#808 - Wedgewood Broiler Lounge, Seattle - 4/23/2009

8230 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115-4817 - (206) 523-1115

#807 - O'Asian, Seattle (downtown) - 4/20/2009

This is a lot bigger and considerably swankier than I'd expected. (I would have taken several pictures if my camera didn't go on the fritz today.)

800 5th Ave #1, Seattle, WA 98104-3176 - (206) 264-1789

#806 - The Traveler, Seattle (Ballard) - 4/19/2009

Update: The Leary Traveler closed Oct 30, 2018.

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AKA "The Leary Traveler. Nice place.

4356 Leary Way NW
Previous bars at this location: Carl's Tavern (1930s), Harvey's Tavern (40s-90s)
consupo - yelp - the stranger - urbanspoon

#805 - Golden City, Seattle (Ballard) - 4/19/2009

Update: Golden City closed in 2022

Now this is a fine dive bar! This has more of what I was hoping to find in the Ballard Smoke Shop. It's dark, it's intimate, it has backlit "Chinese" art, a huge, old, and terribly executed painting of an antebellum riverside scene, and it has a slightly creepy history to match. (I was informed by a regular that in the old days this place was named "The Plantation.")

And indeed The Plantation was located here from at least the 1940s into the 1980s.

5518 20th Ave NW 
Est. 1988 - Closed Aug 27, 2022 - Building constructed 1946
Previous bars at this location: Bayou Room (The Plantation Restaurant)   
seattlest - yelp

#804 - Ballard Smoke Shop, Seattle - 4/19/2009

This is a decent, old, dive bar, but it's too light, too open, and too big to have the sort of intimacy you want in a great dive. I recommend walking a few blocks to Golden City.

5439 Ballard Ave NW    
the stranger - ballardgossipgirl - yelp

#803 - Volterra, Seattle - 2008 (OOO)

5411 Ballard Ave NW
Est. 2005 - Building constructed: 1945
Previous bars in this location: The Suds (1934, not current building), Disalvo's Tavern, Freddy's Tavern, Burk's Cafe

volterrarestaurant.com - the stranger - yelp - fodors - seattletimes

#802 - Jade, Seattle - 4/16/2009

The latest residents cycling through this large space next to a biker AA hangout are a very friendly Chinese family. As far as the lounge goes, well, there was one older lady there when I dropped by and she told me the bartender made very good cocktails -- then a few minutes later had to explain to her what serving a drink "neat" is.

Historical Notes:  This structure was built in 1933 and by 1943 it was the "White Stone Tavern," which it appears to have remained at least into the 70s.  The river rock which comprise virtually the entire exterior of the building have since gone though various color changes, including orange and now yellow.  When I first moved to the neighborhood many years ago this was Travelers III, a popular native American bar where you could count on seeing cop cars pretty much every Friday and Saturday night. You could always count on the most drunk people on the #6 (now #358) bus getting off at that stop and staggering in.

In 1980 it is listed as the "Brooklyn Bridge Tavern" and in 1983 as "Rose Garden." After Travelers, it had a nice little run as a second Steel Pig BBQ, but I don't know if it's ever been half full since those early days. I'd like to see the current residents make a go of it, though there are at least three other Chinese restaurants within a couple blocks, with a less imposing exterior. And you may want to give the bartender a year or two to pick up her trade before going there for cocktails.

8904 Aurora Ave N.
Constructed: 1933
Previous bars in this location: White Stone Tavern, Brooklyn Bridge Tavern, Rose Garden, Travelers III, Steel Pig
jaderestaurant.net - yelp