galleries and candle shops, restaurants and bars, the aquarium and Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

Gino ran his place for over twenty years, becoming well known for its clam chower and fish & chips, until he passed away in 2007. In 2010 Ocean Bleu Seafoods stepped in to preserve the institution, and continue to provide fresh, local seafood from the single-story wooden structure covered in beachcombing artifacts and maritime curios. I do not know when they started the bar to go with the deli here, and it's not a can't-miss stop for the bar itself. But it's a nice choice if you'd like a beer or simple cocktail to go with a tasty seafood lunch.







808 SW Bay Blvd, Newport, OR 97365 - (541) 265-2424                
Bar Est. ? - Gino's market and deli established 1983
Web site: oceanbleuseafoods.com - facebookfacebook
Reviews: restaurantguru - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2604 - The Cruise Inn, Lincoln City, OR - 8/24/2014

Cruise Inn Bar and Grill, Lincoln City, OR
For a place with a "Hippies Use the Back Door" sign, this place sure has a lot of peace signs and Grateful Dead decor.

This description on menupix.com must have come from the bar itself, but it seems pretty spot on (and I like the Barmuda Triangle):

"For decades the Cruise Inn has completed the SE corner of what has long been known as the Barmuda Triangle in the heart of Lincoln City. A quintessential dive bar, the Cruise serves stiff drinks and great food almost any time of the day, so whether you show up for a huge plate of biscuits and gravy chased with a bloody mary at 10 or grab a good burger and beer for lunch you can almost always walk out with a tab around ten bucks... But beware, with an inviting atmosphere and good people you might find yourself hangin' out on into the evening tide where the food gets better and the company becomes more entertaining. The Cruise inn serves outrageously cheap dinner specials Sunday thru Friday starting at 4pm. Just ask a local, be it 1 dollar tacos on Tuesday or 5 dollar chicken fried steak dinners on Thursdays you will leave full so long as you make it in before 8pm, at 8 the cook signs out and the menu gets whittled down to an array of munchi foods, all perfect for the evening to come. So as the sun begins to set in Lincoln City and the volume on the jute box goes up you will find that regardless of your origin the atmosphere at the Cruise is unbeatable. The epitome of a chill dive bar the walls inside are decorated with Grateful Dead paraphernalia and the jute box is filled with an array of classic rock 'n' roll. Though it's certainly not fancy, who can complain when 5 bucks gets you 20 songs and you never have to listen to todays top 20. Should you need it, there are 4 new flat screens, 2 pool tables, a dart board, family guy pinball, and a bran new golden tee in the back to help you pass the time. But with the truly unique variety of patrons filtering through and the exceptionally friendly bartenders you might just find that the best seat in the house is right at the bar."

Cruise Inn, Lincoln City, OR





1330 NE Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 994-6425
Web site: facebook
Reviews: beerchaser - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2603 - Old Oregon Saloon, Lincoln City, OR - 8/24/2014

Old Oregon Saloon, Lincoln City, OR
By at least one reckoning, Lincoln City is the Drunkest City in Oregon, and also the poorest. You wouldn't know that from visiting, at least along the touristy Highway 101. And you wouldn't know it from the Old Oregon Tavern/Saloon (the "Old O" to locals), even though it opens at 7am. From some of the decor here and at least one other bar in town, it would be easy to assume that weed was the intoxicant of choice.


I depend on Yelp a lot more for the photos and hours than reviews, but in this case allow me to except from a sample of yelp reviewers: 








  • "It's a dive bar." 
  • "This is a dive bar."
  • "A classic dive bar ..."
  • "it's a cash only dive ..."
  • "It was everything a dive bar should be ..."
  • "... the ambience is, well, a dive bar."
  • "Cleaner than any dive I've been to."
  • "Where we live the dive bar is going the way of the dodo, so it was nice to kick back and have a cheap drink at a place where there are no craft cocktails or small plates ..."

If you look carefully you may find a theme running through those comments, so if you like dive bars, give this place a look.


1604 NE Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 994-8515
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: beerchaseryelp - tripadvisor 

#2602 - Anchor Inn, Lincoln City, OR - 8/24/2014

Historic Anchor Inn, Lincoln City, OR
We love this old motor inn and motel as a place to stay and enjoy the cozy pub inside, but it appears that they are now only open for select dates and/or larger groups. If it's available, it would be my favorite place to stay on the Oregon coast. Construction on the Taft Heights Motor Court began in 1942, faced some delays, then was completed in 1946. I'm not sure how old the pub portion is, but it seems to have been added only fairly recently. The bar, like the rooms and public spaces, has a welcoming old cabin feel and is crammed with vintage memorablia -- the surrounding grounds only slightly less so. If we can find a way to make it back with their new business model, we will eagerly do so.


Historic Anchor Inn Pub, Lincoln City, OR 




4417 S Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 - (541) 996-3810
Bar Est. ? - Building constructed: 1942-1946
Web site: historicanchorinn.com - facebook
Reviews: yelpoysterfodors - tripadvisor 

Thursday, December 28, 2017

#2601 - McMenamins Pub at Hotel Oregon, McMinnville, OR - 8/24/2014

McMenamins McMinnville, Hotel Oregon
McMinnville, Oregon, as I'm sure I do not have to explain to you, is the county seat and largest city (34,000) of Yamhill County. It has a quaint, very walkable downtown area and is best known today for pinot noirs and space aliens. The city has been the center of Oregon's wine country since the 1990s, with 14 nearby wineries in the region's American Viticultural Area (AVA). The downtown area very much reflects this, with tourist-friendly shops and restaurants that tend to be new and chic (do not look here for a weathered, old dive).



The space alien theme derives from the "McMinnville UFO photographs," printed on the front page of the McMinnville Telephone-Register and soon reprinted in LIFE Magazine. The city's annual UFO Festival, sponsored by McMenamins, is now second in size among such events only to the event in Roswell, New Mexico, near the site of a 1947 crash of a weather balloon extraterrestrial craft of inexplicable, unearthly properties.

These features are celebrated in small elements of the McMenamin's in town, in a four-story (tallest building in town), 1905 structure that has housed everything from a Greyhound bus depot to a banquet hall to a soda fountain. Constructed as the Hotel Elberton and today called the Hotel Oregon, it has a pub on the main floor, a rooftop bar (unfortunately closed during our visit) and a Cellar Bar with a back alley entrance, wine and live music. If you are from the northwest, I need not linger on the details of the decor or food -- it is yet another cozy place preserving a nice historic structure and featuring the paradigmatic McMenamins artwork and bric-a-brac along with solid food and beer options.



310 NE Evans St, McMinnville, OR 97128 - (503) 472-8427                    
Est. 1999 - Building constructed: 1905
Web site: mcmenamins.com - facebook 
Reviews: yelptripadvisor