#856 - Crabby's Underground Saloon, Pendleton, OR - 7/22/2009

220 SW 1st St, Pendleton, OR 97801 - (541) 276-8118
myspace - goseeoregon - ohwy

#855 - Bern's Tavern, Prosser, Wa - 7/22/2009

How great is that sign?

618 6th St., Prosser, WA 99350 - bernstavern.com

#854 - Branzino, Seattle (Belltown) - 7/20/2009

Kellie and Dennis at Branzino

branzinoseattle.com - seattle pi - seattle times - seattle magazine - yelp - the stranger

#853 - Revyve, Seattle (Belltown) - 7/20/2009

revyveseattle.com - yelp

#852 - Brouwer's Cafe, Seattle (Fremont) - OOO

Update: Brouwer's closed in 2024

blog - yelp

#851 - Greenlake Bar & Grill, Seattle - 7/12/2009

There's a nice history of past Greenlake Grills at the current and other locations on the My Greenlake blog.

7200 E Green Lake Dr N, Seattle, WA 98115 - (206) 729-6179
website - yelp - the stranger

#850 - Bastille, Seattle (Ballard) - 7/11/2009

Update: After temporarily closing due to the Coronavirus in March 2020, the owners announced that Bastille would be refashioned into Sabine Cafe, which opened their cafe portion Oct 28, 2020. The bar portion remained closed to be reopened when conditions allow.

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This may be the completion of the gentrification of Ballard and final concession of Seattle's hip neighborhood to Georgetown / SoDo. But if so, what a way to go.

The place is beautiful, with glowing, vintage sconces that will make steampunks envious, French subway accoutrements, very fine French brasserie style food, and a rollicking, sexy salsa scene in the gorgeous back bar. By comparision to the august interior, the patio looks rather plain, but also spacious and welcoming. And it detracted nothing my first impression that the place (in the location of the old Obermaier Machine Works building) was packed with beautiful women the Saturday night we went. Gentrification certainly has its benefits.

Est. 2010 - Closed March 2020 (refashioned into Sabine Cafe) - Building constructed 1927

5307 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107-4061 - (206) 453-5014
bastilleseattle.com - yelp - seattle times - myballard

#849 - Nijo, Seattle (downtown) - 7/8/2009

(Pat Roux photo)

83 Spring St. Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 340-8880
Est. 2005 - Building constructed 1905
Previous bars at this location: None known
nijosushi.com - yelp - the stranger

#848 - The Loft, Edmonds, WA - 7/4/2009

It's been a very long time since I'd been to downtown Edmonds and I really had low expectations for the bars. But while I don't see any particular reason to ever go back to Rory's or Johnny's, I was surprised by how much I liked the little trio of bars around 5th and Main. And The Loft was the most surprising of all.

It's small and romantic, with two floors and a very nice bamboo-lined patio. The food and drinks contain some fine, uncommon options. With the spring break type atmosphere at Taki Tiki and the classic neighborhood feel of Engel's, the swanky dark wood and dramatic lighting of The Loft make it the upscale alternative to perfectly complete the range of drinkeries. It gives people from Seattle a reason to return, and makes old town Edmonds feel like an alluring little resort town.

Try the: Glacier (Bartender Joe's cocktail contest entry)

515 Main St., Edmonds, WA 98020 - (425) 640-5000
theloftlounge.com - yelp - insider pages

#847 - Engel's Pub, Edmonds, WA - 7/4/2009

A classic, small, neighborhood pub, just like every town should have.

113 5th Ave S Edmonds, WA 98020 - (425) 778-2900
Est. 1934
yelp - insiderpages

#846 - Johnny's Sports Bar, Edmonds, WA - 7/4/2009

Mehhh....

101 Main St., Edmonds, WA 98020-3131 - (425) 778-1585
johnnyssportsbar.net - facebook - yelp

#845 - Rory's, Edmonds, WA - 7/4/2009

105 Main Street, Edmonds, WA 98020 - 425-778-3433
Previous bars in this location: Sail Inn Tavern (50s-90s)
yelp - citysearch -

#844 - A Very Taki Tiki Bar, Edmonds, WA - 7/4/2009

This is certainly not the sort of place that is going to please people who are really into tiki culture. But while the college-bar type crowd, the cheesy but charmless decor, and the overly sweet, sorority girl drinks are not my cup of tea, I do like to see a range of styles in bars and I think this one definitely has its place, nestled in with the swanky Loft and the comfortably divey Engel's.

518 Main Street, Edmonds, WA 98020 - 425-778-3548
Previous bars at this location:None known
averytakitikibar.com - yelp

#843 - Pexos / Lake City Bar and Grill, Seattle - 7/4/2009

When I first stopped into this bar in July 2009, I wrote here how boring it was.  It seemed like the lifeless remnant of some 70s fern bar, with no distinct features, hardly anyone in the place, and a virtually lifeless bartender. Like many people, I assume it was the "Lake City Bar and Grill," as the signs outside proclaimed, and I assumed I'd never be back.

Hanging bar above the main bar bears vestiges of Neal's Nightcap.

What brought me back in Sep. 2012, was finding the unfamiliar name of Pexos Sports Bar. It turned out that Pexos is what many people call the Lake City Bar and Grill, as the investment of a new sign was apparently considered frivolous. I was glad I came back though -- the place was a bit more lively, there were more interesting characters, and I did a tiny bit better job at noticing various vestiges of the past. That past was then partially filled in by long-time resident and customer Ashley.

This clip art flyer beside the door was the only hint I saw of the "Pexos" name.

Ashley informed me that the place was previously Neal's Nightcap (hence the "N N" etched in the hanging bar), and earlier the Green Mill (odd, because there is a sign with a blue mill still on top of the building), and possibly also The Lantern (presuming she is not conflating this with the Beacon Light Tavern which used to be on the next block).  It also went by various versions of "O'Neill's up until 2005 or so (O'Neill's Family Restaurant, O'Neill's Pub and Eatery, O'Neill's Restaurant and Bar). Unfortunately, it is difficult to find primary records of establishments this far from the downtown area.



12725 Lake City Way NE., Seattle, Washington 98125 - 206-362-2911
Previous bars in this location: O'Neill's, Neal's Nightcap, The Green Mill?  The Lantern?
yelp 

#842 - 88 Keys, Seattle (Pioneer Square) - 7/2/2009

Update: 88 Keys closed in 2017

315 2nd Avenue South, Seattle, WA
Previous bars in this location: Jazz Alley Downtown, Celebrity, The Fenix
Subsequent bars in this location: Xtadium
88keyseattle.com - yelp

#841 - GLO at Ibiza - Seattle (Pioneer Square) - 7/2/2009

528 2nd Ave., Seattle, WA 98104
ibizadinnerclub.com - yelp - seattle times - the stranger

#840 - Smarty Pants, Seattle (Georgetown) - 6/27/2009

In any other Seattle neighborhood this would be a top destination bar. But the emphasis is on the restaurant here, and south Seattle is an embarrassment of riches of bars with character and great vibe. It's still a pretty good choice and probably has the best summer patio if you don't want to go all the way to Loretta's. The service is friendly and good even when they're slammed (I went during Artopia / Georgetown Music Fest). But I did not quite have the nerve to order the bacon-tini.

6017 Airport Way S., Seattle, WA 98108-2717
smartypantsseattle.com - yelp - the stranger - seattle weekly

#839 - Jabu's Pub, Seattle (Queen Anne) - 6/26/2009

Update: Jabu's Pub closed on Sep 6, 2014

The drinks are uninteresting, but it's a nice, quirky space, and it's more about the crowd than the menu. If I ever become a lesbian I'll probably hang out here before Storm games.

Est. 2002 - Closed Sep 6, 2014
174 Roy St., Seattle, WA 98109
jabuspub.com - myspace - facebook - yelp - the stranger

#838 - Solo, Seattle (Queen Anne) - 6/26/2009

Low key and swanky, I liked one yelper's description of Solo as the "anti-Pesos." And while this blog is not about food, it would be a shame to go there and not try the rabbit mole tacos.

200 Roy St., Seattle, WA 98109-4150 - (206) 213-0080
solo-bar.com - facebook - yelp - the stranger

#837 - Jelly Bar, Seattle (downtown) - 6/25/2009

Update: Long Provincial and Jelly Bar closed Oct 31, 2020.

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This is the bar attached to Long Provincial restaurant, the new Vietnamese restaurant from Tan Nguyen, the owner of Tamarind Tree, and replacing QUBE. It now has a dark, romantic interior, minus the bright, modernist coldness of QUBE, though with curved, wooden bar stools that look nice but are virtually impossible to sit upon for any length of time. They have some fairly interesting and good cocktails, along with food from Long if you like, which makes it quite a reasonable down tempo stop. 

1901 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101 

longprovincial.com - seattle weekly - the stranger - yelp