#1784 - Golden West, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

Buffino's Golden West Restaurant and Lounge is a fairly typical dive, which features the owner's band, the Back Porch Band, on Friday and Saturday nights. It has an interesting back bar, a sort of art deco design, but I was unable to obtain any information about it from the folks there during our visit. So we sat dividing our attention between noticing new details of the bar, and watching TV, learning from the Monkeys' Mickey Dolan about a fantasic, never-before-offered collection of great rock hits.

The Golden West has been here since at least 1935.

5228 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409 - (253) 471-9892
weeklyvolcano - insiderpages

#1783 - Stonegate Pizza and Rum Bar, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

Update: Stonegate closed abruptly May 14, 2019 by owner Jeff Call "... after a long legal battle with my family ..."

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Stonegate Pizza and Rum Bar is a multi-level homage to rock and roll, like a Hard Rock Cafe put together by a loving collector rather than just someone with lots of money. It's a hodgepodge of folk art, rock memorabilia, multiple stages, and accents painted in a wide range of styles and capabilities, filling two old buildings on South Tacoma Way.

We did not eat on our visit, but the pizza here has a special Tacoma legacy, with a crust created by Larry Turco, the owner's uncle and the creator of the famous compressed crust pizzas served for over five decades at the Cloverleaf Tavern.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/tntdiner/2009/12/04/drop-in-dining-stonegate-pizza/#storylink=cpy

5421 South Tacoma Way Tacoma,, WA 98409 - (253) 473-2255
Est. Oct 2009 - Building constructed: 1924 - Closed May 14, 2019
Web site: stonegaterocks.com - facebook
Reviews: tnt - weeklyvolcano - yelp - urbanspoon

#1782 - Airport Bar and Grill, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

Airport Tavern, Tacoma, WA - 2012

South Tacoma Way is a great stretch of dive bars and ramshackle memories of when it was part of Highway 99 and a major thoroughfare, elaborate signs and business models beckoning drivers off the road. That faded away in the 60s, when Interstate 5 and Tacoma Mall snatched the traffic away, but for a fan of old dive bars, it is one of the best stretches in the state.

I haven't found much history for the Airport Bar and Grill, but you know it's been around for a while, not just from the weathered signs and decor, but because it was named for the old South Tacoma Airport which closed down in the 70s. The Airport Cigar Store is listed at this address in the bars section of city guides from at least 1940 in the 60s. It's now a mishmash of comfortable styles now, a gay bar with drag shows, but playing country music for a single elderly patron when we came in.

Airport Tavern, Tacoma, WA - 2020

5406 South Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 - (253) 475-9730
Est. ? By 1940 - Building constructed: 1927
facebook - waymarking - yelp

#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