#1781 #S1028 - The Blu Grouse, Seattle - 5/20/2012

The former Tiger Lounge remains a funky place, winding through the various rooms of an old bungalow. But it is also and entirely different place, the groovy mid-century trappings replaced with the more neat and more feminine touches of owner Diane Lane, former bartender at Slim's. It's now even more like going to someone's private house, with cut flowers and a fire pit surrounded by log seats in the back yard. The kitchen serves salads, wraps and pizzas, and the small bar serves basic cocktails, wines and beers.

412 S. Orcas St, Seattle, WA 98108
Est. May 12, 2012 - Building constructed: 1949
Previous bars in this location: Tiger Lounge
Web site: theblugrouse.com - facebook
Reviews: thestranger - seattlemag - yelp - thrillist

#1780 - The Valley Pub, Tacoma, WA - 5/14/2012

Red's Valley Pub, previously the Valley Tavern.

There was a Valley Tavern nearby (1218 Puyallup) since at least 1935.

1206 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma, WA 98421 - (253) 572-8321         

Web site: facebook
Reviews: weeklyvolcano - weeklyvolcano 2 - yelp - yelp 2

#1779 - The Beach Tavern, Tacoma - 5/14/2012

The Beach Tavern opened in mid-1934, a half a year after prohibition, where it must have had a fine view as the old Tacoma Narrows Bridge danced itself to pieces. It has a genuine beach bar feel -- medium sized open spaces decorated with seafaring gimcracks, hosting a wide range of ages and a good set of local characters. It is set across from Titlow Beach, where divers find huge barnacles, wolf eels, buffalo sculpins, plumose anemones,  and Pacific Octopuses with ten foot arm spans. The drinks are pretty much the basics, and the food the sort of burgers and fish and chips items that you would expect. It's got a nice vibe -- it feels like summer, but with just enough cranky people around to not feel too touristy.

8612 6th Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98465 - (253) 564-9984
Est. 1934

Web site: thebeachtaverninc.com - facebook
Reviews: weeklyvolcano - urbanspoon - yelp

#1778 #S1027 - The Beer Authority, Seattle - 5/15/2012

Like Greenwood's Chuck's 85th St. Market and West Seattle's Super Deli Mart, Lake City's Beer Authority has turned a small retain space into a beer Mecca by combining a huge selection of well selected beers with a small number of taps and a friendly, tiny bar. Actually, the B.A. is a bit more like Bottleworks in Wallingford, since rather than being carved out of a convenience store, it is dedicated entirely to beer. The shop was established in March/April of 2009, and as the original owners decided to spend some more time with their kids they signed a couple partners include Burc McFarlen, who installed the taps and bar. It now pulls in a small but dedicated group of beer-loving patrons.


12716 Lake City Way NE Suite A Seattle, WA 98125 - (206) 417-9629
Est. March 2009 as bottleshop; taps installed late 2010 - Building constructed 2001
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: blog
Reviews: beeradvocate - yelp

#1777 - The Islander, Mercer Island - 5/13/2012

7440 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040 - (206) 232-6676


Web site: the-islander.com - facebook 
Previous bars in this location: Bluenose Pub
Reviews: yelp - patch - urbanspoon - tripadvisor

#1776 #S1026 - Queen Margherita, Seattle - 5/16/2012

The bar at Queen Margherita ever so barely qualifies at a bar by my definition. But it does have a small bar where people sit and drink wine. And while most people go there for the (very good) wood-fired, Neapolitan style pizza, another reason to sit at the bar is to watch the work in the open kitchen, as well as the very friendly folks who own and work at the place interacting with customers.

3111 W McGraw St # 103 Seattle, WA 98199 - (206) 548-4908
Est. Sep. 10, 2010 - Building constructed: 1974
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: queenmargheritaseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: gastrolust - natashareed - eater - seattletimes - seattleweekly - yelp - magnoliavoice - thestranger

#1775 - Stan's Bar-B-Q, Issaquah, WA - 5/12/2012

I love barbeque -- who doesn't love barbeque? -- but my favorite barbeque is Kansas City style. Oh how I miss the sweet sauce of Ribbins down in Ballard. So I've been eager for some time to try out Stan's. In case you forget where he's from, Stan has decorated the place with Kansas City Chief memorabilia.

The bar, as you might expect, is basically beer and very basic cocktails.  They have eight pretty good beers on tap, but the spirits are dominated by vodka and especially flavored vodkas -- like many a suburban dive catering to clients more interested in the effects of their drinks than the tastes.

Sam's actually has a variety of BBQ styles, with three sauces, served separately, to choose from. I had the Commander and Chief sandwich -- beef brisket with smoked ham -- and as usual in my first stop in a place I tried their beans and potato salad.  All of these were pretty good, and served by some friendly folks, but alas, it was not the can't-wait-to-go-back ecstasy of the old Ribbins. I would describe it as a very nice stop if you're in the area, but not necessarily worth going out of your way.

58 Front Street North Issaquah, WA 98027 - (425) 392-4551
Est. 2006 - Building constructed: 1888 (Oddfellow's Hall)
Web site: stansbarbq.com - facebook
Reviews: seattleweekly - urbanspoon - yelp - issaquahpress