#785 - Hurricane Cafe lounge, Seattle (Belltown) - 3/23/2009

Update: The Hurricane Cafe closed Jan 1, 2015

One would be tempted to call this the classic greasy spoon dive lounge, were it not occupying the carcass of the much more classic old Dog House. And it's the bar that's suffered the most in its transformation. It has characters but no innate character, and again suffers from inevitable comparisons to drunken old fogeys croaking out classics around the Dog House piano bar.

Of course any good city's got to have a couple places like this for 3am after-the-show greasy eggs and get-togethers. But I'd just as soon keep going for a few blocks to make to the Five Point.

2230 7th Ave (map)
Est. 2002 - Closed 2015 - Building constructed 1940
Previous bars at this location: The Dog House Piano Lounge
myspace - seattlest ("Bastion of Darkness") - The Stranger - yelp - citysearch

#784 - Brasserie Margaux, Seattle (downtown) - 2008 (OOO)

401 Lenora St, Seattle, WA 98121-2508 - (206) 777-1990
Est. 1999

#783 - Skylark, Seattle (West Seattle) - 3/21/2009

A nifty, little West Seattle club where there's lots of good live music and it's always no cover. The decor includes painfully hokey (e.g. street signs on the walls) to delightfully so (the leopardskin carpet on stage) and rotating art. When I went there Lushy was playing with Johnny Astro, the place was packed, and the party was on.

3803 Delridge Way SW - map - SkaylarkCafe.com - music calendar - blog - myspace - yelp - The Stranger
Est. 2006 - Other bars at this location:  Delridge Tavern, Madison's Café, Steel Sky Bistro, Madison's Café II

#782 - Turf Lounge, Seattle (downtown) - 3/19/2009

 Update:  The Turf closed to remodel into Ludi's in 2011

Most people think of Turf as the greasy hangout of bums, drunks and the down-on-their-luck -- the people on the surrounding streets that lead white collar people in nearby offices like mine to know local businesses by nicknames like "Creepy Coffee" and "Scary Teriyaki." And so it is to a pretty fair degree.

But the Turf Lounge is an honest bar, and makes no apologies for it's age -- as evidenced by the two massive Smokeeters® that still dominate the small space -- and no apologies for its clientelle -- as evidenced by the two ladies chuckling at the man lying supine on the sidewalk across the street (a fellow who seemed to be familiar to them).

It's tiny, with small versions of all the standard dive bar features -- one small pull tabs bin, one game screen, one TV -- and I like it. I'm not ready to give it my "great dive bar" rating, but I'll probably be back a few times and the right combination of clientele could lead me to change my mind.

Historical notes: The Turf Smoke Shop Restaurant, featuring the Waggin Tongue Tavern, was at 1407 3rd Ave since at least 1948, and moved to 107 Pike in 1988 (a space that later became "Johnny Rockets").  It moved to this last location at 2nd and Pike at some time in the early 2000s.  "For decades the diner and bar has been a sort of one-stop shop and service center for downtown's poor, its pensioners, odd-jobbers and welfare recipients.  Here they could get their benefits or temporary labor checks cashed, without having to mess around with the banks." (Danny Westneat)   More history can be found at this homage to owner Pat Altshuler.





Turf patron?

















200 Pike St - seattletimes - yelp

#781 - Odd Fellows Cafe, Seattle (Capitol Hill) - 3/16/2009

The small bar counter in the cavernous restaurant makes the bar appear to be a bit of an afterthought. But the historic old building and -- more to the point -- the finely crafted cocktails more than make up for it. Another fine addition to Capitol Hill.

oddfellowscafe.com - flickr - seattlest

1525 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122-3806 - (206) 325-0807
Est. 2008

#780 - Red Fin, Seattle (downtown) - 3/12/2009

Update: Red Fin closed in July 2013

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There are certain people you work with in corporations who are assholes, but not to everybody. If you're in their select group -- equal to or above them in the reporting chain, or perceived as an ally, as opposed to most other departments -- they may seem like perfectly friendly people. But to people below them, people they unilaterally decide are internal competitors, people who are not their gender, etc. etc. -- these people they treat like shit. And while it's tempting to ignore that if you happen to get into one of the groups they don't treat like shit, I don't think you should forget the fact that they are assholes toward a lot of other people.

There are bars like that too. Red Fin is like that. They give the impression of place created by 30-somethings who made a good chunk of money in software, and picked up enough foodie pretensions and acquaintances that they feel like they could make it just catering just to their crowd, and are pained to sacrifice any time and effort for outsiders.

Thus, when I sat down at the bar, without knowing anyone and without a backwards baseball cap, the bartender some 15 feet away reading a magazine felt it a higher priority to finish his article, chat with a friend, and lazily peruse some wine labels, before eventually checking to see if perhaps I might have sat down at his bar because I was interested in having a drink. And it wasn't just one person either -- other workers wandered into the bar area and lazily prepared drinks without so much as a nod to the customer who was sitting there twiddling his thumbs behind an empty bar counter.

In their defense, Red Fin is less of a bar than a downtown sushi joint, and pretension and attitude are the primary products of many a downtown sushi joint. But if you'd prefer to avoid assholes altogether -- whether or not you are lucky enough to be in the group that doesn't experience the asshole side -- I strongly suggest skipping Red Fin.

612 Stewart St., Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 441-4340
Est. 2005 - Closed 2013
Previous bars in this location: None known
Subsequent bars in this location: Millers Guild
redfinsushi.com - yelp - citysearch

#779 - Suite 410, Seattle (downtown) - 3/12/2009

This may be my favorite downtown Seattle bar. Now, that's a fairly low bar (so to speak), and there's nothing really unusual or spectacular about this bar. But it's a small, fairly hidden, internally dark and swanky place -- "like a New York bar," as Benji the bartender put it. The crowd is comfortably balanced between hip and pretentious, young and old, and the vibe is romantic. I think I'll wind up here often.

410 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 682-4101
(suite410.com, facebook, Seattle Weekly, yelp)