#1164 #S706 - In the Red Wine Bar, Seattle - 6/29/2010

"In The Red" (get it?) was designed as a wine, light plate, and coffee shop with affordable prices to reflect the post-financial collapse times.  One happy side effect of this is that it avoids the formulaic decor of most wine bars -- the modernist furniture and hanging halogen lights are replaced by a hodgepodge of collected chandeliers, a bar designed like a skateboard halfpipe, bar chairs from the Hit It Here Cafe, and a wainscot made of doors.  These all give it a much more comfortable personality.  And while I didn't see any at the relatively late hour that I dropped in, right now the entire place, including the bar, is open to children as well, though they are likely to portion off the bar area when they eventually get liquor.

Neither the food nor the wine selections are particularly interesting -- it appears most of both come directly from Trader Joe's -- but that's not really the point of In The Red.  It's more like a slightly more modern version of good diner, providing decent wine and lattes at a decent price.  I had the cheese plate and the (tomato-based) bruschetta, along with a Sawbuck Malbec and then a Substance Syrah.  Again, none of these were particularly remarkable, but they were agreeable, as was the conversation with co-owners Chad and Brian, though they were slightly exhausted from the recent opening festivities and long days.

6510 Phinney Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 420-8992
intheredwinebar.com - queen anne news - seattlemet - thrillist - yelp

#1163 #S705 - Saffron Grill, Seattle - 6/27/2010

This seems like a nice Indian and Mediterranean restaurant, from the management of the well-regarded Cedars in the U District, and I do plan to come back for dinner.  As a bar it's quite mediocre.  They do have their own cocktail menu, though most the drinks tend to seem like what you'd find at a college bar, rather than balanced and finely crafted mixology we're getting all too used to these days.  If you're happy with beer and a bar setting without any particular character, it might do for you, as they apparently have 100 different imports available.

2132 N Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98133 - (206) 417-0707
saffrongrillseattle.com - urbanspoon - the stranger - yelp

#1162 #S704 - Stanford's, Seattle - 6/27/2010

Stanford's is a fairly typical modern mall steakhouse sort of restaurant and lounge. The "work of art" cocktails are not in a league with this town's better practitioners, but I did quite enjoy the Huckleberry Raindrop (44 Degree North Mountain Huckleberry vodka, lemon sour, and rosemary infused simple syrup), and my belief that there is no bad cocktail with cucumber was ably supported by the Cucumber Mint Cooler (Beefeater, Stoli, cucumber, fresh lemon sour, and mint).

The dinner, too, was quite tasty -- I had the "Bronzed Cajun salmon" with a jalapeno-lime beurre blanc, and would recommend it. I'm not endeared to the chain feel of the place and I'm not going to be a regular, but if you wanted to go someplace that could satisfy some meat-and-potatoes company, you could do a lot worse than Stanford's.

401 Northeast Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125-6036 - (206) 834-6277
stanfords.com - urbanspoon -  yelp