#1355 #S817 - Mesob Ethiopian, Seattle - 1/29/2011

Update: Mesob closed in late 2013, after developers acquired the surrounding property to build townhouses. The owner has opened a new restaurant called Shewaber at 1221 S. Main.

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Mesob has been around about ten years selling some of the better Ethiopian food in town.  The treat is the bar in the back room, which has an island/tiki feel to it, due not just to the raffia roofs over the bamboo booths, but also the ramshackle, low-budget extension to the building that houses them.  The cocktails are nothing to write back to the mainland about, but you can sip them in a pleasantly casual vibe, with the smell of spices and incense wafting through the air.

1325 East Jefferson St, Seattle, WA 98122-5537 - (206) 860-0403
Building constructed: 1948
mesobseattle.com - the stranger  - yelp

#1354 - The Beachcomber, Skyway, WA - 1/29/2011

This is the kind of place where the bartender doesn't want to take your credit card when you start a tab, because she's concerned she might lose it. The Beachcomber is nowhere near a beach, and Cheryl the bartender has no idea why it is named that.

Cheryl used to have an accounting business next door, and she started working there with the place was owned by "The Greek" (Mike Semandaris, the Mike of Mike's Chili in Ballard. Cheryl has been working at the Beachcomber for ten or eleven years, still helping out though her plan was to be retired.

Around the corner from the cheap paneling walls and popcorn ceiling, Bert Harvey the owner makes massive burgers back in the kitchen. An elderly, school marmish lady nurses a drink at one end of the bar, three elderly aged white men drink at the other end, and three middle-aged black men sit near the fireplace in the back section. It's not clear whether the Beachcomber has benefited from the closing of Champs, just up the street, but Cheryl tells me that it attracted a bad crowd and the closure was a blessing for the neighborhood. The Beachcomber, on the other hand, has been slinging beers since 1947 (although not in the current location for quite that long).

12623 Renton Ave S, Seattle, WA 98178 - (206) 772-5183
Est. 1947; Building constructed: 1952
seattle weekly - yelp

#1353 #S816 - Maneki Hannya Room, Seattle - 1/28/2011

Maneki has been in the current building since the owners returned from internment, but the business is 107 years old.  It recieved the James Beard award as one "America's Classics."  It is, of course, Seattle's oldest sushi bar, and while there is always a line, the sake choices in the Hannya Room lounge will fortify you for the wait.

304 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 622-2631
Est. 1904, Current location since 1946; Building constructed: 1914
manekirestaurant.com - seattle weekly - seattle times - the stranger - yelp

#1352 #S815 - Santolea, Seattle - 1/27/2011

Santolea closed Feb 2011

501 N. 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 453-4350
Est. May 2010; Closed Feb 2011; Building constructed: 1927
yelp - youtube

#1351 #S814 - Showa, Seattle - 1/27/2011

Update: Showa closed in Feb 24, 2013

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Very good izakaya (Japanese small bites) with pretty good cocktails in a cozy, interesting space.

701 N 36th St Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 388-3913
Est. Nov. 2010 - Closed Feb 2013 - Building constructed: 2001
showafremont.com - the stranger - seattletimes - seattlemag - yelp

#1350 #S813 - Woodsky's, Seattle - 1/27/2011

A sort of ski lodge inspired quick substitute for the short-lived Sinners and Saints.

303 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 547-9662
Est. Jan 2011 - Closed Jan 22, 2019 - Building constructed 1900 or earlier
facebook - fremont universe - thrillist (sound) - yelp - the stranger

#1349 #S812 - Local 360, Seattle - 1/26/2011

Local 360 is a new place in the old Flying Fish space from Marcus Charles, currently the main owner of JuJu and the Crocodile Cafe, and previous owner of Marcus's Martini Heaven, Bad JuJu, Spitfire, Neumos, and Jack's Roadhouse.  Local 360 is very different from all of those; it is so progressive it uses a ".org" domain name and has a manifesto.

The theme is sustainability, and hence the name, which signifies their goal of getting 90% of their ingredients from within a 360 mile radius of the restaurant.  The actual bar is tiny (3 or 4 seats*, as I recall), and at the times we have visited (this particular visit was the first night they had dinner available), there was not yet a cocktail menu or any particularly interesting featured drinks.  That may well change with their focus on craft, local products, and in the meantime, the food is more than good enough to bring you in.

Historical notes: This location has hosted Seattle bars for over 120 years. The current building was constructed in 1930, but the "C.R. Hammond Saloon" was located at this address by 1890, and the current building hosted the Liberty Tavern from at least the late 1940s into the 1980s. (Before moving here, the Liberty operated in space that was recently "Kelly's" and is now the "Acquabar.") In 1995 Christine Keff turned the space into the Flying Fish, which it remained for 15 years before the Fish relocated to South Lake Union.

Historical notes:  This location has housed bars since the 19th century, including the California Wine House up until prohibition. The current building, constructed in 1930, housed the Liberty Tavern from the 40s into the 80s, and Flying Fish from 1995 through 2010.

*Since this writing the bar has been expanded.

2234 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-9360                  
Est. 1/26/2011 Building constructed: 1930
Previous bars in this location:  CR Hammond Saloon, The Lexington, Liberty Tavern, Flying Fish
local360.org - seattle pi - komo - the stranger - yelp