#1146 #S692 - Club Kolbeh, Seattle - 6/19/2010

Update: Club Kolbeh is now closed.

The bar at Kolbeh, AKA Astoria, is pretty standard -- that is, the liquor bar, not the hookah bar around the corner, I wouldn't begin to know how to judge the latter.

The service has received quite a few bad reviews, and was not very attentive when I went, though not terrible.  The Persian food I had was quite good, and I would have liked to have been able to stay longer to check out the music.

1956 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 - (206) 224-9999
the stranger - yelp - citysearch 

#1145 #S691 - Targy's Tavern, Seattle - 6/18/2010

I had never even seen Targy's before this date and had a picture in my head of a boring bar somewhere in lower Queen Anne. What I found was a very fine neighborhood dive, nearly hidden in a residential area of Upper Queen Anne since shortly after prohibition.

The one-armed bartender informed me that it was I had never even seen Targy's before this date and had a picture in my head of a boring bar somewhere in lower Queen Anne.  What I found was a very fine neighborhood dive, nearly hidden in a residential area of Upper Queen Anne since shortly after prohibition.  originally across the street.  The decor is a likable dive sort, with varying vestiges of decades past like the blue sofa across from the black and red vinyl booths in front of 70s orange and mirror patterned wallpaper.


600 W Crockett St, Seattle, WA 98119 - (206) 352-8882
myspace -  the stranger - yelp

#1144 #S690 - Buckley's (Queen Anne), Seattle - 6/18/2010

I'm not a fan of sports bars generally, and the ones I do like tend to be old ones, where the memorabilia has the appearance of accruing over years with a personal touch, rather than a single trip to the mall.  Nevertheless, I like this Buckley's.  The crowd is likable, the service is friendly, and the decor is lots of dark wood and books.  Even if the books are of the buy-by-the-yard variety, they give the place an older, more comfortable feel.

232 1st Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119 - (206) 691-0232-
buckleysseattle.com - facebook - seattle pi - the stranger - yelp

#1143 #S689 - The Signature, Seattle - 6/18/2010

Update: The Signature closed in mid-April 2012.  It was replaced by Red Papaya Ale and Spirits.

A very nice Vietnamese restaurant, which in the evenings turns into one of the most gawdawful karaoke bars imaginable.

530 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 283-6614
thesignaturerestaurant.com - seattle weekly - the stranger - yelp

#1142 #S688 - Grand Jumbo Chinese Cocktail Lounge, Seattle - 6/17/2010

The Grand Jumbo Chinese Restaurant is not prone to understatement, and above the door to the lounge there are large letters spelling out "BOSS," which makes me wonder if it is actually the Grand Jumbo Boss Lounge?

I didn't have the opportunity to eat there, and at 10-ish on a Thursday evening the large space hosted only one large table of patrons taking turns singing Vietnamese karaoke, and three or four more sitting at the bar.  The lounge is partitioned off in the manner of hotel meeting rooms, and my googling indicated that it sometimes hosts raves.  The gals working the bar were apologetic that their regular bartender was not there to prepare cocktails, but they were very solicitous in gathering the ingredients for a gin and tonic.


As the web site notes (to the tune of a lilting piano), "In 2009 the GJR proudly welcomed Danny to the management team.  Danny is kind, accessible, and very always entertaining."  The complete text of the "Bar" page is currently "Bar Menu:  Bar."  I didn't meet Danny, so I can't personally confirm that he is very always entertaining, but the people working the bar were very pleasant and attentive.

grandjumbochineserestaurant.com - seattle weekly - seattle times - the stranger - urban spoon - ravelinks - yelp
4208 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 760-9200

#1141 #S687 - Columbia City Ale House, Seattle - 6/17/2010

From the folks who pretty much invented the grastropub in Seattle, The Columbia Ale House is the sister to the Hilltop and 74th Street.  That means they have very good food, excellent rotating specials and soups, and a very good selection of craft beers in a British pub sort of setting.

4914 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 723-5123
seattlealehouses.com - facebook - seattle times - the stranger - yelp

#1140 #S686 - Angie's Tavern, Seattle - 6/17/2010

Angie's is a classic neighborhood dive housed in a structure built in 1905 that has been home to a bar since shortly after prohibition, which is apparently closing after Saturday June 20 2010, as the state refuses to renew their liquor license.

The structure was originally a barber shop and pool room -- there were no saloons in the town at the time, as Columbia City was a "dry" town until it was annexed by Seattle in 1907.  It begins being listed under bars again in 1958 as Columbia Billards, then The Pink Poodle starting in 1960, and subsequently hosted bars named Alex's Tavern, Bo Jo's, Al Joe's Tavern, and Bert-N-Anne's Tavern. It was renamed Angie's Tavern in 1985.

For many, Angie's happily preserved a bit of the old Columbia City, as the other side of the street became increasingly gentrified.  (The racial difference of patrons of the respective sides of Rainier Ave was fairly remarkable at the time).  I went on what seemed like the perfect night, catching the last half of game seven of the NBA championship.  The crowd seemed pretty evenly split between Celtics and Lakers fans, and I can't imagine that Staples Center was any louder than Angie's on that night.  ("Get your ass up off the ground!"  "Here they come!  Here they come!"  "It's irrelevant!  It's irrelevant!")

Angie's made Mike Seeley's list of Seattle's 10 Most Intimidating Dive Bars, and the state liquor board is refusing to renew the tavern's liquor license due to the number of problems with drugs, fights, and gunfire.  I don't know how much the existence of Angie's contributed to those problems, but it's a shame to see this place go. After the 2010 closure, the building was razed in August 2013.

4915 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 722-7771
Est. 1985 - Closed 2010 - Building constructed 1905
Previous bars at this location: Pink Poodle, Alex's Tavern, Bo Jo's, Al Joe's Tavern, Bert-N-Anne's Tavern
seattle pi - uw digital collection - rainier valley post - the stranger - seattlecrime.com - yelp