#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