#1077 #S634 - Flow Lounge, Seattle - 4/19/2010

For a place I read was reconfigured by the owner for more of a lounge focus, this has a pretty brief cocktail menu, and a bartender who doesn't have a lot to say when you ask for recommendations.  However the sazerac I had was very nice and so were the affordable small plates (I had the caprese salad, a salmon slider, and mini pot stickers, which were all three quite tasty).  The decor and the general vibe don't seem all that much different from the Opal days, but I like it a bit more.

2 Boston Street Seattle, WA 98109 - 282-0142
thrillist - queenanneview - yelp

#1076 #S633 - Mistral Kitchen, Seattle - 4/15/2010

The cocktail menu at the new Mistral Kitchen, in the able hands of Andrew Bohrer (formerly of Chantanee), is quite enjoyable.  On my first visit I had an excellent "Oak Aged Martinez" followed by a good, if a tad too sweet, "Trader Vic's style" mai tai.  And the cocktail menu is helpfully listed "in order of similarity to dreamy fluffy clouds transitioning to bitter angry poets."  Given that, I suppose I'll have to work my way through it starting from the bottom.

But the thing that will limit my visits is the unfortunate decor.  I guess a lot of people like very bright lighting and stark industrial modernism with their foie gras, but it is antithetical to the warm dark glow I prefer in a bar.

2020 Westlake Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 623-1922
mistral-kitchen.com - facebook - the stranger - seattle weekly - yelp - seattlepi

#1075 #S632 - Mecca Cafe, Seattle - (OOO)

While making a list of my favorite dive bars, I was rather stunned to discover that I somehow never added The Mecca to this blog. The Mecca Cafe is, of course, lower Queen Anne's version of the Five Point: Dive bar to the left, greasy spoon cafe to the right, strong cheap drinks, strong jukebox, good dive bar mix of people.

Near the height of the dotcom boom, I saw an ad in the Mecca mens room offering rewards for recommending computer techs. If ever there should have been a sign that things were getting out of hand ...

526 Queen Anne Avenue N., Seattle, WA 98109-4520 - (206) 285-9728
citysearch - yelp - the stranger -  seattle weekly