#1114 #S662 - Brickyard BBQ, Seattle - 5/19/2010

Update: Brickyard BBQ closed in 2012.

In neighborhood bar areas, as in business, it seems to be a general trend that the rich get richer.  For Seattle area bars, the richest for me are Capitol Hill (particularly the stretch around Olive between Broadway and I5), the Georgetown/SoDo area, and California Avenue in West Seattle.  Along the latter, which ranges from great old dives (e.g. Poggie Tavern) to swanky (best represented by the recently demised Ama Ama) to fancy schmancy (e.g. Spring Hill), you can add one of very few barbecue places that really looks and feels like a barbecue place.

The Brickyard BBQ serves quite good Texas-style barbecue in a quirky building (much of it necessitated by quirky building codes) with a decor assembled from various friends, and designed with warm, summer afternoons in mind.  There is currently a fair amount of outdoor seating and a garage door that opens the inner portion in warm weather, and Don Kriley, who co-owns the place with his brother Dan, took me back to see the grassy area in back that they plan to have ready to open this Saturday May 29th with horse shoe pits, fire pits, an outdoor bar, and live music, and I hope to be able to check it out that night.

Thanks to Don's friend David for giving me a bit of history of not only this place, but the Blue Eagle, Alki, and some of the other old bars of West Seattle.  There's not much fancy about the bar or drinks at the Brickyard, but this is place gives me one more reason to look forward to those warm summer days in between the gray ones.


2308 California Avenue Southwest Seattle, WA - (206) 933-3109
Est. 2010 - Closed 2012
brickyardbarbq.com - facebook - urbanspoon - westseattleblog

#1113 #S661 - Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle - 5/18/2010

Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle, WA

This is a quite nice, somewhat upscale, cafe just up the street from the (in no way upscale, but excellent) Five Point, on a historic corner in Seattle at the meeting of land claims by founders Arthur Denny, Carson Boren and William Bell (of the "Belltown" neighborhood). The menu comes from a chef, Ba Culbert, who previously worked at the Palace Kitchen and The Ruins, and seems to feature fine takes on European comfort food sorts of dishes.  In the evenings the bar is a  pleasant stop with better than average drinks. Best seats in the house are the left-most bar seats, where one can observe the small but finely-tuned kitchen churning out their great looking dishes.

Meals coming out of the kitchen as viewed from the bar

Fried Brussels Sprout Salad

Pan seared chicken with broccolini, mashed potatoes, sauce Normany

Wild boar meatballs

Savory tart

407 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 282-4830                    
Est. October 2008 - Building constructed 1927
Previous bars at this location: None know (printers shop before cafe)
Web site: tilikumplacecafe.com - facebook
Articles:  seattletimes - belltowninseattle - cornichon - the stranger - seattle weekly - yelp

#1112 #S660 - Coldwater Bar & Grill, Seattle - 5/18/2010

Update: Coldwater Grill closed sometime sometime between December 2012 and Feb 2013.

Not particularly interesting in any way.

1900 Fifth Ave, Seattle, Washington 98101 - (206) 256-7697
Est. Feb 2005 - Closed Dec 2012 - Feb 2013 - Building constructed: 1969
Previous bars at this location:  Trader Vic's/The Outrigger, Roy's
coldwaterbarandgrill.com - seattlepi - yelp

#1116 #S664 - BluWater Bistro, Seattle (Leschi) - 5/24/2010

I've had drinks at this location before, but didn't have it on my list, and those visits may all have been in the Leschi Lake Cafe days. So I dropped by on a sunny Monday afternoon, which the weather sites said would be followed by four cloudy rainy days.

This *should* be the best of the three BluWater locations, but unfortunately the patio is not on the water side. It's still a very pleasant location and as with the other locations, the drinks are average and the food is better than average.

102 Lakeside Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 328-2233
bluwaterbistro.com - yelp -

#1111 #S659 - Dahlia Lounge, Seattle - 5/17/2010

I'd never had a drink at the actual lounge of the Dahlia Lounge (the food is Tom Douglas -- you know all about that).  The bar doesn't have a lot of character, and this remains much more of a place where you wait for your table than a destination bar.

Nevertheless, the "Thai Basil" cocktail I had was delicious.  "Those are basil seeds, not fish eggs, at the bottom," the bartender noted, apparently anticipating a common assumption.  When the drink is that tasty, I don't really care.

2001 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 682-4142
tomdouglas.com - yelp

#1110 #S658 - Blueacre Seafood, Seattle - 5/17/2010

Update: Blueacre Seafood closed in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and announced their permanent closure Nov 18, 2020

The emphasis is on the seafood at Blueacre, the new place from the Steelhead Diner folks in the space of the former Oceanaire.  While I didn't eat, the fellow next to me had one of the most sumptuous looking pieces of salmon I've ever seen.  But the cocktail menu is not a mere afterthought, featuring a number of interesting drinks named for various legal terms -- "Class Action," "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree," "Hostile Witness," etc.  ("Blueacre" is apparently a seafood version of "black acre," a generic sort of "John Doe" term for a property in legal lingo.)

The bartenders seem to vary quite a bit in their knowledge and experience, but I enjoyed my "Tragedy of the Commons" (Buffalo Trace bourbon, velvet falernum, lime, and Peychard's bitters).

1700 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 659-0737

Est. 2010 - Closed Nov 18, 2020 - Building constructed: 2000

Previous bars in this location: Oceanaire

blueacreseafood.com - facebook - seattle times - tom douglas - thestranger -

#1109 #S657 - Blu Water Grill, Lake Union, Seattle - 5/17/2010

This was my first visit to this version of the BluWater Bistro (after being to the Leschi restaurant a couple times and the Greenlake version several times). 

I visited on a hazy, weekday afternoon, and after seeing the cabana, I'm eager to check it out on a warm summer evening, even though I suspect it doesn't tend to draw a sort of crowd I prefer.

The cocktails are pedestrian, but the food is pretty good and the view is excellent.

1001 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 447-0769

bluwaterbistro.com - thestranger - yelp

#1108 #S656 - Cellars, Seattle - OOO

2132 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 448-8757
cellarsbelltown.com - yelp

#1107 #S655 - Angelina's, Seattle - 5/15/2010

A nice Italian restaurant with a fairly good bar.  The "Admiral's Kiss" (pear vodka, St. Germain, and citrus) is quite refreshing.

2311 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 932-4550
angelinaswestseattle.com - facebook - yelp

#1106 #S654 - Benbow Room, Seattle - 5/15/2010

Admiral Benbow Room, West Seattle

Update: The Benbow Room closed March 22, 2015

2nd Update: After a period hosting Vidiot, the Benbow Room was opened once again by Mark Fuller in July 2022

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The Benbow Room, the bar associated with the old Benbow Inn since 1950, has thankfully been resuscitated by new owners in conjunction with the new Heartland Cafe restaurant. The direct entrance to the bar is from an alley -- I already like it! But the real pleasure is inside, where the bar takes on the interior of an old Spanish galleon, complete with the (fake) sunlight streaming through the aft windows.

The bar also features a rather bizarre in-floor koi pond -- bizarre because it is small, half covered by a table, and split by a wall.  This must have been quite different in the original configuration -- e.g. it must have been at least partially uncovered based on a story from a friend about how she once accidentally threw up in it.  The fish are now safely shielded from patron vomit (and virtually from sight), and the quirkiness of the current structure seems to fit in -- it's a dive-bar sort of koi pond.

The cocktails are appropriately focused on rum, and strongly on the sweet side.  The beers are biased toward the Wisconsin origins of the owner.  The staff is fun and the atmosphere a bit funky -- while we were there the television was playing a 60s Danish porn film that looked like the model for Austin Powers (and inspiring animated reactions from those at the bar).  Our party reported no sightings of the legendary Benbow Inn ghost.

Admiral Benbow Room, West Seattle

There are some better photos available here and here.


Historical Notes: According to Clark Humphrey's Vanishing Seattle, the "Admiral Benbow" operated here from 1950 to 2002, when owner Neysa Longmire passed away. The current owners apparently had to recover various auctioned off parts of the old bar to restore it.  (Note that while the current operation shares the 4210 address with the Shipwreck Tavern next door, the Admiral Benbow used 4212.)

4210 SW Admiral Way, Suite A, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 922-3313
heartlandcafeseattle.com - thrillist - seafairpirates.org - seattle weekly - westseattle blog

#1105 #S653 - Lombardi's, Seattle - 5/14/2010

Update:  Lombardi's to be closed after Oct 9, 2010

 The Italian food, not the bar, is the focus at Lombardi's, but they do have a good happy hour and some better than average cocktails. But while this blog is not about the food, that is what will bring me back. It's nothing particularly fancy, but it is tasty, and they take full advantage of my weakness for bruschetta with six different kinds to choose from. For my 4 item sampler, I chose the traditional, the goat cheese, the fig, and the crab, enjoyed them all, and plan to test the remaining two in fairly short order.

2200 NW Market St., Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-0055
lombardiscucina.com - seattle weekly - the stranger - seattle dining - yelp

#1104 #S652 - Carnegie's, Seattle - 5/14/2010

Update: Carnegie's will close at the end of January 2011.

Carnegie's is set in a great old Carnegie library that opened to the public in 1904 and was the first major branch of the Seattle Public Library system.  It served as a library until 1963, and after various subsequent occupants, its current incarnation as a French restaurant commenced in 2003.

Carnegie's has a completely prix fixe menu, with a $12 lunch course, and a choice between a $35 course and $45 course for dinner.  The menu sounds fairly enticing, and I do plan to come back for lunch, but their bar -- beyond their wine -- is uninteresting and virtually nonexistent.

2026 NW Market St (Ballard), 789-6643
carnegiesrestaurant.com - wikipedia - the stranger - yelp

#1103 #S651 - Venik Lounge, Seattle - 5/11/2010

The Venik Lounge is a romantic, little place in the south Lake Union area that is about to experience an explosion of restaurants and lounges.  Venik is associated with Banya 5, the "urban spa experience," and features a long, mahogany bar shaped like the f-hole on a violin.  They have a small menu of quite good food, and serve pretty good cocktails to boot. 

I can't recall the particular drink I had, as it was good enough, but eclipsed in my memory by the meat and cheese plate, which included an excellent smoked shallot and an extremely tasty truffled goat cheese from Pike Place market. Their specialty is their vodka infusions, and since I did not sample these on this night, I must return and try one of their three shot samplers.

Venik would be a fine choice particularly if you are on a date and would like some place with slightly upscale food and drinks and a romantic setting, but off the beaten path and not overrun with other people.

Oh yeah, and a venik ("veh-nik") is a "leafy, fragrant bundle of leafy birch or oak tree twigs" that is an essential part of the Russian Bath experience.  So now you know.

227 Ninth Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 223-3734
veniklounge.com - facebook - the stranger - seattlest - seattle weekly - yelp

#1102 #S650 - Clam Digger Lounge, Seattle - 5/11/2010

Who doesn't like Ivar's? The Clam Digger is the lounge at the Elliot Bay location ("Ivar's Acres of Clams"). I'd never previously gone to the bar there.

1001 Alaskan Way, Pier 54, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 624-6852
Est. 1946 - Building constucted: 1900 or earlier
ivars.com - facebook - yelp

#1101 #S649 - Wann, Seattle - 5/8/2010

The fact that Wann's bar generally sticks to the basics is reflected in the bartender's answer to my question about his favorite cocktail:  Ketel One, rocks.  As the web site explains, and then seemingly contradicts itself, "[Izakaya] restaurants are often informal and have a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere....  WANN have brought class, sophistication and refinement to match the modern people of today."

I don't know if I count among the "modern people of today," but as I understand it, izakaya (literally "sake place") are basically places for drinks and upscale small plates, i.e. another tapas bar for Belltown, and the decor of Wann is apparently quite redolent of the Tokyo versions.  It does seem to provide a crush of subcultures, with a minimalist, woody interior -- and booths floating over rock gardens -- but a bar that ends with a view of a wildly colorful mural by a tattoo artist.

2020 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-5637
wann-izakaya.com - seattle times - seattle weekly - yelp - the stranger

#1100 #S648 - Madhu, Seattle - 5/8/2010

Update: Madhu closed in 2014

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This seems like a pretty standard Indian restaurant, with the buffet during the day and small bar at the rear. It's just a few weeks old and the owner, who has a couple other restaurants in town, is looking to entice more late night crowds into this one by soon extending food availability into the late evening and offering really good prices on drinks ($2 for my gin and tonic).

2330 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-7017
seattlemadhu.com - yelp - the stranger

#1099 #S647 - Clever Bottle, Seattle - 5/8/2010

Update: Clever Bottle closed in Feb. 2017

First of all, one must be clever -- or at least persistent -- to find Clever Bottle, as the facade is quite subtle and there are now three places that share an address of 2222 2nd Ave.  I'm not sure that Belltown really needs another wine bar, but this is a pleasant, somewhat rustic, little place that benefits from the contrast with neighbors Shorty's and the Lava Lounge.  I had a pleasant conversation with Katie the bartender, and they are currently applying for a liquor license to expand their cocktails beyond the wine-based current offerings.

2222 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 915-2220
Est. 2010 - Closed Feb 2017 - Building constructed: 1923
cleverbottle.com - seattlemet - yelp

#1098 #S646 - Delicatus, Seattle - 5/8/2010

This is a new (6 weeks old), somewhat upscale deli in a Pioneer Square building that pre-dates the great fire (where Longhorn BBQ previously resided).  In back there is a small bar, which nevertheless services some very nice drinks.  I had a very tasty bourbon orange julep, made by Mike Klotz, co-owner with Derek Shankland, both of whom recently worked at Oceanaire.

With breads from Essential Baking, produce from Franks, and meat from Zoes, Delicatus ("del-li-KOT-uhs") is said to be built on "the simple concept that people in the greater Seattle area deserve a better sandwich."  Their web site claims that Delicatus is "an authentic, cross-cultural delicatessen built on the traditional principles of European immigrants while incorporating the vast diversity of resources unique to the Pacific Northwest."  I was only stopping in for one quick drink on my visit, but I will definitely be back to try the food.

103 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 623-3780
delicatusseattle.com - seattlemet - yelp - seattlepi - the stranger

#1097 #S6454 - Taqueria Tequila, Seattle - 5/7/2010

301 NW 85th St, Seattle, WA 98117 - (206) 784-4699
seattle weekly - yelp - the stranger

#1096 #S644 - Kaname Izakaya & Schochu Bar, Seattle - 5/6/2010

I'm not much of a sake man, so I had a Lime Chuhai (Tamara shochu, lime, and soda). It was, as expected, a bit candy-like for my tastes, but it's a nice little place for Japanese food.

610 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 682-1828
kaname-izakaya.com - seattle weekly - seattle times -