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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,608 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

#2688 - Raging River Cafe and Club, Fall City, WA - 1/11/2015

Located in a strip mall across the street from the Snoqualmie River, the Raging River Cafe and Club is known most for its old school diner style breakfasts. But it also has a bar section, with an almost fern-bar style, rectangular bar -- wines and spirits behind glass up top, and river rock below -- which caters to a lively, dive-bar sort of crowd.

33719 Redmond-Fall City Rd SE, Fall City, WA 98024 - (425) 222-6669
Est. year - Building constructed: 1956
Previous bars in this location: Sportsman's Cafe
Web site: theragingrivercafeclub.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - beeradvocate - untappd 

#2687 #S1304 - Agave Cocina and Tequilas, Seattle - 1/6/2015

Sitting along with a number of other restaurants in a clutch of condos in the shadow of the Space Needle, Agave is a local mini-chain of modernized Mexican restaurants owned by Federico Ramos, with sister restaurants in Issaquah and Redmond. Frederico is said to have designed the fixtures and ironwork himself, and to accompany the food he built the largest selection of 100% agave tequilas in the Pacific Northwest.

I will have to be more adventurous in future visits, but in this one I was inclined toward the margarita with jalapeno and cilantro. I like both the food and drinks and a bonus was sassy bartender Katie K.


100 Republican Street #100, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 420-8195
Est. May 3, 2014 - Building constructed: 2012
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: agavecocina.com - facebook
Reviews: eater - worldsbestbarsthestranger - yelp - tripadvisor  

#2686 #S1303 - Bitter Raw, Seattle - 1/6/2015

After a working tour of Japan, New York, and San Francisco, John Sundstrom returned to Seattle and started collecting recognition from James Beard and others at places like Dahlia Lounge, Carmelita, and Earth & Ocean, before opening cozy Lark on Capitol Hill in 2003. Eleven years later he moved Lark to a much larger room to in a 1917 warehouse, which had enough room on the upper floor to create a comfortably dark second bar, Bitter/Raw. The focus is shellfish, chacuterie, and fancy, raw, small plates, and while oysters are a little too raw and bitter for my tastes, it's a quite nice location for light bites and fine cocktails.


952 E Seneca St, 2nd floor, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 323-5275
Est. Dec 4, 2014 - Building constructed: 1917
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: larkseattle.comfacebook
Reviews: seattlemet - yelp - seattleweekly - restaurantguru 

Sunday, July 22, 2018

#2685 #S1302 - Mama Stortini's, Seattle - 1/3/2015

Mama Stortini's, Northgate Mall, Seattle
The first Mama Stortini's was opened in University Place in 1993 by Joe Stortini. Joe was born in Tacoma after his parents, Giuseppe Stortini and Giuseppina Piazza, immigrated from Port Sant'Elpidio, Italy in 1914. Joe excelled in baseball and football in high school and at the University of Puget Sound, eventually being named to both the UPS and Tacoma Athletic Commission's Halls of Fame.

Joe got a Masters in Education and worked as a high school teacher at Mount Tahoma High before leaving to enter politics. He became a state senator and held several other roles in Pierce County politics. No doubt his greatest challenge in life, brought upon himself, came in August of 1991, when a woman with whom he was having an affair killed herself with an overdose of drugs. Stortini, who was serving as Pierce County Executive at the time, was with her at the time and called 911. The incident apparently happened after Stortini informed the woman, who had divorced her husband, that he wanted to repair his relationship with his wife.

Mama Stortini's, Seattle
The incident marred a life and careers which already made Stortini one of the most recognizable personalities in the South Sound, feted for his many contributions to local charities. I assume the incident led to his departure from politics, and eventually into the restaurant business. Joe expanded to a restaurant in Puyallup before selling the business in 1999. He would later return to the business with Joeseppi’s Italian Ristorante on Pearl Street in North Tacoma, which he runs to this day, well into his 80s.

Meanwhile, the corporation that acquired Mama Stortini's expanded to Northgate Mall in Seattle. It no longer has the personal touch that Joe provides, but it does feature a stolid menu of Italian-centric American and Americanized comfort foods, some nice wines, and some sugary cocktails that one doubts would meet the approval of old Giuseppina Piazza.

Joe Stortini, found of Mama Stortini's
while serving as state senator in 1973

Joe Stortini, circa 2013
401 NE Northgate Way #1103, Seattle, WA 98125 - (206) 365-5567                              
Est. Nov 25, 2014 - Building constructed: 1950
Previous bars in this location: Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill
Web site: mamastortinis.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - eater 

Sunday, May 27, 2018

#2684 #S1301 - Nana's Family Mexican Kitchen, Seattle - 1/1/2015

Update: Nana's Family Mexican Kitchen and Cantina closed in September 2017.

The food at Nana's struck me as fairly pedestrian American Mexican fare, but there's no way you'll miss the visuals. The 90-year-old, two-floor Queen Anne hill bungalow is covered in a detonation of raucous colors -- as if your eccentric aunt had the bingo night of a lifetime and decided to spend her winnings taking a U-Haul down to the Nogales public market. The people are nice, and the drinks are pretty much what you'd expect.

Nana's Family Mexican Kitchen and Cantina, Seattle, WA

1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 922-3340                             
Est. Aug 6, 2014 - Building constructed: 1925
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: respectmyregion - yelp - tripadvisor - zagat - theeatguidequeenanneview  - queenanneview 

#2683 #S1300 - Red King Crab Seafood, Seattle - 1/1/2015

Red King Crab Seafood Restaurant, Seattle, WA
Update: Red King Crab Seafood closed in June of 2015.

Owner Kwang Yoon serves some nice sushi and various Asian and seafood plates in this old Belltown Austin Bell building location in what seems like a halfway point between casual and white tablecloth fancy. The cocktails here are not as much of an attraction, but you can find a nice wine.



Red King Crab Seafood Restaurant, Seattle, WA



2328 1st Ave, Seattle, Washington - (206) 441-7511
Est. Dec 5, 2014 - Closed June 28, 2015 - Building constructed: 1908
Previous bars in this location: Taberna del Alabardero, Cascadia
Web site: redkingcrabseattle.wix.com/redkingcrab
Reviews: eater - yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon

#2682 - Brick 29 Bistro, Nampa, ID - 12/30/2014

Brick29, Nampa, Idaho
The description of "comfort food elevated" and promise to satisfy foodies and less adventurous eaters was just the ticket for our extended family dinner, and Brick 29 delivered in spades. The upscale but affordable food from James Beard award winning chef Dustan Bristol was delicious and the cocktails did not disappoint. This was served in a pleasant old Masonic Hall, with early 20th century touches. (Since this visit they have moved to the upper floor of the building.)




320 11th Avenue South, Nampa, ID 83651 - (208) 468-0029
Est. 2007
Web site: brick29.com - facebook
Articles ranked: idahostatesmanidahopress - boiseweekly - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2681 - Broadway Bar, Boise, ID - 12/27/2014

This is a nice, old (50 years or so?), divey, neighborhood bar.


1712 South Broadway Avenue, Boise, ID 83706 - (208) 342-9951
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1925
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: yelp - boiseweekly  

Saturday, May 26, 2018

#2680 - Applebees, Boise, ID - 12/27/2014

Yeah, well, it does have a bar and I was hungry.

On a subsequent visit to my old neighborhood in Boise, Facebook popped up with a message that it found three "highly rated restaurants" that it thought I would like. The three were Denny's, Applebees, and Copper Kitchen.

Perhaps there should be some solace in the fact that the social media goliath sitting on top of the world's richest trove of personal data -- including many hundreds of restaurants I have checked into and commented upon -- does not have the first clue what I like. But in any case, here I was in December 2014; and the food is just fine here, and as long as you stick to beer and the basics, so are the drinks. And though I can't rely on Mr. Zuckerberg and company for much help, we still manage to find a bar now and then that more profoundly catches our fancy.


2810 Elder Street, Boise, ID - (208) 344-5630
Web site: applebees.com - facebook 
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - boiseweekly 

#2679 - Juniper, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

Juniper on 8th, Boise, ID
This is just a swell place all around -- nice setting, great food, very good cocktails, and funny and efficient server Bri (and I am totally unbiased by the fact that she responded to my Krampus Christmas sweater with "I think you might be awesome").


211 North 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702 -  (208) 342-1142                              
Est. June 28, 2014
Web site: juniperon8th.com - facebook
Reviews: idahopreferred - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2678 - The Mode Lounge, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

The Mode Lounge, Boise, ID
Craft cocktails in a swanky, intimate setting with a historic neon sign restored? I'm in.

The Mode Lounge can seem a little poncy with its DJ and admixture of midcentury, prohibition era, and modern decor, but why not? The owners of this place also own Pie Hole Pizza in the same historic old department store space, below the old second flood Mode Tea Room where shoppers congregated over tea and cake well over a century ago. But the Pie Hole's skateboarder personality that could hardly be more different than this romantic ode to cocktailing and classic style. If you enjoy fine cocktails this is a must-stop in Boise.


800 West Idaho Street, Boise, ID 83702 - (208) 342-6633
Est. Jan 24, 2014 - Building constructed: 1895
Previous bars in this location: Grape Escape
Web site: themodelounge.com - facebook
Reviews: roadtrippers - boiseweekly - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2677 - Jumpin' Janet's, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

Jumpin Janet's, Boise, ID
A neighborhood bar with a hodgepodge of themes, loosely tied together by the personality of its biker owner Janet Carter. In additional to pool tables and dive bar priced drinks, Janet's serves better than average American comfort foods included a much liked prime rib dinner on Wednesdays and Fridays.










574 South Vista Avenue, Boise, ID 83705 - (208) 342-7620                              
Est. October 12, 1999
Previous bars in this location: Brass Lamp Pizza
Web site: jumpinjanetsboise.com - facebook
Reviews: roadtrippers - yelp - tripadvisor - boiseweekly  

#2676 - Charlie Brown's, Boise, ID - 12/24/2014

Charlie Browns Lounge, Boise, ID
Charlie Brown's was one of those long-running neighborhood icons that I passed hundreds of times as a kid but never stepped foot inside until decades later. But the towering sign outside necessitated a visit, and it was clinched as a classic for me as soon as I saw the inner bar, with it's carpeting on the sides, slanted facades featuring old wildlife paintings, and a few old geezers hovering over their drinks.

I was informed that Charlie Browns had been here for "43 or 44 years," which would have put its opening around 1970. It's now a divey, neighborhood sports bar, with darts, pool tables, chili cookoffs, special dinners on holidays, and pot luck memorials for regulars who have passed away.



5783 West Overland Road, Boise, ID 83705 - (208) 375-6541
Est. circa 1970
Web site: facebook  
Reviews: boiseweekly - yelp

#2675 - Mai Thai, Boise, ID - 12/24/2014

Mai Thai, Boise, ID
The Mai Thai is a slightly upscale downtown Boise restaurant featuring Northern Thai cuisine, along with sushi, Bento Boxes, various Asian fusion plates, some nice cocktails with an emphasis on fresh juices, and a wine program featuring Idaho wines and which gathered an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator. Mai Thai has been voted best Thai food in Boise 12 years in a a row and features something that I wish more Seattle Thai restaurants had -- a lunch buffet.











750 W Idaho St, Boise, ID 83702 - (208) 344-8424                              
Est. 2003
Web site: maithaigroup.com - facebook
Articles ranked: boisefoodieguild - theeatguide - boisefork - culturetrip - idahostatesman - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2674 #S1299 - Alicia, Seattle (Leschi) - 12/16/2014

Update: Alicia closed in September 2018.

Alicia features Vietnamese and Asian fusion dishes from the Kuang family that runs the locally popular Green Leaf restaurants. But it seems hard to make a go of this location, which is near the Leschi marina but with frustratingly little view of Lake Washington, and it closed 4 years later.



200 Lake Washington Blvd, Ste B, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 324-6388
Est. Sep 3, 2014 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: Ruby Asian Dining, Sabai
Web site: aliciafusion.com - facebook 
Reviews: seattlemet - seattlemet - thestrangeryelp